The National @ Black Cat, DC (March 15, 2006)

The shuffle just hit some Ataxia, "Dust." What a great song. I have a great story about that song, actually, but that's for another post, another time.

One of my good friends clued me in on eMusic's promotional deal of 100 free songs for signing up. First, an aside on illegal downloading...I'm not a fan. I buy just about everything save the iTunes download of the week and other assorted goodness like that. My mother is an artist and I can't justify taking something from an artist and not giving them something in return. That's that. I used my 100 free songs to grab a bunch of stuff that I was curious about...I ended up picking up The National's critically acclaimed ALLIGATOR. This was about a week before the show at the Black Cat, so I had plenty of time to dive in, come up for air, and dive back down.

First off, ALLIGATOR is an amazing album from top to bottom, I couldn't (can't) stop listening to it. It really fueled the interest in catching them live. ALLIGATOR was the only album of theirs that I owned, so I had some expectations, but nothing too high. I did a little research beforehand and it was good to see that they were from my home away from home, Brooklyn, NY and they all left pretty good jobs to put the band together. On top of that, several publications had placed ALLIGATOR in their Top Ten from 2005, including the #1 album honors from journalists at The Onion, Billboard, and the LA Times. Not bad. Now I am getting excited.

Up to this point, Top and I had caught several shows at the Black Cat. The week prior we caught The Cloud Room there (good show...i'll post about it soon) and in February we caught Living Things and The Vacation there. Neither of those shows were close to capacity. We were comfortable sitting at the bar for both, with no obstruction between us and the stage. As soon as we get to the Black Cat to see The National we notice that things are a little different. People were actually in a tiny line outside. This was new. We hustled in, got our will call tix (the only way Black Cat rolls) and got up to the Main Stage. The crowd was already noticeably larger than our previous shows there. Opening act was Baby Dayliner. It might have been my excitement to see The National, or my lack of enthusiasm for acts that sing over recorded-techno-lounge-house beats, but Baby Dayliner was not doing it for me. After the first song I wasn't giving him much attention and our bartender randomly gave us a free PBR after we had only grabbed one round. Fine with us. By the time Baby Dayliner wrapped up the place was about 3/4 full. We walked to the stage and set up (regrettably) next to the speakers on the left side (as you look at it) right next to the entrance back stage. The National came on and they all looked like nice enough guys and I was pleased with the fact that while BD's set was nothing special...there is nothing to take down or reorganize after a guy comes out and sings over a beatbox. The National's stuff was already set up and they took the stage shortly after BD was done. Top noticed about three Les Paul standards up on stage and we realized that things were going to be pretty good tonight.

They kicked off with "Secret Meeting," the first song on ALLIGATOR. I was lost in the music from this point forward. I think it was four songs in that they kicked into "Abel" and I lost my mind. As soon as the riff hit, you could hear some yelling from the crowd and I saw some fist-pumping that mirrored my own. It was the single best live song I have heard in 2005 (not counting everything that Robert Randolph did after the ball dropped at the 9:30 Club, of course). As good as the album is, you have to see these guys live. The guitars going back and forth on "Abel" is sonic heaven. The National thrives at bringing you into a song and then taking you on a rollercoaster ride. "Abel" pulsed back and forth between chorus and verse and as the song throttled along, Matt Berninger was jumping in the middle of the stage and then screaming the chorus at both the ground and the ceiling. The drumming was fantastic. We had a perfect view. I have not see drumming that great since Jon Theodore of The Mars Volta. It was mesmerizing. Simply amazing. Bryan Devendorf is a monster talent. His drumming may be the most irreplaceable aspect of The National. The subtle nuances he creates within songs like "The Geese of Beverly Road" and "Looking For Astronauts" are stark contrasts to the overpowering thunderheads within "Lit Up," the aforementioned "Abel," and "Mr. November."

A good friend of mine once said, all great bands can be divided into individual performances. If you can single out the singer, the guitarists, the bassist, or the drummer and be equally amazed at what they have going on as an individual, within the group performance, then you are in the midst of a great band. We are there with The National. Berninger doesn't show great range, and he doesn't need to. His lyrics and voice are perfect within the limits of the band and the music.

They touched most of the standout songs on ALLIGATOR and Top and I were introduced to older songs like "Cherry Tree," I believe. I was so caught up in the performance that I completely forgot about the song "Mr. November." Once the opening riff came on, I went nuts. They really had the place buzzing at this point...."this is nothing like it was in my room/in my best clothes/trying to think of you" was echoed by some of the loyal fans and you could see some bounce in the crowd. Once he hit the pre-chorus ("i'm the new blue blood/i'm the great white hope") you could hear a noticeable amount of audience participation. The banging guitars about three minutes in had the place on fire. Top and I smiled. They closed with several softer numbers ("All The Wine"?). There wasn't an encore. I kept dreaming there would be. I kept thinking they would rip into "Abel" again, but I wasn't sure if I had the energy for it. After they closed it out we hopped in line to pick up their other CDs (CHERRY TREE [EP] and SAD SONGS FOR DIRTY LOVERS) and the obligatory t-shirt. You have to support the band after a show like that.

I mentioned earlier that we regrettably posted by the left speaker. For the last five songs I had the DJ pose going: one hand over one hear, head bobbing, opposite hand keeping the rhythm. I was essentially deaf in my left ear after the show. We keep on forgetting the earplugs. What can you do.

As I close, "Omission" by John Frusciante is rocking. There is something about this song: the simple, first position chord progression and the ominous words, "suffer fate 'cause it's the only lift ya got." I listen to JF a lot. Somewhat religiously,...and each time I always think to myself, "thank god this guy is still alive. thank god we have people making music like this. life is so good." A related, cathartic lift was felt walking out of the Black Cat that night. I thought of Frat and Ryno in the desert, wished they were here, but knew that we were all traveling on the same wavelength regardless of our current commitments, dispositions, and locations. Catch The National whenever you can, you won't forget the show anytime soon. Especially if you stand right next to the speaker.