A NIGHT WITH THE NATIONAL & LUCY

Going to Red Rocks in Morrison Colorado is never a bad time, yet each new performance makes you appreciate more and more the majesty that is Red Rocks. Monday night was no exception, with Ohio indie legends the National arriving for a gorgeous, somewhat chilly night, with special guest Lucy Dacus as the opener. Here are my takeaways:

• Lucy Dacus is a treasure through and through. For 45 minutes the relatively new singer songwriter wowed the crowd with her genuine mix of earnest songs with a fair amkut of added energy from the other members of her band. The Richmond native has a few albums under her belt, and those forced the once sitting crowd to rise to their feet as the energy and the songs both got bigger.​
  
  

• As far as songs though, there was no shortage of sing along moments for the fans that came and loved Dacus before the show, A surprise like “Dancing in the Dark,” a Springsteen cover, revved up the crowd as a massive sing along emerged among the thousands in attendance. But others, like her breakout hit “Brando,” showcased just how powerfully Lucy has moved fans early on in her career. Another surprise of a Happy Birthday song to her dad, who was attending in the front row, was a lovely moment that showed how human she was. All in all, there's not much more you could hope for out of an opener.
  

After Lucy exited the stage, the energy shifted as the larger crowd now waited as stage hands reorganized the stage for the National. Roughly 20 minutes later the band emerged to a Cohen song called “I Can’t Forget,” before hitting it quickly into “Don’t Swallow the Cap.'' The National are always a pleasure to watch, with tracks like “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” and the “national wedding show,” as Berringer calls “Slow Show,” moving the crowd to emotion only dire indie rock bands can produce.
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• The band jokes more now than I remember in the past, with singer Matt repeatedly mentioning how the rocks had somehow gotten bigger. In between deeply emotional and powerful songs, humor like that, though dry, is always a nice change.

• Beyond the obvious great songs performed throughout the night, the fans are part of what makes RR shows so special. They aren't cheap, but the attendees are nearly always well behaved and just happy to be there. Being there with my wife and two close festival friends was a time I'm glad I have as a memory now. One of my friends, who’s favorite band is the National, was at Red Rocks for the first time, which was incredible. 

• Lastly, the National aren't known as a super high energy band, but the light show in use was really amazing. They made all the more upbeat tracks like “Graceless,” or especially the anthemic “Mr. November” reality delivered an arena concert/amphitheater experience to match the elevated emotions of all the songs. It truly was a magical night.​