Between the sad violins, and the moody trumpets, and all the pitch black songs about walking around damp, drizzly cities, it’s easy to forget the The National is a capital R Rock band, a band whose members adore the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers, a band that’s as equally defined by Very Loud Guitar Music as it is by Matt Berninger’s white collar, (not always) quiet desperation.  

And so sometimes, it takes a guest appearance from Trey Anastasio, and his lead guitar that so unmistakably makes me feel like I’m 14, sitting on a sweaty summer camp school bus listening to Farmhouse, to make me realize that yes, there’s a certain loose, contained sloppiness in a lot of The National’s music, and that no, Anastasio’s guest appearance at The Beacon Theatre on Friday night was not ironic, or off-putting, or even bizarre.  It actually sort of made a lot of sense.    

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   sloppiness” describes...National really well, Jon. thepretender:

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