A few things have become quite clear of late: 1.) With the release of High Violet, The National has delivered its third straight candidate for possible Album of the Year. A. 2.) The Brooklyn outfit has more than a few high-profile friends, including one Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire’s Richard Parry, and DA Pennebaker. 3.) They’re no longer our little secret.

On Saturday night, all three of these attributes were on display, as The National took to Brooklyn Academy of Music to perform a Sufjan Stevens and Richard Parry-featuring concert in benefit of the The Red Hot Organization. The show, which included performances of numerous High Violet songs, was also streamed as a live webcast on YouTube, a feat only the likes of U2 can also claim. Plus, legendary director (known for his Bob Dylan concert film Don’t Look Back) directed the whole thing. And there was a big American Express logo on the top of the stream, meaning someone shelled out a whole bunch of cash for this thing. Basically what I’m trying to say is this was far from your run of the mill indie concert.

In case you missed the live webcast, most of it is currently available for re-watch over here. My particular highlight would be the following performance of High Violet‘s “Terrible Love”, which included Mr. Stevens (who looks like he should be in a boy band) providing accompanying vocals. Compare this to the band’s performance of indie rock anthem “Mr. Novemeber” and I think it’s safe to say “Terrible Love” is actually better live. I know, blasphemy, but I’m just telling it like I see it.

On a side note, The National has also posted 2008 Vincent Moon-directed documentary A Skin, a Night as a free stream on YouTube. Check that out, too.