After years of seeing The National in venues like the Apollo and Ally Pally, it’s nice to see Matt Berninger absolutely fill a smaller room and make it look effortless. His solo work tends to be a lot gentler than his day job, with the latest stuff sounding very New Pornographers, but he makes the energy work. Nowhere Special is revelatory live, and the Serpentine Prison songs shine in a new way alongside the newer stuff. A couple of still developing songs get thrown into the mix, as do some judicious National songs (Terrible Love still an absolute phenomenom to witness live) and even a cover of Blue Monday. It’s a shame he’s got a wireless mic now, but probably for the best for all concerned. Ronboy is a sly choice for opening act, with a couple of stand out songs in Your Way and Oceans Of Emotion, and even cunningly bringing Berninger out for a duet towards the end.