Posted by kluster on January 11, 2011
Ladies love The National. Or so the results of the comprehensive amount of post-event polling we conducted would seem to show. When asked about last Friday and Saturday’s shows at the Enmore Theatre, Sydney females used adjectives such as “phenomenal”, “stunning”, “divine”, “epic” and even this (we think) slightly overzealous word combination: “It was life changing!”
At the other end of the polling spectrum, their male counterparts erred towards the side of reservation. Answering with a less evocative selection including, “impressive”, “refreshing” and this: “A bloody good show.”
Gender-expression differences aside, the results are pretty much the same: The National impressed their Sydney audiences last weekend. Despite a few, self-confessed, between-song-banter fails on the Friday night.
The Brooklyn band took to the stage a little after 9pm, following Sydney band, The Middle East’s strong support slot. Theirs was a big group, with frontman Matt Berninger was flanked by the usual band of brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Scott and Bryan Devendorf, as well as the addition of a mini horn section for two. They opened strongly with ‘Runaway’ before jumping straight into ‘Mistaken For Strangers’ and ‘Anyone’s Ghost’. Pre-show rumours that they would play no material from their recent album, High Violet (2010) proved unfounded – it was strongly represented in the setlist.
The night continued along the line of great rendition, awkward chit-chat between songs saved by another, often better performance. To say that the show was captivating would not be an exaggeration. And on that note, and at the risk of delving into the realm of the feminine, let us finish like this:
Theirs was a show that undoubtedly left us feeling not only content - to have seen so many, proficient musicians show off their talent by underplaying to create a whole that is so much more powerful for the subtle sum of its parts – but also grateful – to have born witness to such an evocative event, the likes of which leaves you feeling somewhat blissful and glad to be a fan of this music.
Want more? Check out our pix.
the national, band, brooklyn, sydney, enmore theatre