Part 2, best show ever...

The National, June 6, 2007, at the Magic Stick, Detroit.
I was incredibly lucky to get a ride to Detroit from a total stranger from The National Message Board, cos otherwise I would have missed the best show I've ever seen. Seriously, it was that good. If you have not heard them and you like any of the same music I do, check them out via their website at www.americanmary.com.
First opener Talkdemonic have improved since I saw them open for the National in Grand Rapids. They're not really my thing but they were pleasant.
Second opener Shapes and Sizes had the ugliest shoes of any band I've ever seen. They were not my thing and I found them annoying. They reminded me of early Georgia post-punk band Pylon, and not in a good way. Your mileage may vary, depending on how you feel about dissonance.
The National had excellent shoes. They all have quite a sense of style, but lead singer Matt Berninger in particular was resplendent in black cotton shirt, white jeans, and black textured pointy-toed shoes with a Cuban heel.
Nice to see them with Padma Newsome playing violin and keyboards.
After "Brainy," Matt said something like, "We play faster than usual in Detroit. It must be the cocaine." He introduced "Murder Me Rachael" by saying something along the lines of "This is a song from 1977 (sic), from our first (sic) album when I was six years old."
During "Squalor Victoria" Matt came right out to the lip of the stage in front of where I was standing, providing an excellent view for myself and the ladies standing next to me. He did this again a number of times throughout the rest of their set, greatly enhancing my own personal concert-going experience. I tried to behave myself. During "Mr. November" Matt was going up on the monitor, etc. and near the lip of the stage (where I was standing) was a cord attached to a pull-down projector screen. Matt was balancing up on the monitor and grabbed the cord and the screen started to pull down. He got a big grin on his face and then went off the stage into the audience next to where I was. He managed to make the screen go up again as he got back onstage, then when the song was over he pulled it all the way down to the floor like a curtain (and then raised it again when it was obvious they were going to do encores.) Did I mention that this was the best show I have ever seen?
This video was taken by the person directly to the left of me:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=p8MGy1Pcbfw