The National/Owen Pallett

Last night finished up our final concert, at least for this week.  I drug Kurt to see The National with Owen Pallett opening.  Kurt is a good sport because I know he doesn't like them very much, but he attended anyway and didn't complain at all.

The evening started off right on time with Owen Pallett.  He is a slender, spritely gay man from Toronto.  He apparently used to record under the moniker Final Fantasy, but went back to his original name for copyright reasons from the video game of the same name.  He is a classically trained musician who primarily plays the violin.  I had not heard any of his music under either name and really didn't know what to expect, though I knew he was critically lauded.  He wandered out onto the stage, looked out of the crowd at the sparse crowd (Atlantan's are notoriously bad to the opening acts; majority of the time coming in late), and asked if he was early or if the crowd was late.  It was done jokingly, and it did not put any damper on his performance.  He basically plays some notes on the violin or keyboard, then loops them into the track.  It is definitely awe inspiring seeing how he creates his music; knowing that one false step can completely derail a song.

His music is very singer-songwriter like, but with more complexity in the arrangements.  I told Kurt he reminded me a little bit of Patrick Wolf, but without the over-the-top theatricality.  Here is a clip I found online from the show last night.



I will be looking for his work as soon as I get home from work.  I am really mad that he played Coachella this year and I didn't check him out.

The National came on afterwards and played a long, professional set.  There were no huge surprises, and the band is not the most energetic, owing to the fact their music is not as raucous as it once was.  Most of the songs are stately ruminations on middle class life.  I will say that after seeing them, I don't think I need to see them again, which is not a criticism of their performance or the music itself, merely that I don't think I would gain anything else from an additional show.

I will say that they began the performance with a very slow song, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.  I don't have a problem with quiet, slow music, I just don't want to begin with a song that doesn't get your blood pumping for more.



The show did pick up considerably after the first song, and I was surprised how many of my favorite songs were performed: "Mistaken For Strangers," "Fake Empire," "Squalor Victoria," and my favorite "Conversation 16," which lead singer Matt Berninger describes as being "about marriage and cannibalism."



They even found time to play some older material, "All The Wine," "Abel," "Mr. November," and "The Geese of Beverly Road."  I always abhor bands who refuse to play older material in favor of new.  I think with every show there should be a nice mix.

At one point in the show, Matt Berninger finally got animated and left the stage and sang a song well out into the seats.  I was close enough to at least get a picture, unclear as it may be.

The show ended with a brilliant rendition of "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks."  Instead of performing the song full on, the band played acoustically and Matt sang without the use of a microphone.  It was pretty amazing way to end the show and really brought the audience closer to the band.  I think those sort of things would greatly increase the quality of their live shows, and hope they do things like that in the future.



I don't want my comments to make it seem like I didn't enjoy the show, because I enjoyed it a lot.  They were just criticisms that I think need to be addressed by the band in order to make them a more formidable live act.  I really love their music, and just wanted more moments of connection with them like the final song.

Finally tonight I don't have a show to attend, so I am really looking forward to a relaxing evening.  Need to get my energy up for the next onslaught of Massive Attack, Jonsi, Robyn, La Roux, Combichrist, and Dresden Dolls.