Simply put, the Cincinnati via Brooklyn quintet, The National, put on a show at the Riverside Theater this past Monday that will have people in attendance talking for months, perhaps even years to come. The National elevated their live act once again, proving they are one of the best touring acts today. Perhaps the combination of growing confidence from the musicians, their most accessible album to date, 2013's Trouble Will Find Me, and an incredible digital back drop consisting of a U2esque screen that projected band videos, close-ups and creative lighting effects, all helped contribute to The National's rise to the next level in their performance.
Drawing heavily from Trouble Will Find Me, but also digging into High Violet, The Boxer, and Alligator, The National delivered an over two-hour set of riveting music that had the sold out crowd engaged from the first note of "I Should Live In Salt' to the last thud of Matt Berrigner (lead singer) planting his mic stand heavily on the stage at the end of the encore number, "Vanderlyne Crybaby Geeks." While the band has become more polished since I first saw them play the Pabst Theater in the fall of 2007, the intimacy of their performance remained palpable and a key reason they are an act you can't take your eye off. Older favorites like "Sorrow," "Afraid of Everyone," "Squalor Victoria," and "Apartment Story" worked seamlessly with newer numbers like "This Is The Last Time," "I Need My Girl," and "Sea of Love," (which had a capacity theater of mostly early-thirtysomethings sing, in fake baritone unison, the refrain, "and if I leave here, trouble will find me.") Even the encore showcased the deepness of the band's catalog, playing a new track, "Humiliation," along with the always popular "Mr. November," and "Terrible Love."
Berringer is an unlikely rocker if there ever was one. A tall and lanky man dressed in a suit with large glasses, Berringer, as always, delivered his deep baritone vocals while clutching his microphone stand, swaying back and forth, nervously twitching his hands and imbibing in glasses of wine in between numbers. The tightness of the rest of the band was noteworthy. Like on their last tour, The National brought a horn section along. The horns added a perfect accompaniment to the soundscapes that dominated many of the tracks. The whole unit was firing on all cylinders, and delivered a truly memorable performance.
Grade: This is gonna be darn hard to top as show of the year
Setlist from the show:
Photos courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch. More of Stephen's fantastic photos can be seen in Relix Magazine by following this link.
Berringer is an unlikely rocker if there ever was one. A tall and lanky man dressed in a suit with large glasses, Berringer, as always, delivered his deep baritone vocals while clutching his microphone stand, swaying back and forth, nervously twitching his hands and imbibing in glasses of wine in between numbers. The tightness of the rest of the band was noteworthy. Like on their last tour, The National brought a horn section along. The horns added a perfect accompaniment to the soundscapes that dominated many of the tracks. The whole unit was firing on all cylinders, and delivered a truly memorable performance. Grade: This is gonna be darn hard to top as show of the year
Setlist from the show:
Photos courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch. More of Stephen's fantastic photos can be seen in Relix Magazine by following this link.
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