The tenth day of Bluesfest served as my farewell to the 2015 festival, and what better way to mark it than by not really knowing what shows to go to? Interpol was a must, since I’m a huge fan of their 2002 record Turn on the Bright Lights. But other than Interpol, I started the day having no idea what I would see.
Interpol would be playing their show at the Claridge Home Stage at 6 p.m. The weather on Saturday couldn’t have been any different from the torrential downpour that was Friday. Today I was warm, happy, and grateful to see the sun shining. As is custom of their shows, Interpol came out on stage in all black dress clothes, which I’m sure might be a decision they regretted later considering the heat. One of their guitarists, Daniel Kessler, was wearing a full black suit with a black shirt and tie—that had to have been uncomfortable.
Regardless of their attire, Interpol’s set was one of the more thought-provoking shows I’ve seen. This is a band with a very turbulent history—in their original days, the band included former bass player Carlos Dengler (aka Carlos D), who dramatically left the band after the release of their 2010 self-titled record. For a brief period he was replaced by Daniel Pajo of the legendary 1990s post-hardcore band Slint, until Pajo left in 2011. As of now, the band has been touring with bassist Brad Truax, who looked slightly out of place with his long hair and loose outfit but performed his role adequately.
Interpol is a band of rich history. Their debut achieved both critical and commercial success, and is easily their best record. I’m positive I was not the only person in the crowd who was hoping for classics like “Obstacle 1” and “PDA,” and I’m sure we were all kind of disappointed when they weren’t played. In all honesty, I felt like an asshole walking away from the show wondering aloud why they didn’t play my favorite songs, when it hit me—maybe they’re just tired of playing those songs and wanted to play what they wanted to play. The more I thought about the setlist, the more respectable it seemed. It was mostly composed of tracks off their latest release, El Pintor, with a few odd tracks from older albums thrown in.
I was particularly impressed with their jaw-dropping rendition of the track “The New” off of TOTBL, in which both guitar players were actively tuning their guitars drastically throughout. It was the kind of heavy, gloomy, and experimental guitar work I was looking for coming from Paul Banks. I couldn’t help but notice that they seemed to enjoy themselves a lot more when they were experimenting with their instruments in performances than when they played hits like “Slow Hands” and “All the Rage Back Home.” These guys all have an incredible understanding of their instruments, and I was happy to witness that. I just wish they had played longer, because seriously, some of these Bluesfest performances were criminally short.
When Interpol finished playing their set, I was thrust into the chaos that was not knowing what to do next. I drifted toward the Monster Stage where G-Eazy, a Californian rapper, would be performing, only to find myself surrounded by an absurd amount of youths. I was too tired for that kind of show, so I somehow ended up back at the Claridge Stage where Simple Plan was to be performing.
I would be lying if I said I had anything other than a blast watching Simple Plan play live. I haven’t been a fan of theirs since I was about 11 years old, but they put on a good show. Even if their songs are all basically reiterations of the same lyrics and chord progressions, I couldn’t help but enjoy hearing songs like “Welcome to My Life,” “I’m Just a Kid,” I’d Do Anything,” and the Holy Grail, “Perfect,” which hilariously brought back memories of when I was too nervous to ask out my seventh-grade crush. Pierre Bouvier absolutely killed it on stage, showing an incredible amount of skill when reading and interacting with the audience. When he told everyone to jump during “Jump,” we did. When he told everyone to sing along, we did. I saw Simple Plan play their classic pop-punk tunes and I had a great time doing so—my only complaint is that they didn’t play “Addicted.”
And thus, with the last chord of Simple Plan’s 2003 masterpiece, “Perfect,” I bid adieu to RBC’s 2015 Bluesfest. It was an unforgettable experience and I’m really happy to have been able to share it with all you lovely readers.
