dear the national,
i've been stirring in my bed for the past few hours over this, i didn't even realize it at first, but in between the rare moments of sleep that i've gotten, it's all i can think about... time to get it out.
i don't get excited about many new bands anymore, the national being the only real exception that i can think of at the moment. needless to say, i don't get out to many shows these days. last night i saw the national at the el rey, a really nice venue; it's not the troubadour, but a good place to see a show. the band put on a flawless performance in my opinion, but something was missing.
as the band started to play, i noticed something, about the crowd, about the level of excitement in the room, or, the complete lack of excitement in the entire building. i didn't pay too much attention at first, i was there to have fun with my friends, listen to great music, drink, and get a little rowdy.
well into the show, it was obvious that this crowd was showing about as much enthusiasm for the national as they did for the opening act. it seemed like the only people that were thrilled to be there were my little group of friends and a few other exceptions. it was obvious to us, and to the rest of the crowd, so much so that on two separate occasions, a few of us were told to shut the fuck up, by other crowd members, myself included. by my account, we weren't doing anything out of the ordinary for a rock concert, just singing and dancing, badly mind you, but still, not unreasonable things to be doing; i've definitely seen people doing worse things at other shows.
since when has it become the cool thing to do, to just stand there stone faced and stare at the stage? sure, everybody applauded at all the right moments, like little puppets, they finally cheered when the band made a comment about the silence.
after the show, my friends and i were standing around, talking about the show, how great the band was, how lame this crowd was. we started to notice that most of the band was standing outside talking to fans. and then we saw bryan, the drummer, i shouted out to him "you're our favorite drummer!" and he walked right up to us, lit a cigarette (instant points in my book) and started talking. he was very tall and soft spoken, so soft spoken we could barely hear what he was saying, but he was very nice, and appreciative of our admiration. we started talking about the show, and we apologized to him for this subdued LA crowd. he said he didn't really care about that, but he did notice it. we asked him where the best reaction they've gotten was, he mentioned dublin and paris were the best crowds he's seen, i felt ashamed of my city and wished we could have given them a warmer reception. after that, we shook his hand, thanked him for a great show, and were on our merry way.
i don't know, maybe it's too much to ask a jaded fan base like los angeles to get excited by such a great band. my guess is a lot of these people go out and see a show every week, perhaps even more frequently than that. but, when asked about his favorite crowds, bryan didn't mention the bands home, new york, or even their hometown cincinnati, i was hoping that he would mention at least one US city, but no. i think this says a lot about the state of music here, especially in the LA area, possibly in the united states.
so, to the national and other bands, i would like to apologize on behalf of my city and my country for not showing them the love they deserve. and i would like to thank bryan, and the national again for a great show and for giving me hope for the future of music.
your friend,
bill
i've been stirring in my bed for the past few hours over this, i didn't even realize it at first, but in between the rare moments of sleep that i've gotten, it's all i can think about... time to get it out.
i don't get excited about many new bands anymore, the national being the only real exception that i can think of at the moment. needless to say, i don't get out to many shows these days. last night i saw the national at the el rey, a really nice venue; it's not the troubadour, but a good place to see a show. the band put on a flawless performance in my opinion, but something was missing.
as the band started to play, i noticed something, about the crowd, about the level of excitement in the room, or, the complete lack of excitement in the entire building. i didn't pay too much attention at first, i was there to have fun with my friends, listen to great music, drink, and get a little rowdy.
well into the show, it was obvious that this crowd was showing about as much enthusiasm for the national as they did for the opening act. it seemed like the only people that were thrilled to be there were my little group of friends and a few other exceptions. it was obvious to us, and to the rest of the crowd, so much so that on two separate occasions, a few of us were told to shut the fuck up, by other crowd members, myself included. by my account, we weren't doing anything out of the ordinary for a rock concert, just singing and dancing, badly mind you, but still, not unreasonable things to be doing; i've definitely seen people doing worse things at other shows.
since when has it become the cool thing to do, to just stand there stone faced and stare at the stage? sure, everybody applauded at all the right moments, like little puppets, they finally cheered when the band made a comment about the silence.
after the show, my friends and i were standing around, talking about the show, how great the band was, how lame this crowd was. we started to notice that most of the band was standing outside talking to fans. and then we saw bryan, the drummer, i shouted out to him "you're our favorite drummer!" and he walked right up to us, lit a cigarette (instant points in my book) and started talking. he was very tall and soft spoken, so soft spoken we could barely hear what he was saying, but he was very nice, and appreciative of our admiration. we started talking about the show, and we apologized to him for this subdued LA crowd. he said he didn't really care about that, but he did notice it. we asked him where the best reaction they've gotten was, he mentioned dublin and paris were the best crowds he's seen, i felt ashamed of my city and wished we could have given them a warmer reception. after that, we shook his hand, thanked him for a great show, and were on our merry way.
i don't know, maybe it's too much to ask a jaded fan base like los angeles to get excited by such a great band. my guess is a lot of these people go out and see a show every week, perhaps even more frequently than that. but, when asked about his favorite crowds, bryan didn't mention the bands home, new york, or even their hometown cincinnati, i was hoping that he would mention at least one US city, but no. i think this says a lot about the state of music here, especially in the LA area, possibly in the united states.
so, to the national and other bands, i would like to apologize on behalf of my city and my country for not showing them the love they deserve. and i would like to thank bryan, and the national again for a great show and for giving me hope for the future of music.
your friend,
bill