Bright lights, dark clothes:
Interpol cruises into Boise

 Interpol Photo Gallery

Boise’s hipster crowd came out en masse to drink in the sights and sounds of the New York retro-rock band Interpol on Thursday night at the Big Easy Concert House. While in true “Hipster Handbook” fashion, audience members scrutinized each other’s authenticity, the band left little to question.

The capacity-crowd concert, fourth in a three-month U.S. tour, comes on the heels of the band’s triumphant second American full-length release, “Antics.”

Interpol, looking deceptively subdued as they meandered on stage, hinted not at the heights they would scale on during the 80-minute set. From the delicate first few notes of set opener “Next Exit,” all the way into the last of their three breathtaking encore songs, the foursome (plus a tour keyboardist by the name of Blasco) arduously plowed through many of their hits.

Checking their improvisational skills at the door, Interpol provided precious little deviation from the tones and rhythms of their throwback-rock recordings, much to the delight of the crowd. Slight cue jumps by lead singer Paul Banks (“It’s up to me now…”) and a few extra notes thankfully sprinkled in to the mix by bassist Carlos D. coaxed appreciative applause from a rapt audience. Clearly the last few years of constant touring has cultivated choice live chops for the black-clad rockers.

A powerhouse version of “Narc” hurdled into a kinetic “PDA” as lead guitarist Daniel Kessler fell to his knees. A brief shared joke between Banks and D. after “Public Pervert” served to be the only breathing space in the set. The band rocked easily back and forth between tight renditions of staples from “Antics” and its predecessor “Turn Off the Bright Lights.”

Later that night, an inebriated Banks could be found in a hooded Raiders sweatshirt at the Neurolux aftershow, taking in an adventurous, if not off-the-wall set spun by D. Mixing in a wide variety of music – everything from Sisters of Mercy to the Sex Pistols – D. offered the packed house an odd salute to a few 80’s industrial and punk heroes. A set by local DJ Pat Benolkin kicked the whole event into high gear.

D. could not have appeared more bored as he rolled from one record to the next, but later told one promoter that despite his demeanor, Boise was his favorite show of the U.S. tour leg thus far.

Other highlights included a brisk forty-minute opening set by Blonde Redhead. Blonde Redhead started their set a bit timidly but responded quickly to an enthused crowd and ended with a bang.

Japanese singer and sometime bass player Kazu Makino roused the percussive intro and chorus of “Equus” off of their newest release “Misery is a Butterfly.” Makino’s sweet, understated voice coupled with Italian singer Amedio Pace’s clever vocals made this, their fourth show with Interpol, a pressurized mesh of art-rock nervy guitar, pummeling bass, and introspective love-song lyrics.

Their set had been cut short by ten minutes due to technical issues earlier in the evening. One can only wonder what gifts those ten extra minutes could have yielded. But if their classy, time-allotted performance is any indication whatsoever, we can all rest securely in knowing that we really missed out.

Mary Grace Lucas
News Writer

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