just let me hear your voice, just let me listen

All sorts of great, non-internet/ real life things have filled my time this week. And since I'm currently on the bus headed up to reunion for the weekend, my "week" is officially over. By far the greatest part of my week was last night's The National concert at Barclays which I attended with Ana. We got there a bit before doors opened, and despite being in a line stretching down Atlantic, found ourselves in the 2nd row. While it was my third time seeing them live, and the biggest venue, it was by far the closest I've ever been. The dude standing in front of me even got a high-five from Matt at the end (and declared he was never washing his hand again...)

Their stage presence is as captivating as ever. The projections and lighting they have for this tour is impressive and beautifully done. The new material sounded great, but I'm a sucker mostly for their tendency to freak the fuck out on the older stuff (I'm looking at you, Mr. November and Squalor Victoria). They did a great version of Apartment Story (one of my favorites), plus all the songs from the new album which I've been drawn to (Graceless, I Should Live in Salt, etc). And, as a surprise, Annie Clark showed up fresh off a plane to join them for This Is The Last Time. As a footnote to the encore, they came back out to do their acoustic version of Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. It was a perfect closing which made an arena-sized show seem small and intimate.