Interpol, again…
October 20th, 2003
So it’s Saturday and I’m at the 9:30 club with friends to see Interpol. We snagged choice seats in front of the bar upstairs, directly behind and above the “VIP” section. The opening act came on and they sucked major wind. I mean, just horrible. (Though for the record their studio sound might actually be worth listening to, so in an unusually forgiving and open-minded gesture, I’m not writing off “The Occasion” right away.) Finally, they clear off and the stage gets set up for the main event.
Right away, we’re all like “Dude, Interpol’s really changed — they’re all relaxed, moving around on stage, they’re not suited up…” They sound basically the same, though a little different here and there — it’s hard to tell because all the songs are new…I’m starting to get antsy, wanting to hear some old stuff so I start yelling “STELLAAAAAAAAAA!” because, damnit, it’s my favorite song, and I think I’m entitled. Then during a lull, the lead singer steps to the mic and thanks Interpol for having them along on the tour.
My friend KJ turns to me and says “Dude, did he just thank Interpol?” And suddenly I notice the extra drum kit behind the band. And the extra stands. And I’ll be damned, that wasn’t Interpol at all.
Realizing the only way to recover from such embarassment is to just get it all out there right away, I’m letting everyone know I was the idiot yelling for Stella before Interpol even came on. (Who knew they merited *two* opening acts? Not me.)
Sheisse.
For what’s it’s worth, Interpol rocked (though there was still that odd crowd behavior of not really moving to the music, which I still find disturbing) and it was worth every embarassing moment to see them again. Plus, they played “Stella was a diver and she was always down” right away.