Interpol / St. Louis / August 1, 2007 (Upstrumming and palm muting are so unnecessary)

1. Pioneer to the Falls - opens their latest album, opens their set. I get it.
2. Slow Hands - definitely the biggest crowd reaction of the whole night.
3. Narc - what else would they play after Slow Hands?
4. C'Mere
5. Rest My Chemistry - eh
6. Mammoth (maybe)
7. Hands Away - interesting TOTBL choice, not a song I would expect to make the set... at least it hints that they'll play more from their best album later
8. No I in Threesome - obviously about how when you play golf with two other people, it's a team effort, even if it isn't a scramble
9. Heinrich Maneuver - not as big a reaction as I would have expected.
10. Evil
11. Not Even Jail
12. wtf interlude? - impromptu? sure seemed like it; just guitar and drums, lasted about 3 minutes.
13. PDA - please don't be the last song before the encore

3 minute break (main set = 55 minutes)

14. Leif Erikson - awesome
15. Obstacle 1 - boom goes the dynamite.
16. Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down - again, not about sex, about swimming

Overall, the show was way better than their appearance at Curiosa. Of course they didn't play as much from "Turn on the Bright Lights" as I would have hoped, but I'll take 5 tracks out of 16 when the last two albums were what made them rich. Cigarette count? Carlos D-2, Daniel-1.

The light show featured more professional looking lite-brites on stands that displayed monochromes for various songs. Appropriate since each Interpol doesn't display a whole lot of personality, but (for the most part) you can still tell them apart.

The crowd was pretty solid. The floor was a heavy mix of older teens, about as packed as it gets. Higher up you found more people in their late 20's, 30's. Overall way more men than women, maybe even 2-to-1, yet not much aggression or moving around (except to Slow Hands).

The big disappointment was how short the set was - 75 minutes for $30. I expected closer to 20, 22 tracks, maybe "Wrecking Ball," "Say Hello to the Angels," or their latest closer - "The Lighthouse."

Seriously though, how can a guitarist only strum down and never palm mute? I know it's their trademark sound, and it's really cool how every note rings with the dual guitars, but when is he going to break his right wrist? (Strumming up is for those Rastafarian types!) Carlos' bass was so smooth. He never plays fast, and he never gets fancy, but it's flawlessly done.

Opener Calla started out strong, performing some of their shorter, upbeat tracks. But then... not so much. No setlist, and I didn't take any notes. If Riley and I would have been stuck at will call waiting for the Pageant staff to figure out our situation another 20 minutes, I wouldn't have been heartbroken.

Interpol vs. Muse at Lollapalooza? I still recommend Muse for the festival setting. Riley and Kelly second and third that opinion.