What a great night last night was. Before heading to the Double Door we chilled out at Cans to watch some of the Boston College/Villanova game. I have Nova going all the way, so I was pretty happy with the outcome. Unfortunately, because the game was on the line, and we couldn’t pull ourselves away from the television and $2 beers, I missed the opening act Talkdemonic, who I was really looking forward to seeing. I saw the entire Cloud Room performance, and while they were energetic and into their songs, I wasn’t too impressed by their music.
The National took the stage and nobody really seemed to notice at first. Lead singer Matt Bereninger quietly introduced Chicago Poet, Thax Douglas who read one of his terrible poems before the band launched into their hour and half set. Tearing through all but a few songs of their critically acclaimed album Alligator, the National poured emotion into each note and it was evident that the band was excited to be playing just up the street from the last time they played in town. This show was a sort of saving grace for me. I go to plenty of shows, but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a show that I consider great. This show was just what I was hoping for. There’s something incredibly disturbing about some Bereninger’s lyrics that make me laugh and smirk. The two sets of brothers that round out the remainder of the band performed flawlessly and were comfortable enough to seize the backing vocals and trade off instruments between songs.
The band also treated the sold out, and very talkative crowd to some of their songs from their back catalogue such as “Murder Me Rachel” and “Wasp Nest,” both of which were big highlights for me. I’d have to say that the climax of the concert came at two points during the show. One was during the blistering performance to “Abel.” This song charges along with such a great feeling and falls into an all-out yell scream that gives any normal human being goose bumps. The second of such instances was during the performance of what seemed to be their most recognized tune of the night, “Mr. November.” The band played well off the energy of the crowd during this song, and there were many times that microphones were kicked, knocked, and tipped into the overjoyed first couple of rows of fans due to the high energy stage antics being displayed by all band members.
The band left the stage after performing a two song encore, and I think that everyone in the crowd would have been thrilled to have them come back out and do 5 or 10 more songs. It wasn’t the case, but I’m sure the next time the band swings through Chicago the Double Door won’t be able to adequately hold the fans that want to see this band.
Thanks to the National and their management for getting my friend and I into the show, and mostly for demonstrating that live music can still be inspiring and jaw-dropping.
