Review by Kyle Matteson
The light rain (that would eventually turn to a heavy downpour), was actually the perfect setting for a show by The National. Their music is never going to be the perfect soundtrack to your backyard barbecue or a day at the beach, so what better than a wet and grey evening to set the mood right.
Fellow Brooklynites and long time friends of The National, Dirty Projectors played a spirited and impressive opening set. Despite the pavilion still being about one-third full, the fans who arrived early seemed engaged and genuinely pleased with what they heard. The setlist drew predominantly from last year’s Swing Lo Magellan, as well as a few from their 2009 breakout Bitte Orca. The band’s trio of female vocalists sounded especially incredible harmonizing on “About To Die,” but it was Amber Coffman’s take on “Stillness Is The Move” that brought the most cheers of their hour long set.
The National opened their headlining set with a trio of rockers, two hailing from their latest album, Trouble Will Find Me, but not surprisingly it was the High Violet standout “Bloodbuzz Ohio” that got the crowd on their feet early. After slowing it down a bit, lead singer Matt Berninger prefaced “Sorrow” by stating, “We know this one better than any in our catalogue.” The quip from Berninger referenced a recent performance art show in New York where the band played the song for six hours straight. He then went on to reminisce about the other times they had played the venue (including the first time, opening for R.E.M. in 2008), and thanked the staff for always being so welcoming and kind to their band.
“Secret Meeting” from 2005’s Alligator was a nice surprise, and though the majority of the audience likely came on board with 2010’s High Violet, they responded very well to the first older song of the night. At the conclusion, Berninger joked, “I have GOT to write lyrics for the end of that song.” It was a playful jab at guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner whose unintelligible shouts color the end of the song.
The end of “Afraid of Everyone” saw Berninger hovering over the front row screaming at the top of his lungs, something he did a handful of times during the night, but never as fiercely as during the crowd pleasing “Abel.” An audience member near the front had been incessantly yelling a request for “The Geese of Beverly Road,” to which guitarist Aaron Dessner joked “Matt is like a floppy disk, if you don’t insert them in the right order, he messes up”, causing Berninger to double over in laughter.
The band ended their main set with even more fire, including an extended heavy outro to “Humiliation,” along with another of Trouble‘s faster songs, “Graceless,” and likely their most well known song, “Fake Empire.”
After opening the encore with a gorgeous rendition of “I Should Live In Salt,” Berninger introduced “Fireproof” by saying he was so proud of that title when he wrote it, and he “couldn’t believe there hadn’t been a song by that name before.” But then he Googled it and found there were hundreds of “mostly awesome metal songs.” He suggested we go home and create a playlist of only songs titled “Fireproof,” but to save save theirs for the end of the playlist, since it would be the most depressing.
“Mr. November” is and likely always will be, their most anthemic song, so it was no surprise that Berninger almost always chooses that moment to wade deep into the crowd, screaming the ending chorus into the faces of adoring fans. It’s a trick that might seem predictable on paper, but it’s always one of the highlights of any National show, whether located in a tiny club or a giant arena. After such a “rock star move,” they switched gears, standing in a line for the second encore, an acoustic and “unplugged” version of the High Violet closer “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” Still, even a heartfelt and moving moment couldn’t be without some fun, and a gentleman in the audience screamed out the line “chandeliers” way before Berninger reached the word, causing most of the band (and many in the crowd) to burst out laughing. For a band that outsiders see as dark, brooding, and very serious, their shows always feature a handful of light-hearted and silly moments to break up the mood a bit.
