Why Do I Love The National’s Records So Much More Than Their Concerts?

When the National released Alligator in 2005, the album slowly built them a solid fan base. Pitchfork gave them a borderline “Best New Music” score of 7.9, ending their review with “Alligator is satisfying and engaging, it’s not quite as bracing as their stellar sophomore outing, 2003′s Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers.” Alligator was a grower—over time fans and critics fell in love with the record and by the time they released 2007′s acclaimed Boxer, they were indie darlings and a legitimate headliner, able to fill larger sized venues.

The National’s records are the prototypical “grower.” With each listen, there seems to be another element to uncover. Most fans didn’t love Alligator or Boxer the first time they heard it the way they do now. This may be due to the deliberate pacing or the unwinding poetics of Matt Beringer’s baritone, but whatever the cause, few songs by The National have an instantaneous nature to them.

On Thursday night, The National played one of two nights at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Much smaller than Radio City, which they’ll be playing on their upcoming tour, the band was given the opportunity to play their new songs from the upcoming release High Violet for the first time before hitting the road.

I’ve seen The National a few times in the past—always in a larger venue, where it’s hard not to feel removed—and I’ve always felt that something was missing. They always manage to play the songs that I love on record flawlessly with an additional layer of instrumentation, and yet it feels underwhelming. I approached Thursday night’s concert expecting that the intimacy of the smaller venue would change this, but once again no matter how perfectly executed the songs were played and how much I love the recordings, the concert never quite felt as amazing as the records.

I guess much of this has to do with them playing mostly new songs, which although sounding great are like their older material in the quality of being growers. And since I’ve never heard them before, they’ve never had a chance to grow on me. Past hits like “Mr. November,” “Abel” and “Fake Empire” were the highlights of the night.

It’s hard to criticize a band for not being great live when they flawlessly play songs I love, but sadly this is the case with The National. I may never totally understand how I can enjoy their records so much more than their concerts, but that’s just how it is.

[and this is not to say they are bad live by any means, just not quite amazing as the records I've spent countless hours with]