INTERPOL arrested its audience with trance instead of dance at Radio City Music Hall Tuesday, delivering the kind of understated show that says it’s all about the music.
While this band’s heavy, hypnotic sound has earned it an international fan base, the quartet was completely comfortable in front of the Radio City audience. The band and the fans looked as if they’d just walked in off the streets of Williamsburg.
Even though the group’s recent album was titled “Antics,” the hour-plus gig was devoid of rock ‘n’ roll posing, pyrotechnics and gimmickry. Instead of stage shenanigans, the hometown band worked a set in which each player focused only on the notes and listened to his bandmates.
As elementary as that might sound, not every band is able or willing to do it. Whether you liked or hated Interpol’s droning style, there was zero sloppiness in the delivery.
The band’s secret weapon is drummer Sam Fogarino. His blurred-stick beat was intricate and layered. His bass-drum thumps physically resonated in your chest, and his bell-like cymbal clicks added a dimension to the music that’s usually reserved for the vocalist.
Bassist Carlos D. is a good player, but more important, he’s the guy in Interpol who oozes stage cool. The kind of cool that made the girls scream “Carloooos!” whenever he stepped near the lip of the stage.
Band founder Daniel Kessler’s lead guitar work was crisp and spirited, despite his low-key performance style.
If Kessler was low-key, singer Paul Banks was no-key. Banks writes smart lyrics; he’s foolish not to shake some of the stiffness out of his performance. He was obviously moved by his words, and that came through in his vocal vehemence, even when he tortured a tune with monotone.
Still, there’s excitement in the music.
Take the evening’s showstopper, a piece called “Evil.” This was one of the few up-tempo numbers, and the band took full advantage of the bright beat and audience excitement by extending the jam and allowing it to build to a climax. The response from the sold-out house sent a clear message that Interpol can lighten up a little and not compromise its too-cool-to-dance image.
The band added to the atmosphere with foot-level spots that cast huge shadows of the players on the hall’s vaulted ceiling.
Given how difficult it is for even bombastic, theatrical bands to be engaging in Radio City, Interpol did remarkably well ungluing fans from their seats as it made propulsive music standing still.
