Mp3s: The National live in Mansfield, MA
Posted on September 4, 2008 at 7:54 am | No Comments
In interviews since their opening slot on REM‘s North American tour over the summer, the National have unsurprisingly had nothing but good things to say about their treatment by the headliners, and having spotted Mike Mills at stage left, enthusiastically bobbing his head to the band’s late-evening set at the Great ComTweetWoods Center in June, it looks like they weren’t just hosts, but real fans. And what a treat it must have been to see Matt Berninger & co. night after night. This was my third time seeing them in four years, and it was in sun-showered contrast to the previous small-club shows (TT the Bears in 2005 and Paddy O’s last fall) — even though many seats remained empty while REM fans streamed in, it was still a larger crowd in total than both of those previous area shows combined. You could spot us punctual National fans easily, and so could the band, dedicating one of the late-set songs to an enthusiastic girl near the front.
While the large venue promised the opposite of intimacy, my choice seat, the setting sun, and the band’s flawless performances of songs I hold dear ended up impressing me even more than I’d expect. I didn’t assume their set would measure up to those other sweaty, shoulder-to-shoulder shows I’d seen, but it did. They’d made efforts to mix things up for the tour, both obvious (adding two horns and a bassoon player) and subtle (new drum hits during the “Mistaken for Strangers” intro), and didn’t let the cavernous environs dull their energy — Violinist/keyboardist Padme Newsome was absolutely on fire, the build-up of “Brainy” was more frenetic than ever, and Berninger powerfully bellowed “I WON’T FUCK US OVER!” through the massive sound system during “Mr. November“. I especially appreciated the set selection, which included moodier pieces that lured the audience in, bringing up the energy occasionally, then easing us back with “Fake Empire” just before pummeling us on the way out. Glorious.
Here’s my recording of their set, with some noteworthy links below…
Live at Great Woods
in Mansfield, MA
on Friday, June 13th, 2008
01. Start a War
02. Brainy
03. Baby, We’ll Be Fine
04. Slow Show
05. Mistaken for Strangers
06. Squalor Victoria
07. Racing Like a Pro
08. Apartment Story
09. Fake Empire
10. Mr. November
Some National links…
Info: Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and their Beggars label page. Additional Audio: Sadly the band has removed the three older Mp3s they had shared at their own site, and Beggars doesn’t have any available either, but you can still stream songs at MySpace, of course. The 2007 DC show that NPR shared is also still available to stream here. Video: There’s a YouTube clip of the band performing what may be their first new post-Boxer song, “A Thousand Black Cities“, in Copenhagen last month. Links to all of their “proper” vids can be found here, as well as through a National YouTube search. Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here, or have a look through a full National Flickr tag search. Hope: An edited, instrumental version of “Fake Empire” has been used in a new Barack Obama campaign ad, which you can watch while sporting your Obama-fundraising “Mr. November” t-shirt. Upcoming live dates: The band is taking it (relatively) easy this fall after a road-heavy summer, with just a handful of scattered shows, including two west coast stops later this month, an NY show in October, and a trio of dates in Brazil before they hit the November 8th Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. And here’s hoping that fest is extra fun-fun-fun because Obama wins on November 4th. Celebration over commiseration. Easily stream to any and all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine.
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the ‘nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
Preview Mp3: new New Radiant Storm King
Posted on August 21, 2008 at 12:56 pm | No Comments
If you’ve been reading this site long enough, you’re likely aware of my firm belief that New Radiant Storm King released one of the finest albums of 2006 in “The Steady Hand”. That thoughtfully energetic collection of dual-guitar rock songs kept the best aspects of what made this born-in-89 quartet so good throughout the 90s, while at the same time showing enough growth to not sound like a retread. Unlike some of their peers, age hadn’t split them apart and put acoustic guitars in their hands, or pushed them towards milking their rich catalog for nostalgia’s sake — their hook-filled creativity was still fully on display, along with a measured dose of songwriting maturity.
We got a healthy taste of their next record when NRSK opened up for reunited old friends Polvo at the Middle East a couple months back — only 3 songs of their 9-song set were familiar (the excellent “Montague Terrace” from 2002’s “Winter’s Kill“, and two set bookends from “The Steady Hand“), so I assumed the rest would be found on their autumn-scheduled album. Well, I assumed correctly, and thanks to Darla Records, I’ve been spending lots of time with New Radiant Storm King’s upcoming eighth (!) full-lengther, “Drinking In The Moonlight”.
The thirteen songs add slightly more intricate production to the mix, and while the band’s energy remains (opener “Soporific Slump“, “Eraser“), the new album relies a bit more on their cleaner, sparkling guitar lines over a bed of acoustic (yes, I said it) strumming, eschewing heavy distortion in favor of more instrumental depth. Hell, album closer “Fall Prey“, with its gorgeous piano line and heavily-panned drum fills, sounds more like the Beatles than anything NRSK has ever recorded, and contains an actual guitar solo, a musical trope the band has rarely, if ever, fallen back on. Fortunately, they have the good taste to pull it off, and even the songs that stretch the band’s own boundaries still sound undeniably NRSK. Not sure I can think of another non-twee act who can work “Ooooo la-la-la” backing vox into a song (see “Midnight Comes”) and have it sound wholly appropriate. Yes, the hooks are there in spades, maybe less overtly propulsive but no less catchy, resulting in a little more pop in their rock. Lyrically, the band continues to grow, weaving in weighty subjects like religion, the consequences of violence, and of course, the unavoidable passage of time. Fortunately for us, that passage of time hasn’t included retiring their band, and it’ll be nice to see founding members Peyton Pinkerton and Matt Hunter celebrate their 20th anniversary as songwriting partners next year.
Through the kindness of their record label, I’ve got what might be the premiere of the first downloadable song from the upcoming album for ya. Here’s track number three…
New Radiant Storm King’s “Drinking In The Moonlight” arrives on October 7th, 2008 courtesy of Darla Records. You can stream five other songs from the album on MySpace. For the full track list and the band’s (very) brief words on each song, head here, and to pre-order, click here. They play tomorrow night in Philly at the M Room and Saturday at Piano’s in NYC, both shows with Photon Band. More tour dates are sure to follow later on this year, so keep an eye out.
