Make My Night: The National and Marionette

It's almost exactly three years since I first saw The National live (they were opening for the Arcade Fire) and nearly two years since I saw them last (while on a night off from the tour with REM), so I was more than overdue to see them tonight.

When the tickets originally went on sale, I'd purposely chosen the Thursday show rather than the Friday, knowing I wouldn't be able to enjoy doing anything else on Thursday knowing they were playing here and I wasn't there. It turned out to be a wise choice.

As much as I'd been eagerly anticipating tonight, I was in for the surprise of the year when, checking online this afternoon for when the show started, I saw that the opener was local band Marionette, a band I've been a huge fan of for a couple of years now. There could be no more perfect show for me than the combination of these two on stage in one evening. They might as well have called it the Karen Show (and wouldn't it have been amazing if The National had sung "Karen"?).

I started out by meeting a friend and his charming out-of-town guest at Comfort. He'd already introduced her to my blog (she thought it was funny) and told me about hers (more serious due to its work-related nature). We had some great music talk and she was very surprised to learn that I'm not one of those people who tries to get backstage to meet the band. Must be my innate shyness that keeps me in the audience (okay, not likely). I raved about Marionette to them so we left in time to catch their set.

At the National we found frigid temperatures in anticipation of the crowd tonight. Only 800 tickets had been sold in advance, but people continued to walk up and buy them. I didn't want to deal with a shoulder-to-shoulder sell-out crowd (hence the choice of tonight over tomorrow) but I wasn't adverse to more warm bodies nearby either. Unfortunately when I got them, they were of the most obnoxious kind, but more on that later.

Marionette was performing as a four piece , rather than five, and played an excellent and energetic set. My friends were won over in a matter of a couple songs and it was obvious that the audience recognized them as something special as they got more and more into it with each song.
I loved that so many new people were being exposed to this talented band who have had me raving about their unique sound for over some time now. They're playing for the grand re-opening of the Virginia Museum next Saturday night and I can't suggest strongly enough that you go check them out. Not to be corny, but they will knock your socks off and besides, then I can say I told you so.

I wasn't sure what to expect different from The National other than new material, of which we got plenty. The main change I noticed was how much looser the band was, especially lead singer Matt Berninger. Last time, he'd been more staid, singing with closed eyes and less crowd interaction.

Tonight he was touching hands, bending down and engaging with the audience so much more. Maybe it was the bottle and glass of wine he'd brought onstage with him. I have to say, him removing the cork with his teeth was a pretty appealing picture.

At one point, he jumped off the stage and moved through the crowd singing, finally stopping at the sound booth. Much like my favorite bar stool at a restaurant, I have a favorite place at the National and it's against the guard rail of the sound booth. So it was a stroke of luck for me that he mounted the rail and sang from it, putting him a matter of a couple feet from where we were standing. It might have been the most exciting thing I've witnessed at a show and that's saying something, considering how many shows I attend every year.

Another (unfortunate) difference at the show was the addition of the party fan base. The summer 2008 show was a collection of The National fanatics who came to hear an amazing band. Tonight's crowd included those unpleasant types who are jumping on the bandwagon late and are far less devoted to the music.

The two guys in front of us, for instance, were obnoxiously drunk before the band even came onstage (one guy had five empty beer cups when his friend brought him his sixth beer). I heard him say, "I'm determined to get thrown out of here tonight."

By the third song, he and his buddy were shouting an inane conversation directly in front of me. As they got louder and obliterated my view, I couldn't stop myself from asking them to move or be quiet so I could hear the music. The guy with the six beers decided to challenge me by saying, "Yea, well we don't have to shut up. We're from New Orleans and we come to shows to party."

He continued to berate me while I ignored him and my friends closed in around me, but at least he wasn't in front of me anymore. Eventually his ADD kicked in and he moved away. I'm the wrong person to be near if you plan to talk loudly through a show; I've got no compunction about telling you to shut the fuck up, as I did with this guy tonight. No one's going to drown out bands this good in my presence.

The new material sounded great and Matt B. acknowledged that he was doing much better with the new material tonight than with the old. He said that, "At the end of a show, we give demerits and count the fuck-ups and tonight I'm going to win." During the encore, he apologized again for his mistakes. Honestly, the audience was just thrilled to hear that magnificent baritone and obtuse lyrics.

At that last show of theirs I saw, all the material was drawn from Alligator and Boxer, so the devoted got to hear all their favorites. With so much new stuff tonight, that wasn't necessarily the case. For me, satisfaction arrived in the form of "Slow Show," quite possibly the most romantic song ever written. And that's not just my opinion because I know for a fact that guitarist Adam Rose of Marionette agrees with me on that. Romance is, after all, in the ear of the beholder.

And tonight's performances by two of my all-time favorite bands made for a night not likely to be topped musically for quite some time. If ever there were two bands who understand what appeals to my ears, it's these guys. Or, as The National puts it:

I'm put together beautifully
Big wet bottle in my fist
Big wet rose in my teeth
I'm a perfect piece of ass

I couldn't have said it better myself. Hats off to both bands for making my night a perfect piece.