8pm, September 24th, 2018. The Greek Theatre, an open-air venue that invites the chill of the night breeze, murmurs excitedly as concert-goers mingle. The venue suddenly goes dark. The audience rises to their feet, alive, pitching forward with excitement. On the stage, a single backdrop features a blend of black and white photographs and bright blue pentagrams that resemble tiny houses, an ode to The National’s new album Sleep Well Beast (2017). Suddenly, the backdrop flickers, changing to a duochrome camera feed. The audience cheers as members of the band cross the screen one by one in seeming nonchalance. The video stream changes to show the band members walking backstage; in the distance, the lights of the stage can be seen. “He’s there!” a voice suddenly screams from the crowd. I crane my neck to see the lead singer of The National, Matt Berninger, enter the stage from the left, followed by the rest of the band. They instantly launch into a soulful rendition of “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,” a politically toned hit from Sleep Well Beast.
Beyond its opening moments, The National’s show at the Greek this past Monday was truly memorable. The band’s energy onstage was electric. Berninger in particular danced about the stage at times, and even stepped forward onto stereos to get closer to fans. Yet the band’s spirit onstage didn’t remain lighthearted for the entire show; at one point, the group dedicated a song to two close friends they had lost over the past week. The stage was bathed in red and the audience was dark with thought as the band played a homage, reminding fans to “talk to their friends.”
It’s not surprising that The National’s show contained some heavy-hearted moments; Sleep Well Beast is an ode to an ending relationship. Although the album is primarily written by lead singer Matt Berninger and his wife Carin, it doesn’t entirely paint an accurate picture of their relationship. Matt said of the album, “I’m happily married, but marriage is hard and my wife and I are writing the lyrics together about our own struggles […] it’s difficult to write, but it’s saving my marriage.” Yet the album has such a deep rawness and honesty to it that it clearly came from a place of great pain. In “Guilty Party,” the band expresses the simple yet wrenching emotion of realizing you’re in a loveless relationship and the feeling of helplessness that accompanies it: “It’s nobody’s fault / No guilty party / We just got nothing / Nothing left to say.” Some of the album’s songs have more nuance, such as the titular track “Sleep Well Beast,” in which Matt’s lyrics are more ambiguous and difficult to grasp: “I’ll still destroy you someday, sleep well, beast; you as well, beast.”
All things considered, The National played a fantastic show, albeit one that was at times deeply emotional. If you’re looking for a purely fun and carefree artist, The National may not be your top choice. However, for anyone hoping to find a band with more variety and nuance throughout their songs, be sure to check out The National the next time they’re in town.
Article and Photos by Emma Jaeger