Last Monday saw my favourite band The National roll into town. The Ohio-cum-New York City five-piece sold out two nights the Apollo almost as soon as tickets went on sale. A great achievement but their rise to fame didn’t happen over night.
I first saw them in 2005 at the much smaller Academy Three venue at Manchester University Students Union. Tipped off by a friend in the know, I soon connected with their moody, melodic but delicately layered brand of indie rock.
Singer Matt Berninger’s warm baritone and detailed,intelligent lyric writing style complimented the music side well. They were an interesting band. Three solid 8/10 albums followed that tour and with each Manchester date the venue got bigger.
One of life’s simple pleasures, in my view, is taking in agig on your own. No distracting small talk, no trips to the bar, just you and the band. As Mrs Mager doesn’t go out on a school night I was free to indulge and indulge I did.
The two hour set flew by as the lads ran through a good mix of songs from their six-album back catalogue. The sound was tight and the crowd interaction between songs was limited as the group tried to fit in as many numbers as possible.
Berninger was flanked on the frontline by identical twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner whose complimentary guitar work was fascinating to watch. While Aaron looked after the more structured rhythm side, Bryce was in charge of sound effects and solos. At one point he played the strings with a violin bow. Whatever works I suppose.
Backing them up were The National’s second set of brothers, Scott and Bryan Devendorf, on bass and drums respectively. The drums were always a driving feature of the band’s earlier albums, maybe most notably on 2007 offering Boxer. While they’ve calmed down a little on current album Trouble Will Find Me it was nice to see a few tracks from Boxer get an airing.
The highlight for me was when suited-up Berninger came into the crowd for a frenzied encore of old favourite Mr November. He was greeted with the kind of Mancunian adulation that is usually only reserved for the likes of Morrissey. Everyone wanted a hug.
His voice may be showing the smallest signs of wear and tear that a long year on the road can bring but overall he was on top form. Intense to the very end.
For the final song the guitars were unplugged and a mass audience sing-along was encouraged. 3,500 happy souls belted out 2010 track Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks with gusto. It was a marvellous end to a marvellous show.
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