As anyone who's been to a bunch of sold-out shows at the same venue can tell you, there's varying degrees of "sold-out"edness (not really a word). There's the National at Bowery sold-out (now with extra elbow room!), and then there's last night's sardine-packt gig at Bowery. It's been awhile since we've seen that long a line of people trailing down Delancey, hoping for the possibility that tix would be released. No idea how many of 'em got in, but we joined the throngs of hipsters crowding the Ballroom to see Carlos D's mustache and its backing band, Interpol, play a semi-secret, 14-song gig -- and walked out satisfied.
They're slick as ever, but no more so than at Coachella; last night's show featured more songs (same setlist with "Take You On A Cruise" and the entire three-song encore as additions), less Paris Hilton (fyi, she's in jail). We were hoping for some more of Our Love to admire, but this trek is shaping up to be the same three new cuts night in and out: "The Heinrich Maneuver," "Mammoth," and set-opener "Pioneer To The Falls" -- all promising, and as everyone will tell you, all perfectly in synch with Turn On and Antics (read: gloomy, post-punky, cool).
Though something occurred after the show on the Delancey sidewalk while friends debated the extent of pre-album-three-release backlash vis a vis the Strokes: "Heinrich," "Mammoth," and "Pioneer," are the only three that anybody's heard so far, right? What if the rest of the album was like, dunno, happycore geek rock? Until we hear otherwise, and judging by last night, it looks like LP number three will fit Interpol's "friends and superfans" like a pair of tapered black slacks. Setlist -- and a giant shot of the D just waiting to be made into a poster for your door -- after the jump.
SETLIST
01 "Pioneer To The Falls"*
02 "Obstacle 1"
03 "NARC"
04 "Say Hello To The Angels"
05 "Take You On A Cruise"
06 "Mammoth"*
07 "Slow Hands"
08 "Leif Erikson"
09 "The Heinrich Maneuver"*
10 "Evil"
11 "Not Even Jail"
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12 "Length Of Love"
13 "Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down"
14 "PDA"
