The National – July 31st – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

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The National 07-16-3709Photos by Tim Dwenger

The Scene: A slight sprinkle cooled the crowd at Red Rocks last Sunday as they waited for the evening’s entertainment to start.  Many had arrived early having missed the email that pushed doors back an hour due to the production truck carrying the PA system being late to the venue, so tailgates lasted a bit longer than anticipated and more people got to see a relatively lack luster set from Real Estate that originally planned as the venue filled up early and stayed packed until the bitter end.

The National: When the lights dimmed and The National walked out on Sunday night, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation.  It had been nearly three years since the band last hit the stage in Morrison and fans were rabid for a fix.  With a two hour, career spanning set that was admittedly heavy on material released (and unreleased) since 2009, they got just that and more.

After a opening take on “Don’t Swallow The Cap” from 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me, the band drifted back to 2009’s High Violet for a powerful version of “Bloodbuzz Ohio” that saw frontman Matt Berninger pacing the stage, wandering into the wings and out to the rail as his bandmates built the song to a raging climax.  The band then dipped into the first of a new batch of songs that they would play over the course of the evening; “Checking Out of a Collapsing Space.”

The new material that was well placed throughout the setlist was unknown to most in the crowd and yet strangely familiar at the same time.  Song like “Find A Way,” “The Lights,” and “The Day I Die” are quintessentially National songs.  On “Find A Way” Berninger crooned in his comforting baritone “I’ve talking about you to myself / Cause there’s nobody else / And I want what I want / And I want everything” while “The Lights” featured a spacey jam from the band as their frontman disappeared side stage, and finally, as the show closed with the best of the new tunes, “The Day I Die,” Berninger slugged from a wine bottle before tossing it back toward the drum kit.  Given the quality of these songs, and their ability to the hold the attention of a sold-out Red Rocks audience, there’s little doubt that the new record the band is working on will be well received, if not critically lauded.

While there were quite a number of “new songs” in the setlist, it’s not to say that Berninger and company didn’t deliver the hits.  They gave us great versions of “Apartment Story,” “Fake Empire,” and “Squalor Victoria” from Boxer alongside gems like “Afraid of Everyone” and “England” from High Violet before an encore that featured a typically fiery “Mr. November” and “Terrible Love.”  The lone cover of the evening came in the shape of Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew” that the band recorded for the Dessner brother’s Day of the Dead Grateful Dead tribute project.  While Berninger’s vocals fit the song very well, the band needs to run with it a little more and it could be really great.  As it is, it’s begging for a little more of a jammed out treatment.

As the evening came to a close I was struck by how much a force The National has become over the past 10 years.  They are releasing consistently great albums and packing venues across the country.  Despite Berninger’s well documented stage-fright, this is a band that will likely become a hallmark of a generation of music lovers.  Like them or hate them, The National are powerful, relevant, and awe-inspiring to see live.

 

Energy: A-
Musicianship: A
Sound: B+
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: A

Overall: A-

tdwenger http://www.listenupdenver.com

Music has always been a part of my life. It probably all started listening to old Grateful Dead, Peter Paul & Mary, and Simon & Garfunkel records that my parents had, but it wasn't long before they were taking me to concerts like Starship, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Huey Lewis & The News. I got the bug to write about music after reviewing an Eric Clapton concert for a creative writing project in high school but didn't really take it up seriously until 2002. Since then I have published countless articles in The Marquee Magazine and done some work for Jambase.com, SPIN Magazine, and various other outlets. I started Listen Up Denver! as a way to share the music information that is constantly spilling out of my head with people who care. Please enjoy!

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