There's nothing like a (small) sea of overly-caffeinated ivy leaguers, strung out from too many hours of Facebooking at the library, doing awkward head bops to some good 'ol fashioned mellow indie rock. Last night was Columbia's spring concert, featuring Grizzly Bear and The National, and if I wasn't such a fan of the two bands, I would have been pretty damn amused by the fact that they were playing to a crowd of people who had no idea who they were.To their credit, both bands played their material pretty well (though, I think there were times when Grizzly Bear got a little bored by their own songs) but The National definitely took the cake as the better band on stage. To be honest, once they got to "Squalor Victoria" on the set, I pretty much forgot to look at anyone besides Aaron and his guitar riffs.
What might have been even cooler was hanging out after the show and seeing just how completely normal they are. While on stage, the Dessner brothers addressed their sister, whose birthday it was, but to see them hanging out with her afterwards with their parents in tow was not only adorable, but oddly refreshing. It felt like the mingling hour after a school play, rather than the after-party of a legitimately established (touring with R.E.M. is an automatic catupult from obscurity) indie band. And if their incredibly endearing mixer with their parents hadn't won me over, the seductive combo. of crates of whiskey and pan-Asian takeout in their dressing room certainly did the trick."Racing Like A Pro" (The National)
"Fake Empire" (The National)
1 comment:
it's true, GB did look bored by their own music.
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