The Antlers – The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco

The Antlers have natural grandiousity, that defies the ideals of most of their contemporary Brooklyn counterparts, except Grizzly Bear, maybe. This drama is even more apparant live than on record. Peter Silberman doesnt shy away for eeking every drop out of his wonderful falsetto, instantly comparable to the late, great Jeff Buckley, or Thom Yorke when he doesnt self-sabotage his voice.

The band opened with “Parentheses”, from the critically acclaimed new album Burst Apart. Through a practiced precision, and multitude of effects, the band have the ability of recreating all of the swirls and blips from the album perfectly. Multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci provided an array of shimmering and pulsating noises from keyboards and other contraptions. Timothy Mislock played bass and second guitar, and should probably be allowed official recognition as a band member by now. Both Mislock and Cicci also often provided beautiful falsettos of their own, behind Silberman’s, creating very affecting and eerie three part harmonies (particularly on the Burst Apart highlight, “No Widows”).

“Parentheses” and “Hounds” call to mind Radiohead’s “Talk Show Host” or even “How To Disappear Completely”, and the influence is too apparent not to mention, and may be even more pronounced live than on record.

Frontman Peter Silberman is the main draw of sold-out crowds attention. He rocks back and forth playing rhythmic guitar lines. His astounding falsetto is often released in sporadic yelps, after which he recoils from the mike as if it were electrified. Album and set closer “Putting The Dog To Sleep”s abrasive and jarring “Oh Darling” style chords, turned into a pleasing wig-out. The new album was the focus of the night, although the encore was closed with the epic “Wake”, from 2009′s conceptual masterpiece Hospice. The closing refrain, “Don’t bargain when you’re weak, don’t take that sharp abuse, some patients can’t be saved but that burden’s not on you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you deserve that” sounded as melodramatic as is reads.

The subject matter for on most Antlers songs is essentially death, and any respite from the harrowing morbidity into life is soon defeated and drowned again. The set-list is often in danger of losing itself in melodrama, as each song seems even more epic than the last. But Silberman’s astounding voice and the bands technical virtuosity won out, and the sold out crowd left smiling.

Here’s the set list…

Parentheses
Kettering
No Widows
I Don’t Want Love
French Exit
Rolled Together
Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
Bear
Hounds
Putting The Dog To Sleep

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Two
Corsicana
Wake

Thanks to Chris Trewin for the photos.