Oh and the gig itself? Well it got a two star review in the Times, solely because they described the band as taking lack of interaction with the audience to new heights. Which was sort of fair. A couple of thank yous and that's all we heard. Otherwise they just got on with it. But what, you might well ask, is wrong with that? Banter is just not what lead singer Adam Granduciel does. He is too intent on vocals and the intricate guitar work that goes into their songs.
Rather like the National, I find their following interesting. A very wide age range, and given they are not exactly household names, its impressive they can sell out somewhere as large as Alexandra Palace. And as my mate (who frankly knows and thinks more about music than me), commented, the amount of rehearsal that must go into such an intricate set of songs must be prodigious. You don't just go out and thrash at a few guitars to produce this quality of sound. Particularly awesome was the long version of Under the Pressure they performed.
So animated they were not. Do you get a lot more than just listening to the album at home? Well yes, but not as much as one might like. But then they are hardly alone in that - see Interpol, or the Strokes or Kings of Leon. Just enjoy what you hear. The audience did. I heard no complaints.
And finally a view from the back as we tried to escape ahead of the crowds during the encore...
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