The National at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Check out my photos of The National at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery over at Stereogum.

The National at the Hollywood Bowl

Check out my photos of The National at the Hollywood Bowl over at Stereogum.

The National at Fox Theater in Pomona

Check out my photos of The National at the Fox Theater in Pomona over at OC Weekly.

The National at Spreckels Theatre

Is it too early to crown High Violet as the album of the year? After a four hour flight back to Los Angeles from St. Louis, I drove two hours down to San Diego to catch The National at the Spreckels Theatre. Remembering how superb their performance was at the Wiltern Theater helped combat the fatigue of travel weariness.

Ramona Falls





Brent Knopf spends most of his time in Menomena but still manages to find time to create records under the Ramona Falls moniker. Appearing on stage by himself, Knopf strummed his acoustic guitar for the see saw notes of "Russia" from his album, Intuit.

Alternating between a guitar and his synthesizer, Knopf worked through a handful of wistful tunes. It was nice to see Ramona Falls on the bill as Menomena are old touring partners with the National. Menomena is gearing up to release their new album, so I don't expect to much touring for Ramona Falls for a little while.

The National






Spreckels Theatre was perfectly suited for The National's haunting atmospheric tunes. Matt Berninger would comment that the venue was beautiful quickly followed by a quip that it was "no Casbah though". The National launched their first volley in the form of "Start A War" with its dulcimer tones.

A propulsive drum beat of "Mistaken For Strangers" had Berninger clutching his microphone with his eyes closed belting out the lyrics in his rich low baritone voice. Aaron and Bryce Dessner coaxed out the yearning guitars of "Anyone's Ghost" that washed over the audience. A horn section added some extra sheen to the urgency of "Bloodbuzz Ohio" while the Dessner twins added backing vocals.

"Afraid of Anyone" is another stand out track from High Violet that sonically reminds of something that Morrissey would have done in the Vauxhall and I era. As the night progressed, Berninger's dived more viciously into his performance and eventually making his way out into the front row of the seated theatre.

The horn section filled in the gaps again for "Slow Show" with the twinkling guitars also coloring the sound. "Squalor Victoria" had Berninger stammering around the stage uncontrollably passionately screaming the chorus. A bouncing piano line signified the melancholy vibe of "Little Faith". Tremolo guitars signaled "Conversation 16" which is in contention as my favorite track from High Violet.

The National's setlist choices were flawless selecting such tunes as "Daughters of The Soho Riots", "Abel", "Sorrow" the majestic "England", and "Fake Empire" to close out their set. Berninger hilariously kicked over his ice bucket that contained his wine bottle which summoned roadies to quickly jump from the wings of the stage to mop up the mess. After the roadies left, Berninger cooly poured out more wine telling the roadies they missed a spot.

"Runaway" and the outstanding "Lemonworld" kicked off the encore before things turned chaotic for a rousing rendition of "Mr. November" and the shimmering "Terrible Love". While the printed setlist stated that would be the end of the show, The National did reemerge for the live favorite "About Today". The National will be back on October 16th to play the Fox Theater in Pomona. I wouldn't miss it and you shouldn't either.

The National at the Wiltern

Check out my photos of the National at the Wiltern Theater over at OC Weekly.

The National at the House of Blues San Diego

I will be the first to admit I missed the boat on The National. My friends kept mentioning that I would enjoy their music but it wasn't until I picked up their latest album Boxer that I realized I was missing out on some compelling music. I was eagerly looking forward to catching their warm up show at the House of Blues San Diego prior to their cross country tour opening up for R.E.M. and Modest Mouse.

Ferraby Lionheart






I wasn't surprised to see Ferraby Lionheart backed by 3 of the 4 members of the omnipresent Dawes. Ferraby was also accompanined by an upright bass player and a slide guitarist to round out his mini orchestra. "A Bell and Tumble" amicably rambled along as Ferraby delicately strummed his acoustic guitar. "Small Planet" from his album Catch The Brass Ring was a piano fueled ballad with Ferraby's wistful vocals. Dawes did an excellent job filling out the sound of Ferraby's songs. Ferraby will be doing a mini tour supporting Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide.

The National







The jagged guitar notes of "Brainy" were weighty as Matt Berringer's voice rightfully dominated the mix at the House of Blues San Diego. The tension of "Secret Meeting" was divine as the combination of piano and plucked out guitars showed that The National was more than ready to open for Modest Mouse and R.E.M the next night at the Hollywood Bowl.

Aaron and Bryce Dessner (Guitars) impressed me with their guitar abilities as they did a large amount of fingerpicking of guitar notes and played some unconventional chord voicings. The National didn't rely on a wall of amplifiers to create their massive sound but instead used some Fender amps and a few well chosen guitar pedals. "Squalor Victoria" turned things up considerably at Matt became extremely animated as the song built up emotional steam. Matt's intensity continued to build as he crushed "Abel" viciously singing "My mind's not right!"

"Mistaken For Strangers" was performed with a sharp intensity as small bursts of guitar feedback accompanied the mini horn section throughout the tune. The distinctive bouncy piano notes of "Ada" rang with extra resonance as Matt's voice never wavered. I was starting to kick myself for not seeing The National all the other times I had a chance. "Mr. November" brought things to critical mass as Matt completely lost himself on stage and was wildly moving about the stage. The crowd would not let the band go off stage as The National closed out the night with "You've Done It Again, Victoria". The National is a band that shouldn't be missed when they come to your town.

The National setlist at the House of Blues San Diego (5/28/08)
"Brainy"
"Secret Meeting"
"Baby"
"Start A War"
"Slow Show"
"Squalor Victoria"
"Abel"
"Blank State"
"All The Wine"
"Racing Like A Pro"
"Mistaken For Strangers"
"Ada"
"Daughters of The Soho Riots"
"Apartment Story"
"Fake Empire"
"Green Gloves"
"Mr. November"
"You've Done It Again, Virginia"