The National are well on their way to mainstream rock star status.
Back in June, the Brooklyn based indie rockers played to a small crowd of 300 at Johnny Brenda’s, a small bar venue in Philly. Monday night they packed the house at the 1,000 person capacity Fillmore at the TLA in Philly. The show kicked off the US leg of a new world tour that runs through the end of the year.
They opened up the set with the slow build up of Start a War. By the end of the song, everyone in the band was ripping on something furiously including singer Matt Berninger who was bashing a cymbal on the drum kit with his back to the crowd. It took Berninger a few songs to warm up to the crowd. He was suffering from a nagging cough that had him cringing away from the mic between songs.
The National @ the Fillmore at the TLA
But even if Berninger was in a Robitussin haze, it didn’t draw down his energy during songs. He jumped around in fits, eyes closed, squeezing out every lyric with his entire body. The crowd ate it up and cheered him on throughout their set of the band’s songs from their latest album, Boxer, and some from their previous, mostly Alligator. The band sounded great, anchored firmly by the understated but driving drumming of Bryan Devendorf.
The sight to be seen though was Padma Newsome, who is touring with the band on violin and keyboards. He looks a little bit like Gary Oldman playing the role of crazed indie rocker. Every time Newsome picked up the violin he played it as if he was just dosed with a large amount of amphetamines. I found myself staring at him for fear that I would miss seeing him spontaneously combust.
Check out some tracks by The National, and the rest of their tour schedule over at 52 Shows.
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