The Dessner and Devendorf brothers unplug their instruments. The spotlights move to the crowd. Matt Berninger sets down his microphone. A few strums of a guitar, and the crowd knows exactly what comes next. They begin to sing: “Leave your home / Change your name.” Berninger does not sing for the entirety of the song. Berninger, while not singing, acts like a composer looking the wrong way, with complete control of his crowd. The acoustic volume gradually gets louder as the song goes on. The song fades as does the concert, and we are reminded of the symbiosis of music.
The final act of three at the UC, The National was the most exciting. I will try not to be too repetitive with some of the things I said in my previous post, but unfortunately, my reaction to The National’s set was unfairly influenced by the way the show was set up. While I like The National a lot, The War on Drugs are probably my favorite band ever. Therefore I felt a little stiffed by the way The National was awarded a much longer time on stage. Part of the “Zen Diagram Tour,” the show seemed to be advertised as the two bands getting equal time on the stage, and that was not the case. I want to say that I totally understand it, as The National is the bigger band for sure. Nevertheless, I wanted to preface because I will try not to be biased in this review, but I do not think I can completely avoid it.
With that said, I will laud The National as well as I can now. What was clear to me from the very start to the end of the show is the way the band respects and interacts with those that influenced them. It starts with their tradition of coming out to the stage with the Talking Heads’ “Slippery People” playing in the background. The band successfully fulfills a tradition of music from the 70s to the 90s. This is clear in more obvious ways, like coming out to the Talking Heads and covering Echo and the Bunnymen’s song “Bring on the Dancing Horses,” with Adam Granduciel. It is also true on many more implicit levels though, through their lyrics and sound.
The National’s sound is clearly influenced by earlier bands like Joy Division and The Smiths, which is especially heard in Berninger’s vocal style. “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “This System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,” and “Don’t Swallow the Cap” (which they did not play this night), are all examples of songs with despondent and vague themes, similar to their post-punk/new wave predecessors. The list of influences is not short though, and one of my favorite examples comes from the song they finished off the night with, “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” In an interview, Berninger talks about how he was inspired by the Nirvana song “Pennyroyal Tea,” and wanted to find a similar three-syllable word to make up the title and content of his own creation. He spent a lot of time coming up with the perfect word, and landed on “Vanderlyle.” Through a great meticulousness, The National further respects the music tradition that they have become a part of.
Without their attention to detail, The National would not be the band that they are or they would like to be. Later on in the interview, while talking about the “Geeks” part of the title, he explains that “Everything matters. It doesn’t matter that much, but a little bit, and a collection of a thousand little things really adds up.” Attention to detail and fulfillment of their music tradition go hand in hand. Due to the genre they are in, those bands that came before them cannot be fully understood without a great attention to detail. This I judge to be The National’s most brilliant characteristic. They are a great 21st century representative for those that created the genre of music that came before them.
While I commend their meticulousness and understand what they are trying to with their music, sometimes I think meaning within their lyrics is lost. It is well understood that many of the band’s songs are quite difficult to interpret. While this in itself is neither a good nor a bad thing, I often see it getting to the point where the lyrics become too convoluted to the point where they lose any meaning. While there is worth in having difficult lyrics, difficulty itself does not intrinsically signify value. This is not the case for all of their songs. For example, “Graceless” is a song about struggling through addiction and relationships, rife with metaphorical imagery, is not lost. Meaningful lines like “There’s a science to walking through windows,” and “Bullets through rotten fruit,” resonate with listeners with a little focus. Other songs though, like “Eucalyptus” and “Lit Up,” border a bit too much on a postmodern confusion, for my liking. This is not to say there is no meaning in these songs, but that it gets lost in translation.
The National is deservedly respected as among the leaders of the alternative genre. The band was a great treat in front of a solid crowd for a Tuesday night. The band was super lively on stage and interactive with the crowd. While I nitpick a little bit, it is not to take away too much from their artistry. For many, the things that I do not care for about the band are probably some of what others love the most. Undoubtedly worth it to see live, whether you agree or disagree with me.