Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Matt Berninger of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Aaron Dessner of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

The Kronos Quartet play with The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Bryce Dessner of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Bryan Devendorf of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Matt Berninger of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Bryce Dessner of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Bob Weir joins Scott Devendorf and Aaron Dessner of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Matt Berninger of The National at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Matt Berninger, Bob Weir and Aaron Dessner at Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Mor Weizman

Editors' Notes

Bob Weir joins The National at Outside Lands.

“We just got fancy on your ass,” said The National‘s Matt Berninger, introducing the four instrumentalists who play strings in the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet, on Friday, August 9 at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park. The added string section (David Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt playing viola, and Sunny Yang on cello) accompanied the indie band on almost half of the songs in their set including the beautifully melancholy “England.”

And, as usual, the three-piece-suit-clad lead singer also dressed the part. Though the band is Ohio-bred and based in Brooklyn, a West Coast sensibility loomed large during their performance in the park, buoyed by the Quartet (who also accompanied Paul McCartney later in the evening) and Bob Weir who joined both Kronos and The National onstage for “Terrible Love.” Last year the band joined Weir (Grateful Dead, RatDog, The Dead) to play a Bridge Sessions webcast covering Cass McCombs’ “Love Thine Enemy” in San Rafael, and the National’s twin guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner are still at work on an upcoming Grateful Dead tribute album slated to include such talents as Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, and Kurt Vile & the Violators. Fancy that.

By Elizabeth Varnell

Setlist:
“Fake Empire”
“I Should Live in Salt” (with Kronos Quartet)
“Don’t Swallow the Cap” (with Kronos Quartet)
“Bloodbuzz Ohio”
“Sea of Love”
“Demons” (with Kronos Quartet)
“Afraid of Everyone”
“Conversation 16”
“Squalor Victoria” (with Kronos Quartet)
“This is the Last Time”
“I Need My Girl”
“Graceless”
“England” (with Kronos Quartet)
“Mr. November” (with Kronos Quartet)
“Terrible Love” (with Bob Weir and Kronos Quartet)

Pictured: Matt Berninger of The National
Photo by Mor Weizman