Live Report: Interpol celebrate 20 years of Antics at the 3Arena

They strut on besuited and precisely at the scheduled time of 9.15, depart the stage on the button of 11.00; and in between deliver a mesmerising set of hypnotic rhythm that entrances a partisan assemblage of Interpol disciples. In a recent Hot Press interview, when Paul Nolan asked lead man Paul Banks, if Interpol always aspired to play venues the size of the 3 Arena, he replied - “No, not at all, and I really mean that, there’s no formula that anyone could really know on how to be a success creating original music…We were definitely doing it for the love of art and music…It’s not to say we had no ambition. I did believe we were worthy of playing arenas, and that we had a line-up capable of creating great music. If you have those components, the sky’s the limit on how successful you might be, but the priority was just to make great stuff.”

It's a noteworthy comment, because their set tonight is shipped without artifice, complete with a superb light show, it is practiced, versed and accomplished, free of overt showmanship, the entire audience swiftly becomes immersed in the music, in the art of the show.

Interpol at the 3Arena, Dublin 10.11.2024 Copyright Colm Kelly

In the first hour, the band deliver the entirety of Antics, their sophomore record that sounds wonderfully pristine and recalls that mid '00s period of the New York City music scene so vividly. They play opener ‘Next Exit’ behind a gigantic sheer backdrop; the shadows of Banks, lead guitarist Daniel Kessler and bassist Brad Truax, lit by flashing blood red lighting; made mammoth across it. Halfway through ‘Evil’, the curtain collapses and a rush of photographers, Hot Press man Colm Kelly in the vanguard, rush the stage. Bathed in blue, they thrust into ‘Narc’, thousands of heads nodding the concrete beat. Throughout the set, stand-in drummer Chris Broome (filling in for Sam Fogarino, who underwent spinal surgery last year) delivers a percussive masterclass whilst remaining relatively anonymous alongside keyboardist Brandon Curtis.

‘Slow Hands’ swaggers its post punk dance pomp, the crowd immersing themselves in the sonic onslaught of it and ‘Not Even Jail’, its industrial pump, more akin to Detroit or Dusseldorf than atypical New York City. The staccato web of ‘Public Pervert’ is wonderful while ‘C’mere’ gets one of the biggest receptions of the evening, the crowd chanting – “It should be me, oh it should be me.” The dark theatre of ‘A Time to Be So Small’ ends the record and draws the first half of the show to a magnificent close.

Interpol at the 3Arena, Dublin 10.11.2024 Copyright Colm Kelly

After Antics, the band take a small breather before leathering into ‘Pioneer To The Falls’, Bank’s voice naked for once, the entire joint lit up by two giant disco balls perched at ground level, the synth sounding like a colossal helicopter blade scything the air, interlaced with intricate drums, absolutely mighty stuff. Fellow Our Love to Admire cut ‘No I In Threesome’, follows in almost complete darkness while a green gloom greets Marauder lead single ‘The Rover’, which always sounded to these ears anyway, like a lost great Sabbath track.

The mob takes five during ‘My Desire’, before a deep dive into Interpol debut Turn On the Bright Lights revives them on frenzied ‘Roland’ and the industrial blast of ‘Obstacle 1’ – “I’ll never see this place again,” Banks deadpans, before re-appearing for two further debut album tracks ‘The New’ and ‘PDA’ and thus ends a triumphant and affecting piece of Interpol theatre.

Interpol at the 3Arena, Dublin 10.11.2024 Copyright Colm Kelly