I Never Thought About Love When I Thought About Home:The National @ Crystal Palace Park.

"You must be somewhere in London, you must be loving your life in the rain" - England, The National

 

I was indeed somewhere in London (Crystal Palace Park) and I was indeed loving my life in the rain. In fact, the funny thing is the hardest rain during The National's recent London gig just happened to fall as they were singing about it. It didn't dampen the spirits. Matt Berninger's baritone vocals and the band's music (which splits the difference between indie and classic rock, taking the best - rather than the worst - of both) act like a nice warm comfort blanket. Even when the subject matter of the songs may be anything but comforting.

I hadn't planned to go this gig. I was 'recovering' from the elation, and the late night, of a Tory defeat (and a Labour victory) when Cheryl put it out there that there was a ticket going spare. I live within walking distance of Crystal Palace Park, I like The National, and I like Cheryl. Why wouldn't I take it? In fact, who would be a better person to watch The National with than Cheryl who, and I didn't check, surely rates them as one of her all time favourite bands.

So I hotfooted it up there, met Cheryl for one very quick drink at Palazzo on the Crystal Palace triangle, and we headed in. We'd already missed This Is The Kit and Kevin Morby but we got in just in time to catch some of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's set. I'm a big fan of their song So Good At Being In Trouble and they were playing that just as we entered the park (the gig being in a different part of the park to previous CPP shows - they don't half move things around).

The National kicked off with a couple of slow ones, Runaway and Eucalyptus, but the fans (and people were there with their kids and umbrellas) were singing along from the start. Berninger pacing the stage like a well dressed caged tiger, hugging the audience (including some dude who was wearing a shirt that looked like my infamous 'naughty lemon' shirt), and, at times, singing so loudlu he barely needed the microphone.

The pace was upped for the likes of Tropical Morning News and Don't Swallow The Cap before a double whammy of big hitters in Bloodbuzz Ohio (its lyrics providing the title of this blog as they hit home harder than usual that evening) and The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness. Other highlights for me included Conversation 16, Mistaken For Strangers, Space Invader, and, of course, England itself.

I did realise I'm not particularly familiar with the songs from the last three albums (I Am Easy To Find, First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, and Laugh Track) but the songs from those LPs fitted in very nicely. Rylan (performed with This Is The Kit) has a slightly motorik beat, Alien's mournful and tender ("hurry up, we don't have time, avalanches in my mind"), and Light Years, played as part of a decent sized encore, a moving meditation on lost love - or perhaps lost life:- " I was always ten feet behind you from the start, didn't know you were gone 'til we were in the car".

The actual set ended with the slow building Fake Empire, a song now nearly twenty years old, and the whole gig ended, as ever - according to Cheryl who is far more the expert than me - with Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the faces there were as wet with tears as they were with rain by the end. Cry baby cry.

 

Thanks to The National for a great gig and, even more so, thanks to Cheryl for inviting me, giving me a ticket, and for keeping me company.