Review: The National

Photos by Ryan McElwain/Friend of B2R

The headliner this evening was selling unhappiness and its many siblings and offspring: uncertainty, grief, despair, regret, panic, heartache and other forces that can ruin a day and kill a good night's sleep.

It may be flippant to describe the National as an emo band for adults, but in many ways that shoe fits. Lead singer Matt Berninger writes songs about his inner torments and sings them in a baritone that sounds unleashed from the bottom of a deep cistern. He is backed by two pairs of brothers, and one of them, drummer Bryan Devendorf, is a show all his own.

Wednesday night, this band from Brooklyn, N.Y., via Cincinnati, Ohio, drew more than 1,200 fans to the Uptown Theater, and most appeared prepared for what they'd get and eager to get it: 90 minutes of brooding melodrama delivered in 18 bursts of darkness and fury.

The band had some help this evening: a multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, violin) and a two-man horn section. They leavened some of the music's inherent tension and delivered more texture and dynamics to a band whose music is composed in various shades and hues of the same light and mood.

On record, the National can suffer from that redundancy. Live, its  music is more dynamic and visceral, especially when the band emerges from the shadows, cuts loose and brings a song from a well-mannered jangle to an explosive crescendo of percussion and crashing guitars.

Among the eight men on stage and the sounds they concocted, Berninger was the primary focus all night. His stage mannerisms are not from the book of rock-star choreography, starting with the black suit he wears.  He likes to grab the microphone stand and sing (or scream) at the mic dramatically, like Earl Weaver giving an umpire the business. He dropped to his knees at least once. When he wasn't singing, Berninger paced about the stage nervously, looking like a groom about to enter a marriage that was giving him some heavy last-minute doubts.

During "Mr. November," one of the encores, he connected with his fans on the floor by venturing into the crowd as far as his microphone cord would allow, bellowing its chorus: "I'm Mr. November; I won't f*#k us over ..."

All night, you could see people in the audience singing along to his verses and one-liners, sometimes as if they were in a state of prayer: "I won't be no runaway / Cause I won't run"; "All the wine is for all of me ..."; "Break my arms around the one I love ..."; "You know I dreamed about you / I missed you for 29 years..."

Between songs, he joined his bandmates in some banter that felt featherweight compared to his lyrics, including a story about someone visiting a Kansas City cafe and putting too much milk in his coffee. It was nice to see/hear them break character.

There were moments when it felt like this show would erupt into one of "those shows," where the band and the crowd are in communion and the atmosphere turns electric and you don't want the show to stop. This one never quite got there, at least not for me. Like Interpol, the National has figured out how to do something distinct and do it well.  But after 90 minutes and 18 songs, it felt like it was about time to turn up the lights and get back to our own realities.

Owen Pallett: The opener plays music that is about as far on the spectrum from the National as you can get. With an arsenal of pedals at his feet, he composed loops of music on keyboard and violin and, with the help of a percussionist, played and sang over them. It was Andrew Bird-like and the crow that was there for his set (less than half) gave him a warm response.

The National's setlist: The Runaway; Anyone's Ghost; Mistaken for Strangers; Bloodbuzz Ohio; Brainy; Slow Show; Squalor Victoria; Afraid of Everyone; Available; Conversation 16; Apartment Story; Abel; Daughters of the Soho Riots; England; Fake Empire. Encore: All the Wine; Mr. November; Terrible Love.

| Timothy Finn, The Star 

Comments

[steve wilson]

Wish I'd seen Owen Pallett. I like "Heartlands." I think you expressed what gives me reservations about the National.

[Venkman]

Tim, love your reviews. FYI, you referenced the lyrics for "29 Years" but did not list it in the setlist.

Good review, though, as always.

[Matt]

that line ("You know I dreamed about you / I missed you for 29 years...") is from the song 'Slow Show', which they did play.

[Venkman]

You're right. My bad...

[crackity jones]

"earl weaver"? making the kids work that google search?

[Randy Rhodes]

The setlist and sound was awesome. I think this show was just as good as the Pixies.

[JZ]

Very nice review, Tim!

The National put on a great show. Set list, sound, crowd interaction, stage presence was very good. One of my favorites this year.

[Rick]

Has this group ever acknowledged its great musical debt to the Church? Berninger's vocals are a combined mixture of that band's singer and Lloyd Cole.

[David]

Nice review! There were actually 19 songs, with "Cardinal Song" coming right after "Available."