Armed with music from a discography that now spans seven studio albums since their inception in 1999, the band seemed to be inspired by the current political climate and the very city which they were playing in – often an inevitability when socially-conscious bands play shows in the nation\u2019s capital. As a result, singer Matt Berninger<\/strong> interjected choice words – to put it kindly – for the current administration at certain points in between songs, and as the evening went on, the band played with an urgent energy reflecting a spirit of protest. Berninger would even \u201cdedicate\u201d songs to political figures such as Karl Rove and Senator Rob Portman throughout the course of the night.<\/p>\n Things got off to an unexpectedly rocky start, as the band was forced to cut short its opening song – the rarely-played Boxer <\/em>b-side \u201cSanta Clara\u201d – after two attempts which didn\u2019t make it through the first verse. Sounding as though he had been battling a cold, Berninger expressed some frustration, but ultimately laughed off the miscues as he turned to his bandmates and motioned them to move on to the next song. The band kept the mood low-key with their second song in the set, \u201cNobody Else Will Be There\u201d, which was led by Aaron Dessner<\/strong>\u2019s (guitar, keyboards) somber piano parts, before ramping up the energy with \u201cThe System Only Dreams In Total Darkness,\u201d another cut from the recently-released Sleep Well Beast<\/em>. The latter tune showcased a catchy, uplifting guitar solo from Bryce Dessner<\/strong> (guitar) and allowed Bryan Devendorf<\/strong> (drums) to propel a song with his innovative drumming for the first time in the set.<\/p>\n While the evening\u2019s set emphasized tracks from Sleep Well Beast<\/em> (9 of the album\u2019s 12 tracks were played, with four of the first five songs of the night coming from the new LP), the band still managed to curate the setlist with several crowd favorites from other recent albums. The most well-represented were Trouble Will Find Me<\/em> (5 songs) and High Violet<\/em> (4 songs), which are arguably also the band\u2019s most critically-lauded works. Standout performances from the evening included \u201cConversation 16,\u201d \u201cGraceless,\u201d and \u201cMr. November,\u201d with the show reaching exhilarating heights during main set closer \u201cFake Empire\u201d and \u201cTerrible Love\u201d in the encore.<\/p>\n The band\u2019s seeming dichotomy of restrained introspection and urgent passion was most evident toward the end of the show. Berninger dedicated \u201cCarin At The Liquor Store\u201d to his wife, while the unreleased-yet-crowd-favorite \u201cRylan\u201d kicked off the encore. Both songs are ambient, piano-led, and feature subtle guitar work – but both pack an emotional punch lyrically. Meanwhile, The National brought an almost arena rock feel with both \u201cTurtleneck\u201d, a frantic, hard-rocking number, and the aforementioned \u201cTerrible Love,\u201d which had the Dessner brothers and Scott Devendorf <\/strong>(bass) turning the guitar distortion way up for an epic ending section to the song.<\/p>\n Explaining The National\u2019s sound to those unfamiliar with the band is a difficult task. The group\u2019s music is diverse, and during a concert, the band can stop on a dime and change its sound from one song to the next. But it\u2019s also hard to pinpoint what makes the music so appealing to those who enjoy it. Berninger himself can be an enigma, balancing his self-admitted stage fright and anxiety with his charisma and ability to captivate an audience, as evidenced by his multiple forays into the crowd and his piercing yells during several songs – cold and all. In the chorus to \u201cThe System Only Dreams In Total Darkness\u201d, he sings, \u201cI can\u2019t explain it \/ Any other, any other way.\u201d Berninger may not be able to explain The National\u2019s appeal, the precise meaning of their lyrics, or what makes them such a dynamic live band. But he and his bandmates let their music do the talking. Indeed, they can\u2019t explain it any other way.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Set 1<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Santa Clara (truncated)<\/p>\n 2. Nobody Else Will Be There<\/p>\n 3. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness<\/p>\n 4. Walk It Back<\/p>\n 5. Guilty Party<\/p>\n 6. Don’t Swallow the Cap<\/p>\n 7. Bloodbuss Ohio<\/p>\n 8. Dark Side of the Gym<\/p>\n 9. I Need My Girl<\/p>\n 10. This is the Last Time<\/p>\n 11. Lemonworld<\/p>\n 12. The Geese of Beverly Road<\/p>\n 13. Conversation 16<\/p>\n 14. Empire Line<\/p>\n 15. Turtleneck<\/p>\n 16. Apartment Story<\/p>\n 17. Gracelss<\/p>\n 18. Carin at the Liquor Store<\/p>\n 19. Day I Die<\/p>\n 20. Fake Empire<\/p>\n Encore<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Rylan<\/p>\n 2. Mr. November<\/p>\n 3. Terrible Love<\/p>\n 4. The KKK Took My Baby Away (Ramones<\/strong> cover)<\/p>\n \n Enjoy our photo gallery from this performance from our photographer Josh Brick<\/a> of Josh Brick Graphics<\/a>.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article Written by Guest Contributor: Fernando J. Delgado The National delivered a powerful two-hour set last week at The Anthem, displaying both the musicianship and propensity to deliver emotionally-charged performances which have come to be the band\u2019s calling cards. Described frequently as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Radiohead,\u201d The National have become critical darlings while steadily building a loyal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[67,70,182,48],"class_list":["post-11366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-concert-reviews","tag-photosbyjoshbrick","tag-the-anthem","tag-the-national","tag-washington-dc","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.dcmusicreview.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/The-National.jpg\" "\\"The")
<\/span><\/p>\nClick here to see the setlist for The National at The Anthem on December 5, 2017<\/h4>\n