Today's Brew | The National

I caught The National as they played a soldout show over at the El Rey last night.
Let me tell you now, I'm not a big fan of the venue itself, and even going there again that night, it hasn't changed my opinion of the place. The venue layout is horrible, and the place has a horrendous ventilation system. But aside from my bitching and complaining about the place, this is my second time catching this band, and I'd say that they are definitely a band to see live if you haven't seen them already. They may not be the most flamboyant or entertaining band to watch, but they know how to put on a good show.


(photo courtesy of Joel Didriksen for kingpinphoto.com | NPR performing live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C)

The band opened with the song "Start a War" and the set included many of the crowd favorites from their previous album 'Alligator'. Also got the whole crowd going with "Mr November" and "Fake Empire".

From their 2003 album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers:
mp3: The National- "Slipping Husband"

NPR: The National play Nation's Capital

Sidenote:
This Saturday evening-
NPR: Polyphonic Spree: Hear Full Performance Live on NPR.org from Washington, D.C.