Slow Ride Lyrics

Live Review: Arcade Fire, The National in Chicago (4/24)

Despite Spring’s yawn this past weekend, Chicago could still use some heat. On night two of their weekend residency at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion, Brooklyn’s The National and Canada’s Arcade Fire worked together to trump any thick coat or warm cup of coffee. They hit the spot, too.

Half past seven, The National strolled out to the sounds of Bob Dylan’s great Lebowski moment: “The Man in Me”. Naturally, the thousand or so souls in attendance roared in applause, while several unfortunates in the respective beer or merch lines raced to return to their seats. For some who caught the band either at Coachella or online via webcast, they were hoping the set would be an improvement from the more or less stale desert performance.

Their wishes were granted.

Over a solid five album discography, The National work with a unit of songs that vary slightly in intensity. For the most part, they build and climb higher as seconds pass, usually leading to some sort of soothing climax that feels balmy and/or appreciated. The same could be said for the band’s stage presence. Last night, The National held and controlled their passion for each song, only to let loose once each refrain or bridge passed. This passion was felt in a strummy yet bass fueled “Bloodbuzz Ohio” where frontman Matt Berninger appeared like a crash test dummy given new life: dramatic flailing, lanky dancing, and a head that refused to acknowledge gravity. On “Afraid of Everyone”, the band showed the crowd not only the sheer talent of guitarist Aaron Dessner, but how they can take a relatively slow song and bring it up to speed, elevating it to new heights. It didn’t hurt that Arcade Fire’s Richard Perry joined them on-stage, either.

Photo by Lauren Guagno

To close out the set, The National stirred up their fans with an unexpected appearance of Win Butler on “Start a War” and an expected on-target rendition of “Mr. November”, following it up with the new fan favorite crooner “Terrible Love”. This is where we saw Berninger in all his glory. Wine glass in hand, microphone stand adjusted upright on his shoulder, he screamed out the song’s anthem-like lyrics (“It takes an ocean not to break!”) to much rapport. Altogether, this was a set any fan of The National would want. You had the energy, dramatic flair, and the songs to carry you throughout the set; a beautiful piece of architecture, so to speak. For the radio-friendly listener who happened to fall upon “Terrible Love”, The National gave them a wonderful foundation to start things off with.