THE NATIONAL + Shapes and Sizes @ Cabaret Juste Pour Rire

By The Jay of Spades - Faster, Leonard Cohen Die! Die! - 06/04/2007

Listening to recordings of Brooklyn, NY quintet The National can sometimes be like watching a really good slow thriller film, like the Coen brother’s Blood Simple or Hitchcock’s Rearwindow; it can seem at times like things are moving a bit slowly, until you realize you haven’t blinked in 47 minutes and you don’t want to get up to pee even though you’re on your sixth mocha latte. The National’s music exudes a sort of quiet intensity that is detectable on first listen, but is only really discovered and appreciated after several times through.

When put on stage and behind lights and microphones, this quiet intensity comes out into the foreground as the main ingredient of the music. Just like the great slow thriller films, The National don’t rely on flashiness or contrived stage theatrics to achieve a connection with their audience, but rather on genuine earnestness and personality.

As soon as the band took the stage of the near-capacity Cabaret Juste Pour Rire, the audience was enthralled, hanging on every note, and every word from singer Matt Berringer, who delivered a very personal, heart-on-sleeve performance. Playing a mix of songs from their new album The Boxer, as well as selections from previous albums, it was clear that The National have a very enthusiastic and devoted following. T the crowd sang along to new tracks “Fake Empire” and “Mistaken for Strangers,” as well as favourites “Baby We’ll Be Fine” and “Abel” from their 2005 album Alligator.

Behind Berringer, the rest of the band played a tight but subdued set, which kept the focus on the front man’s vocal and lyrical energy. Brother sets Scott and Bryan Devendorf and Aaron and Bryce Dessner were joined by unofficial sixth member Padma Newsom, an Australian composer who arranged the orchestral element on The Boxer. Newsom energized the band with some incredibly enthusiastic violin playing.

The set continued on with a consistent level of energy, until the last song of their set, when things boiled over with a spirited performance of “Mr. November,” a standout track from Alligator. Like the final climax scene in a film, everything seemed to click and come together. Berringer attacked the song, thrusting his microphone with each word, as if to force every little bit of energy he had into it. His voice strained and cracked, he sang from the floor to the ceiling, he stood up on the amps and monitors... and the audience loved it. The band left the stage to a roaring applause, only to come back for the now obligatory, but in this case heartfelt encore.

Opening act Shapes and Sizes. held their own, performing a well-received set of angular jazz-folk-infused indie-pop/rock (for lack of a better way to describe them). The Montreal-via-Victoria, B.C. quartet, featuring Caila Thompson-Hannat, Jon Crellin, Nathan Gage and Rory Seydel are currently touring in support of their upcoming self-titled album, to be released in July on American indie label Asthmatic Kitty.

Not to belittle the performance of Shapes and Sizes, but this night really was about The National. The last time they played Montreal, it was as the opening act for The Cloud Room at the less-than-regal Main Hall venue. It was definitely their turn to be the hero in this one. And like any great film, nobody left the theatre until the final credits rolled, the lights came on and the 16-year-old employees started sweeping up the popcorn, jelly beans and milk duds off the floor.