“Fuck yeah!” grins Paul Banks. Interpol have just played a blistering rendition of PDA — greeted with riotous bouncing, moshing, and a persistent crowd surfer upfront — to end the main set of a thrilling Roundhouse gig. It’s a show that almost never happened. Yesterday, only 45 minutes before the venue doors were set to open, the band tweeted: “Due to illness, we sadly have to cancel tonight’s show—it is our intention that tomorrow’s show will go ahead—we greatly apologize for the late nature of this announcement.”
Understandably, then, the singer-guitarist must be feeling equal parts relieved and elated tonight. Not only did the (next day’s) show go on; it’s been phenomenal. The band haven’t sounded this driven, or the music this urgent, in years. And that despite a key member being absent.
As the lights come up during brooding set opener Untitled, they reveal not just the faces of the silhouettes on stage. They reveal the likely reason for yesterday’s cancellation: the man in the surgical mask behind the drums isn’t Sam Fogarino. After a swaggering Evil, it’s a situation Banks briefly addresses, saying something like: “Unfortunately Sam couldn’t be here tonight, so Chris Broome, a friend of the band, is filling in.”
Admittedly the super sub has worked with the group as a drum tech, and he’s not exactly having to play Tool or Rush songs. But stepping up at such short notice remains a tall order, especially when the other musicians don’t hold back for your benefit. Banks, guitarist Daniel Kessler, and longtime touring members Brandon Curtis and Brad Truax play with an enthusiasm matching that of opening act Orlando Weeks.
The former Maccabees frontman is obviously thrilled to be here. He says as much, claiming he’d be in the audience if he wasn’t on the bill tonight. There’s no reason to doubt his sincerity; Weeks’ onstage personality is as earnest as his fizzy indie-pop songs, joyfully played tonight by a no-corners-cut live band. There’s a drummer; keyboard player; and a multi-instrumentalist on keys, various guitars, and backing vocals; plus a trumpet player who perpetually has his other hand on various synths. Oh, a backing singer shows up for a bit and Weeks, who pulls out an harmonica at one point, is quite partial to smashing the cymbal standing at waist height next to him.
Songs from Hop Up, an effortless new album that contains traces of early Talk Talk and latter day Radiohead, dominate a bright, glossy set that complements the headliners’ slightly darker tendencies. At one point, in fact, Weeks reveals that he’s seen the Interpol setlist and raves about how good it is.
He’s not wrong. Admittedly the group’s first two albums dominate. But, with The Other Side of Make-Believe due in July, they’ve now got 20 years and seven LPs worth of material to choose from. They do just that, picking at least one song from each (except 2010’s self-titled release) to create a show that tempers the shade with glimmers of light.
Rest My Chemistry has a playful bounce. The punchy All The Rage Back Home is capable of slaying a festival audience. The Rover positively swings beneath that angular guitar riff. Current single Fables, previously described by Banks as “a summer jam”, successfully slips in some ’60s R&B vibes. Toni, the other new song aired tonight, adds a subtle gospel vibe (and Kessler on keys).
And the sweeping Pioneer To The Falls (from 2007’s misunderstood Our Love To Admire) remains the most dramatic song Interpol have recorded. It’s a standout, even though the audience are (understandably) most excited by the stuff from the biggest albums: Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics.
Even though Banks and Kessler have been playing signature songs like NYC, Obstacle 1, and PDA for at least two decades, tonight the hits still sound as yearning, angular, and fierce (in that order) as ever. And, while their second album’s always existed in the shadow of their debut, energised, focused renditions of Take You On A Cruise, Not Even Jail, and especially Slow Hands, are reminders of its enduring greatness.
Interpol, even without Fogarino here, have done their songs — and themselves — proud.
Interpol
Roundhouse, London
15th June 2022
Photo: Paul Grace
- This article originally appeared on Louder Than War.
