Interpol Forum Los Angeles 10-23-07

INTERPOL.ES.GREAT.WESTERN.
FORUM.LOS.ANGELES.CALIFORNIA.WILD.FIRES.
STELLA.WAS.A.DIVER.
AND.SHE.WAS.ALWAYS.DOWN.LIGHTHOUSE.


IN
TER
POL

Interpol Set-List
The Forum Los.Angeles.CA 10.23.07

Pioneer to the Falls
Obstacle 1
Narc
C’mere
Pace is the Trick
Say Hello to the Angels
Mammoth
No I in Threesome
Slow Hands
Rest My Chemistry
The Lighthouse
The Heinrich Maneuver
Evil
Not Even Jail

Untitled
Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
PDA

How Are Things on the West Coast?

I first saw Interpol back when they played KROQ’s Weenie Roast and Sing-a-long in 2003. Turn on the Brightlights had just been released and they were closing the Budwieser side-stage. It was 100 degrees but Interpol made standing on the hot asphalt that afternoon worth it. I had since seen Interpol several times and very much looked forward to this Forum show.
The day of the show I had spoken to my sister, who lives in Rancho Santa Margarita. Los Angeles and San Diego counties were dealing with incredible fires. Many homes had been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were being evacuated as the Santa Ana winds put more homes in danger. The fire had come within a city block of my sisters home, she had packed her valuables and was awaiting word on a evacuation.
Like any brother would do, I got ready and headed to Inglewood for the Interpol show. I mean, c’mon, I couldn’t get to Rancho Santa Margarita if I wanted to, the fire department had closed the roads and only residents were being allowed to pass through.
Most are familiar with the Great Western Forum as the place where the Magic Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to five championship titles in the 80’s. Now, the forum plays host to a Gospel Baptist Church on Sunday’s. I had been to a Pearl Jam concert there in the 90’s but the vibe was different. It was still the Great Western Forum, looking up at the rafters you could still see the championship banners and the retires jerseys from former Laker greats. Tonight, it had the feeling I had come into a rented abandoned wherehouse. Interpol, one of the most fashion-conscience bands were playing a venue like the forum? Go Figure. There were a lot of empty seats in the collanade section, but the floor section was jam packed. I’m sure the fires encouraged many to stay home and glued to the tele.
Interpol came on at about 9:30pm, it was the perfect time to head to the beer lines as everyone rushed to front of the house to get a close look. As I waited in the short line it was easy to conclude that such a venue was too big for this band. I felt sorry for the people with shitty seats in the back. Better venue choices would have been the Greek Theatre, The Wiltern or the Avalon. Regardless, the show went on. Highlights included “Narc”, “Slow Hands”, and Evil.” “The Lighthouse”, from their latest album, Our Love to Admire killed the show’s momentum. It could have been better placed as the open to a second encore. It’s bad enough there isn’t much crowd interaction between the band and the audience, there was the occasional comment; “it’s good to be on the west coast” Banks (singer/guitarist) confessed to the crowd at one point. Paul, much of Southern California is up in flames, the usually sunny day was overcast because of the smoke from the fires. I would conclude that being on the west coast… not so good right now.
The best part of the show was undoubtedly the encore. Coming out of the break with “Untitled”, Interpol reflected the somber mood throughout the Forum. Then, continuing with “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” in which Banks belts out “Stella I love you, Stella I love you” really captures the essence and melancholic though at times intense sound of Interpol. They closed their set with PDA, why they waited until their final song to completely make use of all of their video and lighting stage props is unbeknown to me. It was exhilarating, and the audience went wild, moshing and singing along.
The trip home wasn’t. As it was back to the reality that I may be needing to help my sibling move her family and her belongings to safety… so how are things on the west coast?