That ol' Interpol- MSG

So Roland the Happy Music Bearer, Carnelia and I all went off to Madison Square Garden to see our very favorite band, Interpol.We walked into the middle of Liars' set, who was opening this evening. I was glad of this. My apologies to Liars fans, but they sucked live. I never heard any of their recorded material (which I should probably rectify), but the vocalist could not carry a tune. Mercifully, the set was only about 45 minutes.Cat Power was the second opener, with her backing band, Dirty Delta Blues, someone not new to me, but again, I am horridly underinformed of her catalogue. She washed the air clean of the horror before with her trademark smoky/jazzy voice. Although I was impatient to hear Interpol, I did settle back enough to enjoy her music. Her band's work was executed well enough, but her voice stopped the masses and made the rough guitar and opposite haunting piano grittier and classier at the same time. She doesn't have the voice of say, Emma Pollock, or the vocalists from Eisley, all smooth and sweet. She goes for what the nails and steel can uncover in melody, and I loved it.Ah yes, Interpol. How can I describe it? I was stuck in a box further up rather than on the floor 30 feet away like when I saw them at Across the Narrows. But they were so ON this show, the distance didn't matter, and I prefered this show to the previous one. They played an 18 song set, with two(!) encores, including (not in order), "Slow Hands," "Obstacle 1," "Evil," "The Heinrich Manuever," "Pace is the Trick," "Rest My Chemistry," "Not Even Jail," "Mammoth," "Narc," "Pioneer to the Falls," and "Hands Away." Encore number 1 had "NYC," "Stella was a diver and she was always down," and "PDA." Encore number 2 was only "Untitled." While it is more fun to see them in an intimate environment (or even at the front), they did play well for the stadium, with Banks's vocals carrying across the arena and a very taut visual effects show. "Hands Away" was a personal favorite point of the show for me, as I always have loved that song and always have wanted to see it live, and they made the build work. "Slow Hands" and "Obstacle 1" rocked and newer songs fit in fairly well with the older material, especially "Rest My Chemistry." My only complaints include an odd stiffness with "Mammoth" on vocals, an extra note on the bass solo of "Slow Hands," and a less dramatic than usual version of "Stella." But none of these truly detracted from the power of the concert. Sam was allowed to show his prowess on the drums all tonight, far more than usual. Daniel continued to boogie around the stage, doing his shuffling dance. Carlos postured well with the bass, still dipping and raising the instrument over his head (he seemed incredibly happy to be at MSG, and even thanked us himself at the very end. "Thank You. Good night, New York!" I don't recall him doing that at other concerts). And Paul was still a frighteningly in control presence at the mic. Even greater for the band was the flexibility they added in their music, with some minor noodling around on stage between certain songs. Most telling of this was the improv between "Stella" and "PDA," where the band played simple guitar lines into a melody against a rhythmic, danceable drumbeat. Most of the audience started clapping along at first, then everyone quieted down, as if saying, "Um, what the fuck are they playing?" I even leaned over to Carnelia and asked her, "What are they doing, playing some of Carlos's soundtrack stuff?" The harmonies and the drum were gorgeous. But then they let Sam take control, who, probably felt like the child in the candy shop, let loose, albeit in a restrained, non-metal way, weaving different lines, dropping a snare there, wait, now a pause, now a bass, and my, with a few more beats filled in here, it could be "PDA" and indeed, they made it "PDA."Amazing concert. I can now die happy (well, almost. I need to hear "Specialist" in concert and be close to the stage in the mosh pit for that. But I'm getting there).