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Thursday, September 04, 2008
In interviews since their opening slot on REM's North American tour over the summer, the National have unsurprisingly had nothing but good things to say about their treatment by the headliners, and having spotted Mike Mills at stage left, enthusiastically bobbing his head to the band's late-evening set at the Great ComTweetWoods Center in June, it looks like they weren't just hosts, but real fans. And what a treat it must have been to see Matt Berninger & co. night after night. This was my third time seeing them in four years, and it was in sun-showered contrast to the previous small-club shows (TT the Bears in 2005 and Paddy O's last fall) -- even though many seats remained empty while REM fans streamed in, it was still a larger crowd in total than both of those previous area shows combined. You could spot us punctual National fans easily, and so could the band, dedicating one of the late-set songs to an enthusiastic girl near the front. While the large venue promised the opposite of intimacy, my choice seat, the setting sun, and the band's flawless performances of songs I hold dear ended up impressing me even more than I'd expect. I didn't assume their set would measure up to those other sweaty, shoulder-to-shoulder shows I'd seen, but it did. They'd made efforts to mix things up for the tour, both obvious (adding two horns and a bassoon player) and subtle (new drum hits during the "Mistaken for Strangers" intro), and didn't let the cavernous environs dull their energy -- Violinist/keyboardist Padme Newsome was absolutely on fire, the build-up of "Brainy" was more frenetic than ever, and Berninger powerfully bellowed "I WON'T FUCK US OVER!" through the massive sound system during "Mr. November". I especially appreciated the set selection, which included moodier pieces that lured the audience in, bringing up the energy occasionally, then easing us back with "Fake Empire" just before pummeling us on the way out. Glorious. Here's my recording of their set, with some noteworthy links below...  The National Live at Great Woods in Mansfield, MA on Friday, June 13th, 2008 01. Start a War 02. Brainy 03. Baby, We'll Be Fine 04. Slow Show 05. Mistaken for Strangers 06. Squalor Victoria 07. Racing Like a Pro 08. Apartment Story 09. Fake Empire 10. Mr. November   Some National links...
 the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed. Labels: livemp3s  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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