The National
Super Aware Theatre
1 March 2024
Getting a souvenir from a concert is always special. Usually, you have to buy a t shirt. Sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you can get a guitar pick, and if you come away with something like a setlist, you’ve done very well indeed! But sometimes you get even more than that.
I like to think of The National as a bit like the cooler friends you had at uni who formed a band and played at parties. The difference is, unlike your friends, the National can actually play and write music brilliantly. It was the kind of show that you might expect at a uni bar but writ large. There wasn’t a fancy light show and there were no costume changes. But the band was loose and happy to be on stage.
When they were starting out, Michael Stipe from REM told the National in order to have a long career they either needed to have lots of hits, or none at all. They choose the latter option. But for a band with no hits, they’ve certainly got a lot of great songs. They’ve had a 20 year career and the show touches on every point in it. From their early successes to tracks from the two albums released last year, the setlist features songs from throughout their catalogue. A sign of how they’ve maintained their quality control is that the newer songs more than hold their own against the early classics. They don’t rely on their biggest albums to fill their set.
In the middle of the show, I remember thinking that this is what all rock bands should sound like. They were powerful. They rocked hard. But they also had a light melodic touch and they were engaging performers.
Lead singer Matt Berninger went into the crowd at a number of points in the show and the excitement level in the crowd certainly went up a notch. It was a great way to make an immediate connection with the audience. He didn’t rely on a wireless microphone. He must have the longest microphone lead in the music business. He walked 100 metres into the crowd and having this physical link to the stage somehow made this adventure even more compelling. A side note is that his microphone roadie must be the hardest working person in showbusiness. How no one got injured is a miracle.
It was one of the things that reminded me of when you saw small indie bands playing in tiny venues. The lead singer goes into the crowd to get your attention. Tick. The guitarists stand at opposite sides of the stage and try to ‘out rock’ each other. Tick. The lead singer gives away his shoes at the end of the gig? Tick. The rhythm section stays mostly in the background, but still look effortlessly cool. Tick. Wait… The lead singer gave away his shoes? Yes, that’s true. That’s a cool souvenir! That’s hard to beat! But someone even went home with the mic stand.
It was that kind of gig!
