Spring Break
Concertgoer: Venue stifles voice of The National
by Andrea Fineman
Managing Editor
Music | 10/9/07
Posted online at 9:33 PM EST on 10/8/07
Before we begin, a word of advice: Do not drive to the Roxy. You won't make it in time to see the opening band.
That said, you may not want to see the headlining band when you get there, either. This is by no means a comment on the quality of Saturday night's headliner and the subject of this column, The National. Although the band excels in technical skill, stage presence and songwriting quality (at least on its more recent releases), the men from Cincinnati were short-changed by the Roxy's dreadful sound system.
The club, located in Boston's theater district, is truly a club: Marie Antoinette décor, luminescent Plexiglas paneling and an audio setup that sounded throughout much of the concert like a 1990 Corolla had pulled up on the dance floor with a ghetto-blaster in the trunk blaring thumping bass. I can only imagine how opener Thomas Bartlett (who performs quiet acoustic music as Doveman) fared under a sound system that smothered vocals and more delicate instruments with bass and drums. Incidentally, Bartlett joined The National onstage for the band's "Apartment Story" with a barely-audible accordion, while longtime National sixth-Beatle Padma Newsome (of the indie chamber ensemble Clogs) joined on the likewise inaudible melodica. Newsome, who has appeared on many of the National's albums, is a major sonic element of the band's latest album, orchestrating many of the songs and playing violin and keyboards in the studio as well as on stage. When I saw the band in Louisville this summer, Newsome was almost like the star of the show; Saturday night, he seemed like a curiosity, positively shredding on violin but to no avail.
The National opened with "Brainy," off their latest release, Boxer. From the moment the music started, lead singer Matt Berninger staggered around the stage with a dazed look, closing his eyes and throwing his head back, taking breaks in between songs to comment on the band, and at one point, asking for an audience member to bring him a drink from the bar. Berninger's voice is another major asset to the band's sound. Live, he transitions deftly from screaming to his trademark baritone during more up-tempo songs, while remaining melodic during the band's ballads.
That said, you may not want to see the headlining band when you get there, either. This is by no means a comment on the quality of Saturday night's headliner and the subject of this column, The National. Although the band excels in technical skill, stage presence and songwriting quality (at least on its more recent releases), the men from Cincinnati were short-changed by the Roxy's dreadful sound system.
The club, located in Boston's theater district, is truly a club: Marie Antoinette décor, luminescent Plexiglas paneling and an audio setup that sounded throughout much of the concert like a 1990 Corolla had pulled up on the dance floor with a ghetto-blaster in the trunk blaring thumping bass. I can only imagine how opener Thomas Bartlett (who performs quiet acoustic music as Doveman) fared under a sound system that smothered vocals and more delicate instruments with bass and drums. Incidentally, Bartlett joined The National onstage for the band's "Apartment Story" with a barely-audible accordion, while longtime National sixth-Beatle Padma Newsome (of the indie chamber ensemble Clogs) joined on the likewise inaudible melodica. Newsome, who has appeared on many of the National's albums, is a major sonic element of the band's latest album, orchestrating many of the songs and playing violin and keyboards in the studio as well as on stage. When I saw the band in Louisville this summer, Newsome was almost like the star of the show; Saturday night, he seemed like a curiosity, positively shredding on violin but to no avail.
The National opened with "Brainy," off their latest release, Boxer. From the moment the music started, lead singer Matt Berninger staggered around the stage with a dazed look, closing his eyes and throwing his head back, taking breaks in between songs to comment on the band, and at one point, asking for an audience member to bring him a drink from the bar. Berninger's voice is another major asset to the band's sound. Live, he transitions deftly from screaming to his trademark baritone during more up-tempo songs, while remaining melodic during the band's ballads.
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