An Evening with Interpol
On Sunday I went skateboarding, feeling comfortable wearing a t-shirt and shorts. I remember smugly thinking that despite a lack of four distinct seasons, Austin’s weather is just so preferable to that of northern climates. Two days later our streets are covered in ice. Classes cancelled. My neighbor’s truck is glued to an ice-packed curb downtown. The gnarly weather really kicked in Monday evening and we were probably foolish to leave the safe confines of our apartment. After racing downtown at speeds between 10-15 mph, Sarah and I easily found a parking spot near Emo’s. Sixth Street was eerily deserted. A newsman even stopped us and asked, “What the hell would bring you out on a night like this one?!” Interpol.
We missed most of the first band but caught The Warlock’s set. I had never heard of this group and was immediately skeptical. The Warlocks? C’mon. The lead singer was scary and rarely interacted with the crowd. When he did mutter a few words, he looked extremely pained, as if he was either terrified or on the nod. Apparently a song on their album is called “Shake the Dope Out,” so I think we can surmise what the deal was. I actually liked several of their songs but they played way too long. Sarah on the other hand thought they just droned on and on and she was pretty bored. Opening bands should never play over an hour.
The delay between sets was aggravating. We were up front next to the stage and if we dared move, we’d surely lose our place. And despite being surrounded by hundreds of people, we were freezing. To those unfamiliar with Emo’s, the main venue is partially outdoors. Plus I had to pee. Why did I drink that Tecate?! But all that was forgotten when Interpol took the stage to a fairly enthusiastic reception. 
I had to admit, they looked perfect. Armani suits, pointy shoes, cigarettes in mouth. East Village in tha house, yo. Smoking would continue to be a major theme of the evening as band members seemed to light up whenever given the opportunity. Interpol has been both applauded and criticized for channeling the look and sound of bands like Echo & the Bunnymen (a dude even jokingly cried out “The Killing Moon!” before they began playing), The Smiths, and of course Joy Division. In fact, many of their songs have certain elements that just give you nostalgic chills. It was almost like they picked the most successful songs from the aforementioned bands, and applied some genius algorithm to extract the most powerful notes, key changes, and melodies. All I know is that when they played songs like “Stella,” “NYC,” and “Say Hello to the Angels,” I couldn’t help but to get my pogo on. I thought Interpol’s stage presence was great. It really felt like you were seeing a band that has played together for years and years. But don’t expect any crazy stage antics or even any reinterpretations of songs when performed live. Close your eyes and clean up the sound some and you have a song-for-song delivery of “Turn on the Bright Lights.” Still, the songs are simply great, even if I have no freakin’ idea what lyrics like “the subway she is a porno” means. I’m too young to have seen any of the legendary bands that are always mentioned in an Interpol review. But after their set on Monday, it really felt like we had witnessed a band of a similar caliber. Without a doubt this is one of the best shows I’ve seen at Emo’s.
My favorite member of the band was the bassist. He has this towering, Frankenstein-like presence. Tall guys make good rockers, I’ve noticed.
A note about Emo’s crowds… I think Austin indie rock fans are pretty spoiled. I mean, without fail, every touring band worth seeing comes here. O.K. maybe there are a few exceptions. There has never been a time where I wanted to see a band but they were playing in say, San Antonio, but not Austin. Because of this fact it is easy to forget that we have it good here. And often when I see a show at Emo’s, such as …Trail of Dead, I look around and so many people are gazing at the stage, arms crossed. Not all, but many. That wasn’t really the case at Interpol from what I could tell. Some folks up front actually began moshing. I heard someone complaining behind me. Even though pits are so early 90′s, I thought, “If you can’t take the heat…” On the other hand, some of these rowdy dudes were just flailing around out-of-control. Hurting people ain’t cool. Regardless, it was nice to see people really letting loose at a show.