I have my list. It’s not written down or recorded in any way. It floats freely in my head, taking on an losing names with the shifting tides of my memory and preferences. I presume most music fans have their own similar tallies. It’s those bands, performers, artists that I haven’t yet seen play live despite my strong desire to do so. There are loads of missed opportunities on the list (Sleater-Kinney, the White Stripes, and it seems Sonic Youth) and a handful that I’m actively plotting about (Arcade Fire). Last night, I didn’t necessarily cross a band fully of that last, but I did get to make an adjustment.

The National played in my town last night. This is a concert I’ve been pining for ever since I fell completely under the sway of their 2007 album, Boxer, still one of the four or five best releases of the past ten years. That desire was only compounded by subsequent releases and the fact that my partner in all things saw them her very own self during a trip to Madison a couple years back and gladly told me repeatedly just how great the show was. So there we were last night, towards the front of a local theater that has notoriously bad sound, watching the band blast through a deeply impressive two hour set (well, two hours once the obligatory encore is included in the measurement). It was almost everything I wanted it to be. Even the sound mix was far more solid than the venue’s reputation led me to expect. But there was a slight disappointment, and that’s what keeps the band on my phantom list.

Though I have a broad appreciation for the music of the National, I also have one song that’s my favorite, by far. “Start a War,” from the previously mentioned Boxer, is one of those songs that hits me deeply, in part because I can relate to its mixture of doom and perseverance. This isn’t because I was experiencing anything like that when the song was releases, but instead because I can well a time when lyrics like “Whatever went away, I’ll get it over now/ I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again” would have been held to my heart like armor. I don’t particularly need the forlorn romanticism of such music, but I can retroactively apply it to those times, distant but plentiful, when I did. So even if I’ve now seen the National, I haven’t seen them play “Start a War.” That means my quest is incomplete. So I have to see them again. That’s an entirely acceptable repercussion.

Listen or download –> The National, “Start a War (Live at KEXP)” (Removed by request, as promised.)

(Disclaimer: So. I always make a point of sticking with music that I believe to be out of print when I pull together this weekly feature, and Boxer is definitely still available as a physical object that can procured at your favorite local, independently-owned record store. Indeed, I suggest you do so at your earliest opportunity. However, the version included here was recorded at Seattle community public radio station KEXP. To the best of my knowledge, it has only been released on one of their fund-raising CDs, which I can no longer find available for purchase, except as a used item, which benefits neither the band nor the radio station. The track is therefore shared here with the belief that its free distribution will strip no one, except maybe that used CD dealer, of due compensation. Anyone feeling guilty about downloading it is encouraged to head straight to the KEXP website to make a donation to their worthy cause. It’s pledge drive season as I type this. I’ll also note that I’ll gladly remove the track if contacted by someone with due authority to request its removal.)