I'd say that the National are pretty well a known quantity for me, at least to the extent that you can ever say that about any artist - I've really internalised Boxer and Alligator and High Violet, and to a lesser extent Trouble Will Find Me too, plus I'd previously seen them live not once but twice - and yet, their show yesterday still added some new dimensions to my experience of their music (the one that's top of mind right now is how great a song "Conversation 16" turns out to be - that's the one that goes "I was afraid - I'd eat your brains - cause I'm evil"; "Graceless" also stood out more than I'd have expected).
So anyway, in about an hour and a half (I think), they got through a fair number of the best songs from their last three albums, and knowing them inside out and loving them as I do it couldn't help but be a good experience (despite the somewhat crummy sound in the grass area, where we were), and it was..."Fake Empire", "Mistaken For Strangers", "Slow Show", "Terrible Love", "Bloodbuzz Ohio", "Sea of Love", etc, etc (not to mention the always welcome "Abel" and "Mr November" from the slightly older Alligator, which I would've liked them to dip into more).
Support from Luluc, who I've also seen multiple times before although only once as a headline act in their own right - their sounds suited for the grassy, expansive surrounds of the Music Bowl as a baking hot Melbourne summer's day wound down.
(w/ Al)
So anyway, in about an hour and a half (I think), they got through a fair number of the best songs from their last three albums, and knowing them inside out and loving them as I do it couldn't help but be a good experience (despite the somewhat crummy sound in the grass area, where we were), and it was..."Fake Empire", "Mistaken For Strangers", "Slow Show", "Terrible Love", "Bloodbuzz Ohio", "Sea of Love", etc, etc (not to mention the always welcome "Abel" and "Mr November" from the slightly older Alligator, which I would've liked them to dip into more).
Support from Luluc, who I've also seen multiple times before although only once as a headline act in their own right - their sounds suited for the grassy, expansive surrounds of the Music Bowl as a baking hot Melbourne summer's day wound down.
(w/ Al)
