As one of the hottest new bands of the year, Model/Actriz took to the stage of New York's iconic Beacon Theatre and proceed to unleash an onslaught of brutal, post-punk inspired industrial music that cranked to life with ragged and jarring energy. As the guitar player and bassist stood rather firmly in place and the drummer battered away at his minimal drum kit that featured merely a snare, kick drum, floor tom, hi-hat, and ride cymbal, the buzzing band yielded a sound that was menacing and full of fire. The steely guitar tones rang-out with seething power while the bouldering percussion provided a solid foundation to their shrieking sound. Lead singer Cole Haden worked the stage with calculated moves that borrowed from runways, glam-rock, and voguing to create something beautiful, bold, and daring. Decked in some killer heeled-boots, their leg workout on stage was enough to make anyone's calfs swell with tension, but as he traipsed across the stage, it was clear that the persona onstage was one ready to take things to new heights. Putting their vocal powers to the test, Haden's range was stunning and matched the band's brutalism while still carrying exceptional tones and melodies. It was a pulverizing set that grew louder and louder with each track before Cole took to center stage to gyrate mid-song bringing a queer fantasia personality to an otherwise ultra-masculine scene. It was an empowering performance that was packed with vulnerability and hectic sounds.
As darlings of the city, the millennial mods of Interpol were greeted with rapturous applause as they dove into their goth-heavy rock ballads full of moody twists and heavy waves of delayed guitar sounds. Lead singer Paul Banks' hair was perfectly combed and remained firmly in-place throughout the night as did his distinct shades, leather jacket, and white button-down complete with tie. It's a look that the band adopted at their inception and one they've carried through for their twenty-plus year career much abiding to the old saying "if it's not broken, don't fix it." Through their debonair styles and looks, the band demonstrated their effortlessly cool demeanor with superb excellence, hitting with perfectly flush, sweeping guitar and steady rhythms that brought back their timeless nostalgia and reinvigorated the inner coolness of everyone in the crowd. Dazzling lights provided illuminated the band from behind, building their aura and shadows to give them the ultimate rock and roll flare while still keeping their icing cool manners firmly in place. The band's slick tunes are firmly rooted in the post-punk and garage rock days from the start of the millennium and the show served as yet another reminder of their brilliant contributions to the Meet Me in the Bathroom-era, demanding their early albums be put in the same league as the instant-classic debut and sophomore record from their peers in The Strokes.Through their doom and gloom style rock and roll, the band adds profound chemistry to their songs through their eyes for details, adding an extra drum fill or sly guitar line just where you least expect it, once again highlighting their forever cool fortitude and apt for writing killer songs. Early in the set, a fan rushed the stage and had to be detained and eventually escorted out by what seemed like ten security guards, but the band never missed a beat nor mentioned the incident (let along anything else), cooly progressing to the next song on the set list as if nothing had ever happened. Long-time fans of the band are forever devoted to the first two incredible records from their discography, but hearing other highlights from the career added some depth to the night, but nothing would ever compare to the excitement that would emanate from the crowd when the group's early singles began to ring out over the devoted crowd. "Evil," with its stabbing bassline, roared with life with the utmost fashion, instantly making everyone in the room feel a whole notch cooler in life than they had moments before and as they came back to the stage for the encore, the crowd collectively lost their minds to the opening strums of "NYC" that by the time the chorus of "New York cares" hit, strangers began to hug one another as if it had been collectively decided this was the city's new anthem. It was an emotional and life-affirming moment that was enhanced by wondrous, sparkling disco balls that put everyone under a brief spell where nothing else in the world seemed to matter. "Slow Hands" was the raging tune to close out the night and put things over the edge as people took to the aisles to dance away any remaining energy before the band took their final bow.
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