The crowd was fitted in black, as if ready to engage in forbidden nightlife activity. Speakers were slung from the rafters and bulged from the ornate carvings in the walls of the former auditorium. Many swamped the balcony as they waited in anticipation for the main players to take stage.
The local avant-garde population was brewing Thursday night when Interpol, the quintessential college rock band, put on a powerful and haunting performance at The Dome Theatre in Niagara Falls, a gem amidst an avenue of boarded shops and broken windows.
With the intimate acoustics of the venue and an audience too young for assigned seating but too old for crowd surfing, the atmosphere reflected the edgy, forlorn style that is the mainstay of the New York City-based quartet.
The doors opened at 7 p.m. An hour later, Q and not U opened to a relatively amenable crowd, working off some excess energy with punchy songs like "Wonderful People" and "Wet Work." With their enthusiasm and talent they showed their worth as an emerging band in the now perhaps unearthed underground scene, especially when lead singer John Davis tried to throw in a classic bit about saving the environment from the government.
Interpol sauntered onstage at around 9 p.m., taking one last drag before casually picking up their instruments and positioning to strike at will.
The audience went wild.
Everything was perfect. Lead singer Paul Banks cut through the blue haze, wailing, "We ain't going to the town, we're going to the city," his figure rising from the blue fog and creating long shadows on the walls. His vocals lived up to expectation and his passion for the moment was impeccable.
Lurch-like bassist Carlos D gyrated above his guitar like a sexy beast with a work tie and an empty gun holster strapped to his chest. With their mix of corporate casual and mafia attire, their appearance was truly intimidating.
Like the opening song "Next Exit," also the first track on their 2004 release "Antics," Interpol worked their newer material into their performance, including the addictive singles "Evil" and "Slow Hands."
"I submit my incentive is romance / I watched the pole dance of the stars/ we rejoice because the hurting is so painless / From the distance of passing cars," Banks sang. They also created a drum solo on "Take You On a Cruise" that pulsated through every fiber in the carpet.
"NYC," the essential ballad off their first album, moved to a symphony of melodic guitars and percussion towards the end of the performance. At the point in the song at which Banks sang, "It's up to me now/ to turn on the bright lights," the room exploded into a pool of rotating disco lights. They even threw in the beloved b-side "Specialist" during their encore, rounding out a truly flawless performance.
In response to audience pleas of, "Stella! Stella Was a Diver!" the band closed their incredible encore with "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down," arguably one of Interpol's best songs.
Interpol is often compared to the late-70s early-80s band Joy Division. But even with the desolate, gloomy relations to their predecessors and all the songs of unrequited love, the band has a certain idiosyncrasy to its sound, a completely new-age spin with intelligent lyrics for a more relevant generation. This is perhaps why their live performances make the audience feel like it has just experienced nuclear fallout, only better.
