[Live MP3s] Interpol in Boston 2007
Posted on September 20, 2007 at 7:29 pm | No Comments
It took me five years to get around to seeing Interpol, but it wasn’t for any lack of loving a healthy number of their songs. “PDA” and “Obstacle 1” (off their 2002 debut, “Turn On The Bright Lights”) have found their way onto many a mix disc of mine, and while I wasn’t as enamored with the follow-up (2004’s “Antics”), I still figured I’d catch them on stage eventually. I just never made it a priority, and thinking about it, it may have been a combination of the conventional so-called wisdom that their stage presence lacked a certain spice, and my ever-increasing aversion to affectation, especially when it comes to a band’s wardrobe (yes, this is coming from a guy who long ago flirted with his own goth phase, and actually donned a black trenchcoat).
The day that tickets went on sale for their performance last week at Boston University’s Agganis Arena, that particular morning I was ears-deep in their latest record, “Our Love To Admire”, and by the time “Who Do You Think” rolled around, I made with the mouse clickin’ to see what kind of seats were available. The new album is a marked improvement on “Antics” (although each would have made absolutely perfect EPs with some trimming), and knowing the band now had three discs worth of material to pull their live set from, a good spot on the arena’s floor was enough to get me in attendance.
When I arrived, after a paranoid pat-down from arena security (they made me ditch my man-bag, but seemingly had no interest in cameras or recording gear. I’m guessing they were primarily safeguarding against smuggled alcohol or weapons. And free Mentos samples.), Liars were already on stage, and making one hell of a racket. They’re all about the cacophonous rock, but in the echo chamber of a not-yet-half-full arena space, it wasn’t quite working. I’d imagine in a club, up close, and with a soundman who focused as much on their mix as the headliners, these guys would kill. Still, frontman Angus Andrews courted the crowd with a Paul Pierce Celtics jersey, and the fact that they gave it their all despite the environs was enough to get them solid applause from us early arrivals.
Liars’ sound mix had me prepared for the worst when the lights came down and Interpol took the stage — without serious tweaks, it was going to be a muddy, imbalanced mess — but my fears were fortunately unfounded. Whoever was behind the board worked wonders with the massive room, and from the 18th row it sounded as good as it could have in there. The band ran through all the expected singles and faves, with three old ones to close things out. Here’s the entire set…
Live at Agganis Arena
in Boston, Massachusetts
on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
01. Intro
02. Pioneer to the Falls
03. Obstacle 1
04. C’Mere
05. NARC
06. Say Hello to the Angels
07. Pace is the Trick
08. Mammoth
09. Hands Away
10. No I in Threesome
11. Slow Hands
12. Rest My Chemistry
13. The Heinrich Maneuver
14. Evil
15. Not Even Jail
encore…
16. NYC
17. Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
18. PDA
For those keeping score, that’s a very even split between all three albums: six pulled from “Turn On The Bright Lights”, five off of “Antics”, and six from the latest. I was a little disappointed not to hear “Who Do You Think“, but they made up for it slightly by delivering “Pace Is The Trick“, another standout from the new stuff. Other high points were both “PDA” and “Obstacle 1“, a fantastic “Rest My Chemistry“, and main-set closer “Not Even Jail“. “Evil” sounded a little loose, and, at least in the arena setting, a couple other songs (particularly “Mammoth” and “The Heinrich Maneuver“) were victims of their own on-disc studio production — the recorded versions are so full and punchy that their live performances paled a bit in comparison. Makes me sorry I waited so long to see ’em, and likely missed out on the chance to ever see them in a smaller, more powerful setting.
Some Interpol links…
the ol’ footnote… If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the ‘nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
Monday Music Miscellany
Posted on September 17, 2007 at 12:10 pm | No Comments
Just a short stab of randomness to follow, covering Film School, Pinback, Adam Franklin, the Descendants, and regrettably, author Robert Jordan.
From here on out, I’m hoping to make these miscellaneous posts shorter but more frequent… although I may have made that vow before. We’ll see how the plan pans out soon enough…
I can’t help but loudly declare my infinitely growing love for Film School‘s just-released third album, “Hideout”, to anyone that’ll listen. I snagged it on a trip to my local disc shop last Tuesday (along with the new Pinback, but more on them next), and as much as I dug their 2006 self-titled sophomore effort, this one is just leaps and bounds above it. They may wear their influences on their sleeves (MBV, Swervedriver, Swirlies, even early pre-programming New Order), but those influences are so right in my wheelhouse, and so masterfully incorporated into these new songs, that I cannot resist instant obsession. It feels not at all like an appropriation of a sound, but a love letter to it; not derivative, but instead a logical extension of what was going on 15 years or so ago. Hasn’t left my car cd player since I unwrapped it, and I find myself, for the first time ever, wishing my commute was a little longer. Whatever trials and changes the band has gone through over the past couple years (a mugging, stolen equipment, a major lineup overhaul), it has resulted in one hell of an album.
Here’s a taste, track two from “Hideout”, just one of many great songs to be had there…
Buy the album here for just ten bucks. Film School plays TT the Bears in Cambridge on Wednesday, October 24th. Get your tickets here, and do it quick.
As Pinback fans know, their latest Touch & Go full-lengther, “Autumn of the Seraphs”, also came out last week (pre-orders got a bonus EP), and its fantasy-flavored artwork is either a “love it or hate it” kind of a thing. Me, I’m into it, but that’s probably my old D&D characters talking. Anyone who knows much about singer/guitarist Rob Crow will find it unsurprising that the cover art was drawn by fantasy artist Michael Sutfin, who’s done a bunch of work for Magic: The Gathering and World of Warcraft trading cards.
As for the songs found inside said packaging, well, after my effusive praise of that Film School disc, this is going to sound repetitive: I think it’s Pinback’s best. I may have said exactly the same thing when 2004’s “Summer In Abbadon” came out, and I was as sure of that as I am that this one’s even better. They’ve both expanded their sound and retained whatever makes them Pinback: The restrained energy, the percussive bass/guitar interplay, the vocal tradeoffs and overlaps, the warm production, the undeniable catchiness. It’s all there, and while a clunker or two has traditionally marred their previous discs, I haven’t found one here yet. Hell, even the three songs on the bonus EP, which surprisingly came with the copy I bought at Newbury Comics, are keepers (and in the fine tradition of Ride’s “Going Blank Again” and Ted Leo’s “Living With The Living“, the album’s title track is not on the disc itself, but instead on the EP).
“From Nothing to Nowhere“, the lead-off track, was the first song to hit the web in advance of the album, courtesy of Touch & Go…
… and MySpace recently premiered the video for it. More newness: The excellent Pinbackfreak fansite has pulled together a Pinback FAQ, so check it out or add to it if you’re able.
The band will be touring extensively in support “AotS”, hitting the Roxy in Boston on October 10th, with, amazingly, MC Chris opening up. Yes, MC Chris, frequent Adult Swim/ATHF collaborator and all around geek-rap genius. A reason to get there early, if ever, if ever a reason there was.
Oh, and by the way, the Touch & Go Anniversary video clip featured Pinback a few weeks back, with Rob doing the (modest and reverent) interview thing and the band performing “Non-Photo Blue” and “Syracuse“. Go watch. 3,4, cha-cha-cha.
And, most importantly: Rob Crow cut off his mighty beard. Total transformation, back to the Crow of olde.
I’m still kicking myself for missing former Swervedriver frontman Adam Franklin‘s show here in town a few weeks back, which launched a short tour with Hopewell. Check out BV for many more of his dates to come in October.
Something that made Mr. Franklin even more admirable in my eyes: Billy Corgan asked him to be play guitar in the so-called Smashing Pumpkins “reunion” earlier this year, and Adam declined. Proving both that Corgan has good taste in co-guitarists, and that Adam is a very wise man to stay away from that mess.
Idolator tipped me to CMJ tipping us to the fact that Descendents/ALL bassist Karl Alvarez suffered a heart attack last month, and while he’s recovering, the bills are mounting. There’s a Kyle Alvarez Benefit Page set up at MySpace, where you can donate or get details on upcoming benefit shows (including one in Colorado on September 29th) that’ll also raise funds to help the man out.
And because I don’t think I’ve ever shared it on the ‘Nac, here’s a band I used to be in covering a Descendents song, which originally appeared on the Coolidge Records “Homage” compilation…
Aside from the Pinback and Film School dates mentioned about, here are a few Boston-area shows you’d be wise to pick up tickets for soon-ish…
The Lucksmiths, The Ladybug Transistor, Still Flyin’, & One Happy Island team up for a night of pure pop-goodness at TT the Bears on Thursday, September 27th (tickets). Gonna sell out, mark my words. Sucktastically, I’m gonna be out of town when +/-, Sleepyhead, Moools, and my pals in the Broken River Prophet all play together at the Middle East Upstairs on Saturday night, September 29th (tickets). So kindly go in my place and let me know how it is, k? I can already guess that your report will be solidly on the positive side, so it’s just a matter of degrees. Buffalo Tom will be at the Somerville Theatre on Friday night, October 26th (tickets). BT singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz has a new blog, by the way. It allows him a place to share his thoughts uninterrupted, replacing his now-dead forum, which was constantly sullied by a couple of, shall we say, overly-enthusiastic baseball fans.
Lastly, I was both completely shocked and deeply saddened to wake up this morning and learn that author James Rigney, known to readers as Robert Jordan, passed away yesterday at the too-young age of 58 after a battle with cardiac amyloidosis. I first read the news on fellow fantasy author George RR Martin’s blog, and it has since spread across the web like balefire. The server that hosts Jordan’s own blog is buckling under the weight of commiserating fans, but you can read how his cousin announced his passing here.
I’ve been reading his “Wheel of Time” fantasy series since the first book, “The Eye of the World“, was published in 1990 (on the recommendation of a wise college professor at UVM), and while I was often frustrated by the ever-lengthening story (it was originally supposed to be 6 or 7 books, I believe, but number 11 came out in 2005), the overwhelming number of characters, and the infrequency of new volumes, I never expected we’d lose the man before he could finish off his life’s masterwork. I honestly looked forward to the day, whenever it would come, that I could read the entire tale, start-to-finish (and while speculation is that we may still get that chance, it does nothing to lessen the blow). But what I really looked forward to was what might come next, with new tales on a clean slate, if he ever chose to do that. He provided my imagination with so many hours and hours of escape… I owe the man a great debt. Such a huge loss to fans of truly epic storytelling, and such sad day.