Interpol at Madison Square Garden, 9/14/07

For my first Interpol show, Madison Square Garden was an interesting venue. It made me realize that I’d much rather see bands in a smaller setting, like say Bowery or Webster Hall.

This feeling might have been brought on by the fact that my friends and I were about as far away from the stage as possible in the massive arena. It’s the last time I try to get a hook up from a client.

The band for the most part sounded solid. I was impressed by the strength of Paul Banks’ voice. It carried easily throughout the space. The songs came off as straightforward renditions, which is fine since the band performed them well. But late in the concert there was a taste of the band riffing an intro into a song and it make me wish that I could’ve heard the band deviate a bit more from the albums.

The show started off with a huge, white screen obscuring the band from the audience for the first two songs. After the opener, I began to wonder if they were going to do that for the entire show. While I’m sure it would’ve been a memorable gimmick, I doubt most of the audience would’ve been content to see a band without actually seeing the band. Of course Pink Floyd pulled it off on their touring for The Wall. But for Interpol, two songs was long enough for the screen, thankfully.

The setlist contained most of the songs I wanted to hear. I was glad to hear “Hands Away” although I missed “Leif Erikson” and “Length of Love”.

Good show overall, but here’s hoping Interpol hasn’t ditched the smaller venues around town.