Review: OpenAir St. Gallen Sunday 03.07.11 – The National, Warpaint, Beirut, QOTSA

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Sunday starts with a sharp pain to the wallet – ouch, CHF 45 for parking! That kinda sucks, as it was the same price to park the whole weekend. Oh well. Next year I guess we will do as everyone else did, and park around the town*.

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Review – The National @ Alcatraz, Milan 16.11.10

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God, how I love The National. There was a time when it was all I played (yes, that’s me, the obsessive). But I never got all fangirly over them. However, after Tuesday night’s gig at Alcatraz in Milan, I fear I might just be tipping over that precipice. I blame Matt Berninger and his damnable voice – a thing of beauty, it sends chills down my spine every time.

It was a dark and stormy night; expectations were high. I last saw The National play at the Royal Albert Hall back in July, a truly glorious gig that stupidly, I never got around to reviewing. Back then I was awed by the sheer intensity and energy of the show, which ended with Matt Berninger scaling the walls right up to the stalls of the RAH – a pretty hard act to follow. But I wasn’t about to let the chance to see them one last time this year slip past me.

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The National – ‘Terrible Love’ (alternate version)

My stars must have been correctly aligned this year, because as of last night I’ve seen The National twice in one year – y’hear that, TWICE! I’ll try not to be so incredibly smug, but with Matt Berninger‘s deliciously rich baritone still ringing in my ears after their gig @ Alacatraz in Milan last night it’s hard to stop my heart racing enough to get around to writing up a review.

But I digress. In the run-up to the re-launch of High Violet Expanded Edition (26.11.10) the Brooklyn-based 5-piece have released an alternate version of ‘Terrible Love’, directed by Matt’s brother, Tom Berninger. Ever the voyeur, I love this behind-the scenes look at their touring  life, and I think I quite prefer this version to the album version:

The National are now playing selected dates in Europe, Australia/NZ, and Asia.

High Violet Expanded Edition is out on 4AD on Friday 26th November 2010.

Track of the day: ‘Pay For Me’ – The National

Lately I’ve been trawling through The National’s back catalogue. In the wake of the release of High Violet, I wanted to see how the band has developed over their five album history (verdict – someone is feeling anxious (spiders, ghosts, fear and sorrow) and isolated, and wants to get away from it all. But it still sounds beautiful, and brooding, and melancholy – all my favourite things).

My first introduction to The National was 2004′s Cherry Tree ep, and I was immediately hooked on Matt Berninger’s moody rendering of alcohol-soaked tales of bravado and lust (‘I’m put together beautifully, big wet bottle in my fist, big red rose in my teeth, I’m a perfect piece of ass, like every Californian, so tall I take over the trees, with high beams shining out my back, a wing span unbelievable…‘). This was during the halcyon days of my eMusic subscription (yes, that’s how long ago it was, back when eMusic actually offered a decent deal) so I was immediately able to get everything The National had ever even thought about releasing onto my (even then ancient) ipod. Their self-titled debut struck me as patchy with moments of greatness, but with a promise of greater things and already hinting at the elegance and clarity that came later in Boxer and Alligator.

It’s been a while since I really listened to their self-titled debut, and after a period of self-imposed absence from their albums (even I, the obsessive listener, realise that too many listens eventually wears down even the most amazing song), I’ve come back to them. I put on Pay For Me last night and remembered all over again how much I love this song, even if it does channel Son Volt a little too readily.

General newsiness 19.04.10