After releasing two albums this year, The National finally arrived in London for two sold out shows at Alexandra Palace that show why this band are so special. Repeating no songs, the band play for just short of five hours across the two nights playing a total of 58 individual tracks.
Soccer Mommy supported on both nights playing for around 40 minutes. Sticking to a tried and tested setlist she only changed two songs between the two gigs changing a cover of Sheryl Crow’s ‘Soak Up The Sun’ for Slowdive’s ‘Dagger’ and swapping ‘Feel It All The Time’ for ‘Don’t Ask Me’. Seemingly perfect as support for The National because the crowd appeared to enjoy the set, especially when the songs were cranked up a level with huge distorted guitars.
Then onto The National. Hitting the stage at 20:20 both nights, night one was a set that was hit after hit. Opening with ‘Once Upon A Poolside’, Matt Berninger is centre stage and hit with a spotlight as he sways behind his mic stand. Kicking into life after the piano backed opener, ‘Tropic Morning News’ is the burst of energy to really start of gig.
If you ask any fan of the band what their favourite song is, chances are it was played at this gig. A run of ‘Don’t Swallow The Cap’ into ‘Demons’ followed by ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ has the whole venue singing as the band announces for the first time that no songs will be repeated the following night.
A staple of any National show is Berninger’s showmanship. When he’s not frantically pacing around the stage, you can find him on his knees, sat on the edge of the stage, hitting his head with his hand or even stood next to you in the crowd. One thing to take away from it though is someone needs to let him know wireless microphones exist, with him needing multiple crew members following him through the crowd at all time keeping an eye on the cable.
28 songs played and taken off 8 different albums, the band hit every part of their back catalogue. Scott Devendorf again showed why he is one of the best drummers in indie rock, while the Dessner twins remain the soul of the band with their duelling guitars.
‘Abel’ had the whole place rocking with Berninger and the crowd all screaming “my minds not right” in harmony. New songs ‘Smoke Detector’ and ‘Space Invader’ stand out and feel like they’re going to become guarantees for most future shows before Berninger puts down the microphone and the crowd sings ‘Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks’ in full voice to end night one.
Night two had far less big hits than night one given no song was being played twice, however for long-time fans of the band it was possibly better. Playing deep cuts and rare songs, they stayed true to their word and played 30 completely different songs. ‘Eucalyptus’ shows up early and might be the best song from across the two nights. Instantly upon hearing the track as a single, I knew it would be given a huge kick of life when performed live and I was right. The added heavier tones and Berninger screams take it up a whole level.
This time the band took tracks from 10 different albums. ‘Available’ and ‘Turtleneck’ are outright bangers with the band giving every bit of energy they’ve got, even if the crowd seemed to not know ‘Turtleneck’. With them playing most of their hits the night before they still had huge songs up their sleeve with both ‘I Need My Girl’ and ‘Graceless’ being played, the latter involving Matt disappearing into the crowd for most of the song.
The second night featured a lot more slower songs, not that any fan of The National would complain about that though. ‘Sorrow’, ‘Carin at the Liquor Store’, ‘Light Years’ and ‘Send For Me’ all feature throughout the night for a release of sad euphoria. And with Vanderlyle being played on night one they end with ‘About Today’ which featured yet another mass singalong and a huge extended outro.
These two gigs were something else. To play 58 songs across two nights, taken from 10 albums is insane and they did it effortlessly. With two new albums this year, it was obvious the band was on a current high however seeing them at these two gigs has just solidified that. The band are at the top of their game, and you never know what songs they are going to play. Whether you are a fan or not, seeing The National live is something you have to experience.
