The National Live Show Returns With Richard Reed Parry and a Rare Classic

The National live show in San Sebastián reunited the band with Richard Reed Parry, revived “90-Mile Water Wall,” and delivered a memorable 22-song set.

After two years away from a full-band concert, The National finally stepped back into the spotlight—and they didn’t settle for an ordinary comeback. At the closing night of AB100 at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián, the band presented “The National And Friends,” a one-night-only performance packed with special guests, deep cuts, and the kind of emotional grandeur that makes their concerts feel less like gigs and more like shared weather systems.

Held on Sunday, October 18, the concert marked The National’s first full-band show since 2024. It was also their only full-band performance of the year, which gave the evening an extra sense of occasion. Fans weren’t simply watching a band return; they were watching a rare chapter unfold in real time.

A Long-Awaited Return to the Stage

The 22-song set began with a powerful run of “Humiliation,” “This Is the Last Time,” and “Don’t Swallow the Cap.” That opening sequence set the mood immediately: dramatic, restless, and just a little bruised around the edges—the classic National recipe, served with a fresh coat of live-show adrenaline.

Richard Reed Parry Makes a Surprise Entrance

The evening took an especially exciting turn during “Lemonworld,” a song from The National’s fifth studio album, High Violet. Multi-instrumentalist and composer Richard Reed Parry appeared onstage as a surprise guest, transforming an already familiar song into something more expansive and unpredictable.

For longtime fans, Parry’s appearance wasn’t a random cameo. He worked with The National on High Violet, contributing double bass, guitar, and vocal harmonies to songs including “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” “Conversation 16,” and “Sorrow.” He also collaborated with the band on their 2013 album Trouble Will Find Me.

So, when Parry walked out during “Lemonworld,” it felt less like a celebrity guest spot and more like an old musical thread being picked up again. The sort of moment that makes fans glance at one another and silently say, “Wait—is this really happening?”

Parry later returned for “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” adding another layer to one of The National’s most recognizable live songs. His presence gave the performance a sense of history without making it feel stuck in the past. The band was looking backward, yes—but with both feet firmly planted in the present.

“90-Mile Water Wall” Returns After More Than a Decade

The biggest deep-cut surprise arrived after “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” and “Runaway.” The National performed “90-Mile Water Wall,” their 2003 track, for the first time since 2014.

That’s a long time for any song to sit quietly in the vault. Hearing it return after more than a decade turned the track into one of the night’s most memorable moments, especially for fans who had probably stopped expecting it to appear on a setlist at all. Sometimes the best concert surprises are songs that seem to have vanished—until suddenly, there they are under the stage lights.

The performance also included an early burst of “Humiliation,” captured in footage from the opening stretch of the concert, as well as “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” giving fans a glimpse of the set’s range—from early material to later-era anthems.

Ragnar Kjartansson Joins “Sorrow”

The concert had another unusual twist in store with “Sorrow,” which appeared twice in the set. The first performance featured the regular band lineup. The second brought contemporary performance and visual artist Ragnar Kjartansson onto the stage.

The National and Kjartansson have a history together. In 2013, they joined forces for A Lot Of Sorrow, a performance art piece and video installation in New York. That earlier collaboration centered on the band’s song “Sorrow,” so hearing the track performed twice in San Sebastián—once with the band alone and once with Kjartansson—gave the evening a fascinating sense of circularity.

It was theatrical without being overstuffed, emotional without needing a giant neon sign announcing the feeling. That’s The National’s particular magic: even their grandest moments often feel intimate, like someone has opened a door into a very specific memory.

From “Terrible Love” to a Big Singalong Finish

The later portion of the set moved through “Pink Rabbits,” “Oblivions,” “Smoke Detector,” “Light Years,” “England,” “Fake Empire,” “Terrible Love,” and “About Today.” It was a generous stretch of the band’s catalog, balancing tension and release in the way their live shows tend to do so well.

“Terrible Love” brought another vivid moment from the concert, while “Light Years” and “England” helped carry the performance toward its closing run. The set then reached “About Today,” a song that has long carried an almost cinematic weight in The National’s repertoire.

The encore was brief but perfectly chosen: “Once Upon a Poolside” followed by “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” That final song has become one of the band’s most beloved communal moments, and its appearance at the end of this rare full-band show felt almost inevitable.

The Complete San Sebastián Setlist

Here’s the full running order from The National live show at AB100:

• “Humiliation”
• “This Is the Last Time”
• “Don’t Swallow the Cap”
• “I Should Live in Salt”
• “Mistaken for Strangers”
• “Lemonworld” with Richard Reed Parry
• “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”
• “Runaway”
• “Bloodbuzz Ohio” with Richard Reed Parry
• “90-Mile Water Wall” — first performance since 2014
• “Sorrow”
• “Sorrow” with Ragnar Kjartansson
• “Pink Rabbits”
• “Oblivions”
• “Smoke Detector”
• “Light Years”
• “England”
• “Fake Empire”
• “Terrible Love”
• “About Today”

Encore:

• “Once Upon a Poolside”
• “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks”

A Weekend of Collaborations

The concert followed a special performance by Matt Berninger and twin brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner at the Atabal venue in Biarritz on Saturday, October 17. That event was also part of AB100, a festival celebrating the Dessner brothers’ 50th birthdays.

The Biarritz show featured a rotating cast of musicians, including Ben Howard, Kevin Morby, and Jon Hopkins. R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe also joined the group for “E-Bow The Letter,” originally released as the lead single from R.E.M.’s 1996 album New Adventures In Hi-Fi.

The National’s connection with Stipe and R.E.M. goes back years. The band supported R.E.M. on their North American tour in 2008, alongside Modest Mouse. Stipe later worked directly with Aaron Dessner, and the pair released the collaborative single “No Time For Love Like Now” in 2020.

Earlier in the month, members of The National also performed without Berninger in Germany. That 11-song set included guests such as Victoria Canal, Ye Vagabonds, and Gail Ann Dorsey, adding another strand to a busy period of live collaborations for the group.

What Comes Next for The National?

The National’s most recent studio album remains 2023’s Laugh Track, which followed First Two Pages Of Frankenstein earlier that same year. In 2024, the band described themselves as being in a “very creative space” and in the “gardening phase” of writing new material—a wonderfully odd but strangely fitting way to describe the slow cultivation of new songs.

Since then, Matt Berninger has released his solo album Get Sunk. Speaking about the record, he offered a reflective view of what lasts after the noise of a life fades:

“All that will be left are the ideas that you left – and that can be the kindness with which you raised your kids, the kind words you said to a total stranger, that minute you decided not to give someone the finger, that fight you decided not to have. Were you kind? Were you brave? I’m a bad memory for a lot of people, of course I will be. I hope I’m mostly a good memory.”

Meanwhile, Aaron Dessner has continued working across a wide range of projects. In recent years, he has contributed to albums by Mumford & Sons, Gracie Abrams, Florence + The Machine, and Brandi Carlile. His production and writing work keeps stretching outward, even as The National’s own future material remains in that early, quietly developing stage.

The San Sebastián concert felt like a reminder of why The National’s live shows stay with people. There were rare songs, old collaborators, returning friends, and a setlist that treated the band’s history as something alive rather than locked behind glass. After two years without a full-band concert, what song would you have wanted to hear most?

FAQ

• How long had it been since The National played a full-band show? The San Sebastián concert was their first full-band performance in two years, following their previous full-band concert in 2024.
• Who joined The National during “Lemonworld”? Richard Reed Parry joined the band during “Lemonworld.” He later returned for “Bloodbuzz Ohio.”
• When was “90-Mile Water Wall” last performed live before this concert? The National performed “90-Mile Water Wall” for the first time since 2014 at the AB100 concert.
• Who performed “Sorrow” with The National? Contemporary performance and visual artist Ragnar Kjartansson joined the band for a second performance of “Sorrow.”
• What songs were played during the encore? The encore featured “Once Upon a Poolside” and “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.”

If this concert stirred up your love for The National, bring that atmosphere home with a favorite album cover poster from Architeg Prints. It’s a warm, stylish way to keep a little piece of the band’s world on your wall.