Mistaken For Strangers

Let me first apologize (the three people who actually read this blog) for being MIA for the past week. When I started this blog a month ago, it was my intention to post on a regular basis, so going a week without a single entry is simply unacceptable in my books. Blah, blah, blah...I'm very sorry and it won't happen again.

Ok, back to the grind.

In ten words or less, I URGE you to check out The National (below). And yes, I know what you music aficionados are thinking -- back to the Monday-morning quarterbacking. This Brooklyn-based quintet (removed from Cincinnati) has been around for the better part of the decade, but I just discovered them last year after their fourth release, Boxer, garnered universal critical acclaim. To me, The National are a weird group -- in a good way. When I first gave them a listen, I became instantly bored by their sound was not impressed in the least. In fact, I grouped them in the same dreaded category as the Arcade Fire -- a handful of uncreative, talentless bands who have been mysteriously granted god-like status to hipsters globally (see also MGMT, Caribou, LCD Soundsystem).

However, the band has withstood the time for me, and now I cannot get enough of them. I have even delved into some of their back catalog which is equally praiseworthy. To me, my newfound interest in this band follows the "Kid A theory". Let me explain. I loved Radiohead's mid-90's Bends/Ok Computer material. When I found out that Thom Yorke and gang were finally releasing a new album in 2000, I was psyched. However, when I heard the first single, "Optimistic", I was anything but this. I could honestly not believe that this cacophony was coming from the same dudes who produced mainstream rock faves that included "High & Dry", "Creep", and "Fake Plastic Trees". When I got my hands on the album, it was much of the same and I had sincerely lost interest in one of my formerly-favorite bands. The album was lauded as record of the year from critics everywhere, and I just couldn't wrap my head around this. Then something happened which to this day unexplainable: the music just started to make sense. Songs that were unlistenable gradually became tolerable, and then somewhat enjoyable. One day it all just all came together, and it has since stuck with me. This is exactly how it happened to me with The National's Boxer.

I was lucky enough to catch the band's second sold-out show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last Saturday night. All I gotta say is, "wow" (also in a good way). The National started the night off with crowd pleaser "Start A War" and continued to play most of the material off of Boxer, as well as a smattering of tunes off their previous efforts (which I will admittedly say I wasn't to familiar with). The band was remarkably spot-on the entire night -- featuring singer Matt Berninger's characteristic barititone vocals and a John-Lennon look-alike for a drummer who's playing was absolutely incindiery. The theater's gorgeous intimacy provided the perfect environment for The National's beautifully somber tone. The night reached its climax during crowd-favorite "Fake Empire" -- a tune that utilized the horn section from its studio release, and also included the added bonus of wind orchestra ensemble that played with the band the entire night. An ambitious effort to say the least, but hell, it worked. The band played a couple of encores to a theater crowd that was on its feet the entire night, and then graciously left the stage to whistles and howls for more. If the reception the band received that night is any indication of of their future, it looks like it will be anything but a boring ride.