The National Rome
Crowds can make – or break – a concert. This won’t be news to anyone who’s had the misfortune of sitting near a bad (i.e. talkative) audience member. But energy bouncing between crowd and artist can make an already good show unforgettable. It’s usually not something that translates to a live album, but The National’s first full concert release, Rome, combines one of the best live bands around with a crowd who’s dialed in and hanging on every note, making this record both a full depiction of The National’s in-concert energy and an eminently satisfying listen.
Full disclosure – I’m a fairly recent convert to The National. I have a bit of a blank space for indie bands that started up between post-grunge and the early aughts. This year’s Zen Diagram Tour with The War on Drugs dialed me into this quarter century(!)-old Ohio band who’s gone from rough-and-tumble risers to indie rock sages who work with Taylor Swift. Their live shows, equally memorable for emotive frontman Matt Berninger and guitar riffs from twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner, are perfectly emblematic of how bands survive in 2024 – release an album roughly every three years, then tour your ass off. Rome was recorded at the Auditorium Parco della Ennio Morricone, and it begins with what The National does best – a slow build. “Runaway,” with Berninger’s intense line reading and subtle horns, allows space for the audience to drink it in and sing along while also hinting at the high energy moments ahead – “Throw your arms in the air tonight/We don’t bleed when we don’t fight.”
While Rome was recorded this past summer, ostensibly promoting the band’s two 2023 releases, First Two Pages of Frankenstein and Laugh Track, there are only five of those most recent cuts in this 21-song set (the band’s Cherry Tree fan club offers a 26-song vinyl to the band’s most hardcore fans). A good chunk of that is front loaded on Rome, with the stand-out “Eucalyptus” providing an early highlight. Here, Berninger ticks off a list of items to be divided up at the end of a relationship, his intensity increasing as the relationship further frays – “You take it, ‘cause I’m not gonna take it!” – while memories (and maybe a moment of sanity) slip in – “What about the undeveloped camera?/Maybe we should bury these.” “Eucalyptus” characterizes the very best of The National’s on-stage power – always careening toward madness without fully coming off the tracks.
The very best reflection of The National’s 25-year career occurs mid-show. “Lit Up,” from 2005’s breakthrough Alligator, is an alterna-rock banger that includes plenty of audience shout-along in its recall of the band’s pre-Sad Dad days – “You wear your skirt like a flag/And everything surrounds you, and it doesn’t fade.” The chaos is immediately followed by the downbeat “Alien” (from last year’s Frankenstein), with an us-against-the-world feel – “I’ll find you something fun to wear/That goes along with all your feelings” – that ends up being a very grown-up look at depression and codependency.
There’s room on Rome for The National fan favorites – “I Need My Girl” provides a moment for a hushed sing-along, and “Fake Empire” remains a beautiful, piano-led contrast of the idyllic and reality (this precedes, perhaps not so coincidentally, “Mr. November,” the band’s election-referencing 2005 ripper). But the audience, which is a palpable presence all throughout Rome, has their own chance to shine in album wrapper “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” singing along word-for-damn-word. It’s a sharp focus that seems often to be lacking in US audiences, particularly since the pandemic ended. In addition to being a stand-out representation of The National’s songcraft and in-concert excellence, might it also remind listeners how truly amazing a show can be when we remember we’re in that room for the one thing that we all love.
Rome was recorded by Adam Armstrong, engineered by Armstrong and Stu Tenold, mixed by Peter Katis and mastered by Greg Calbi. The National is Matt Berninger (lead vocals), Aaron Dessner (guitars, bass, piano, keyboards, vocals), Bryce Dessner (guitars, piano, keyboards, bass pedals, modular synthesizer, vocals), Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar, vocals), Bryan Devendorf (drums, percussion), with Benjamin Lanz (trombone, piano, keyboards, modular synthesizer, guitar, percussion, vocals) and Kyle Resnick (trumpet, piano, keyboards, percussion, vocals).
Go here to order Rome (out December 13): https://shop.americanmary.com/
Check out future tour dates here: https://www.americanmary.com/#tour
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Jason Isbell, the National, and More Acts Enchant New Fans in Forest Hills, NY
