Live: The National

When it rains, it pours. The National put their faith in an 8,000 strong Manchester crowd with a two and a half hour set of new material and deeper cuts. A rousing triple-threat finale of timeless hits eventually broke the heavens open, as the sky applauded them with an intense rain shower – the grey clouds a perfect backdrop for their solemn anthems. 

Berninger was as unprofessional as ever, but it was brilliant. Two songs in, he announced the next track would be ‘Quiet Light’, before remembering they’d just played that one. He then lost his way singing ‘Fake Empire’ – the crowd helping him with the lyrics – only to then lose his glasses in a messy mosh-pit during ‘Mr. November’ later on. These imperfections triggered smiles and laughter however, his Dad-in-a-suit-on-stage persona stronger than ever. He’s the coolest geek around and he – along with the ever growing ensemble on stage – put on one helluva show. 

Old classics were put to the test, ‘All The Wine’ and ‘Apartment Story’ bringing several embarrassing noises from the folk around me, as if they’d just been tickled but couldn’t decide whether they liked it or not. Spoiler: they loved it. This was a special evening deserving of a special setlist, and The National delivered just that with an array of deeper cuts. 

Imperfectly perfect, The National at Castlefield Bowl was a match made in heaven, especially when heaven is a dark, gloomy, wet and windy place.