![\"Boston](\"\/wtbu\/files\/2018\/05\/fb_admat_sponsors-819x1024.jpg\")
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THE NATIONAL<\/b><\/p>\n
Listening to the National with other people feels like doing something private in public. Each of their melancholy tunes addresses a specific type of city-dwelling mid-20s malaise that calls for an intimate listening space (maybe an IKEA bed in a closet-sized apartment). They have an entire song about feeling anxious at a party.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why the festival atmosphere of the National\u2019s Boston Calling set on Friday night felt incongruous at first. By the end of the set, though, the National almost made Harvard Stadium feel small like that closet-sized apartment.<\/span><\/p>\n After an introduction by friend-of-the-band Natalie Portman (who curates Boston Calling\u2019s film component), the National opened with \u201cNobody Else Will Be There,\u201d the first song from their latest album, <\/span>Sleep Well Beast<\/span><\/i>. Lead singer Matt Berninger sang low and close to the microphone, usually with his hands behind his back or in his pockets, a picture of restraint. But his famous baritone was hoarse, and he was willing to play around more than he does in his flawless recorded vocals. During \u201cAfraid of Everyone,\u201d he screamed \u201c<\/span>I try not to hurt anybody I like<\/span><\/i>\u201d\u2014a line he delivers calm and smooth on the album version. A little roughness brought bigger energy to morose songs. <\/span><\/p>\n The whole band sounds looser live, a relaxation that seems like a natural progression for them\u2014they\u2019ve been simplifying their production since 2010\u2019s bombastic and horn-heavy <\/span>High Violet.<\/span><\/i> It\u2019s easier to hear how intricate and controlled the songs are this way. \u201cDon\u2019t Swallow the Cap\u201d was a map of trombone hits, repetitive cymbal crashes, and guitar plucks as precise as a metronome. One slip-up and the whole delicate machine falls apart. A monotonous chugging guitar\u2014working more like a drum than a string instrument\u2014drove \u201cTerrible Love,\u201d the satisfying finale to their set.<\/span><\/p>\n The highlight of the show was a duet version of \u201cI Need My Girl\u201d with singer\/songwriter Maggie Rogers. Rogers\u2019s clear and powerful voice mingled with Berninger\u2019s low rumble to make an intricate harmony rare for the National. The contrast brought a surge of fresh emotion to an already beautiful song.<\/span><\/p>\n The band focused on songs from their latest album, but when they reached back in their repertoire, they went for favorites like \u201cBloodbuzz Ohio\u201d and \u201cFake Empire,\u201d and ripped into the uncharacteristically up-tempo \u201cMr. November\u201d from their 2005 album <\/span>Alligator. <\/span><\/i>The band used the song title on a Barack Obama T-shirt during his first run for president, but this time Berninger joked about a different political connection.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis was written about President Taft. President Taft, this is for you,\u201d he said. Then he thought about it some more. \u201cI think he was shitty\u2014I think he was a piece of shit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The National doesn\u2019t make festival crowds dance, and even a looser, live version is focused on building highly controlled musical clockwork, playing songs with a million moving and interlocking parts. Sure, there\u2019s still room for them to let their proverbial hair down, but if they did, they wouldn\u2019t be the National. Their ability to bring some intimacy to a huge stadium festival shows how powerful their songs are, even at their moodiest.<\/span><\/p>\n -Miranda Suarez<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SET LIST:<\/span><\/p>\n THE NATIONAL Listening to the National with other people feels like doing something private in public. Each of their melancholy tunes addresses a specific type of city-dwelling mid-20s malaise that calls for an intimate listening space (maybe an IKEA bed in a closet-sized apartment). They have an entire song about feeling anxious at a party. 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