Bad, Nationwide: The National live

THE NATIONAL

PORTUGAL. THE MAN

SANTA BARBARA BOWL

SANTA BARBARA, CA

25 APRIL, 2014

The National

Portugal. The Man

What better welcome for The National to Santa Barbara could there be than an alarming gray sky? The looming precipitation did nothing to dampen the spirits of those who attended this, the second show of the season, at the historic Santa Barbara Bowl. Last time we caught up with The National, they were a study in grace under pressure, occupying the stage directly before Paul McCartney at last fall's Outsidelands, in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
The band gave a thorough accounting of themselves, opening with an agressive take on "Don't Swallow The Cap" that blew off all the studio gloss, and set the tone for the night. Including that track, they went on to pull more than half of their newest LP, Trouble Will Find Me, to seed the set, then leavening it out with their formidable back catalog. For me, the emotional core of the set came midway through with an impressive trifecta of "Afraid Of Everyone", "Conversation 16", and "Squalor Victoria". In reference to the middle song, there's nothing quite like the thrill of hearing the Bowl crowd sing the chorus: "I was afraid/I'd eat your brains". A later treat was hearing "All The Wine" and "Abel" from 2005's Alligator. When the rain finally came down, circa "Bloodbuzz Ohio", it was almost a relief, finally breaking the suspense. The band could not be dimmed, and rose to the occasion, delivering a memorable set.

SETLIST:

Don't Swallow The Cap/I Should Live In Salt/Mistaken For Strangers/Sorrow/Sea Of Love/Hard To Find/Afraid Of Everyone/Conversation 16/Squalor Victoria/I Need My Girl/This Is The Last Time /Santa Clara/All The Wine/Abel/Slow Show/Bloodbuzz Ohio/Pink Rabbits/England/Graceless/Fake Empire

(encore)  Mr November/Terrible Love/Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

{courtesy of Setlist.FM)

From the great state of Alaska, Portugal. The Man has come a long way in the four years since we caught them at Coachella. Their most recent LP, Evil Friends, produced by Danger Mouse, added a funk element to the proceedings, and they played a fiery set, flitting between new material and cherry picked gems for the faithful that came early and packed the pit for their set.

No Age: Pier Pressure!

NO AGE

TIJUANA PANTHERS

SANTA MONICA PIER

25 JULY, 2013

As part of Echo LA's Twilight Concert Series, No Age came back up to the surface for a rousing sunset show along with Tijuana Panthers. Crowd surfing ensued from the get-go, and when was the last time you saw an opening band get crowd surfers? At times the night seemed exceedingly close to getting out of hand, but everyone minded their manners just enough for the festivities to proceed, and the fire marshals kept everyone on the straight and narrow.
It's been almost three years now since No Age played their most high profile gig to date, an opening slot for Pavement and Sonic Youth at the Hollywood Bowl, and it could be called a career capper. August will see the release of An Object, their followup to Everything In Between, (both on SUB POP), and from their first notes of the night, it became apparent the No Age was back in business.  Focusing mainly on the tried and true in their catalogue, they did find time to slip in a few of the new, including "Lock Box" and "I Won't Be Your Generator". Pared back to the core duo of Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, they're older and wiser, (evidenced by some good-humored observations about series co-sponsor Myspace), but no less ferocious.

As noted, Tijuana Panthers set the tone early on, and got the crowd moving with their surf garage sound. Been meaning to catch them for awhile, and oh so glad i did. It certainly won't be the last time. "Red Headed Girl" from Max Baker was a standout. The Long Beach outfit's most recent release is Semi-Sweet on Innovative Leisure Records.