First to take the stage was the comedy trio Stella, the guys best known for their short-lived Comedy Central show by the same name and their cult-movie comedy Wet Hot American Summer. The troupe completely shattered my low expectations with their often hysterical banter. Whether it was their hilarious (phallic-centered) hand-drawn altering of past New York Magazine covers or sharing their ridiculous ideas of the perfect Autumn day, I could not stop laughing. The second act was the pretentious, Brooklyn-based band Grizzly Bear, by far the weakest and most disappointing part of the event. Their dreary songwriting and murky melodies came nowhere close to matching the excitement that the 40th anniversary celebration required. After a second appearance by Stella, The National was welcomed onto the stage around 9pm, ready to deliver to the crowd what they were all really there to see.
Because I went to the show with a friend who had already seen the band more than five times, I had a good feeling that this would be a band well-worth seeing live (as many solid bands surprisingly aren’t despite sounding fantastic on record). Vocalist/songwriter Matt Berninger is the epicenter of the band, who took center stage with just a microphone in hand his volcanic performance spirit that many fans of their shows are most drawn too. As a quick side note, I remember talking to someone in line at a Hold Steady concert a few months back who was commenting on having seen The National’s live. After asking how they were, his first response was how “Matt Berninger can get absolutely insane on stage.” This was definitely unexpected, knowing The National as a typically mellow, independent rock band whose strength stems more often from their subtle and delicately composed music than their occasional blasts of intense rock. Last night gave me complete proof of Berninger’s terrific talent. He not only has vocals that effectively alternate from Cohen's deep baratone to Cobain's primal screams, but also both bewildering and passionate lyrics to accompany it.
One of the most immediately obvious things that you realize when seeing The National play live is how incredibly in sync all six members play with one another. Maybe it’s the fact that their two guitarists are twins and hence are on the same mental wavelength, or the fact that they always have a consistently killer percussive beat to follow with drummer Bryan Devendorf. Whatever it is, the band just seems to have “it”, and by “it” I mean a complete, tightly packaged rock aura that not many other bands are able to embody. Whether playing one of their beautifully crafted ballads (“Daughters of the Soho Riots”, “Green Gloves”) or completely ravaging the performance space (“Abel”, “Mr. November”) their unstoppable sonic force is hard not to admire.
The only disapproval of the band from the crowd was when towards the end of the show Berninger claimed that this would be the last show they would play in New York City for a while. The boos were quickly reversed to optimistic cheers when he explained that it’s because they’re going back into the studio to record a new album. After hearing this, everyone understood that it was simply a matter of fact that the last few songs they would play for a while in their native city were probably going to tear the roof off of the ballroom.
And they did just that. During their encore, The National did what shocked both my friend and many others who had seem them so many times before…played a cover...and not just any cover, but the Velvet Underground classic “What Goes On” (you can watch my video of it here). Berninger explained the reasoning for playing it as a birthday present for a fan, but ultimately it was a gift to everyone in the crowd.
Their last song was the crowd favorite “Mr. November” which, although not much of a surprise choice, seemed to be just what the crowd ordered. I do not hesitate at all in saying that seeing them play “Mr. November” was one of the most incredible song performances I’ve ever witnessed. While every member unleashed their musical prowess to incredible heights, most notable was obviously Berninger, who brought out his inner Jagger to achieve God-like status on stage. While punching out amazingly cathartic vocals, he wreaked havoc on his mic stand by smashing it on the stage floor (in the spirit of The Clash's famous London Calling album cover), then hurling it over drummer Devendorf's head into the glittery stage backdrop.
As the lights went up, the New York crowd left the anniversary bash both completely satisfied and completely devastated, knowing they would now have to go back to the torturous waiting game for their album to come out. But everyone knows that when that album comes out (next year?), it'll surely be accompanied by a triumphant return to their much beloved home city.
The National - Fake Empire
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