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Friday, November 13, 2009

Live Show Review: The Antlers

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It's not all that often that concertgoers go to a show to see the opening band. But at the 40 Watt last night, that was the case. While people were excited to see headliners Minus the Bear, there was also a big crowd looking forward to the performance from Brooklyn trio The Antlers. 

The Antlers went on at 11 o'clock, following local band Twin Tigers. "Kettering" from The Antlers' latest release Hospice opened the set, starting out as quiet keys and vocals showcase of frontman Peter Silberman's delicate voice and meandering through about five minutes of The Antler's indie rock instrumentals.  With fellow Antlers Michael Lerner (drums, percussion) and Darby Cicci (keys, trumpet, banjo), Silberman pumped out well-crafted songs to support his captivating songwriting.



"Sylvia" took the energy — and noise — level up, and even though Silberman looked like he was singing at full force, his voice showed no sign of strain, but continued to be the driving force behind The Antlers' haunting music, and the band achieved a sound much more complex than its three-piece lineup would let on.

At some points, the noisy instrumental tangents had the crowd losing interest, but everyone's attention snapped back to stage when The Antlers broke into "Two," a more high energy pop-influenced tune.  But even in songs like "Two," the lyrics were beautiful and sad, with Silberman singing about sickness, pain and death. 

The Antlers' music is even better, when the emotions behind the band's songs are more palpable and the complex sound is loud. Even though there were some lackluster moments, The Antlers lived up to its buzz band status with this well-played 40 minute set.

-Kristen Callihan
currently listening to "Two" by The Antlers

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