Last night while 15,000 people were watching Beyonce do her thing at Target Center in Minneapolis, a smaller (but I’m sure more devoted) crowd gathered across the street at First Avenue and were treated to an enthralling set by The National. Opening with the tenatively titled “Runaway” (see “National Week Part 1″), the show started with this new, slow burning material and was followed by tracks largely drawn from the bands last two releases, Boxer and Alligator. An increasingly animated Matt Beringer was a treat to watch culminating in his singing from the upper tier of stairs during “Mr. November”. Padma Newsome added some terrific flourishes of violin (and other instruments), while the two man horn section proved themselves absolutely indispensable. The National prove that this is a band hitting it’s stride after five (six?) records, and are only on the way up.

Kudos to the sound board helmsman as the mix and volume level in the legendary First Avenue club was absolutely pitch perfect. The aforementioned musical additions to the band were inserted wonderfully without ever missing a beat or a sound cue. The music enveloped the crowd phenomenally but sans the ringing ear (tinnitus) syndrome as the exits filled.

Before said exit, the band really brought the house down with an exceptional encore. Typically when a band plays unreleased material as their encore the crowd leaves with a vague sense of disappointment at not getting the opportunity to sing along and really rock out for the final minutes of their experience. Not so with The National as they took to the stage with their new tune “Ohio” and finished up with a much more intense version of “About Today.”

Killer show.

SET:
The Runaway (new song) / Start a War / Mistaken for Strangers / Brainy / Secret Meeting / Baby, We’ll Be Fine / Slow Show / Squalor Victoria / ?? (new song) / Abel / All the Wine / Racing Like a Pro / Ada / Apartment Story / Green Gloves / Fake Empire

ENCORE: Blood Buzz, Ohio (new song) / Mr. November / About Today