Evil antics.
After turning in an immensely enjoyable performance at T in The Park, Interpol continued their association with one of Scotlands major brand of lager by pitching up at T On The Fringe and selling out the Corn Exchange. Their third album may have been less rapturously received than their first two records, and its certainly a grower as opposed to an instant classic but there hasnt seemed to be any lessening of anticipation about the bands performance. Which is just as well considering there was an hour between the support act The Maccabees finishing their set and Interpol starting theirs, which is frankly a ludicrous amount of time to have between bands. Given that the night before Interpol called off a gig in Newcastle due to an illness, there was a worry that perhaps the same fate would befall the Edinburgh show, so there was much relief when the opening of 'Pioneer to the Falls' rang out around the venue.
Songs from the first two albums were the more popular throughout the night and these were the ones where lead singer Paul Banks was had the most support and help from the crowd, not that he needed it. The band has long been considered very much in thrall to Joy Division and when you consider that means Banks is being compared to Ian Curtis, thats quite a compliment. Banks vocals are deep and have that sense of menace and danger throughout. Nowhere is this better shown than on 'Evil', a song that is allegedly about Rosemary West, a woman who played her part in some of the most unsettling murder cases of recent years. They may dress in black and rarely smile but the lyrical content that Interpol deal in proves that its no mere act from the band, they work well on the outer fringes of society and with 'Not Even Jail' adding to the second albums 'Antics' sense of darkness, its a consistent part of the set. Thankfully, the stage lighting centred on the dark and the lighting that was used did feature more purples and dark greens than would usually be seen in an evening.
Perhaps due to the foreboding nature of the evening, there was never going to be many outbreaks of pogoing or crowdsurfing in the audience but each song was roared to its conclusion and its apparent theres a lot of love for Interpol in the venue. Yes, 'Our Love To Admire' has been a slow starter in many peoples eyes (should that be ears) but in a few months if the band were to tour again there would likely be much more appreciation for the latest material and hopefully it can evolve in peoples eyes like the earlier songs.
With the encore featuring old favourites like 'NYC' and 'Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down', the night ended on a high which left the crowd to exit on a happy note. The evening, maybe like their latest album, took a while to get going but by the time some more familiar numbers filtered through, everyone was on board with the evenings entertainment.