Kevin Bronson on April 19th, 2011

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Who: The National at the Outdoor Theatre
In 3 or Fewer Words: National’s anthem: Perfection.
I’ll Remember This Forever Because: It was, quite simply, the finest performance of Coachella 2011. Forget Kanye West, forget the Strokes – the National’s hourlong set played less like a concert and more like an exorcism, as imposing frontman Matt Berninger’s alternately haunting and haunted baritone led his band through a series of moody ballads and rockers that grew increasingly intense as the pink-hued sunset inked into night. As a powerhouse wind began sweeping through the Polo Fields, shaking the lighting rigs above them, the National raged within a tempest of their own, with Berninger’s performance in the storm’s center verging on frenzy during songs like the gnashing “Abel” and the pained screams of the pounding “Squalor Victoria.” It would have been perfect had it stopped there. But when the band launched the closing 1-2 punch of “Mr. November” and “Terrible Love” (with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver on guitar), it became something else entirely. As Berninger leapt from the stage to the security divider holding back fans, only to let himself fall into their arms as he screamed the lyric “I won’t f*ck us over, I won’t f*ck us over, I won’t f*ck us over” like Leonard Cohen gone mad, the crowd was left momentarily dazed, until the band, appearing exhausted and grateful, waved goodbye and disappeared into the dark. Again, forget the check-cashing main-stage rockers and hip-hop headliner – for the true believers of rock ’n’ roll, the Nationalwas something almost holy.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Were at Duran Duran: Hope you enjoyed “Rio.”
– Travis Woods
Photo by Scott Dudelson