Review of The National Live at the Chicago Theatre
April 18th, 2014
The National performed their fourth show at the historic Chicago Theater on April 18th, 2014. The band of brother’s songs are written and sung by Matt Berininger, and music is composed and performed by Aaron Dessner (guitar and keyboard), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Originally scheduled to play two nights, after tickets quickly sold out the band added a third date. When those tickets also sold out swiftly, the band decided to add a fourth and final date to the Chicago stop on their 2014 tour.
The band opened with “Sea of Love,” from their sixth (grammy nominated) album, Trouble Will Find Me. Immediately, you could sense that Matt uses his baritone voice to power through the songs with heavy vocals. There were many instances, for example during “Squalor Victoria” and “Humiliation”, where you could clearly hear that he was stressing and pushing his voice as far as it could. Matt is a performer that lets the music take control of his body and movements; he thrusted and slammed the microphone stand, breaking it multiple times. Breaking the microphone and mic-stand seems to be a regular part of the show because the band started to keep track of the the ones Matt has broken, posting a photograph on facebook of the tally. He got so into the performance that during “Mr. November” he crawled off the stage and onto the crowd, making his way halfway back the theater. Matt’s passion for the lyrics and performance kept the crowd on their feet, dancing and singing along the entire show. During the (rumored to be) live debut of the song “All Dolled up in Straps” a fan was so excited that he started to clap along before the song even started. Matt began to sing the song, which starts off with the lowest baritone his voice can handle, and ended up becoming thrown off by the off-beat clapping of the fan. He stopped, and jokingly said to the fan, “that’s a sick beat man, but I don’t think we can play to that,” and then proceeded to start the song over again. To close the show, the band performed “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” while Matt shed his microphone and encouraged the crowd to sing along like a chorus. The band mostly showcased songs from their latest album, but played a few favorite songs from previous albums, for the nostalgic fans.
The setlist for the show was as follows:
1. Sea of Love
2. I Should Live in Salt
3. Anyone’s Ghost
4. Baby, We’ll Be Fine
5. Bloodbuzz Ohio
6. Don’t Swallow the Cap
7. Hard to Find
8. Afraid of Everyone
9. Conversation 16
10. Squalor Victoria
11. I need my Girl
12. This is the Last Time
13. Apartment Story
14. Available
15. Cardinal Song
16. Pink Rabbits
17. Humiliation
18. Sorrow
19. Graceless
20. Mistaken for Strangers
21. Fake Empire
ENCORE:
22. All Dolled Up in Straps
23. Mr. November
24. Terrible Love
25. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
If you are a fan on The National, then seeing them perform live is a must! Though they didn’t deviate much from the studio versions of their songs, the live show was truly an experience to be had and shared with the band. The band was so energetic, and Matt was a true front-man full of passion and displaying overwhelming emotion through his deep and strong vocals. The crowd seemed to know the words to every song they played, new and old, and kept moving and dancing through the whole show. In the end, a National live show does not disappoint.
Review by Jessica Cuevas
