was it a good gig?

was it a good gig?

the show was amazing :D

Best show of the year next to The National Bowery shows.

It was a good gig, except for the fact that the giant sheet they had over the stage for their first song got stuck, and they had to stop the show to let it down. Also, some morons were booing & being nasty to the glory that is Cat Power/Chan Marshall.

when can i have paul banks' somber babies?

how were LIARS?

"how were LIARS?"

lousy!

have to agree - the show was amazing - who knew interpol and cat power could carry the garden. too bad the liars sounded like a good fart after a nice sausage.

farmer dave is the man, he needs to stop touring with interpol and get the band back together though.

liars were lame as hell, cat power was surprisingly on point, and interpol just blew the doors wide open...unreal.

Cat Power was "on point"? Was she leading a business seminar?

i thought they sounded great that damn stadium was just way to big

bat for lashes review?

the best part of the show was when carlos d gave me herpes.

Joy Division, I mean, Interpol are so boring now. The just aren't very innovative and you can only take so much of the dude's same monotonous voice and the same guitar riffs. At least New Order guys had some vocal depth and variation. You people need to move on. Interpol were good for that one album but the Joy Division cover band novelty has worn off. They are just a bunch of spoiled rich kid NYU punks.

i had seven faces/never knew which one to wear.

Liars were really great. Played a good bit of stuff from Drum's Not Dead.

For all the talk on this blog about whether or not this show should have been at MSG and whether Interpol was big enough to fill it, what was the crowd size????

Anon @ 10:45 - If you mean that watching Daniel Kessler tear open MSG with his guitar playing was soooooo boring, then yes, the show was sooooooo boring. *Yawn* I suppose it's time for me to move on and idolize bands that I can't see play live ever.

And what does part of the band's origins @ NYU have anything to do with their music or success now?

interpol is so incredibly boring, lord. i imagine the Liars were really muddy in a large venue, but they're better than whatever Interpol shits out every now and then.

"Best show of the year next to The National Bowery shows."

god, this is the most annoying comment i've read here. i don't know why, but it just rubs me the wrong way.

yeah, how many people were there?

Do you know how much tuition costs at NYU for one year? It costs almost $50k for one year? who the heck can afford that?

http://www.nyu.edu/financial.aid/tuitiongeneral.html

So I'm tired of rich kid bands like Interpol acting like they had it "rough" on the tough NYC streets so that's why they dress in black and sing bleak songs (with no originality, completely ripping off Joy Division I might add).... what a joke!

At least Joy Division and most other real rock and rollers like the Clash were from working class or middle class families, their parents didn't pay for their demos or rent after graduation. I'm not saying you have to be poor to make good music. But just read how Interpol first met... during a study abroad session in France or something. wow!, they must have been attracted to each other's fake poser hipster haircuts in the south of France and decided to make music because life was just too rough. Go see the movie "Control" when it comes out.

NYU is the blight of NYC, it completely ruined the East Village and to a lesser extent the LES, turning it all into one big frat bar. I grew up here and used to see Jeff Buckley gig around the hood.
ok, enough complaining. everyone is free to listen to whatever fake poser hipster music they please!

Yes Paul Banks and Ian Curtis' voices sound hauntingly similar, congrats for noticing but Interpol is definately no JD doppleganger. Dont hate on those of us that have a taste for somber, dissolant music, but if you really have to hate thenm, us Interpol Fans will do our best to humor you since you went out of your way to post about a band you dont care about. Wah for you

BUT on the topic of Joy Division I saw the premiere to Control which is a british film based on the true story of Ian Curtis and his path to stardom and then suicide. It was a bit embelished but pretty damn good. Comes out Oct 10th for those interested

"yeah, how many people were there?"

I noticed a lot of empty seats in the house.

This was my 5th time seeing the band, the most recent being the Bowery Ballroom. Interpol were better than I had expected at MSG, even though the sound was not the best. I scored free seats on the day of the show in the 300 level (which was 2/3 empty).

When they returned for their encore, they played "NYC," "Stella" and "PDA." Then, they came back on stage for a 4th encore and performed "Untitled." I would have switched the order and opened the first encores with "Untitled" and closed the show with "NYC."

You are confusing two completely separate issues

a) NYU being the blight of downtown NYC; and
b) Interpol's image and how it relates to their music / lyrics.

When did Interpol ever act like they had it "rough" on the streets of NYC?

I understand that Interpol formed pretty much solely as a business venture. Why does that mean I can't enjoy their music? Why does that mean the emotional content tied to their music or lyrics isn't 'real'? Who the hell really cares if someone enjoys it? Just because someone enjoys and supports Interpol doesn't mean they are supporting NYU steamrolling the overdevelopment of downtown, or support certain NYU undergrads 'fratting up' bars.

I still support other local musicians in the LES / EV area. I don't think that just because an artist had money before they got big and are tied to an institution that sometimes does wrong means I shouldn't support them.

Now watch you say I'm contributing to the 'downfall' of the LES / EV.

anon 11:28 "I'm not saying you have to be poor to make good music."

isn't that exactly what you're saying??

anon 11:35 "have a taste for somber, dissolant music"

you should write for stereogum!

I met the drummer Sam Fogarino, who never attended NYU, more than ten years ago in Florida. As someone who has spent a lifetime playing in bands, shitty or otherwise, he definitely deserves the success he's received playing in Interpol. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Didja all see the nervy pre-show pix of Interpol snapped by RS?
http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/16472880/interpol_backstage_at_madison_squa

My take on the show:
http://wavedrumor.blogspot.com/2007/09/interpol-live-msg.html

Interpol earned the right to play the Garden that night. They were amazing. I've seen them 11 times, and they played to the back of the venue.

And to the rest of you who don't like 'em, fuck off. Music isn't an "either/or" proposition.

Tom you are such a freak for actually paying to see Interpol 11 times. You have real problems and need to see a poser-hipster psychiatrist! Once is enough for them, they are not an innovative band. "Friend" is right about the drummer Sam. He is a good guy, much older than the rest of the band members, he's played in lots of other bands and does a lot to support his friends in the local music scene. I don't think Sam was an original member of Interpol.

So no one is questioning anyone's right to listen to and enjoy Interpol's music. I applaud their success. I even said their first album was good (in a JD tribute band sort of way). I'm just saying you all have bad taste now and need to move on, see some other shows. 11 times is enough! : ) And it's bad enough they sound like JD, but do they have to dress exactly like them too? This is just what NYU has wrought on downtown, lots of mula but zero creativity, innovation or originality. Everyone's paying a premium to live some NYC hipster fantasy as if NY is the same city it was 10-15 years ago. It's not.

So do they make Farmer Dave dress up like them or does he still look like a California hippie?

Didn't Rick Rubin get his start at NYU's Weinstein? He started Def Jam there - right? Yeah, guess we should nail folks to the cross for where they went to school - why are you people so quick to persecute.

The Strokes are just rich kids

Kings of Leon are just religious nuts

Interpol is NYU students

Franz Ferdinand is just a bunch of art douches

what a lame video, expected more from patrick daughters

Sometimes it seems ridiculous that every argument on this website can be settled by just acknowledging that people have different opinions about tunes and liking music is not the same as liking the people that make it.

Anon 1:17pm, "art douches"... that is so great. you need to copyright that.

These arguments are so unrational and ridiculous it is rather humorous.

Carry on.

unrational. wow.

are you my ex-boyfriend?

ahh the days of facebook are all coming back to me as i indulged in such useless dialogs like these 39 comments have created.

I'm completely baffled at the people saying this was a "great" show....the place was 1/2 empty, the set was nearly indentical to the bowery show, and the attendee's seemed to be the sorts who would be equally at home enjoying a John Mayer MSG show.....My 3 friends and I all felt it was sad & pathetic (and this was with free tix). My sides were actually hurting from laughing so hard. It was one of those shows, where the next day you delete said artist from your portable player.....Cat power could have been great, but never made the adjustments for MSG....guitarist was great, but could have used a 2nd guitar to add to the sound....showed up to late for liars

Interpol's latest recording sucks the ass of an ass beast.

i just started at nyu and now i feel guilty. they did give me free tickets to interpol though so maybe i'll get over it. if not there is always masturbation

Jeff buckley, the son of tim buckley, was a born insider with direct access to the music business, lessons, school. Joe Stummer, of the clash, is the son of a well-to-do diplomat. He briefly attended the Newport College of Art. Both are great musicians. Hipster bashing and class baiting of artists is so boring. You guys should all go post on curbed.com with all the other real estate brokers who dabble in photography.

In response to:
"So I'm tired of rich kid bands like Interpol acting like they had it "rough" on the tough NYC streets so that's why they dress in black and sing bleak songs (with no originality, completely ripping off Joy Division I might add).... what a joke!

At least Joy Division and most other real rock and rollers like the Clash were from working class or middle class families, their parents didn't pay for their demos or rent after graduation. I'm not saying you have to be poor to make good music. But just read how Interpol first met... during a study abroad session in France or something. wow!, they must have been attracted to each other's fake poser hipster haircuts in the south of France and decided to make music because life was just too rough. Go see the movie "Control" when it comes out.

NYU is the blight of NYC, it completely ruined the East Village and to a lesser extent the LES, turning it all into one big frat bar. I grew up here and used to see Jeff Buckley gig around the hood.
ok, enough complaining. everyone is free to listen to whatever fake poser hipster music they please!"

Jeff buckley, the son of tim buckley, was a born insider with direct access to the music business, lessons, school. Joe Stummer, of the clash, is the son of a well-to-do diplomat. He briefly attended the Newport College of Art. Both are great musicians. Hipster bashing and class baiting of artists is so boring. You guys should all go post on curbed.com with all the other real estate brokers who dabble in photography.

In response to:
"So I'm tired of rich kid bands like Interpol acting like they had it "rough" on the tough NYC streets so that's why they dress in black and sing bleak songs (with no originality, completely ripping off Joy Division I might add).... what a joke!

At least Joy Division and most other real rock and rollers like the Clash were from working class or middle class families, their parents didn't pay for their demos or rent after graduation. I'm not saying you have to be poor to make good music. But just read how Interpol first met... during a study abroad session in France or something. wow!, they must have been attracted to each other's fake poser hipster haircuts in the south of France and decided to make music because life was just too rough. Go see the movie "Control" when it comes out.

NYU is the blight of NYC, it completely ruined the East Village and to a lesser extent the LES, turning it all into one big frat bar. I grew up here and used to see Jeff Buckley gig around the hood.
ok, enough complaining. everyone is free to listen to whatever fake poser hipster music they please!"

I saw Interpol at Brownies when they opened for rapture and walkmen - want to fight about it. oh, i was going to nyu at the time - dig that.

why is everyone dumb?

Look at the bright side people, when the economy goes to hell in the next couple of years and New York reverts to its mean mean, we'll have an endless supply of soft little brats to stab to our hearts' content when they dare to walk on our side of the sidewalk!

Jared-- incidentally, Curbed just linked to this post. Nobody's taken the bait yet, though, but maybe both sites should get together and have the biggest ever Anonymous Comment Bitch-Off.

Also, I come from the middle class and went to NYU, and paid my own rent for three years. How did I do it? By graduating $85,000 in debt.

Also, I don't really like Interpol.

lol @ these comments. Jesus Christ.

Anyway, in regards to the show.. I can't imagine having that great a time if you were in the 200 or 300 seats or something.. I was close - it was a good show. The end.

yeah i was up in nosebleed somewhere but there were a bunch of empty seats so i just went down and sat in the front row. and liars were fantastic. the crowd just didn't know it.

so what are we talking here half full? 5,000 people....10,000 people? could it have been at a smaller venue?

liars, as expected, were the highlight. to me, cat hasn't been the same since she started playing country music. and as much as i like interpol's albums (2/3 anyway), i wish seeing them live didn't sound exactly the same as listening to them on my stereo.

All you NYU people are so pissed off now because what everyone said about it is so true. It ruined the East Village. The school is just one big, overgrown, rich-hipster day care center nowadays. I made the mistake of walking through Washington Square Park on a Friday night to see all of them puking their guts out on the street because they can't hold their liquor.

I've come across so many brats with guitars from NYU whose parents paid rent way after graduation so they could pursue their musical dreams. Too bad most of the music from these NYU brats sounded like pure shite!

oh, and Interpol is crap now!

who the fuck says the city isnt the same as it was 10-15 years ago. youre probably like 20 years old, live your life by the pitchfork bible, and complain about how terrible the modern world is. of course the city isnt the same as it was, but who fucking says that was better. a true hipster has to be dirt poor? youre also pretty gay

Well, getting quoted on Curbed.com just taught me never to get involved with discussions like this...hah.

i cant believe after like a million comments on this blog about if this show shouldve been at MSG, there is like 2 on how many people were at the show and not very informative ones either. was interpol at MSG a failed mistake? did adding Cat Power do the trick? will Interpol play their next NYC show at Giants Stadium? can NYU kick Columbia's ass?

for anyone who's seen a good interpol show, this was an effing brutal show. period. end of story.

NYC has changed. It has lost or is in the process of losing its creative edge. Creative people can't afford to live here anymore. You have to focus too hard on just trying to survive, meanwhile fratboys and hipsters have their (usually gay) way. It wasn't like that before.

Someone who was up in the nosebleeds can answer the question of how full it was better than I can but I was on the floor and there were people in back of me and up high as far as the eye could go. I would bank on it maybe being 60% full?

I'm serious the perception of this show is altered by how close or far away you were from the stage. There's so many mixed reviews about it. Personally, I don't think Interpol was fit to play the garden but it wasn't a failure either. Liars were miserable and I like them a good bit. I like Cat Power too but she is not meant for MSG.

yeah, Interpol are such corporate rock now. I caught the MSG show, regrettably. too bad I missed Liars and Cat Power. I am so sick of Carlos D, he is all show. I wish the band would just go away or come up with a new sound or something. They sounded so programmed for that venue. Yeah, I saw lots of empty seats too.

Here is my fan-boy review:

I was at the show, and it was awesome. As I sort of said in my first post, Daniel kicked butt on guitar - it was one of the most entertaining rock guitar performances I've seen live (topped the U2's Edge for me). His contribution to the performance stood out the most to me.

Although I was close to the stage in the pit, whenever I looked back at the seats or two the sides it seemed fairly packed, and people were having a great time (dancing/grooving/etc). My guess would be at least 15k people, but that is a total guess.

Also, I enjoyed hearing the stuff from Our Love to Admire live, even though I don't really like it on record. It impressed me how well the songs carried in a stadium setting.

Seeing Interpol do well at a show like this was both fun and exciting - I can't wait to see what they do next on record. Even if they don't make another record as good as their first, I'll still enjoy seeing them live.

Anon 5:10PM: Oh, come on. When was the east village NOT full of gay hipsters? Gay hipsters INVENTED the village!

litigioushipster 5:22 PM, your comments are so ridiculous and off-base. how can you compare Interpol's guitar work as being better than the Edge? ridiculous! Everyone was influenced by the Edge in some way, shape or form. The Edge can play piano and play so many different types of styles. Go rent "Rattle & Hum"... you are clearly lacking pop/rock music perspective.

Anon 5:23PM, I think you are confusing the East Village for the W. Village. The W. Village was always pretty gay. E.Village used to be no man's land, Hell's Angel's/crackhead territory.

I think the comment about Jeff Buckley being a true street troubador makes me laugh. My good friend who once owned discount records on A and has lived in East Village longer than most of you have been alive told me how Jeff Buckley would wander into his store all the time acting like the most spoiled, entitled brat. After Jeff being conscending one to many time, my friend told him in anger that he was second rate in comparison to his dad. Jeff almost cried.

I went to the show and enjoyed it immensely. I was happy to see some boys who came to the city the same time I did and lived in the neighborhood achieve their dreams. They have worked really hard for it. I also happened upon at the very beginning at that Brownies show. When they were all recent NYU students but that was more than 9 or so years ago.(Although I do agree that NYU has changed the landscape of the neighborhood. The Pallandium now a dorm. But so has the wallstreeters who will pay premium to live the rockstar lifestyle. I only continue to live here because I have stumbled into one of those cheap apt deals you hear about it).

Interpol have been very strategic and have worked very hard. They have toured endlessly. Forfitted much of their personal life to continue making music. And I will admit in comparison to the Strokes they are not to be the most approachable band, but they have been very appreciate of their fan base.

I've seen U2 LIVE (as in person) on the last 2 tours. Daniel's performance, to me, was as entertaining or more entertaining than the Edge at those performances. Its an opinion, and I knew I would piss people off, but get over it. I said it was a fan-boy review.

litigioushipster, your comments are almost sacreligious. Interpol wishes they could attain the kind of creative energy and soul that U2 produced during their career. Who cares about their recent music. I'm talking about Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, October, War, etc. U2 were awesome period, and the Edge displayed enormous ingenuity and innovation over a period of more than two decades. Kessler is a punk compared to the Edge. Kessler isn't worthy of wearing the Edge's bath slippers! go pray for forgiveness litigioushipster! Shame on you! go rent Rattle and Hum! I poop on you!

our love to admire is a really good rock album. there are always the "first album is the best" for every band and everything else sucks. i think our love is clearly better than antics. it's really orchestral and beautiful at times. i think it's a different album than bright lights. bright lights was much more minimal. both really good albums in different ways.

h8ers

when did you morons become authorities on anything? since you listened to an album? sorry, but that doesn't entitle you to make assumptions about their personal lives.

you're just as bad as the britney fans.

don't like it? don't listen! and certainly don't try to mishmash your facts into something resembling an educated opinion on a band you know nothing about!

fuuuuuuuuuuck you.

"My good friend who once owned discount records on A and has lived in East Village longer than most of you have been alive told me how Jeff Buckley would wander into his store all the time acting like the most spoiled, entitled brat. After Jeff being conscending one to many time, my friend told him in anger that he was second rate in comparison to his dad. Jeff almost cried."

Is this the same store that had a sign on the Jeff Buckley albums that said "buy me, I might be dead" when he went missing? The owner was great.

True, there is no 'I' in threesome -- however, there is an 'm-e.' Does anyone want to start an Interpol Polka tribute band? Huge in Greenpoint. Signed, Interpolka

"Best show of the year next to The National Bowery shows."

"god, this is the most annoying comment i've read here. i don't know why, but it just rubs me the wrong way."

Why did that comment annoy you? Would you rather me say that my favorite show was the Les Savy Five show at McCarren, or perhaps The Bookeaters show at Beacon? Is the comment not hip enough for your Midwestern ass?

A Patrick Daughters music video featuring a single, uncut tracking shot...hmmmmmm.

re: Anon 10:15AM "Best show of the year next to The National Bowery shows."

It's annoying because The National are down to earth and totally cool and everyone applauds the sincerity of their work. They are way better songwriters and lyricists than the corporate-rockin Interpol NYU crew.

Trust me, I think The National are by far the better and more sincere band. I most certainly agree with you on that. I was just very excited and childlike when I saw Interpol, because I've never seen them before. That is why I chose that show as my favorite of the year next to the national shows. I cannot wait for the 3 shows in a few weeks.

The National would be cool if I was 80 years old and sucking on my dentures.

Sounds like you'd rather have The National suck something else of yours, fruitcake.

Why the hell do so many people have a bug up their ass about bands like The Strokes and Interpol succeeding? Probably because your bands never made it anywhere. Let's just say that every band that can sell more than 500 albums sucks and call it a day.

"Is the comment not hip enough for your Midwestern ass?"

What is up with this nativism? New York is surely an island of transplants. But most people don't harass people who've moved here from Central America or New Jersey.

I am from here, and (unfortunately) I've never even visited the midwest. You sound like the dude from diehipster.com