So isn’t it about time The National moved to Hamilton?
Although The National has only played here twice, Hamilton is somewhat of a second home for the American alt-rock band … well … in all honesty … maybe … third.
The band first formed in the late ’90s in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then moved to its present base of operations, in Brooklyn, N.Y. For the past four years, however, The National’s business arm has been headquartered in Hamilton, the hometown of band manager and soundman Brandon Reid.
Reid was at the mixing board Sunday when The National performed a sold-out show at Hamilton’s FirstOntario Concert Hall. As a matter of fact, the amazing show The National put on at the grand theatre once known as Hamilton Place, probably would never have happened if Reid didn’t live here.
“We could’ve chosen another available Toronto venue but I was eager to give Hamilton some love, and our day, so far here in Hamilton, has been amazing,” Reid said shortly before Sunday’s concert.
Reid was born here, but grew up in the United States, learning the music business while attending Temple University in Philadelphia. He first worked with The National in 2007, engineering the band’s album “Boxer” and has been with them ever since. In 2013, Reid decided to return to his hometown, setting up shop for his Straight & Narrow artist management company in downtown Hamilton, with a staff that includes Cuff the Duke singer Wayne Petti.
“Our manager Brendon Reid lives here and Wayne Petti lives here,” National frontman Matt Berninger yelled out to the audience before lurching into the band’s latest single “Day I Die” midway through the band’s two-hour, 20something-song set. “We have a lot of family here in Hamilton and it means a lot to us. Thank you.”
Although the band isn’t a household name for the plus-40 generation, The National has become a huge hit among millennial indie rock fans, rivalling Arcade Fire in adoration. Almost every concert on the current tour is sold out and the band’s last two albums have both received Grammy nominations for alternative album of the year. The latest, “Sleep Well Beast,” is a strong contender to win at the awards’ gala next month, despite being up against Arcade Fire’s “Everything Now.”
Berninger is the angsty baritone of hip American college grads. His lyrics, like a new millennium Leonard Cohen, don’t usually start from a happy place and often end up somewhere only hinting of survival. Critics like to call it “literate,” but really it’s just word-heavy poetry that makes everything else on the pop charts sound like what it is — crap.
Berninger is a towering figure on stage and dominates the attention, gracefully awkward in a crooning stance someplace between a smooth Frank Sinatra and a half-inthe-bag Jim Morrison. Yet, he never quite takes away from the superb instrumental performances going on behind him.
The National first played in Hamilton last year with a 40-minute set that was part of a refugee benefit show that raised more than $50,000 for Syrian refugees. That was a sweaty affair on a hot June night attended by 800 people crammed into the pews of the New Vision United Church.
On Sunday, the band played to the soft seats of the concert hall with a much expanded set list, taking full advantage of the venue’s acoustic possibilities.
The band’s core foursome — Bryce Dessner on lead guitar, Aaron Dessner, on guitar and keyboards, Bryan Devendorf on drums and Scott Devendorf on bass — were backed by multi-instrumentalists Ben Lanz (trombone and keyboards) and Kyle Resnick (trumpet and backing vocals). These guys are major players, good enough to be the backing band for the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, which they have done several times in recent years.
On Sunday, they were occasionally allowed to show their stuff. It would have been nice to see them escape from their indie-rock tethers and tear off in a some freewheeling extended jams, like the double percussion finale that ended The National’s set on Sunday.
This is a great band that is just beginning to cross the generational bridge between old-school psychedelic rock and hipster cool.
Wouldn’t it be nice if manager Reid convinced them to join him in his new Canadian home of Hamilton? Hamilton may not be Brooklyn, may not even be Cincinnati, but the real estate is still a bargain.