The Hordern Pavilion sucks. Big time. When Interpol announced they were playing there, I was a little disappointed to say the least. Having seen them perform at the Metro and the Enmore Theatre, I was definitely not looking forward to a night at the barn. It's too big for a start and the flat hard floors mean that you are always struggling to see the stage properly. And I really love venues where you can feel intimate with the band, this is not one of them. To top it all off, they made me check my camera at the door. So this photo is my only memory of the night. I actually only own a Canon PowerShot S5 IS, which is a really great compact camera. Gets me nice shots and is easy to carry around. But apparently it is a "professional" camera and I was not allowed to bring it into the venue. I am totally befuddled by the whole camera and recording devices thing anyway. Who is the venue protecting? In most cases the artist could care less. I never sell my photos and even if I did, I can't see whose livelihood I am hurting. Plus there were lots of people around me taking photos that will never turn out, using their flash and generally being annoying. Go figure. Anyway, I am not a fan of this venue and seeing as most bands I like don't play there, I am probably unlikely to return.

So, was it a fun night otherwise. Yes, I had a good time. This band always puts on a tight show. Although not deviating from their recorded sound and hardly offering any stage banter, they ripped through a well chosen set. I was very happy that they chose to play songs from across their three albums, especially as I regard their latest album "Our Love to Admire" to be a fairly plodding affair with a few nondescript songs. The exceptions to this were the excellent opener "Pioneer To The Falls" and the eerie and quite beautiful "Lighthouse". But the 'oldies' had me going. Second up they roared into "Obstacle 1" and its pulsating guitar cut like a knife. This was followed by "C'mere" and "Narc", so it was most certainly a solid opening. I was really happy to hear "Hands Away", an old favourite, whilst "Evil" and "Not Even Jail" towards the end of the night were well received and deservedly so. The encore was another pleasant hark back to the first album, as all three are from that most celebrated debut. If I could give the venue some credit, the lighting was actually quite beautiful. The band were often bathed in glorious hues of blue and yellow, whilst the sound was also spot on. So even though the night started badly, I still ended up having a good time. Interpol are a thoroughly professional act, who have a superior repertoire of songs to play. That they play them with extreme skill is a credit to them. Next time though, I'm going to the Annandale.


Set List
Pioneer To The Falls
Obstacle 1
C'mere
Narc
Pace Is The Trick
Say Hello To The Angels
Hands Away
Mammoth
No I In Threesome
Slow Hands
Rest My Chemistry
Lighthouse
Evil
Heinrich Maneuver
Not Even Jail

Untitled
Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
PDA