I've said it before, and you know what? Hot damnit I shall say it again: THE ANTLERS! I was lucky enough to see them a while back in Chicago. I was given the tickets for my birthday by my girlfriend. I was also urged by a close friend and musician (Clipper Johnson) who you will be hearing from soon to post an immediate review of the gig.
I contemplated running back to my apartment and posting it, like an eager little bear. In the end I decided not to as I was having trouble with bed bugs. I really was, it was terrible. In some ways I am glad I held back with the review of the gig. Of late my page views have showed an alarming dip, I am a bit obsessed with the page views. Sad, I know. So know, just in order to rally against the diminished views I will write a piece so captivating, so fucking eloquent, that it will grab the attention of the world at large.And so concludes my apology for not posting a piece on the gig any sooner.
It was fantastic, truly mind-blowing, spiritual and orgasmic, it really delivered. From the moment we walked in, collected a JD and coke from the bar to the final round of applause it was a breathtaking few hours. Peter and the band took the stage in an unassuming having all been out to fine tune their set-ups. They smacked of a group of guys who cared for their music. They opened with Parantheses, a track from the new album; Burst Apart. In all they played nine from Burst Apart and four from Hospice. I was lucky enough to have listened to Burst Apart extensively and so the emphasis on it was to my liking. I would reason that to the Hospice fan it could have been a let down.
I reckon, personally, as time has gone on, that Burst Apart is a better album in it's entirety than Hospice, even if Hospice, maybe contains the highest points the band has reached. Kettering was played next and it was amazing. Judge for yourself (open in new tab or this page will move to), go on read the rest of it. Silbermans falsetto vocals were the highpoint of the night. It was a great joy to realise he does not need auto tuning or other record company shit.
The next song; No Widows was probably my discovery of the night. Pre-gig I considered it a good album track, not much more. Re-listening to it now brings me back to it's opening bars at the gig. I was immediately transfixed, the echoing melody simply entraps me. 'No shirts to hang or fold, no kids out in the cold,no widows on the wall, no widows on the phone'. The melancholic singing combines with the positive words to create a beautiful contradiction, a true expression of sorrow in joy.
Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out is one of my stand out tracks from Burst Apart. Sadly not from the gig I was at, the song is undeniably interesting. There is a fantastic scope, and the vocals are again interesting and compelling. 'You and I; divorced but not devoured, every night my teeth are falling out'. The interesting lyrics and equally interesting delivery combine to create a very good song here.
They closed with Wake, THEY CLOSED WITH WAKE, they closed with wake. It was sublime, beautiful and amazing and really good and just fucking great. I have it recorded on my shitty Nokia. I am not going to rave about it here. Just listen to it. Go on buy the album!
The picture above is a picture from the gig and it's taken from roughly where I was standing from what I can tell.
Peace
No comments:
Post a Comment