When The National first visited New Zealand in 2008, they played to a few hundred people at the Kings Arms in Auckland. In 2011, they upsized to The Powerstation. This time around they've super-sized, taking on the 12,000-capacity Vector Arena.
That says all you need to know about the slow-burning trajectory of this Brooklyn-based five-piece, responsible for masterpieces such as Alligator, Boxer, High Violet and last year's Trouble Will Find Me.
But what does it say for those steadfast fans who have followed The National since their early days and still want to see frontman Matt Berninger walk through the crowd and grab a beer from the bar, all the while still singing, as he did at the Powerstation three years ago?
"We definitely have to project what we do differently in larger places, we know that. It's obvious you can't just hover over your guitar and whisper," says bassist Scott Devendorf, who co-founded the band with Berninger in the 90s.