The National Plays Secret Show At Sycamore, Plus More Around NYC Today

Ditmas Park-based The National played a secret set at Sycamore this afternoon to celebrate the release of their new album, Trouble Will Find Me. Fans were made aware of the show through mailing lists, and the band sent out a last-second tweet.

During the set, singer Matt Berninger noted this was the closest they’ve played to home, and wondered how many people would be fired for being in the audience.

“This is the first time we’ve played at Sycamore,” he said, “but not the first time we’ve gotten drunk here.”

Then he finished off a vodka martini and switched to white wine, the room packed and fans spilling out onto the sidewalk of Cortelyou Road on a fairly muggy afternoon.

The played upstairs, in the bar section of Sycamore, rather than in the downstairs performance space. And yes, in case you were wondering, the crowd did include babies.

Stems, the flower shop in Sycamore, was closed to fit the crowd, but will be open this afternoon.

Missed the show? The guys are also scheduled to play at least two more shows today. At 5pm they’ll be at Public Assembly. You have to email troublewillfindmentnl@gmail.com to enter for tickets, and confirmation emails will be sent at 3pm. At at 10pm tonight they’ll be at at Mercury Lounge. Tickets, which went on sale at noon, were only $10 — they reportedly sold out in seconds, and have already showed up for as much as $750 on Craigslist. Be sure to follow them on Twitter for any additional details — we have heard there will be more announced for Brooklyn today.