The Null Device

I will surprise you sometime, I'll come around

I just came back from the Interpol gig, which was great (if a bit on the crowded side).

First up was a support band called the Tucker Bs (presumably of no relation to Tucker B and the MGs). They were from Perth, and played a sort of crunchy, angular guitar rock. They were OK, though I don't see why the promoters flew them all the way over from Perth when local outfit Love of Diagrams wanted the support slot.

Then, some time after 11:30, Interpol came on; they were five young men in neatly buttoned-up shirts (some with thin ties) and equally meticulous hairstyles, looking very New Wave, like some cross between Joy Division and Kraftwerk. That wasn't the only Joy Division influence; the singer's stage manner seemed studiedly Ian Curtislike, only not quite as manic; I suppose that goes with his vocal style. The bass player (the chap in the very sharp red tie) stole the show, punctuating his workmanlike bass playing with rock-star stage antics, slinging his instrument around and raising it into the air. (He didn't play it at ankle-level à la Peter Hook though; or at least I didn't see him doing so.)

Oh, and the songs. They played pretty much all of Turn On The Bright Lights and one other; I'm not sure if that was a new one or something off an earlier EP. The sound was really good, filling the packed venue with a wall of layered guitars and thunderous drums, which made up for the fact that people who didn't stake out the front of the stage had a hard time seeing what was going on. Anyway, if you ever get a chance to see Interpol, do so.

There are 2 comments on "I will surprise you sometime, I'll come around":

Posted by: kstop Fri Aug 8 16:29:11 2003

Gonna be in Disneyworld when they play Dublin, eau de humanite.

Posted by: Craig http:// Fri Aug 8 19:16:30 2003

Um...it's Booker T & the MGs. Not Tucker. Tucker was a movie with Tim Robbins.