Bootlegs: The National – 5.24.07 White Sessions
Just as I’d hoped, the National’s new material catches fire live. The best performance from this French radio session (a Black Session without an audience, as it were) might be a heated version of “Squalor Victoria,” with its new, extended guitar freak-out ending and autumn-crisp drumming. I won’t be seeing the band on their current tour, but this recording will suffice until our paths align again. By the way, props to the 9,500 people who picked up Boxer during its first week out. I’m assuming that number includes all of you regular readers — if not, what are you waiting for?
The National – Live @ the White Session – 5.24.07 (broadcast 5.28.07)
1. Start a War
2. Brainy
3. Slow Show
4. Squalor Victoria
5. Apartment Story
6. Racing Like a Pro
7. Ada
8. You’ve Done It Again Virginia
9. Mistaken for Strangers
10. Fake Empire
11. About Today
(Boxer is out now on Beggars Banquet; get the tour dates on the band’s site)