Indie rock keeps mingling with the mainstream. So far this year, Vampire Weekend scored a No. 1 CD on the Billboard charts and played two well-attended Dallas shows. Canada’s Arcade Fire also landed a chart-topping disc and is approaching arena status. And the National released its breakthrough album, High Violet, which hit No. 3 upon its debut.
That fervor was palpable in the sold-out crowd Saturday night at House of Blues when lead singer Matt Berninger and his National band buddies took the stage for 100 minutes of arresting moodiness.
Berninger is a beguiling frontman. There’s his wardrobe – black slacks, button-down shirt and black jacket. He looked like he just left the office. Then his voice – a deep, disaffected yet resonant baritone that frequently reminded me of Church vocalist Steve Kilbey. And his stage presence – brooding, prone to spastic outbursts and screeching hollering.
When you factor in the National’s sound, new wave during the earlier years and now potently gloomy indie rock, it made for an intoxicating brew.
The bulk of the 20 song set came from High Violet. But Berninger and his four mates, assisted by three extra players including a trumpeter and a trombonist, factored in plenty from 2003’s Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, 2005’s Alligator and 2007’s Boxer.
Stylistically speaking, the best tunes are High Violet cuts, namely the slow burn torches “Runaway,” “Anyone’s Ghost” and “Afraid of Everyone.” “Terrible Love,” which arrived during the encore, also parks itself in your brain and doesn’t move.
But it was during “Squalor Victoria,” a Boxer beauty, that Berninger was most transfixing. Midway through the song he started to pace in circles, then lunged to the microphone and let out a hair-curling scream.
The audience erupted. Berninger soon gained composure and reached for his wine glass. Then the brooding began again.
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