The National Unties with the Crowd
The National is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band formed in 1999 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Led by Matt Berninger (and his distinctive deep monotone voice,) the rest of the band is comprised of two pairs of brothers: Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Scott and Bryan Devendorf. Featuring strings, horns, drums, and guitars, The National produces a very full sound that provides the perfect accompaniment and compliment to Berninger's vocals.
On Friday at APW the band began playing amidst a downpour, suffering the common festival issue of rain-induced technical difficulties. But once several loud pops and beeps had frightened the audience things seemed to even out, and Berninger began his signature talk-singing. His voice is very unique and almost sounds as if all the energy has been drained from his body, much in the style and tone of Beck sharper and with less voice variation.
Most of the crowd had resigned themselves to the fact that the rain was continuous so there was a good amount of people watching the show. Some dove right into the moment, doing cartwheels through the mud and squishing around barefoot. Others watched from the safety of the beer gardens (and who can blame them; this area boasted shelter and the appeal of alcohol along with the music.)
The group is diverse in their looks conjuring up the image of a family band playing at a party; some of the men appear young and well kept while others are middle-aged and bearded. They all look pretty comfortable with one another and on the stage. Halfway through I noticed that the drummer was playing barefoot - comfortable indeed.
Generally the concert was good - not fantastic or even great, just really good. Points have to be given for their ability to be heard in all that storming, but as a whole the set never really knocked my socks off. I actually enjoyed listening to the music afterwards on my ipod a bit more than I did when it was live.
Toward the very end of the set Berninger surprised both the audience and the security guards by climbing off the stage and into the crowd. He slipped and slid in the rain, pulling his microphone along with him as he navigated his way deep into the fans all jumping and singing. This action sort of unified him with the audience, getting rained on as we all had been, getting down in the mud on our level, allowing people to grab his hands and kiss his cheeks. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the day, and a great example of how festivals have the ability to vary from the stricter restraints of concert halls.
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