Other Lives @ Off Broadway (5/19/2014)

Opener

Riothorse Royale.  I knew nothing about them before tonight, but I am currently in the process of finding out more after catching the last few songs of their set.  I guess the real band is the two girls - they used the Other Lives' drummer during their set.

Setlist

They played a mix of old and new, though mostly material from the last two albums and a couple songs from the first album.  Which I was fine with, as I like the last two more than the first.

Stage

Nothing fancy, but they had some kinda interesting light things - the big light bulbs up front, and the small lights on poles in the back.  The stage itself seemed a little cramped for the 5 of them with all their instruments.

Observations

This is a band of multi-instrumentalists.  Everyone except the drummer played at least three instruments, and usually more than that.  One of them played each of the following at least once: guitar, violin, keyboard, xylophone (or something like it), and trumpet (plus at least another that I'm forgetting); there were several times at which he actively juggled two instruments - the trumpet was usually one of them.  Another guy did bass, guitar, percussion, harmonica, a weird organ thing, backup vocals, and probably others.  Jesse did lead vocals, guitar, bass for one song, and keyboards.  Needless to say, there was a lot happening on stage.

High/low-lights

This was my second straight show where the lead singer shied away from the falsettos.  Although this put a bit of a damper on a couple of my favorite parts, the backup vocalists definitely hit some high notes - not sure if it was their microphones or if they naturally sing that high.

The band headed to the merchandise table soon after the show and met the fans who were buying things.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any non-white Other Lives t-shirts.  But I got to meet Jesse and talk to him briefly.  I told him that their latest album (Rituals) is my favorite so far of 2015, to which he was very gracious and thankful (as he was with all the fans).  It's too bad that the crowd in St. Louis was so much smaller than they seem to be pulling in other places (not that they're big or anything).  In any case, it was a great show and I wish them all the best.

Rating: 4.6/5

Interpol @ The Pageant (5/11/2015)

Setlist

They played songs from all throughout their catalog, as opposed to backloading from the latest album as most bands tend to do.  I actually was a tiny bit disappointed about this, as I think El Pintor is one of their better albums.  I was a little surprised that they didn't play a couple of the early hits even while they played some more obscure songs from Turn on the Bright Lights.

Stage

This is the first time (of the four I've now seen them total, all at The Pageant) I can recall seeing them have a projection screen as part of their setup.  It was a nice aesthetic touch.  The distorted effects especially went well with the music.

Observations

Paul's vocals sounded off for the first few songs of the show.  I'm not sure if it was due to the mix or the acoustics back in the area where I was initially standing w/ the meet-up group.  Things sounded a lot better after I moved down to the back of the pit during the third or fourth song.  I did notice, though, that he didn't sing a high falsetto during "My Blue Supreme".

High/low-lights

There were a couple of songs I would have liked to hear that they didn't play.  And they did play a couple that I could have done without.  But an Interpol show is always gonna have plenty of songs that I do like.  So, pretty standard stuff from the guys.  Plus a nice addition with the projections.  And I still love Daniel's (the main guitarist) moves on stage.

One final note... I was surprised to find out that the show didn't sell out since the venue didn't have the balcony open; especially given how long this band's been around.  Just goes to show that I have no idea how popular bands that I like are.

Rating: 4.4/5