But it's Berninger's interaction with the crowd that truly sets this performance apart. Throughout the set, he repeatedly breaks down the barrier between stage and audience, at one point even fully vaulting into the crowd during '
Terrible Love'. This is a band connecting with their audience, sometimes quite literally.
Despite the upbeat nature of the performance, The National don't shy away from their more somber faire. Songs like '
Fake Empire' take on new relevance, with Berninger ruefully noting, "This song keeps getting more and more appropriate - that is really depressing."
As the set draws to a close with the devastating '
About Today', The National manage to create an intimate connection in a festival setting, their songs of love, loss, and existential dread resonating across the field. As the final notes fade away, it's clear that they couldn't have done more to close out another memorable Glastonbury in style.
