| “I’m going to try and figure
this out,” mutters a dazed Matt Beringer grappling with the microphone stand
through his shirt like some kind of befuddled and ineffective escape artist. Incidentally,
he doesn’t. “Sons and daughters!” screams an audience member, curiously.
“That’s a different band,” states Matt, correctly, as the band slide into
‘Daughters Of The Soho Riots’, partially meeting the confused request. These 30
surreal seconds of their recent ULU gig are as representative of the experience
as any other. The National's tthird album ‘Alligator’ is one of 2005’s clear standouts;
engaging, poetic, confessional, comedic, intricate, hopeful, expansive. But in
a live setting the gravity of the album’s perfection evaporates, leaving more
disparate strands to drift together like molecules in a Petri dish. And they do
drift together, sometime ambivalently, sometimes unavoidably. It’s a different
experience, but no less hypnotic. Those looking for a tight reading of the album
may leave disappointed, but seeing them from this angle too makes for a more complete
picture. And no one part of the gig could exist effectively without another. Just
prior to setting off on this UK tour, we asked guitarist Aaron Dessner where
his head was at… How are you? Where are you now? What can you see?
I am tired, but well. I am in Houston, Texas on tour. Looking out the window,
I see a strip mall, fast food restaurants, a power plant with tall smoke stacks
and the highway. A lovely vista! Not surprising at all.
What was the
last thing you ate?
I had Mexican food for dinner last night. Good Mexican
food can be found in Texas.
What was the next album you intend to
buy?
The new My Morning Jacket album. I am curious and they are from
Kentucky. We are from Ohio and we share a border with them. Kentucky was Confederate
state in the Civil War while Ohio was Yankee. You have to know your enemy. Kidding.
What was the last movie you saw?
Unfortunately I saw ‘Elizabethtown’
yesterday with the band. When you are on tour and stumble across a cinema and
have two hours to spare, you don’t have the luxury of being picky. Orlando Bloom
was awful and Kirsten Dunst was almost as bad. The only thing that could have
saved the movie was sex, maybe. And there was none of it.
What are
you most looking forward to?
At the moment, I am looking forward to our
upcoming European tour.
What do you hate right now?
At the
moment, the endless suburban sprawl of Texas.
What was the last thing
you liked that you saw on TV?
The indictment of Vice President Cheney’s
Chief of Staff Lewis Libby.
Where or how do you feel most comfortable?
I have been traveling in a van and sleeping in hotel rooms for the past
several months. I rarely feel that comfortable, but if I do, it is because I am
sitting somewhere quiet drinking Makers Mark or coffee.
What would
you class as your most defining moment?
I don’t know if I have one. 12
years after the fact, I am still excited about scoring a last second winning goal
on a full volley from a corner kick when I was a senior in high school in Cincinnati,
Ohio. I still watch the video when I go to my parents’ house.
What
are your plans for tonight?
We are playing in Denton, Texas, just outside
of Dallas. All I can think of is the Silver Jews line, “How do a million steers,
into building made of mirrors, Oh Dallas! Shine with the neon lights!”
Relevant Sites:
http://www.americanmary.com
James Berry for Crud Magazine 2005©
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