The National delights Chicago with The War on Drugs, Lucius at the United Center

I know I've written about this here in the past, so I won't repeat myself too often, but The National is one of those bands that I've been following and enjoying for over 15 years now, and now see more often Seen live when I can count with two hands. However, this was the first time I had seen her perform in such a capacity as the United Center without seeing her headlining a music festival.

The exciting thing about the Zen Diagram Tour is that all three artists are successful in their own right and at this point in their careers it's their turn to headline. The point was that all three together made for evening perfection.

The evening's opener, Lucius, was a real treat if you managed to get to the show early. Although they played a shorter set than before, they had a lot of fun, including a live performance of their newer track “Old Tape” with The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel on stage. What I love about this duo is that no matter the size of the audience or the venue, they play and sing with such passion that it is absolutely infectious and leaves you wanting more. The discovery that Jess Wolfe is expecting a child was also exciting; I wish her and her family all the best in their new life adventure.

Next up was the second part of the tour, “The War on Drugs,” and personally, due to my age and lack of memory, I can’t remember if I ever saw them live. However, I know how much I enjoyed their music and was excited when I first heard about this tour. Since the United Center is such a large venue, it was exciting to see the crowd fill up and “The War on Drugs” receive well-deserved recognition. They ended their set with Lucius returning the favor and joining the band on stage for their title track from their 2021 album. I don't live here anymore.

Now let's move on to the main event of the evening and once again I won't say too much about The National and what their music has meant to me album after album. I can say that at one point in their career, lead singer Matt Berninger was very reserved when performing, only showing hints of his alter-ego stage persona. The days of the mild-mannered Berninger are long gone and that's not necessarily a bad thing, as their live shows have catapulted to a whole new level of an experience that still amazes me.

Setlist:
Sea of ​​love
eucalyptus
Tropic Morning News
Bloodbuzz Ohio
The system only dreams in complete darkness
I need my girl
Lemon world
Conversation 16
Illuminated
Mr. November
Summoning the Prancing Horses #
Foreigner
Smoke detector
Rylan$
England
Without mercy
False empire

Encore:
light years
Terrible love
About today
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (acoustic)

# Echo and the Bunnymen cover with Adam Granduciel
$ Accompanied by Lucius