Review: The National at Kings Park and Botanic Garden

The National at Kings Park and Botanic Garden
w/ Fleet Foxes, Annie Hamilton
Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, 2024

The festival of The National rolled through Perth and wowed all in attendance over the weekend.

Across two big nights, the band led by charismatic Matt Berninger came, conquered, and left little doubt they are among the world’s best live acts.

With two completely different sets, including a front-to-back run-through of 2011 classic High Violet on Sunday, it was only the support acts and venue that were similar night to night. And given that all these things were spectacular, it wasn’t hard for lightning to strike twice.

Fleet Foxes were in notably better form than we’ve ever seen them in WA. Much better suited to standalone shows such as this than the Southbound and Falls Fest sets we’ve seen previously, the intricate seven-piece arrangements swelled with horns and some of the more incredible vocal harmonies you’re ever likely to hear.

Unsurprisingly, it was the hits from their landmark early records that worked best, with White Winter Hymnal, Mykonos and singalong finale Helplessness Blues dominating the back half of their set. While they built a vast wall of sound on the likes of The Shrine/An Argument, which featured a monumental sax freakout, even better were the a cappella sections that frequently appeared—if not at a song’s conclusion, often as a middle eight joining two separate sections. Sublime.

Those who have seen The National before would already be aware of their world-beating live qualities, but even then, the surrounds of Kings Park’s Pioneer Women’s Memorial and the journey across two completely different nights were profound.

As a band, their power lies in the incredible musicianship of two sets of brothers who are virtuosos in their own right, in particular human drum machine Bryan Devendorf and lead guitarist Bryce Dessner (brother Aaron, an acclaimed producer credited with the likes of Taylor Swift and Sharon Van Etten, writes much of the music and was agile across several instruments).

The quality of the performances were unmatched, but to then add lyrical wunderkind Berninger out front, conducting the crowd through stories of middle-aged loathing in an emo wilderness, was enough to bring any sad dad to tears (“If you want to see me cry/ Play Let It Be or Nevermind”).

From his animated physical theatre illustrating the words, to ventures out into the far reaches of the crowd, requiring some lengthy microphone caballing, Berninger was the magnetic centre.

Saturday was a standard National show—as much as such a thing is possible for a band that changes their setlists night to night. With the greatest hits and enough deep cuts to keep things unpredictable, they kicked off with several new tunes, of which Eucalyptus was a highlight.

Bloodbuzz Ohio always comes early and was one of four High Violet tracks played both nights (England and Terrible Love were also huge standouts in both sets, the latter opening night two with the intensity of a tidal wave). I Need My Girl was the slow dance reprieve, while Slow Show was dedicated to the Bee Gees, and the surprise of the night came with the Cherry Tree EP title track, which was simply electric in its live translation. Surprisingly, three tracks from the unheralded EP were played across the two nights.

Sydney’s Annie Hamilton not only opened both shows adorned with black wings, she joined The National onstage both nights. On Saturday, it was for Rylan, while on Sunday, she emerged early for Sorrow. Her own sets were solo affairs, but the former Little May member made her presence felt on standouts like opener Kitchen.

While both days peaked in very different ways, Graceless and Fake Empire were staples of the main set, while Mr November and About Today brought the house down in the encore on consecutive nights.

The latter closed night two in a glorious extended finale, due to standard acoustic campfire closer Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks being part of the High Violet portion of Sunday’s set. But that didn’t stop Vanderlyle from being amongst both nights’ best, generating glorious crowd singalongs to “All the very best of us string ourselves up for love.”

Widely considered to be The National’s masterpiece, High Violet was a series of consecutive highlights. Just as Little Faith made you wonder why they don’t play it more often, Afraid of Everyone up next pipped it with a transcendent crescendo. Runaway and Conversation 16 were also incredible, and we all know how strongly the record finishes.

Their first classic record, 2005’s Alligator, also got a good airing on Sunday, with Lit Up and Abel upping the ante. Saved for the encore, the latter was a huge standout (“My mind’s not right!” screamed the band in unison over and over). Apartment Story also held its own on a setlist filled with unexpected favourites nodding to older fans of the band.

The whole experience, from the New Order T-Shirt merch to the wine-by-the-bottle on offer (it’s rare to be treated like adults at stadium shows in WA), whether viewing from the grassy banks or the front deck dancefloor—a success at War on Drugs last year and a pleasing new addition to the Kings Park offering—made this a truly special experience.

Is a National show ever anything but? Having seen them six times now, they are a band that never disappoints live. Yet somehow, across two consecutive nights in a quintessentially West Australian venue, they elevated themselves to God-like status this time around.

HARVEY RAE

Photos by Linda Dunjey