interpol - live menu review

1. antics - you would think that after spending a late night out drinking, waking up the next morning at what for me is an ungodly hour (6:30 am), then spending a full day at work, that i would be in no shape to see a show.

2. say hello to the angels - add to the improbability of a good time that it's raining in l.a. and i have to drive downtown to a venue i'd never been to in a somewhat shady part of the city. nothing about this sounds like the beginnings of a happy evening out. so you would think.

3. next exit - sitting on the off ramp near the grand olmypic auditiorium i could see lines wrapped around corners to get in. the one way streets and congestion to fight for parking was maddening. i was tempted to turn the car around.

4. obstacle 1 - i began to reason: well, i've seen interpol a few times now. they're not the most dynamic band to watch live. and usually after their shows i feel incomplete, a song or two shy of sonically sated.

5. the new - but i wanted to give them another shot. the last time they were in town i didn't get tickets to see them. (probably because of my previous disappointments.) but now they had more material. now they had two albums worth of songs to play. and hell, some of them were even dancey!


6. obstacle 2 - so my sister and i finally make our way into the auditorium. blonde redhead have already started their opening set and we can't find decent seats in the section we are supposed to stay in. so we have to move to a different section with a sideways angle of the stage. the seats were closer but the view is less than ideal. there's something about how the seats are situated that makes the venue seem disconnected. so far my opinion of the grand olympic auditorium is low.

7. slow hands - blonde redhead are an odd choice for an opening band. sometimes i get them, really enjoy their sound, their songs, and then other times they grate on my ears. so, like a jerk, i occupied some of my time distracted from the stage, staring at my cell phone, searching for words to fit a tiny scrabble board. thumb tap-tapping to cycle through letters.

8. specialist - interpol finally take the stage and they look fabulous. they've got a sense of style to them. dressed up but without pretention. there used to be a time when a band's appearance could really make or break them in my heart. for instance, a decent band who made decent music could be elevated in status if their members were cute. a fantastic band with one or more people with that special something would be worshipped. a crap band with some adorable member might compel me to favorable consideration. but that was then. i don't pay attention to the band members' looks as much as i used to. thankfully, even before i knew what interpol looked like, i was already a fan. their music swayed me. that being said, they do have a nice sense of style about them.

9. length of love - and then they start with the opening track off their second album. a slow intro to whet the appetite for what i can honestly describe as a delectable 3 course musical meal. they served a salad of beats, an evil zesty flavor, the dirtiness of their lyrics getting caught in between your teeth because you've been grinning so long. then you sink your teeth into the raw energy of favorites new and old, chewing slowly to savor every bite, letting the sound drip down your chin because you've abandoned table manners for something primal, something approaching sex. and finally, the sweetness of giving the crowd what they want. your fingers get sticky from scooping in the specialty: a dark chocolate extravagance swimming in caramel. and you're diving like stella to drown in it. and you're crazed like roland wielding knives because the show has transformed you into some kind of public pervert, swooning all over the place.

10. turn on the bright lights - and like that it's over. you're stuffed. well, mostly. i could have made room for the impeccable c'mere. sadly it wasn't on the menu for the night. but after all was said and done i enjoyed my evening despite everything.

*****

here's the setlist in case you're interested:

February 17th, 2005
Los Angeles, California

next exit
evil
say hello to the angels
narc
public pervert
not even jail
leif erikson
NYC
take you on a cruise
length of love
slow hands
obstacle 1
PDA

encore
specialist
stella was a diver and she was always down
roland