Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Interpol, Live at the Aragon, Only Slightly Belatedly Reviewed...

Hi kids, it's your Maise--once again, overworked, underpaid, and guilted into a new entry by our own B.C.

BC (02:03:37 p.m.): dude
BC (02:03:40 p.m.): whats up with letting PP slide?
BC (02:03:43 p.m.): no mention of the remix ep?
tragicmaise (02:06:57 p.m.): Dude, I'm plotting an Interpol concert review, and yes, we should cover the remix ep.
BC (02:09:12 p.m.): when did you see interpol?
tragicmaise (02:09:19 p.m.): Last week?
tragicmaise (02:09:24 p.m.): Yeah, last Thursday.
BC (02:09:32 p.m.): you do realize you're writing a blog, right?
BC (02:09:39 p.m.): that immediacy is one of the key features
BC (02:09:43 p.m.): that its not a monthly magazine?
BC (02:09:47 p.m.): ...right?
tragicmaise (02:09:52 p.m.): You do realize that I have a 54-hour work week these days, right?
BC (02:10:10 p.m.): I don't think the readers care.
BC (02:10:15 p.m.): ;)
tragicmaise (02:10:33 p.m.): All right, all right, I'll get back on it!

Last Thursday, Ro and I were happy to escape our respective workplaces, had a lovely meal at a French brasserie in the city, and reported to the Aragon to see Interpol on October 11, 2007. Our lovely meal, involving coq au vin and ravioli with brie, sliced artichokes, chives and a lemon poppyseed fondue, followed by an apple tart tatin and an exquisite "plat au trois chocolats" prevented us from seeing any of the opening act(s). (How's that for journalistic committment?) But fortunately we arrived in plenty of time for Interpol's set.

Ro and I were both very excited for this show and had been looking forward to it for months. I absolutely love Interpol and really enjoyed their set at Lollapalooza, even though it was performed in a driving rain in front of annoying drunken barefoot floozies in sundresses. And I thought that perhaps a more intimate show in one of Chicago's hippest and most famous venues would be even cooler.

Oh, and by the way, this is what happens to our exclusive visuals when Iris fails to accompany us to concerts:

I dunno. Overall, I felt a little letdown by the experience. Sure, all the favorites sounded great, like "Evil," "Slow Hands," "The Heinrich Maneuver," "NARC," etc. But it felt as though very little energy was being generated by either the crowd or the band. It could just be my encroaching fuddy-duddiness, but by 10 p.m., I was so done with this show. And that was before the encore. At one point during the encore, just after "Stella Was a Diver...", Interpol proceeded to jam. Okay, a) I was already fatigued from a long work day and an even longer work week, b) I HATE it when bands jam, and c) we all know that Interpol only plays two notes per song, and while they do that *awesomely* for two to three minutes at a time, they are the last band on the planet who should be jamming. It just fueled my sense that the show was never-ending, and not in a good way.

I know I'm hating on this concert, but I feel like I've seen Interpol perform much, much better. I wasn't any more exhausted after a day at work as I was after 12 hours of Lollapalooza in the rain, so I don't think my energy level was the sole reason for my cranky state of mind.

After the show, as we ran the gauntlet of unwanted flyers and bootleg t-shirts, we were handed free cans of Monster Energy. Oh, if only these could have been distributed before the show!

So, to Interpol I say: Forget the Heinrich Maneuver, it's time for CPR, boys!



13 comments:

b.c. bishop said...

Well that was certainly worth waiting for.

maise said...

Well, I noticed that "Gabriel" is on our list of contributors. Perhaps HE would like to post something?

Ro said...

You know, I think part of the problem with seeing Interpol live is that their music is pretty moody and dark to begin with. Then you're stuck in a hot venue (I realize it was only 50 degrees that night, but when there's 800 people standing on top of one another, we needed some fucking A/C) on a school night no less, it just became pretty drab and listless. And then when they started that narcissistic jamming, which was fun for them and only them, it just made things a little more insufferable. Plus, with the exception of a few songs, their newest CD just doesn't have the same magic that their previous efforts had. They sound a little too polished, a little too radio-ready now, and it doesn't serve their more atmospheric style at all.

So yeah, I didn't hate the concert, but I wasn't wowed by it either. Maybe I was hoping they'd recapture the magic they had when I saw them at the Aragon in March 2005. Now THAT was a fucking awesome show....

maise said...

This is true...they aren't necessarily the kind of band that's going to get you all fired up, but at the same time, I shouldn't be thinking, "Make the show end...make the show end...I'll pay you cash money to skip the encore..."

Ro said...

Very true, Maise, very true. And it didn't help that we were both plagued by inappropriate shoe choices.....

maise said...

That's right! My shoes weren't made for rocking.

Ro said...

You know, when I left for work that morning, the 3-inch heels seemed like a good idea....

Iris said...

Oh I'm still around, Lav. Just been busy with other projects but I'll have something shortly.

I know how it can be with wearing the wrong footwear to shows. That's how I ended up with vegan sandals at Lollapalooza. I took what were normally very comfy sandals which turned into torture devices after miles and miles of trekking from stage to stage.

Hey Maise you shouldn't give BC a hard time about his contributions around here. He did that one post...you know, way back when...about himself. That counts for like 10, right? ;) And don't you go getting all huffy about this Mr. BC. You know I wish you all the success in the world.

Oh and I did comment when Trent wrote up his big blog post about the remix album but I didn't think it was something I could get a whole post out of considering I've only heard like one track off it (and please Lord don't let that one be the final, final cut). I fully intend on a full review when it's released and with lots of exclamation points at that!!!

D:ANGEL said...

I'm still waiting for a review of the MEGADETH WARCHEST BOXSET (4 CDs, 1 DVD)

maise said...

Angelman, would you like to do a guest review?

D:ANGEL said...

Are you serios? I would love too!

D:ANGEL said...

serious, I meant.

maise said...

Yeah, why not? Go for it!