Last night I took my first trip to the Music Hall of Williamsburg - a brand new Bowery style space on North 6 - and I'm quite glad to say it was a successful trip. The National played the last of their three New York shows to the third straight sold out show, quite a feat when you consider their first show was (the first ever show) at Terminal 5, which holds around 3,000 people. I was originally supposed to go to that show, which featured St. Vincent as the opener - I was excited to see her again - but my plans changed and it wasn't until Friday that I found out the opening act for last night was even more exciting: Elvis Perkins.
First up, though, was Doveman. The trio is supplemented by 3/5ths of The National, and I wasn't overly excited about it. The tracks were all kind of similar, and though I really liked the cornet and the banjo, the synth was a bit underwhelming and I just got kind of bored. I will say, though, I did really like their last track, "Chasing Clouds." Apparently their album is better than their live performance. I hope so.
I'd been aching to see Elvis Perkins since I first heard his 2007 record Ash Wednesday. I missed his last trip to NYC, where he played the Siren Music Festival, and I thought I would have to wait for his newly announced headlining gig at Webster Hall on December 8. Elvis played with his band, Dearland, and it was an exceptional time. The folks around me hadn't heard of him, but each one of them left with an album in tow. Perkins' folksy tunes and outstanding lyricism put set him apart from the masses of indie songwriters these days, and that was certainly true last night. The boys in Dearland were also a ton of fun to watch.
This was my third time catching The National, though the first time barely counts as I missed a good portion of their show and was really only there for Arcade Fire. The second time was at the Seaport with a bit of sideways rain and a venue that didn't hold in their sound as much as I would have liked. The reason I was really pumped about last night was the size of the venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg is about the same size as Bowery Ballroom - it's actually a bit smaller - and the tunes of Boxer and Alligator were going to sound great in such an intimate environment.
And they did.
The band started out with a song they claim to have never played live before: "Santa Clara." Though it's a B-Side that some of us have heard before, it was cool to hear the ballad in its premier. They continued to play tracks almost exclusively off of their latest two albums - "90 Mile" being the lone exception. Matt Berninger was spot on all night with his vocals and crowd interaction (though he did almost kill the guy standing beside me with his mic stand), and the band was very much in sync. My highlights definitely included "Mistaken for Strangers," "Abel," "Ada" (surprisingly great, especially the second half), "Mr. November," etc. "Daughters of the Soho Riots" was absolutely brilliant - I forgot how potent that ballad really is. And the encore, I mean come on. Nice work boys. They even brought out Marla Hansen who sang on Boxer for a few tracks. Though they still didn't play "The Geese of Beverly Road," I can forgive them considering how awesome the rest of the night was.
It's the end of The National's tour, and here's hoping they'll get back in the studio sometime soon. I have a lot of respect for these guys because they actually get better, unlike a lot of these bands releasing debuts that cannot ever be followed up. If you don't know The National, buy Boxer, then buy Alligator. Then devote your life to them.
More photos here.
The National Setlist:
Santa Clara
Slow Show
Brainy
Mistaken for Strangers
Squalor Victoria
Start a War
Abel
90 Mile
Ada
Racing Like a Pro
Looking for Astronauts
All the Wine
Apartment Story
Daughters of the Soho Riots
Mr. November
Green Gloves
Secret Meeting
Fake Empire
[mp3] Elvis Perkins - "All the Night Without Love" (Ash Wednesday) | iTunes
[mp3] The National - "Apartment Story" (Boxer) | iTunes
[mp3] The National - "Daughters of the Soho Riots" (Alligator) | iTunes
[mp3] The National - "Santa Clara" (B-Sides) | iTunes
Elvis Perkins
The National
6 comments:
Hey Kyle,
It's Mike from last night. Great review. It was certainly a great show and an even better weekend. It was nice meeting you. Talk soon,
mike
btw-you can hear some of my work at myspace.com/michaelvallarelli
i hope you're not referencing ALLIGATOR as their debut when you talk about bands not following up their debuts well... The National have an EP and two albums before ALLIGATOR.
i'm not referencing alligator as their debut, i'm referring to bands like the killers who can't follow themselves up. what i'm trying to say is that "unlike a lot of these bands" the national have been improving since the day they put out their self-titled debut album back in 2001. that's something that cannot be said for many modern indie bands.
believe me my friend, i have every song put out by the national :)
Yeah: you probably stole every song put out by The National! I'm sure you've been listening since 2001, too.
Photos "property of kyle dean reinford," my ass!
You mean like in the same way that "Apartment Story" is property of The National?
hiya kyle,
although your business card unfortunately got lost in my travels, i'm glad i googled a little bit and found your blog again... i was the guy who almost had his eye out from the micstand, haha.
enjoyed your photos here, shoot me an email, pat -at- more productive -dot- org
Post a Comment