Interpol played the biggest show of their career last night (April 20) in Mexico City, before a crowd of over 150,000 people. Check out footage, photos and the setlist below.
The New York band graced the huge Zócalo square in the city centre for the free show, which they had first announced earlier this month.
In a sprawling 21-song set, they played songs from across their career, leaning heavily on tracks from their first two albums, 2002’s ‘Turn On the Bright Lights’ and 2004’s ‘Antics’.
As previously announced, drummer Fogarino was not present after doctors advised him to “stay off the road for the time being” to recover from spinal surgery. He was replaced by Chris Broome.
Check out footage from the show below:
Interpol played:
‘C’mere’
‘Say Hello to the Angels’
‘Narc’
‘My Desire’
‘Obstacle 1’
‘Lights’
‘Pioneer to the Falls’
‘The Rover’
‘All the Rage Back Home’
‘Rest My Chemistry’
‘PDA’
‘Toni’
‘Try It On’
‘Not Even Jail’
‘NYC’
‘Evil’
‘Public Pervert’
‘Slow Hands’
‘Untitled’
‘No I in Threesome’
‘Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down’
Interpol. Zócalo CDMX 4/20/24
📷 : @Crankytired @Interpol pic.twitter.com/Xb9IzNj6Pi— Matador Records (@matadorrecords) April 21, 2024
El zócalo en estos momentos❤️@Interpol pic.twitter.com/aHzPXtLe4S
— ★ (@LeslieAstronaut) April 21, 2024
Interpol pic.twitter.com/Snh0811TDh
— Andres L.43403536 (@AndresL43403536) April 21, 2024
Me sentí como si fueran mis niños en su graduación.
Los he escuchado y amado desde 2002 y obvio no me los iba perder.
Sorprendido de lo contundentes, elegantes y poderosos: suenan a la banda enorme que son, digna de la plaza pública más importante de Latinoamérica. #Interpol pic.twitter.com/6ZWirDQE20— Iván López Gallardo (@IvanGallardo34) April 21, 2024
Interpol have played big shows in Mexico before, including headline shows at Corona Capital Mexico City and Corona Capital Guadalajara – the two biggest festivals in the country – in 2019 and 2023, respectively. In 2022, they also played at the 26,000-capacity Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.
The band are now set to appear at numerous US festivals before they embark on their ‘Antics’ 20th anniversary UK tour in November (find any remaining tickets here).
Speaking to NME recently, guitarist Daniel Kessler explained: “We did two shows in France where we played ‘Antics’ in full [last year], and it’s been really strange. It’s nerve-wracking at first.”
He continued: “It might not seem that much of a stretch for a band to play an album in sequence, but it really is. It’s sequenced for the record in a very intentional way, but performing it as such means going from first gear to fourth gear and vice versa.
“When we did those two shows, it really took some activating and getting used to – regardless of how many times you’ve played those songs before.”
Additionally, Interpol are set to to open for Smashing Pumpkins in Europe this summer. “We did some shows with them last year and they were a lot of fun,” Kessler told NME.
“We really try to feel it out each night per situation. I saw Smashing Pumpkins play when I was in high school, so it’s really great to be playing with them.”
The guitarist also shared an update on new music, saying: “We’re writing a lot this year and we don’t have any specific recording plans, but we’re working on it in between all this touring.
“It’s a little too early [to reveal how it sounds] but it’s exciting, that’s for sure.”
Interpol released their seventh and latest studio album, ‘The Other Side Of Make-Believe’, in 2022.