The National/Local Natives, October 11, 2017 at the Hollywood Bowl

The National aren’t the draw for us that they used to be, only because we’ve seen them so much, and most of those shows have been the most special we’ve shared, but it still can just take a nudge to get us to go out and see them again. We had even already seen them play the Hollywood Bowl already, another one of the best shows, and going out on a weekday night is usually a challenge. But we also wanted something to commemorate our anniversary, and we could make a National show into a special night (with the bit of relationship trivia that we could have met the night before we did at a National show we both went to). I got the tickets on Seatgeek (for probably around the base price, which might have been more about the lateness of the event and some poor soul having to drop their price just to get rid of them). It should have been a draw on its own to have openers Local Natives -- one of Carla’s bands before we met (and who had been at my bachelor party in Austin) -- but we were still good enough with them to only get there halfway through the set (and missing Daughter before them). The National did the usual show, mature: moody music dialed down to not too excitable but comfortable and occasionally more than a little demure, but it was also when I realized I wasn't as excited about them as I once was. I hadn’t kept up with the new stuff, maybe even two albums back, and they leaned harder on what they could assume an audience newer to them could expect. My hope is always for anything from Boxer, and while this set had a couple from that, this was about the last time they’d play anything as old, or anything before High Violet (which also at the time was a bit of a disappointment, if only because it wasn't Boxer). It’s not fair to judge them on their reticence for their former selves, but the difference between old vs. new stuff was stark, especially when they were what they were building was weaker than the foundation that enabled them to keep it going. If bands aren’t over the trend of playing whole albums and The National need a new shtick to mount another tour by playing Boxer in its entirety, you know I’d be there. In the meantime I'd acquaint myself with new efforts in the hopes that an old tune will pop up or that an album will do well overall.  For this they still had plenty of good tunes, ideally the best plucked from the scattering of material they’d done since last time, but it was all a bit too cold to not be warmed by familiarity. Downer music can take a bit to get into, and it can be worth it, but the first time can start at a distance. Though the other side to it is that we still love them and it’s plenty to discover progressively later, and enough to get ready for the inevitable next show, even without being a landmark in our relationship, though there’s no reason to not make it a new one. (And a shout-out to Chris who we ran into there and marked the occasion by remembering it was our anniversary.)

The National’s set-list:
"Nobody Else Will Be There"
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
"Walk It Back"
"Guilty Party"
"Don't Swallow the Cap"
"Afraid of Everyone"
"Born to Beg"
"I'll Still Destroy You"
"Turtleneck"

"I Need My Girl"

"Secret Meeting"

"Conversation 16"
"Slow Show"
"England"
"Bloodbuzz Ohio"
"Carin at the Liquor Store"
"Day I Die"
"Fake Empire"
"About Today"

"Pink Rabbits"
"Mr. November"
"Terrible Love"

Local Natives' set-list:

"Past Lives"

"Wide Eyes"

"You & I"

"Dark Days"

"Who Knows, Who Cares"

"Coins"

"Ceilings" (with Aaron Dessner)

"Fountain of Youth"

"Sun Hands"

Float Fest, August 28, 2015, at the Cool River Ranch

A summer trip to see Brian, who lives near Dallas, that could have possibly been going to Austin turned into my official bachelor party there once Seth got involved.  Staying in the city to party was great (as long as we stayed away from 6th Street and the kids) but it could be great to go outside of Austin too. Of course we had to check out a music festival, whether or not the weekend was contingent on one happening in the first place (I was just happy to be there). Austin might have a music festival every weekend but we got a good one with Float Fest. Most festivals are a good enough time, with music and drinking and carrying on, but this one was even fun, with the added component of river-rafting. Brian's truck broke down the morning of, before we even got out of Austin, so that left Seth and me with a 46-minute Uber ride, including back-roads near the site, which all turned into its own adventure. No matter that we would eventually have to figure out a way back that night, assuming all the Ubers would be taken up for the long drive back to town. But even just Seth and me is a party (see: Lincoln, late 2004) and we decided to do up the day, as if there was any other choice. After a ride on a rickety, very-used school bus to the top of the river, we took a few hours to lazily raft down, fighting a few floating snakes and spiders but with plenty of Miller Lite. To answer the most popular question about the show: No, there were not bands playing on the river -- they were all on site at the end. So it was a music festival with optional river-rafting and however much you want to mix those -- certainly something you couldn't get in a lot of other places, especially in southern California. The river trip was fun enough to do again, as it was still the height of the day, but we made our way around the concert site, an inviting place since, being Friday at a modest festival, it was nearly empty. Not much exaggeration: it was the most sparsely-attended music festival I've ever been to, by a long shot. It could have just been a middling festival that hadn't established itself on a greater scale, competing with all of Austin's other events, so far outside of the city, and on a Friday. So we got our fill of local brews and slip n' slide races and wandering the easy, wide-open space. There weren't a lot of acts to be there for -- it was all about that night's headliners -- so we decided when we got there to pick one and go crazy like we were big fans. We went with Robert Ellis, who played about halfway up the bill, and whose performance we were able to walk up close enough to to touch the stage, and even to heckle the band and have the keyboardist play along. But the guy was actually pretty great, enough for us to be embarrassed that we had to use him as a distraction for the day. It wasn't long after that that Esquire magazine ran a feature on him. After that was probably more Fireball shots until the night, when we ate and listened to Bright Light Social Hour at a distance (not enough to make an impression), and maybe Dr. Dog could have been something if our un-sober attention had drifted that way, but mostly it was the wait for Local Natives. To be honest, I'm not necessarily a big fan. Carla loved them from before we got together, and we'd seen them, and Seth knew them well enough to want to be in for their show. They might not have the album I want to put on but live, on that day, with that much alcohol and the bro-magic of a bachelor party weekend, they were fantastic. They played enough material that we knew (they were touring their second album, which neither of us had) and even a covers (though a predictable one). Being among a crowd sparse enough to not get cajoled while enjoying the main stage act was a rare pleasure. The relatively-few people there were also into it, likely real fans, and the vibe was contagious. Maybe it could have been any band and still have been a good time, but the fact that it was actually a good band that were fun live put it over the top to be one of the best moments among many great moments that weekend. And great to see L.A.-locals (if not natives) do so well in another city. Once the set was over we had to figure out a way back to the city, without an Uber (which, even if there was one, would be 10x the usual rate). Obviously we did, and that was an adventure too, as you could expect with the Seth & Mar Show.

Local Natives’ set-list:
“Breakers“
“World News“
“Wide Eyes“
“Black Balloons“
“Sea of Years“
“Warning Sign“ (Talking Heads cover)
“Fountain of Youth“
“You & I“
“Whatever We Want“
“Camera Talk“
“Airplanes“
“Heavy Feet“
“Who Knows, Who Cares“
“Sun Hands“

Local Natives, September 13 at the Greek

Almost by force of will, Carla got me into Local Natives. They couldn't mean as much to me as they did to her but I certainly had no problem with them.  We missed them at their other festival slots, even though they seemed to have been on the road for years, the length of our relationship, up to that point.  They played the Greek as their very last date on their very long tour, a home-town show almost to thank L.A. and the rest of the world for being so kind to them.  They did well, and there's a feeling of pride for seeing one of our own favorite and local bands do so well (even if I didn't know them when they were playing clubs around town).  We decided to be a part of that celebration, though it was the day of, so we went right to SeatGeek to look up tickets.  We got a deal for $99.50 on decent seats and away we went.  Wild Nothing opened the show, an energetic, fun group that were probably like the local 'Natives themselves when they started out. They didn't seem to come up in the same amount of time so they might just wash away with other opening bands but they gave it a shot.  The Local Natives put on a good show that night, something gracious and thankful, showing their gratitude to a crowd that supported them, probably a lot from the very beginning, and they made sure to get it all out and not leave anything on the road.  Hopefully they got time off after that, after spending so long trying to make the popular music thing work and for what they put out to stick.  I don't remember a lot of it since I wasn't quite as familiar with them and they didn't do much more to win me over any more than I had been.  But Carla had a good time, and connected back to that time when their music has meant so much to her.  And you can't beat a show at the Greek on a pleasant autumn night.  Also, a helpful, easy thing to get tickets, especially at a good price, when we decide at almost literally the last minute to make it to a show.

Local Natives' set-list:
"Breakers"
"World News"
"Wide Eyes"
"Warning Sign" (Talking Heads cover)
"Ceilings"
"You & I"
"Black Spot"
"Shape Shifter"
"Camera Talk"
"Airplanes"
"Mt. Washington"
"Wooly Mammoth"
"Black Balloons"
"Bowery"
"Who Knows, Who Cares" (acoustic, different version)

"Colombia"
"Heavy Feet"
"Sun Hands"