Interpol Finally Change Up The Set List... A Little

If I have one pet peeve with touring bands, it's groups who decide that the best thing is to keep the set list the same at every show. I suppose that way they can hone their parts, find what works best in performance and stick with it. You know, like a play.

But there are two problems with this: first, sometimes the band cycle through the same area a couple of times in a brief period, meaning you're putting on the exact same performance twice for at least a few people. Second, it kind of sucks the spontaneity out of a show.

Interpol have been playing, more or less, the exact same 14 songs with little to no variation since their North American tour kicked off in Ottawa in mid-April. So, while things didn't change much in their return to Canada Thursday night, they were just different enough to make the affair one to remember.

I've seen the band on two other occasions this year, once in Kitchener, Ont., which was their second live date after a year-and-a-half layoff, the second at Coachella. But their sold-out show at the Guvernment put both of those to shame.

The big surprise was the Guvernment, which I hadn't seen since its recent renovation. The stage has been moved to the south side of the room and it's much bigger. The acoustics are noticeably improved, not to mention the sightlines.

However, it was Interpol themselves who changed the most. Perhaps it was the fact that the crowd were loud and enthusiastic for almost all of the 75-minute set, but the group's demeanour was massively improved. The audience's reward for keeping the energy level high? The live debut of one of the best tracks on Our Love To Admire, "Rest My Chemistry," about halfway through the set. The slow-burner got off to a conspicuous start when nearly all of the musicians on stage were out of sync for the first two beats, yet they pulled together fast and made it a superb debut.

That track joined other new live staples: set and new LP opener "Pioneer To The Falls," the searing "Mammoth" and first single "The Heinrich Maneuver." There's been a little sloppiness during the performance of the latter two tracks, but chock that up to the fact that Our Love To Admire is instrumentally far more demanding than its predecessors, and they require tremendous work from Daniel Kessler and Paul Banks. And on the whole, all the new material sounded great. As for the hits, "Slow Hands," "Not Even Jail," "Obstacle #1" and set closer "PDA" all benefitted from the group's high spirits.

The only strange part of the evening came when the group left before the encore. It was so assumed they would come back that people literally stopped cheering during the break. Thankfully, the house lights didn't come on. I can't really blame the crowd. The encore thing is officially more played out than MySpace.

Big props also for playing in a smaller club than they should have. It's great that there are so many festivals for bands to play now, because they pay the bills and allow acts to keep things simple when they headline their own tours. I should admit a bit of bias here, because Interpol are probably my favourite band from the U.S. rock revival hype explosion of 2001-2002 (see also: White Stripes, Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club). Still, this was the most well-rounded, diverse and energetic show I've seen them perform.