The National Debuts New Songs At 1st Concert In 3 Years

The National returned to the stage on Saturday, May 28 at Baluarte in Pamplona, Spain. The Brooklyn-born band of Cincinnati natives unveiled a trio of songs during their first concert in three years.

“Don’t Swallow The Cap” counted as The National’s first song back. The tune appears on the band’s 2013 album Trouble Will Find Me, which the group dipped frequently from in Pamplona including “I Should Live In Salt, “I Need My Girl,” “This Is The Last Time” and more. The first half of the set also contained additional favorites “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness.”

Following the latter, The National offered the first debut of the evening, “Grease in Your Hair (Birdie),” a rocker driven by electronic drums with an uplifting hook. Next, the band turned to their latest LP, 2019’s I Am Easy To Find, with “Light Years” and also got into tunes from their 2017 album, Sleep Well Beast, “Guilty Party” and “Day I Die.”

Next, The National performed “Tropic Morning News (Haversham)” for the first time, which, while in the same vein as “Grease in Your Hair (Birdie),” carried distinctive guitar lines. “Pink Rabbits” “Rylan,” “England” “Graceless” and “Fake Empire” then followed ahead of set-closer “About Today” from the band’s 2004 EP Cherry Tree. The National launched their four-song encore with the final debut of the evening, “​​Bathwater (Mount Auburn),” which featured a more kicked-back electronic drum beat than the first two new songs and also contained understated piano underneath frontman Matt Berninger’s baritone. The encore continued with “Mr. November” and “Terrible Love” before The National closed out the tour opener with “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.”

After their return to the stage in Spain, The National traveled on to Paris where they performed on Monday. Watch The National’s show from Paris on May 30 below to see the band perform the new songs and more: