The National, Marquee, Cork, review: 'Summer 2022 is a time for reunion'
The National stormed the stage at the Marquee tonight.
Insistent, persistent drums, guitar and bass crashed deliciously over the crowd before Matt Berninger’s heady vocals soared above them as The National took to the stage at Live at the Marquee.
The crowd roared back in appreciation as the music trembled deliriously.
“Stand up straight at the foot of your love, I lift my shirt up,” Berninger’s beautiful, melancholic baritone elicited particularly enthusiastic screams for the opening bars of Blood Buzz Ohio, one of the band’s best known songs.
Thousands packed the huge tent, fists pumping the air at the more rousing moments and for some of the heavier riffs.
The band’s usual guitar, bass, piano and drums were joined at times by trumpet and trombone, tambourine and other small percussion instruments, giving more texture to each song.
Piano notes tripped delicately, beautifully into each other in the stunning, haunting intro to Light Years.
Berninger’s voice came in husky and emotional to sing “You were waiting outside for me in the sun, Laying down to soak it all in before we had to run.”
At the chorus the crowd sang along loudly “Light years, light years away from you.”
One couple wrapped their arms around each other and swayed, immersed in the music, to 'I Need My Girl.’
After a long weekend of mist and rain, blue skies broke through allowing gig-goers to revel in the rare, fleeting bliss of summer in Ireland.
A ‘dad rock’ label has sometimes chased The National, and while a significant chunk of the demographic was male and pushing middle-aged, it was mixed, with some groups of enthusiastic female fans singing along and people from their 20s to 60s present.
Although the sound in a large arena can lose the clarity and intimacy of a smaller, indoor venue the crowd watched and listened intently, the main standing area packed with heads nodding to the beat.
Berninger’s vocals have been a central part of The National’s sound and identity.
But in the band’s most recent album, 2019’s I Am Easy to Find, Berninger’s both powerful and haunting baritone is joined and sometimes replaced by a host of female vocal talent, including Ireland’s Lisa Hannigan and Sharon Van Etten, who is due to play in Cork at this year’s Midsummer Festival.
But the Marquee gig was not all about sharing their most recent material, with songs from their 2010 Gold-selling album High Violet, which brought The National to the mainstream, rocketing up the charts in many countries including Ireland. The set also featured songs from 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me album.
The band, originally forming in Cincinatti and Brooklyn, have been frequent visitors to Cork and previously played a memorable show at Live at the Marquee following High Violet’s release.
Two band members, Bryce and Aaron Dessner have also curated Cork’s innovative Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival along with actor Cillian Murphy, playwright Enda Walsh, and former CEO of Cork Opera House Mary Hickson.
The Dessner identical twins are one of two sets of brothers that populate the five-member band, along with Bryan and Scott Devendorf.
Since they last played in Ireland, Berninger brought out an acclaimed solo album and the band have worked for a soundtrack to the new Cyrano de Bergerac movie directed by Joe Wright.
“The last couple years have given us ample time for reflection and rejuvenation,” the band wrote when announcing their tour dates.
“Summer 2022 is a time for reunion."
John Bishop is due next in Live at the Marquee on Thursday.
