Massachusetts (843)

• September 5, 2024
• Colleen Johnson
• 143
• 0

(photo credit: Graham MacIndoe)

In late 2019, just before the world closed down, I made a very gametime decision to scoop a last-minute floor ticket to see The National at Agganis Arena in Boston. Walking into the opening notes of the classic “I Need My Girl,” I knew this was a decision I wouldn’t regret. Since then, I’ve realized that this long-storied band needed to be in steady rotation for me. Lucky for Boston, both old and new fans will have their chance to see the band return to MA in the form of a co-headliner with The War On Drugs. With Lucius in tow opening it up every night, the tour kicks off a week from today in Gilford, NH, and makes an early appearance in the run on September 14th at the Xfinity Center. A place I only used to associate with Warped Tours, with seventy bands performing in one day, has become one of my favorite venues in New England. And while it doesn’t perform as a temporary home for Warped every summer anymore, it’s now transitioned into the perfect venue for a tour like this: a night where it likely will be mid-seventies max, and the ideal setting for us all to cry into our overpriced IPAs in our finest flannels. 

The band’s last performance in Boston took place at Boston Calling in 2023, a place they are no strangers to. It was a performance fresh off the release of their first of an impressive two albums in one year, with First Two Pages of Frankenstein dropping in April of last year. The latter is Laugh Track, which was released last September. While the setlists are still a mystery for this run, considering the tour hasn’t started yet, it will be the first chance for fans to hear these songs live in MA. And we hope to see you there. Seeing The National live is an experience I’ve been able to experience twice since live touring returned, once at Roadrunner in 2022. As aforementioned, this journalist attempted to cover as many acts as she could in 2023 at said Boston Calling, and as the opening notes hit for “I Need My Girl,” I aborted my mission and scampered back to the stage. 

Doors this time around are at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are still available here, but I would jump on them very quickly. This weekend is seemingly the major kickoff for huge arena shows, wildly intimate club shows, and your new favorite UK bands wandering into town for the first time, but the outdoor amphitheater shows are coming to a slow and sad end for the season. The National would be a perfect way to round out the outdoor season, and I hope to see you there!

 

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9/14: The National, The War On Drugs, Lucius/Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA