The National / Arcade Fire @ United Palace Theater

Ok. This show eclipsed the Beirut show last night. The National started off their set with a bunch of new tracks off Boxer, their new album, and they sound as great live as they do on the record. Definitely going to be one of the better albums of the year. The band sounded great on stage and the big venue didn’t phase them, considering they’ve already played Webster Hall. They finally went nuts for “Abel” a kick ass song and just whetted my appetite for the shows at Bowery.

I had 1st row Loge seats for an incredible view of Arcade Fire. The venue was beautiful and a fitting setting for the new songs from Neon Bible. They started with “Keep The Car Running” and went into “No Cars Go”. The set consisted more of their powerful songs for a huge sound impact. I’ve seen this band a bunch of times and felt they were giving it their best tonight. I still love Regina and glad they played “Haiti”. For the encore Win invited everyone on stage for “Wake Up” and it was insane. What happened was nothing new concert-wise, but the combination of the triumphant song, the fans releasing their energy along with the band was magical. Haven’t felt something like that in a long time. That’s what live music should do to you and was so happy to be there. Win darted off the stage leaping over the chairs and I felt escaping with him and taking the music to the streets.

Many pictures and videos of the show.

Links:
The National
Arcade Fire