Interpol saves the show

Monday Oct. 15, was an extremely packed evening for live music. The legendary Morrissey played Thanksgiving Point, indie folk band Lucero played in Salt Lake City and also playing SLC at In The Venue was Interpol.

The New York hipsters strolled into Utah with special friends Liars and surprise guests Shout Out Louds, who were charted to play another venue that same night, but opted to join up with Interpol and liars to add an additional punch to the overall show and a little extra incentive for those who may have been thinking about going to the show to give in and drop $30 for a ticket.

A lot of people were definitely willing to put up the cash, because the venue was near capacity by the end. It took a little while to get everyone in the doors, so to get the ball rolling Shout Out Louds, who are a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm, took the stage and played a quick set of their infectious songs from both their new release, Our Ill Wills, and their debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.

The Shout Out Louds’ set was very impressive with infectious, light-hearted songs like “Please, please, please” and “Impossible” and a passion for performing that really lit up the stage beyond the meager light show that accompanied it. The only drawback to the Swedes’ set was that it could not continue longer. They were only able to get out about eight songs before they had to pack it up to let Liars set up.

Los Angeles art rockers Liars put on quite the show themselves. The lights were well timed with the songs, vocalist Angus Andrew was really kooky and the drummer, Julian Gross, had an awesome pink coat that looked neat under black lights. The music, on the other hand, sounded like something an autistic group of five year olds could have put together with some time and practice.

From the looks of the crowd and their general indifference toward the band during most of their set, it’s safe to say the Liars’ performance wasn’t much of a winner. Though a handful of the songs from their new self-titled album were somewhat listenable, most of their performance was garbage.

The bad taste lingering from that set quickly faded when Interpol took the stage in front of a projection of the cover art from their new album, Our Love to Admire. Interpol’s live sound was full and rich, far beyond even the cohesiveness of their three full-length releases.

Stand out tracks from Interpol’s set included the first single from the new album, “The Heinrich Maneuver,” the single “Evil” from Antics, and a slew of other songs from all three albums, each one sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The music wasn’t the only thing that caught the attention of everyone in attendance; the lights for the show were spectacular. A series of colors timed to the music, images projected up onto a large backdrop behind the stage and panels on stands that were programmed with different lighting functions that were visually masterful.

The show overall was impressive, even if it took a little extra effort by Interpol to make up for Liars who nearly squandered the memory of what could have been a perfect show.