"Lazy" Doesn't Necessarily Mean "Bad"

After a week of enjoying atypical Seattle crowds, it seems as if whatever was in the water has run its course, with Seattleites returning to their apathetic showgoing ways. Seattlest can't really say that we were much different at Friday night's The National/Mobius Band show at Neumos, as we were busy being annoyed by our inability to breathe (hello fall cold season!), but all the same we were hoping that the crowd would have perked us up rather than merely matching our lack of energy. Luckily, this lack of energy wasn't much of a reflection of The National, who played a crowd-pleasing set despite the crowd's unwillingness to indicate that.

We walked in just as the Mobius Band's set concluded, thanks to an extended nap. The line at the merch booth hints that it was a good set, creating some new fans. Despite hearing nothing from their set, we want to like the band based on the design of their t-shirts, which remind us of one of the best pieces of animation we've ever seen, The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (that's a Youtube link so you can enjoy it yourself). We mentioned this factoid to a member of Mobius Band, who gave us just the sort of confused look you would expect when presented with such an esoteric nugget.

The National took to the stage and we were impressed immediately by the drummer. He wasn't particularly flashy, but somehow he still managed to monopolize our attention (we think our cold medicine affected brain was drawn to the quick motions). Coupled with the bassist, the rhythm section dominated the band's sound, as we found that the lead singer's voice didn't entirely pull us in. It sounded like tour fatigue had set in, with his voice just sounding a bit weak, the weakest element in an overall enjoyable performance.

The crowd certainly wasn't adding to the overall effect. The gray days seemed to have taken its toll (or they were similarly drugged up), since the crowd clapped as appropriate, but didn't do much more than that. Conversations were ongoing, drinking was casual, and only a few members of the crowd were enthusiastic enough to sing along.

For all of the critiques, we still wouldn't classify this as a bad show. It wasn't. It was a lazy show for a lazy Friday before a lazy weekend. If that's what you're up for, then The National/Seattle crowd combination is meant for you. But if you're just feeling lazy, you might as well just stay home and listen to their CD Alligator, which provides all the enjoyment of the show without having to leave the house. It's a win-win.

Image from flickr user rachelee