"Best 2K I Ever Spent" The National Rocks Milk Studios For Fashion Week. Was The Band A Good Choice?

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DeLeon Tequila has hosted a number of bands and music heavy weights during Fashion Weeks past. They're responsible for Axl Rose's rocking Rose Bar and last season's insane Crystal Castles show at Don Hill's. Kicking things off this time around was The National at Milk Studios. How do they stack up with the fashion crowd?

The band seems like an odd choice for Fashion Week. Don't get me wrong, I love the National, but when music and fashion meld you expect more of a parallel to the hoopla that surrounds the tents at Lincoln Center (formerly Bryant Park) this time of year.  You want the bands you hear and see and dance to at parties to mirror the looks on the runway-new, hip, exciting and possibly even dangerous. Let's be clear-The National are none of these things.

Your interest in them was piqued with their debut album and continued to grow up until Alligator. When Boxer came out you fell deeply in love.  And then, like love tends to do, it faded, it became comfortable. When High Violet was released, you listened and you enjoyed it, but you didn't feel the need to call everyone you know to tell about this awesome thing you just downloaded or how great Matt Berninger is. And in that way The National are your worn pair of jeans, your favorite hoodie.

And that's all true, and I believe every word I just said. But just like Fashion Week, when you remove all the glitz and glamor and noise surrounding it, your interest wanes in those crazy thigh highs you saw on the runway, or the angular shoulder pads, or the hot pants in neon colors. You'll love these things for a few weeks and get over them quickly. You'll return to your fashion standard, your most comfy items, the things you know suit you. You'll go back to your jeans and your hoodie.

And in that way, the intimate performance that The National gave was a perfect, perfect start to Fashion Week. May it all remind us not to get too crazed this week. After all, we're just half awake in a fake empire.

From the looks of things, everyone enjoyed  the show.