Interpol @ Trinity

It was an odd experience seeing NYC’s finest playing live again, sixteen years after I last caught them, not least because they were playing on a cricket pitch; but it was a very rewarding one.

Starting with the inimitable muted atmospheric jangling of ‘Untitled’, they played the belting anthem ‘Obstacle 1’ surprisingly early, before showcasing the mighty drumming on ‘If you really love nothing’ from their 2018 Marauder album. That track coming after two back to back 2002 songs showed the strength of their comeback after four years silence, proving they really could make it as a three piece.

Which leads to the vibes. They were very good, but they had a very different feel to when I saw them in 2007 in the RDS promoting their third album. Then they were icy and imperious, like the Our Love to Admire LP. This time round singer Paul Banks, guitarist Daniel Kessler and drummer Sam Fogarino seemed happy just to be here; still touring after a good deal of disaster since then with a disappointing fourth LP and internecine spats that saw the departure of bassist Carlos Dengler from the band. They played a lot of material from Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics, two new songs from The Other Side of Make-Believe, and some of their hits from the intervening years.

Not even a great downpour mid-set could dampen spirits, and it was a particular kick to get ‘Stella was a diver and she was always down’ in the encore between ‘Lights’ and ‘Slow Hands’.

4/5

Lykke Li @ Vega

I’m always loath to post reviews of shows outside of Dublin, but I felt an exception had to be made for Lykke Li at Vega; the Vicar Street of Copenhagen.

This was my first gig since St Vincent at the Iveagh Gardens in 2015. And as I’ve been a fan of the Swedish songstress for even longer than of St Vincent, I was quite overwhelmed when Lykke Li took to the stage and started singing songs of heartbreak and unrequited love. She performed the entirety of her new album Eyeye in sequence, and it was phenomenal. This very physical lithe stage presence but with a cold mannered stare: Part Prince, part Bowie, part St Vincent – all commanding.

And her drummer pounded the rhythms into you – ‘Over’ became thunderous as well as emotional. Something akin to Led Zeppelin’s ‘When the Levee Breaks’ meeting St Vincent’s piano ballad version of ‘Los Ageless’. When Li moved into her back catalogue in the second half of the concert she showed she knew her audience, asking who was heartbroken, and who was the most heartbroken – before turning ‘Never Gonna Love Again’ into the world’s most unlikeliest singalong, with the Copenhagen crowd giving she said the best rendition of the chorus on the Eyeye tour yet.

5/5