I ventured over to Oakland for the first time last night to check out The National at Fox Theater. Gorgeous venue and only a block from BART. I got there on-time and staked my claim pretty close to the stage. Of course, I had some major aches 3 hours of standing later. It was worth it, though.

Ramona Falls opened. I’d never heard of them, but they had some really good songs. The lead singer was kind of adorable, and it was amusing that the drummer did all of the talking while the singer just smirked at everything said.

The National put on an incredible show. All the songs acquired a new level of intensity. I would have liked to have heard “So Far Around the Bend” but they pretty much covered all the others I love, so no complaints. I got to see lead singer Matt Berninger indulge in his typical routine of white wine. He had a Jim Morrison vibe about him…a shaman summoning up some spirits. Out of context, he could be confused with a mental patient. I loved everything about their performance. It was a great return to live music…I think my last show was the end of October.

I picked up their latest album, High Violet, and finally heard it in its entirety. Love it. Definitely on track to be one of the top albums this year.

Noticing the hour, I worked my way out after the 2nd song of the encore, so I could catch the next train, rather than waiting another 20 minutes. I walked down to the BART station, and I glance over and see familiar faces. I didn’t expect to see anything familiar at the 19th St BART station in Oakland at 11PM, but apparently a group of co-workers had also been at the show. The funny part is that Jeremiah & I have been trying to coordinate a concert outing and turns out we’d been at the same show but didn’t know it. Hah! It was nice to be able to talk about the show with someone on the way back to the city, though. Good times.

Setlist (from setlist.fm):

  1. Start A War
  2. Mistaken For Strangers
  3. Anyone’s Ghost
  4. Bloodbuzz Ohio
  5. Afraid Of Everyone
  6. Secret Meeting
  7. Slow Show
  8. Squalor Victoria
  9. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
  10. Little Faith
  11. Conversation 16
  12. Apartment Story
  13. Daughters Of The Soho Riots
  14. Abel
  15. Sorrow
  16. England
  17. Fake Empire
  18. Encore:
  19. Runaway
  20. Lemonworld
  21. Mr. November
  22. Terrible Love