Lights That Flash in the Evening: The National @ DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC (6-6-2010)

Seeing The National live was, for me, a little like my experience with seeing Wilco live: something always seemed to come up. I finally caught both bands separately last year, but The National's show, it just wasn't right...a band like The National should not be first experienced as a 5 pm slot at an outdoor festival like Virgin FreeFest. Lead singer Matt Berninger writes lyrics that describe emotional depths that tend to venture into the dark; as such, The National should be experienced inside somewhere, and at night, not in sunlight next to a truck selling funnel cakes.

I'm happy to say I finally got the experience at DAR Constitution Hall recently. It was simply amazing. Goosebump-giving amazing. The show ran close to two hours and at the end, my cheeks hurt from the never-ending grin I wore the whole time.



Their new record, High Violet, took a little while to move into. Lots was happening and I didn't have a lot of extra brain space to focus; it's not a hard record to focus on, but you need to be in the place to allow your mind to do just that. But once I did, boy, did I fall for it hard.



That's why when I saw the previous night's setlist from Boston, I was sorta bummed out, not knowing if this was a band who changed things up or not, because it seemed to lack some of the new tracks I had on repeat ("Lemonworld," "Runaway," "England," "Anyone's Ghost"). But the DAR show, they included all of these and more...it was like they asked me to make the set list of my favorites (includng "Karen," a song they said they rarely play).




There is a wonderful beauty of the almost orchestral arrangements that each of the new songs contain, but this was something that became much more obvious when I saw them live. Guitarist Bryce Dressner has a background in classical guitar and has worked with the likes of Phillip Glass and the Kronos Quartet, so this isn't a huge surprise. What was a surprise was the intensity with which everyone played. Dressner and his brother Bryce would bend themselves over and tear at the guitar strings, almost in frustration that they couldn't go just a little bit faster, or pull just one more note from their instruments. This was particularly evident in "England," when during its swelling center part, everyone on stage proceeded to play like passionate madmen. Berninger used his vocal instrument in much the same way, emoting lyrical banshee screams while pacing the stage, even knocking his mike stand over at one point.




DAR is not the ideal place for a rock show. It has seats. You can't take beers back inside. In DC though, it's the in-between place for bands too big for the 1200-capacity of the 930, yet too small for the Verizon Center, an arena. DAR isn't tiny, but Berninger was determined to make fans feel like it was. During "Abel," Berninger went out onto the floor, walking/singing up the aisles, then walking atop of seat backs, with fans helping him to glide along. This happened again during the encore when they played "Mr. November" (like they'd not play that in DC, c'mon). This time, he took his audience interaction up into the balcony, scaling the entire right side while singing all the while. I wasn't supposed to shoot photos from my seat, but I plead a delightful insanity, right along with the rest of the crowd. And this was before they even got to the end of encore with a mindblowingly stunning version of "About Today!"

(See the rest of the show photos here)
This show absolutely ranks as one of the best shows I've ever seen. That's some serious gushing there, but it's 100% true. There are some I know who find The National bland, overrated, "the same song over and over." I did once too. But the very lovely part of The National is that it not only appeals to the brain with Berninger's lyrics, to the mind with their powerful and incredible hooks and time changes, but also to the heart in a way that can only be achieved when experiencing passionate beauty. "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent," said Victor Hugo. Here's being incredibly glad that The National are compelled to make noise.

Feeling Lucky? Donate to KCRW, Possibly Go See The National in NYC

If you have tuned into the local DC NPR station, WAMU, the last couple of days, you know the recent member drive has begun. Sure they're annoying to listen to, but pledge and member drives are what keep stations like WAMU in business. However, I often wonder who thinks up the giveaways with each pledge; I know they want folks to feel like they're getting something materially tangible perhaps for their $50 pledge, but really, a coffee mug? Me, I'd rather donate and get a thank you note than a mug that cost me $50.

I think perhaps NPR's flagship station for Southern California, KCRW 89.9 FM, which hosts one of the greatest and influential music shows around, Morning Becomes Eclectic, may have just hit on one of better pledge gifts I've seen, at least if you're a music nerd-a chance to win tickets!

“The National Live in NYC Flyaway Sweepstakes" was annnounced today, which is a special sweepstakes for a trip for two to NYC to see The National perform a special benefit concert for the Red Hot AIDS charity on Saturday, 5/15 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in NYC. The winner will fly to NYC on Friday, 5/14 and have two nights at the ACE Hotel in Manhattan. Transportation to the hotel and concert are also included.

Rules and whatnot for the contest can be found here, but the gist of it is this: Anyone who joins, renews or makes an additional donation to KCRW between Tuesday, 5/4 (that's today!) and Friday, 5/7 at noon, will be automatically entered to win. KCRW Star Members, who contribute on a monthly basis, are automatically entered as well. Donations can be done online even (here).

What's also cool? The concert will be webcast live on You Tube and filmed by DA Pennebaker, the man who's directed such legendary movies like Bob Dylan's "Don't Look Back," David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," and "The War Room," a documentary from the end of Bill Clinton's '92 Presidential Campaign.

To top it all off, KCRW is currently streaming all of High Violet, The National's forthcoming record that's out next Tuesday.

Great stuff all 'round and for a great cause...

Tickets do go sale for the show via the BAM Box Office on Thursday, 5/6.

Give a Listen: Runaway-The National/Buy High Violet

The National Announce Summer Tour Dates

9428_The National @ Virgin FreeFest 2009 (8-30-09), originally uploaded by BetweenLoveandLike.

The National have a lovely new record, High Violet, coming out on 5/10 and they announced a slew of tour dates in support of it today. (DC date is at DAR. Again. UGH.)

(And I promise this site is not becoming "Between Love & Like, A site about the tour dates we love".)

The National Summer 2010 Tour Dates
21-22 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA - THE WILTERN // w/ RAMONA FALLS
23 MAY: SAN DIEGO, CA - SPRECKELS THEATRE // w/ RAMONA FALLS
26-27 MAY: OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATRE // w/ RAMONA FALLS (27 sold out)
29 MAY: QUINCY, WA - SASQUATCH FESTIVAL

JUNE
02-03 JUNE: BOSTON, MA - HOUSE OF BLUES // w/ THE ANTLERS
04-05 JUNE: PHILADELPHIA, PA - ELECTRIC FACTORY // w/ THE ANTLERS (05 sold out)
06 JUNE: WASHINGTON, DC - DAR CONSTITUTION HALL // w/ THE ANTLERS
08-09 JUNE: TORONTO, CANADA - MASSEY HALL // w/ THE ANTLERS
10-13 JUNE: MANCHESTER, TN - BONNAROO
16 JUNE: NEW YORK, NY - RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL // w/ THE ANTLERS (sold out)
18 JUNE: BUFFALO, NY - ALBRIGHT-KNOX GALLERY // w/ RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
26 JUNE: PILTON, UK - GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL

JULY
01-04 JULY: ROSKILDE, DENMARK - ROSKILDE FESTIVAL
06 JULY: AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND - PARADISO
08 JULY: HAMBURG, GERMANY - STADTPARK // w/ MIDLAKE + THE MIDDLE EAST
09 JULY: BRIGHTON, UK - CORN EXCHANGE
12 JULY: LYON, FRANCE - LES NUITS DE FOURVIERE
13 JULY: LYON, FRANCE - LES NUITS DE FOURVIERE
14 JULY: DACHAU (MUNICH), GERMANY - DACHAU MUSIKSOMMER
16 JULY: SOUTHWOLD, UK - LATITUDE FESTIVAL
16-18 JULY: LISBON, PORTUGAL - SUPER BOCK SUPER ROCK
27 JULY: BROOKLYN, NY - CELEBRATE BROOKLYN! w/ BEACH HOUSE // SOLD OUT
31 JULY: MONTREAL, CANADA - OSHEAGA FESTIVAL

AUGUST
02 AUGUST: COLUMBUS, OH - LC PAVILION // w/ THE ANTLERS
(On-Sale 01 May - 10am EST)
03 AUGUST: ROYAL OAK, MI - ROYAL OAK THEATRE // w/ THE ANTLERS (Venue Pre Sale Wed 28 April @ 12:00 PM / General Sale 30 April - 12:00PM EST)
04 AUGUST: MILWAUKEE, WI - RIVERSIDE THEATRE // w/ THE ANTLERS (On-Sale 30 April - 12:00PM CDT)
05 AUGUST: MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FIRST AVENUE // w/ THE ANTLERS (On-Sale 30 April - 12:00PM CDT)
06 AUGUST: MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FIRST AVENUE // w/ THE ANTLERS (On-Sale 30 April - 12:00PM CDT)
06-08 AUGUST: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - LOLLAPALOOZA
11 AUGUST: OSLO, NORWAY - OYA FESTIVAL
13 AUGUST: GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN - WAY OUT WEST FESTIVAL
14 AUGUST: HALDERN, GERMANY - HALDERN POP FESTIVAL
15 AUGUST: ST. MALO, FRANCE - LA ROUTE DU ROCK FESTIVAL
18 AUGUST: VIENNA, AUSTRIA - ARENA w/ FANFARLO, THE LOW ANTHEM, THE KISSAWAY TRAIL
21 AUGUST: HASSELT-KIEWIT, BELGIUM - PUKKELPOP FESTIVAL
22 AUGUST: BIDDINGHUIZEN, HOLLAND - LOWLANDS FESTIVAL // TICKETS

SEPTEMBER
03-05 SEPTEMBER: STRADBALLY, CO. LAOIS, IRELAND - ELECTRIC PICNIC
10 SEPTEMBER: VANCOUVER, BC CANADA - MALKIN BOWL w/ THE WALKMEN (Tickets On-Sale April 30th @ 10:00 AM PDT)
11 SEPTEMBER: REDMOND, WA - MARYMOOR AMPHITHEATER w/ OKKERVIL RIVER (Pre-sale 29 April @ 10:00 AM PDT / General Sale 01 May @ 10:00 AM PDT).

Lights That Flash in the Evening: The National @ The Bell House,Brooklyn, NY (3-11-10)

The National @ Virgin FreeFest 2009 (8-30-09), originally uploaded by BetweenLoveandLike.

It took me a little while to warm up to The National initially, but once that fuzzy feedback and kicky drum beats got their hooks into me, it was all over. Lead singer Matt Berninger's voice went from being monochromatic to a wave of warm water in which I wanted to swim...

Last night's show at The Bell House in the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn, the first of two nights, was a hot ticket, due to the venue's size (small), the promise of new material (certain), and the limited notice of onsale (three days prior).

My "man on the ground," Russ Bleemer, sent me the following...Seems 2010 will be The Year of The National, and all the wine will, indeed, be theirs.

If the debut of the new material last night at the Bell House in Brooklyn is any indication, it's going to be quite a year for the National.

The new songs aren't all easy. But they have a big arena sound, the low-slow opening that swells to a big chorus or rave up instrumental ending that is reminiscent of the way Radiohead does Nirvana, which the Pixies basically pioneered after listening to a lot of classical music in art school.

The band is bigger now, with the keyboard/violinist they have toured with for ages, along with a second keyboard player who played for most of the show. A three-piece horn section was on stage the whole time.

If you are going tonight and have high expectations for the new songs, they will be met. But stop reading now, because there are bunch of spoilers below, though presumably tonight won't be identical. I gave The National new songs ratings below, FWIW....

The show ran exactly 90 minutes, starting at about 10:17. The opening act tonight is different, but last night, it was a sax/acoustic bass/guitar/vocalist that did a jazz set. The vocalist was pretty funny, well schooled in David Johansen's Buster Poindexter monologues, which he inserted into the songs. After a while, they veered slightly to a more Morphine-like sound, but the set remained a full-on jazz sound led by the guitarist's chords...kinda interesting. National lead singer Matt Berninger came out on their last song and sang a duet with the vocalist (which made it sound like a National song).

As for The National set...

1) They opened with "Blood Buzz," a song familiar from shows that circulated last summer. (Rating: 9)
2) New song that had a U2 undercurrent. Big key potential title line was "Didn't Wanna Be Anyone's Ghost." At the end of the song, Berninger said the song was called "Butterscotch Paraphernalia." (Rating: 8)
3) The next song, also new, was called "LIttle Blizzard." You had to be there, but this got a decent laugh. These obviously were not real titles. (Rating: 8)
4) Next song, new, had a big drum opening, then was a mellower voice/piano/bass verse that welled up into a huge full band finish. (Rating: 7)
5) "Start a War"
6) "Secret Meeting"
7) New song, short but full on Pixies soft to furious, might be called "I Am Afraid of Everyone." (Rating: 9)
8) Another new song with a refrain that sounded like "Losing my breath," with a weird funny line that stood out: "I gave my heart to the Army." Difficult to understand as the vocals were mumbly/muted, but again, same dynamics as described on 7. (Rating: 7-8)
9) "Slow Show." Berninger said his wife was really looking forward to the debut of the new songs, but got ugly-sick at the last minute and missed the show and was home, a few blocks away. He thanked her for not having to watch her be sick, and her help with "Slow Show" lyrics. He also credited her lyrics work on the next one which was...
10) "Apartment Story"
11) A new song, paced by a shaker played by the drummer, was a slow one with another hard to understand line/refrain like "I won't run--another thing coming undone." The title might be "Run Along." (Rating: 8)
12) New song called "Conversation 16." Big synth line, more like U2, again, than Nirvana. My fave new song up to this point. (Rating: 9)
13) "Abel." Crowd strangely polite and remained indie aloof.
14) New song with a big violin intro, with the violin underlying the whole song and carying a nice countermelody that soared to another big ending. (Rating: 8)
15) Set ended with "Fake Empire"--an incredible version of it, too.
16) Encore began with a new song that included the line, "I'll explain everything to the kings." Could be a good title. (Rating: 9)
17) "Mr. November." Much of it sang from the middle of the crowd, which finally lost their aloofness and got excited.
18) "Terrible Love," the song that they did on Jimmy Fallon two nights ago. Great ending, and very exciting. My fave new song, probably not surprising as I watched the video from the show repeatedly, so I was well prepared. :-) (Rating: 9)

The venue was perfect, everyone should have a Bell House in their town. Michael Stipe was hanging around...as well as a lot of media-types around us with accents, who felt the need to critique everything. And loudly. But the band? When I first saw these guys I thought they were too arty and indie-weird to make it. But now they sound ready to headline in the big places they are going to this spring, and arena headlining isn't out of the question.

The National release High Violet on 5/11.

The National - 2010 Tour Dates
26-28 MARCH: KNOXVILLE, TN - BIG EARS FESTIVAL 2010 / TENNESSEE THEATRE
22-23 APRIL: RICHMOND, VA @ THE NATIONAL
06 MAY: LONDON, UK @ ROYAL ALBERT HALL
07 MAY: PARIS, FRANCE @ LE ZENITH w/ PAVEMENT
09 MAY: BERLIN, GERMANY @ ASTRA
22 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA @ THE WILTERN
23 MAY: SAN DIEGO, CA @ SPRECKELS THEATRE
27 MAY: OAKLAND, CA @ FOX THEATRE
02 JUNE: BOSTON, MA @ HOUSE OF BLUES
05 JUNE: PHILADELPHIA, PA @ ELECTRIC FACTORY
06 JUNE: WASHINGTON, DC @ DAR CONSTITUTION HALL
08 JUNE: TORONTO, CANADA @ MASSEY HALL
16 JUNE: NEW YORK, NY @ RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL