The National...Front Disco

For a few years, BAM's Next Wave Festival, formerly the de facto who's who of cool and arty in NYC, was called, behind closed doors, the Last Wave or the Same Wave, as the likes of Philip Glass and Bang on a Can found themselves on stage year after year....and in general the musical offerings at BAM were considered somewhat inferior to the theater and dance programming.

This has changed radically in the space of two years, during both the Next Wave and Spring seasons. BAM launched Brooklyn Next, a multi-venue festival showcasing the musical talent of Brooklyn (the borough with the most musical talent at this point, sorry Manhattan we'll still give you the best bankers), and the indie King and Queen Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newsom played multiple sold out nights at the Opera House. Let's not forget the take over BAM night which was by many counts a wonderful experiment that will likely be perfected next time...

It is to BAM's credit that this turn around, this tapping into a younger musical aesthetic, happened without radically altering their format. Sufjan played one night, a dance company from Israel the next. Ho-hum. All part of the Next Wave for us, my darlings.

A slightly less successful foray into the land of BAM WILL ROCK YOU was The National, on February 22 and 23, as part of Brooklyn Next. The National hails from Brooklyn, which is cool, and they recently exploded in popularity, which is also cool. But they are a hybrid of mopey rock and anthem-y rock, which can be difficult to enjoy in a soft padded seat in a formal concert hall. Whereas Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newsom's musical styles are plainly intimate, even when backed by orchestra and hula hoopers (looking your way, Sufy), The National has a fully plugged-in sound. They encouraged the entire audience to stand, which we did, or at least the Orchestra level did (I can't imagine the Balcony level did, because it is pitched so steeply everyone would have fallen to their death)...this left around 800 people bumping their knees into the wooden seats in front of them, and standing awkwardly on an inclined surface for about 3 hours. Oh wait, no the concert only felt like 3 hours.

The National has a number of albums out, though as I said they recently exploded in popularity, meaning that most people really are familiar with their most recent album. They played a nice long set, and 3 encores which included at various points a huge disco ball and the singer tromping through the audience. The only problem is that 3 enores gives a few too many climaxes, and after a while it stopped feeling bigger and bigger, and the collective energy of the audience was something like, "wait, they are coming out AGAIN? I just put my coat on!"

Still, the programming of The National at BAM is nothing to be scoffed at, and shows a deep desire by a...hmm...how to say?...cultural institution to compete in what is becoming a crowded playing field...The National could have performed at Terminal 5, or Hammerstein, but chose a different route which benefitted both sides - what band doesn't what to be considered arty, and how can BAM resist shedding the shackles of "OUT OF TOUCH?" This was the second time this season I have seen a disco ball used at BAM, and I am thinking now that might have been a wise investment. Though let's pray we don't see Donna Summer there any time soon.