cobl04
45:33
The tl;dr version of what follows can be adequately summed up by the lyric "I'm the moron who dances".
We'll start with Mistaken for Strangers. Got in there just in time, got myself a scotch and coke and took a seat in the front row. Who else here has seen it?? I thoroughly enjoyed it... Tom is really funny and I and the crowd laughed out loud at least 10 or 11 times. It's really fascinating, and once it starts getting a bit deeper it's quite emotional as well. There's a few scenes between Matt and Tom that are quite touching, like Matt saying that there were a lot of gigs that no one attended when they were starting out, which gives Tom the inspiration to finish the film. The final scene during a performance of Terrible Love brought a big smile to my face.
So then Matt walks in and walks right past us and takes a seat. Some awkward guy from the local indie station RRR interviews him and then throws it to the crowd. They asked some good questions... you can tell that while Matt loves Tom (he's still living in their garage) they're just too different to ever be best of mates. He talked about loving wine - was stoked when he mentioned that he sometimes puts ice in wine, or mixes white and red, I had him pegged as a wine snob but he's the complete opposite.
Whenever I'm at these things I can't help but ask a question, and because I have no shame it's usually stupid. So I asked him if he listens to much hip-hop and does he like Outkast, and he had a chuckle, and the crowd laughed. He said he doesn't listen to it much - nor does he listen to hardly any music, which surprised me a bit - but yeah, he said he really liked Kendrick's latest. Then he said to me "Outkast are reuniting, aren't they..." and I was like "yeah I'm flying to Coachella to see them" which I immediately regretted saying cos obviously neither he nor anyone in the room would give a shit. But oh well.
Got a cab to the gig, got our spot on the lawn, and I started getting overexcited, telling everyone how amazing The National are live, and how they are one of about 15 acts in my all-time live top five. I'll spoiler the rest for those yet to see them on this tour.
I was singing the whole way home.
We'll start with Mistaken for Strangers. Got in there just in time, got myself a scotch and coke and took a seat in the front row. Who else here has seen it?? I thoroughly enjoyed it... Tom is really funny and I and the crowd laughed out loud at least 10 or 11 times. It's really fascinating, and once it starts getting a bit deeper it's quite emotional as well. There's a few scenes between Matt and Tom that are quite touching, like Matt saying that there were a lot of gigs that no one attended when they were starting out, which gives Tom the inspiration to finish the film. The final scene during a performance of Terrible Love brought a big smile to my face.
So then Matt walks in and walks right past us and takes a seat. Some awkward guy from the local indie station RRR interviews him and then throws it to the crowd. They asked some good questions... you can tell that while Matt loves Tom (he's still living in their garage) they're just too different to ever be best of mates. He talked about loving wine - was stoked when he mentioned that he sometimes puts ice in wine, or mixes white and red, I had him pegged as a wine snob but he's the complete opposite.
Whenever I'm at these things I can't help but ask a question, and because I have no shame it's usually stupid. So I asked him if he listens to much hip-hop and does he like Outkast, and he had a chuckle, and the crowd laughed. He said he doesn't listen to it much - nor does he listen to hardly any music, which surprised me a bit - but yeah, he said he really liked Kendrick's latest. Then he said to me "Outkast are reuniting, aren't they..." and I was like "yeah I'm flying to Coachella to see them" which I immediately regretted saying cos obviously neither he nor anyone in the room would give a shit. But oh well.
Got a cab to the gig, got our spot on the lawn, and I started getting overexcited, telling everyone how amazing The National are live, and how they are one of about 15 acts in my all-time live top five. I'll spoiler the rest for those yet to see them on this tour.
The setlist isn't up yet, so I'll try and remember it as best I can.
Don't Swallow the Cap
I Should Live in Salt
Mistaken for Strangers
Sorrow
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Sea of Love
Demons
Hard to Find
Afraid of Everyone
Conversation 16
Squalor Victoria
Need My Girl
This is the Last Time
Abel
Slow Show
Apartment Story
Pink Rabbits
England
Graceless
About Today
Fake Empire
Humiliation
Mr November
Terrible Love
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
I'm pretty sure that was all the songs they played... order for the first half is definitely not right. But anyway...
A lot of the lyrics from Trouble Will Find Me mean a great deal to me, with some things I've been going through of late. Don't Swallow the Cap is a great opener, certainly much better than Runaway, which was the opener when I first saw them way back in Jan 2012. Like most National songs, it's just so fucking enjoyable to sing along to... does any band in the world do verses as good as this band?
I Should Live in Salt (if I had not been a dickhead at the screening I would have asked Matt when this ode to his brother began taking shape) was one of my favourite tracks on first listen but it's slipped a bit in recent times. Still a great track. Mistaken for Strangers, well we all know how good this song is. His vocals don't seem quite as deep on this track. Stunning stuff, as per usual.
Bloodbuzz Ohio... when I first saw The National back in Jan 2012, I was a very casual fan. Bonnie put Looking for Astronauts on her DI list the year previous, and I really dug it, and then ended up digging the "rockier", more upbeat tracks on Alligator, so Abel and Mr November primarily, plus Secret Meeting, Lit Up, All the Wine. I quite enjoyed High Violet and so bought a ticket to see them in Jan 2012... and when they played Bloodbuzz I started choking up a bit... that was probably the first moment that I was like, okay, these guys are pretty fucking awesome. Just so much urgency to the song (to every fucking song they've ever done, thanks to the best motherfucking drummer in rock music) and that underlying sense of anxiety, just tremendous stuff.
Sea of Love was fucking wicked, and gave us our first screams of the night. I have to say, they are immensely satsifying, and if nothing else, Trouble Will Find Me gave us another solid two or three screams... the first two times I saw them Squalor Victoria, England, Abel and Mr November were the only scream moments. Seemed to be over really quickly, which is the only possible complaint I could have about the night. That chorus is so fucking good.
Demons... the guitar tone is quite different live, and it was probably the only song for which I could say it didn't click quite as great as I'd have liked, but I mean still it was amazing. The lyrics are incredible, I really love that Matt mixes some serious anxiety shit with a bit of humour. Again, a great chorus and the crowd loved it.
I was STOKED they played Hard to Find, I honestly thought it was a rarity on this tour. Was the first of two moments tonight where I got a bit choked up. So simple, but so affecting. When Bryan and the horns start coming in, and in steps up a gear about halfway through, with that arpeggio (am I using this wrong??) guitar after the "hard to find..." lines, it's just gorgeous. "I'm not holding out for you, but I'm still watching for the signs..." is probably my favourite line on the whole album, and it was a really nice moment. A few people probably used it as a toilet/bar song, but it was pretty special for me.
Afraid of Everyone is one of my absolute favourite National songs, it just builds so fucking well. The backing "ohhh"s, again, the awesome verses, those anxious little guitar stabs after Matt stops singing, Bryan coming in... and then it just reaches an absolutely incredible conclusion, "your LIES are swallowing my soulsoulsoulsoulsoul..." I've seen it three times now, and it's been an absolute highlight everytime. Fucking amazing.
I THINK THE KIDS ARE IN TROUBLE... is Conversation 16 the greatest song on High Violet? No, but it's still awesome, and the "IIIIIIIIIIII'MMMM EVIIIIILLLL" refrain is a lot of fun. Those of us who have seen Squalor Victoria live know what it's all about. Not much else to say except that no National gig should ever take place without it. Every single National song improves live tenfold in my opinion (and that's not a knock on the awesome album versions) but Squalor Victoria improves like 50 times over. Phenomenal.
I Need My Girl (as well as Hard to Find and About Today) is all the proof you ever need that slower, quieter songs can be astonishing live. It's really something when Matt mumbles "I need my girl" over the contemplative, slow-burning music. Powerful stuff.
THIS IS THE LAST TIME is my favourite song from Trouble Will Find Me, and probably my favourite National song. It strikes an unbelievable balance between upbeat indie rock and melancholy indie rock. That guitar at the start, coupled with "ohh don't tell anyone I'm here/I got tylenol and beer" when Bryan comes in has made me smile from the first time I heard it. Just magic. But soon, the tune changes. It starts with "I won't be vacant anymore / I won't be waiting anymore", which to me has a similar feel to it as the "I won't let the psychos around" from All the Wine... to me it's always felt like a defence mechanism in a way... like Matt is trying to, as he says to Tom in Mistaken for Strangers, "fake it" in the face of self-doubt. And then of course it breaks down and turns into a pretty melancholy tune. And I love to know if anyone else feels the same way I do about it - I honestly think it's fucking remarkable that the mood changes so dramatically, but it feels completely and totally natural. I really can't think of another band who could pull that off. I started choking up during those final moments. Those final lines.... "Jenny I am in trouble / can't get these thoughts out of me / Jenny I'm seeing double / I know this changes everything / it takes a lot of pain..." they are just devastatingly powerful.
Abel followed (I think) and I was actually struck by the thought that I haven't listened to it in fucking ages. It was fucking wild, as always, I had so much fun jumping up and down like an absolute idiot and screaming the chorus. The Slow Show-Apartment Story combo followed. These are two songs that I have actually never been a huge fan of (my favourite four Boxer tracks are the first four) but yeah, they're both amazing songs and damn, it's impossible to feel bad when Apartment Story is on. Slow Show has got this added horn part live, which elevates well above the studio version.
From Apartment Story on, they could have finished the main set on any of those songs, such were their awesomeness. But Pink Rabbits was up next. The piano is a little bit softer live, I feel like, but it doesn't take away from the track at all. Again, another of my absolute favourites from the new album, and just like This is the Last Time, it just goes into the stratosphere when the tune changes slightly with "now I only think about Los Angeles when the sound kicks out..." that final minute or so is so beautiful live, and I was just staring at the night sky breaking up, again.
England is just flat-out one of the best songs you'll ever hear. From the moment the piano begins at the start you know you are going to be taken to a pretty awesome place... and that horn blast which signifies the crescendo is one of the most thrilling moments at a National gig. AFRAID OF THE HEIGHTS STAY THE NIGHT WITH THE SINNERS AFRAID OF THE HEIGHTS STAY THE NIGHT WITH THE SINNERS AFRAID OF THE HEIGHTS COS THEY'RE DESPERATE TO ENTERTAIN
Graceless was up next, and the guitar tone again is a bit different to the album version. It definitely seems a little more upbeat during the choruses. Considering this was their biggest song off the album in Australia, it didn't quite go off as several of the other songs did, but it still obviously rocked the fuck out, particularly towards the end as Matt starts screaming once again. About Today is as beautiful as ever, and as always a great improvement on the already-stunning studio version, particularly with that huge outro.
Fake Empire never fails to get the crowd swooning and singing, and the trumpeter gets a massive cheer when he takes over. The encore started with Humiliation, another song I fucking adore... I knew there was a big outro coming but I never listened to any of the live versions, hoping to see it for myself in person, and it was as wicked as expected. Mr November, no words needed, just as fucking awesome as the first two times I saw it, god I love belting out that chorus. Terrible Love seemed even better than it did the first two times I saw it, it is seriously an absolute beast live, and is probably the most popular song here... he walked on top of the crowd - a pretty great effort considering everyone was standing - and the closing minute or so was just incredible. And then yeah.... Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. I know the acoustic, a capella rendition of it has some critics on this forum, but I am so fucking glad they kept it from the High Violet tour. After two hours of high-octane awesomeness it is just such a special, unique and moving way to finish the gig, with the whole band in a line of sorts, and Matt stopping singing after the first chorus. Just so, so, so beautiful and fitting, and the crowd harmonises so well, I love that 95% of the audience knows the words off by heart.
Don't Swallow the Cap
I Should Live in Salt
Mistaken for Strangers
Sorrow
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Sea of Love
Demons
Hard to Find
Afraid of Everyone
Conversation 16
Squalor Victoria
Need My Girl
This is the Last Time
Abel
Slow Show
Apartment Story
Pink Rabbits
England
Graceless
About Today
Fake Empire
Humiliation
Mr November
Terrible Love
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
I'm pretty sure that was all the songs they played... order for the first half is definitely not right. But anyway...
A lot of the lyrics from Trouble Will Find Me mean a great deal to me, with some things I've been going through of late. Don't Swallow the Cap is a great opener, certainly much better than Runaway, which was the opener when I first saw them way back in Jan 2012. Like most National songs, it's just so fucking enjoyable to sing along to... does any band in the world do verses as good as this band?
I Should Live in Salt (if I had not been a dickhead at the screening I would have asked Matt when this ode to his brother began taking shape) was one of my favourite tracks on first listen but it's slipped a bit in recent times. Still a great track. Mistaken for Strangers, well we all know how good this song is. His vocals don't seem quite as deep on this track. Stunning stuff, as per usual.
Bloodbuzz Ohio... when I first saw The National back in Jan 2012, I was a very casual fan. Bonnie put Looking for Astronauts on her DI list the year previous, and I really dug it, and then ended up digging the "rockier", more upbeat tracks on Alligator, so Abel and Mr November primarily, plus Secret Meeting, Lit Up, All the Wine. I quite enjoyed High Violet and so bought a ticket to see them in Jan 2012... and when they played Bloodbuzz I started choking up a bit... that was probably the first moment that I was like, okay, these guys are pretty fucking awesome. Just so much urgency to the song (to every fucking song they've ever done, thanks to the best motherfucking drummer in rock music) and that underlying sense of anxiety, just tremendous stuff.
Sea of Love was fucking wicked, and gave us our first screams of the night. I have to say, they are immensely satsifying, and if nothing else, Trouble Will Find Me gave us another solid two or three screams... the first two times I saw them Squalor Victoria, England, Abel and Mr November were the only scream moments. Seemed to be over really quickly, which is the only possible complaint I could have about the night. That chorus is so fucking good.
Demons... the guitar tone is quite different live, and it was probably the only song for which I could say it didn't click quite as great as I'd have liked, but I mean still it was amazing. The lyrics are incredible, I really love that Matt mixes some serious anxiety shit with a bit of humour. Again, a great chorus and the crowd loved it.
I was STOKED they played Hard to Find, I honestly thought it was a rarity on this tour. Was the first of two moments tonight where I got a bit choked up. So simple, but so affecting. When Bryan and the horns start coming in, and in steps up a gear about halfway through, with that arpeggio (am I using this wrong??) guitar after the "hard to find..." lines, it's just gorgeous. "I'm not holding out for you, but I'm still watching for the signs..." is probably my favourite line on the whole album, and it was a really nice moment. A few people probably used it as a toilet/bar song, but it was pretty special for me.
Afraid of Everyone is one of my absolute favourite National songs, it just builds so fucking well. The backing "ohhh"s, again, the awesome verses, those anxious little guitar stabs after Matt stops singing, Bryan coming in... and then it just reaches an absolutely incredible conclusion, "your LIES are swallowing my soulsoulsoulsoulsoul..." I've seen it three times now, and it's been an absolute highlight everytime. Fucking amazing.
I THINK THE KIDS ARE IN TROUBLE... is Conversation 16 the greatest song on High Violet? No, but it's still awesome, and the "IIIIIIIIIIII'MMMM EVIIIIILLLL" refrain is a lot of fun. Those of us who have seen Squalor Victoria live know what it's all about. Not much else to say except that no National gig should ever take place without it. Every single National song improves live tenfold in my opinion (and that's not a knock on the awesome album versions) but Squalor Victoria improves like 50 times over. Phenomenal.
I Need My Girl (as well as Hard to Find and About Today) is all the proof you ever need that slower, quieter songs can be astonishing live. It's really something when Matt mumbles "I need my girl" over the contemplative, slow-burning music. Powerful stuff.
THIS IS THE LAST TIME is my favourite song from Trouble Will Find Me, and probably my favourite National song. It strikes an unbelievable balance between upbeat indie rock and melancholy indie rock. That guitar at the start, coupled with "ohh don't tell anyone I'm here/I got tylenol and beer" when Bryan comes in has made me smile from the first time I heard it. Just magic. But soon, the tune changes. It starts with "I won't be vacant anymore / I won't be waiting anymore", which to me has a similar feel to it as the "I won't let the psychos around" from All the Wine... to me it's always felt like a defence mechanism in a way... like Matt is trying to, as he says to Tom in Mistaken for Strangers, "fake it" in the face of self-doubt. And then of course it breaks down and turns into a pretty melancholy tune. And I love to know if anyone else feels the same way I do about it - I honestly think it's fucking remarkable that the mood changes so dramatically, but it feels completely and totally natural. I really can't think of another band who could pull that off. I started choking up during those final moments. Those final lines.... "Jenny I am in trouble / can't get these thoughts out of me / Jenny I'm seeing double / I know this changes everything / it takes a lot of pain..." they are just devastatingly powerful.
Abel followed (I think) and I was actually struck by the thought that I haven't listened to it in fucking ages. It was fucking wild, as always, I had so much fun jumping up and down like an absolute idiot and screaming the chorus. The Slow Show-Apartment Story combo followed. These are two songs that I have actually never been a huge fan of (my favourite four Boxer tracks are the first four) but yeah, they're both amazing songs and damn, it's impossible to feel bad when Apartment Story is on. Slow Show has got this added horn part live, which elevates well above the studio version.
From Apartment Story on, they could have finished the main set on any of those songs, such were their awesomeness. But Pink Rabbits was up next. The piano is a little bit softer live, I feel like, but it doesn't take away from the track at all. Again, another of my absolute favourites from the new album, and just like This is the Last Time, it just goes into the stratosphere when the tune changes slightly with "now I only think about Los Angeles when the sound kicks out..." that final minute or so is so beautiful live, and I was just staring at the night sky breaking up, again.
England is just flat-out one of the best songs you'll ever hear. From the moment the piano begins at the start you know you are going to be taken to a pretty awesome place... and that horn blast which signifies the crescendo is one of the most thrilling moments at a National gig. AFRAID OF THE HEIGHTS STAY THE NIGHT WITH THE SINNERS AFRAID OF THE HEIGHTS STAY THE NIGHT WITH THE SINNERS AFRAID OF THE HEIGHTS COS THEY'RE DESPERATE TO ENTERTAIN
Graceless was up next, and the guitar tone again is a bit different to the album version. It definitely seems a little more upbeat during the choruses. Considering this was their biggest song off the album in Australia, it didn't quite go off as several of the other songs did, but it still obviously rocked the fuck out, particularly towards the end as Matt starts screaming once again. About Today is as beautiful as ever, and as always a great improvement on the already-stunning studio version, particularly with that huge outro.
Fake Empire never fails to get the crowd swooning and singing, and the trumpeter gets a massive cheer when he takes over. The encore started with Humiliation, another song I fucking adore... I knew there was a big outro coming but I never listened to any of the live versions, hoping to see it for myself in person, and it was as wicked as expected. Mr November, no words needed, just as fucking awesome as the first two times I saw it, god I love belting out that chorus. Terrible Love seemed even better than it did the first two times I saw it, it is seriously an absolute beast live, and is probably the most popular song here... he walked on top of the crowd - a pretty great effort considering everyone was standing - and the closing minute or so was just incredible. And then yeah.... Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. I know the acoustic, a capella rendition of it has some critics on this forum, but I am so fucking glad they kept it from the High Violet tour. After two hours of high-octane awesomeness it is just such a special, unique and moving way to finish the gig, with the whole band in a line of sorts, and Matt stopping singing after the first chorus. Just so, so, so beautiful and fitting, and the crowd harmonises so well, I love that 95% of the audience knows the words off by heart.
I was singing the whole way home.