The National @ Radio City Music Hall (6/16/2010)

The National have gotten so popular that they are selling out major venues such as the famed Radio City Music Hall. When a band goes on to bigger shows and a larger fanbase, people usually think the show won’t be the same when compared to their smaller, more intimate shows. Sometimes this is true (Vampire Weekend at United Palace Theater or vs. Bowery) However, some bands sound good no matter where they play. Almost as if they were born for this natural progression. This statement is very true for 2010’s breakout stars, The National. Their show at Radio City didn’t act as a band playing a stage to big for them. Rather, you The National were always meant for big things. They finally got what they clearly deserved.

Opening band The Antlers wowed me by playing tons of cuts from their emotional album Hospice, and well, the songs were not void of any of that emotion. They played one new song which was rather upbeat. Then they went right back to the songs with big widescreen sounds and high pitched siinging from Peter. I was very impressed by The Antlers whose sound surprisngly works in a big venue like Radio City, quite well.

The National came out, and you could sense the epic proportions of the evening. They opened with “Mistaken For Strangers” and I could already tell they were on top of their game (as usual). After “Anyone’s Ghost”, the band kicked things into high gear. “Bloodbuzz Ohio” is just out of this world live. It somehow finds a way to become better than it already is live. “Brainy” was a halfway inspired dance tune thanks to Bryan’s vibrating drums. The band dedicated “Secret Meeting” to Johnny Beach who helped them get their first show at Mercury. “Slow Show” was as emotional as I’ve ever witnessed it. “Squalor Victoria” is a different animal live. It became a huge call to arms anthem live, making me fall in love with the song all over again.

Annie Clark, who you know as St. Vincent came out to play piano/sing on “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks”. She stayed on stage when Sufjan Stevens came out to play a simply stunning “Afraid of Everyone”. After this the band brought back an “Available”, an old classic from Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers that lead the way to the overwhlemingly powerful Conversation 16. I can never get over the live version of “Apartment Story”. For me, it really is one of the National’s defining moments. It just comes together live, bringing out the best of the band.

The band joked that “Abel” was their most delicate song, before going into somber versions of “Daughters Of The Soho Riots” and “England”. They then kicked into “Fake Empire” which from the crowds reaction, is probably their most popular song.

The encore kicked off slowly with Runaway, which saw a beautiful star-lite background. The live version of “Lemonworld” somehow finds ways to top the album version, which is one of the best songs of 2010, hands down. Matt climbed the side walkway to sing “Mr. November in the 2nd mezzanine. The guy somehow always finds ways to top his performances of the song. The show ended with an absolutely mammoth version of “Terrible Love” that reached colossal grounds.

I literally walked outside and ran into Chris/Jon Chu from the Morning Benders, which was pretty cool. Chris asked me if I knew of any Korean restaurants, but unfortunately I am not too familiar with any Korean places in the city. Sorry Chris! For any of you planning to go to their free show @ Governors Island, they said to get there early! I had nothing to do that night so I decided to hang around after the show and see if I could say hey to the band. Bryan came out for a smoke and thanked us for coming out, and I was able to snag a photo with him. I met some cool people while waiting which made the process less painful. Matt came out just as it started to rain but he still stopped to say hi to everyone and take photos. It took him a second but he did actually remember me from BAM, so that made it all worth it.

Can’t wait to see them again at Prospect!

Setlist, Photos, and two of my self recorded videos, all after the jump:

1. Mistaken For Strangers
2. Anyone’s Ghost
3. Bloodbuzz Ohio
4. Brainy
5. Secret Meeting
6. Slow Show
7. Squalor Victoria
8. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (w/ St. Vincent)
9. Afraid Of Everyone (W/ Sufjan Stevens & St. Vincent)
10. Little Faith
11. Available
12. Conversation 16
13. Apartment Story
14. Abel
15. Daughters Of The Soho Riots
16. England
17. Fake Empire