Electric Picnic- Interpol Review

Every now and then, you come across a show with two totally different facets. You’ll remember the first one whether you spend the gig in the queue for the ATM machine or rocking out by the sound desk, but you’ll only be familiar with the second if you station yourself within the first dozen rows of the crowd and intently eyeball the stage. Because I’ve chosen the latter pose, Interpol’s Friday night set leaves me feeling mostly underwhelmed, but it’s worth noting that any time I cast my eyes around the site, the Stradbally massive look to be having the time of their lives. The idea is simple; grab a fellow punter’s hand for a bop around and you’ll get every penny of your money’s worth; pay too close attention to the activity (or lack thereof) on the stage, and you’ll probably end up wandering off to DJ Shadow’s Electric Arena show.

We’ve seen this kind of show before at Electric Picnic, a festival with big stages, but no big screens. Last year’s performance by Brian Wilson is a great example; while Paul Banks doesn’t exactly fall asleep at the mike like the ageing Beach Boy, his largely static stage presence makes it tough to enjoy 90 minutes of world-famous gloom rock. There’s no denying the catchiness of tunes like ‘The Heinrich Manoeuvre’ and the all-conquering ‘Slow Hands‘, but I can’t escape the feeling that one-third of the acts at this year’s Picnic could put the visual element of Interpol’s show to shame. The layered guitar riffs are lush, the lyrics are angsty as ever and the morose melodies are initially intoxicating, but we’ve seen this show before, only with more energy and a more discernible connection to the crowd. The elegiac ‘Lights’ is the lone new highlight, but even this track is powerful, rather than epic.

“It’s a pleasure to be back in Ireland,” Paul Banks booms before launching into closing number ‘Obstacle 1’, “This is our last show for a while too, so it’s extra special.” That may be true Mr. Banks, but next time, I’ll be expecting something a little more dynamic.