The National at The Pabst

Last Friday night I was fortunate to see The National perform at the historic Pabst Theater.

The last time I saw The National, they were the opener for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Since then, The National has grown into a well-respected, favorite band out of their indie counterparts – a fact that’s evident by their nearly sold-out show at The Pabst.

As Eric and I picked up our tickets from Will Call, I was anxious to get into the theater. I even skipped dinner just to get decent seats – I wasn’t going to miss this chance to hear tracks from their latest album Boxer, live in Milwaukee.

I’ve known about The National since 2005 when Alligator fell into my lap before its scheduled release date – that was one luxury of working in radio. Initially, I was indifferent as Alligator received mixed reviews, yet it grew on me. By the end of the year, the album appeared on many of the "Best of 2005" lists and became a favorite in my collection.

As a result, 2007’s Boxer was met with a high level of anticipation both for me and the music industry. Thankfully, it proved to be an outstanding follow-up as songs like “Slow Show” and “Fake Empire” leak the same sentimental tones as Alligator, but with a new sense of maturity.

We grabbed a Tall Boy from The Pabst Pub and climbed the marble staircase to the first balcony (my favorite place to watch concerts at The Pabst). The lights were down while opener St. Vincent took over the stage and the audience – something that’s pretty hard to do when you’re a solo artist, but with her striking voice and powerful stage presence she was easily able to captivate the open-minded crowd.

After selecting second row aisle seats, I began to scan the room. I saw groups of 30-somethings who casually crowded the stage below and a row over sat two groupies who were singing along with such conviction in every word that I’m sure they’ve followed St. Vincent from her days as backup vocalist for The Polyphonic Spree and tours with Sufjan Stevens.

Following St. Vincent’s set an unusually older crowd filed into the theater and filled both the lower levels and first balcony.

The National took the stage and began to play heavily off of Boxer. Although the words in their songs are often odd and ambiguous, the sentiment is there and genuine – “This isn’t me, you just haven’t seen my good side yet” – of course it works as a disguised confession of guilt and lust as well.

 

The National’s excellent rhythm section gave the music its backbone, yet the loudest the band got all evening was during “Mr. November” when the drums heavily pounded away and the thrilling chorus, “I won’t f*** us over, I’m Mr. November,” which reverberated off the rafters and probably rattled the spectacular chandelier hanging dauntingly from the ceiling.

Besides the well executed percussions, drum beats and fiddle, the band wouldn’t have been as enthralling without their distinctive front man, singer Matt Berninger. During the majority of the show, the baritone paced around the stage with his eyes closed, stumbling at times (I wasn't sure if he was sober or not). Still, only he is capable of conveying all of the misery, defeat and regret in songs like “Apartment Story” and “Daughters of the Soho Riots” by just a well-timed facial expression or from flailing arms.

Similarly, screamers like “Mr. November” caused the crowd to bob their heads as they felt the anger and angst in Berninger who roamed the stage and broke a mic stand, which he raised like a sword, and then dragged around behind him. While I’m sure this was the highlight for many, for me it was the sentiment found in the beautiful “Slow Show” that made this concert memorable.

As New York columnist Eddie Ciminelli describes: though much of The National’s songs centered on a man’s lack of accountability, “Slow Show” exposed a soft side and examined the same man’s insecurities over his inability to rise to the occasion when it counts most. When he sang, “A little more stupid, a little more scared, every minute more unprepared,” anyone who has ever gotten six digits through a phone number before slamming it on its receiver can relate. (I couldn't have said it better myself!)

Halfway through the song, a piano breaks in with a few gentle notes, the drums kick in like a heartbeat, and Berninger clings to the microphone and cries, “You know I dreamed about you, twenty-nine years before I met you.”

For me, this was the most touching moment of the evening. During that line, Berninger held his arms across his chest as the audience stood before him. Half the crowd was longing to care for someone as deeply as he does; the other half wrapped their arms around the one they love, while I sat starring at the stage as tears swelled up in my eyes (I’m normally not that emotional).

Like their last show I saw in 2005, their performance alternated between quiet, restrained and screw-it-all songs of defeat, to fist-pumping songs of deafening commotion. It’s clear that the live setting was The National’s greatest strength. The end result was an engaging and exciting hour-plus show that I will remember as one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.

The band’s performance managed to push across all of the themes and emotions that have made both Alligator and Boxer such phenomenal albums – finally they are getting their much deserved appreciation as well.

The National has their live show locked and there was no better place to host such a performance than Milwaukee’s architectural gem, The Pabst Theater.

I also encourage you to check out Mirr World's review. He has great live videos from The National at The Pabst. In addition, don’t forget to catch the upcoming concerts listed on my monthly preview.

Comments

[Sara Molnar]

This was an awesome concert!! St. Vincent was really, really good, too, I thought.

[mjonthemove]

Dude, you caught me on film.
If you look at the first picture on the blog, there are two mostly empty rows of chairs. In the lower of the two rows, my head is between chairs 2 and 3. Nice!

Also, the show was excellent. I really enjoy the National. I loved how the singer felt free to move about the stage. It was cool to see. Maybe I am easily duped by cheap stage tricks, but it always seems that when bands do something a little out of the ordinary (like wander around the stage), they are performing more for their enjoyment than other people's enjoyment. Another example of this is when I saw Modest Mouse at First Ave. in Minneapolis in 2000. He would finish the CD's lyrics in the microphone, and then spout off a ton more lyrics off to the side. It was awe-inspiring. I hope they are that awe-inspiring when they are here in November. I'll be there for sure.

[Karen]

Sara- you’re right! It’s rare to find a concert where both the opener and the headliner are outstanding. All around it was an impressive show!
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MJ- I’m going to have to look a little closer to find you in that photo (they came out a little fuzzy). Oddly enough, I always wondered if that would happen – I’d post a picture and someone would find my post and be like, “whoa, that’s totally me in the background.” So, I guess I did see you at the show after all. :)

[Eric]

It was funny how he knocked over all the microphones. At first I thought he was annoyed with the other singer for talking so much 'cause he just grabbed his mic and dragged it around for a while....

[nate]

"WHOA, that’s totally me in the background.”

And my wife. We're sitting opposite from the photographer, in the first row of the balcony on the left side (second and fourth pictures). These were taken pretty early, because the balcony really filled out by the time The National hit the stage.

I really dug St. Vincent but my wife was less impressed with the performance-arty aspect of her set, especially since she had such a beautiful voice which was not highlighted much.