The National, Weds May 14th

The National returned to Dublin for three shows this week to start off their new tour (of Europe? The World? The Milky Way? I'm not sure which...), due to the fantastic reception they have received at previous shows and their love of the city's music scene, which is a pretty big endorsement..
The gig started off slightly subdued, with the Wednesday night crowd taking their time getting into the swing of things, which is understandable. Early major tracks included Mistaken for Strangers, which I found slightly odd due to its potential to be a big epic finisher. As the gig progressed we were treated to the majority of their biggest tracks from the two superb albums Alligator and Boxer. Big highlights for me included Start a War and the huge energy and emotion of Matt Berninger's performance, particularly striking during Abel and Squalor Victoria. Also big mention for their keyboard/violin guy (with the long hair and beard). He rocks!!! All in all a great Dublin night, full of hand-clapping, jumping up and down, sing-alongs and the general joys of going to a gig!!!

Here is a video we didn't take of them performing "Fake Empire", a classic.