The National at the 400 Bar

I had only been to the 400 Bar three times in the last two and a half years, but all were absolutely amazing and near the top of my best shows of all time list. Back in November 2004 was Sufjan Stevens and the Arcade Fire on back to back weeks, and then last Friday night was The National.

The show was sold out earlier in the week and I didn’t have tickets, but I had heard from Kyle at morecowbell.net that they would have some available at the door. I didn’t really feel like standing in line for tickets so I decided to just skip it (like I did with the Voxtrot show earlier in the week. But then Kyle called me up and said he might have an extra ticket, so I should go down.

So I drove down, parked on Riverside Ave, and walked up the Town Hall for two quick beers so I wouldn’t go broke at the 400 Bar. At 8:00 I walked back down to the 400 Bar and their were only a few people in line so I bought ticket.

Opening bands were Shapes and Sizes, a young group out of Canada, and Talkdemonic from Portland, and featured the violinists from the latest Decemberists tour, who I recognized right away. I was really impressed with Talkdemonic, with just the violin and a dummer who also set up some stuff on his laptop. It was all instrumental, but I really enjoyed it live. Shapes and Sizes on the other hand were either really bad or I just didn’t get it. They reminded me of Tim Kinsella, and his often spastic playing but without the creativity. They received polite applause after each song so I kinda felt bad for them, but life could be worse then opening up for a band like The National.

I remember when Chris gave me a copy of Alligator a few years ago. I didn’t listen to it all that much, so it never really connected with me except for a few songs. But when Boxer came out, it hit me right away, and Alligator then got me as well. So with two great albums out, I was ready for the show, though I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when they took the stage. The only live performance I had ever seen or heard was the video of them sitting at a table playing “Start a War” acoustic. I didn’t know if it would be a relaxed show or if they would rock out, and oh did they put on a show.

Like the Arcade Fire show from a couple years ago, there was just so much intensity and emotion in the music. It was one of those shows were you just wanted to scream out the lyrics with them, but also just watch the guitarists play.

“I won’t fuck us over, I’m Mr. November”

The highlight was definitely at the end of the set, during “Mr. November”, when Matt the singer was standing on the bass drum during the apex of the song, and came crashing down. Thankfully they picked right up and continued on, barely missing a beat. It almost ruined one of the best songs, but they handled it so perfectly that it didn’t.

As infrequent as I go to the 400 Bar, I still think it’s one of the best venues in the city along with the Entry. I just love how close you can get and as long as you are in that front area, you can see everything. Since I’m tall, I typically stand along either the half wall or the wall in front of the sound guy, which is where I was for this and everyone around me seemed to be a fan and not just there to get drunk or talk too much.

Fortunately for the band, but unfortunate if you don’t have tickets, most of the shows are sold out for this tour, but if you have a chance, you really need to see this band now. They probably won’t get as big as the Arcade Fire, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them get a little more attention they have been getting.

SET LIST
———-
Start a War
Slow Show
Secret Meeting
Brainy
Karen
Apartment Story
Abel
Wasp’s Nest
All the Wine
Squalor Victoria
Mistaken for Strangers
Racing like a Pro
Guest Room
Daughters of the Soho Riots
Fake Empire
Mr. November

Encore:
Green Gloves
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