Where: Summer Sundae Leicester
Venue: DeMontfort Hall
It was about 2.30pm on a sunny Sunday. The previous days of
rain had brought festival goers to soar inside DeMontfort Hall. The sun
obviously made the audience abandon DeMontfort on Sunday. Initially, I was
pleased to find myself walking into a decent sized venue with very few people
inside awaiting the mighty Antlers. It took about four minutes to realise my
blunder... Not many people in the Midlands know who The Antlers are. That
apathetic feel was drawn to me instantly. It wasn't the band, it was the audience
of about (and I'm really not exaggerating) 75. I positioned myself three rows
from the front (a.k.a, the back row). Looking at my program I noticed Young
Knives were scheduled to play outside on the main stage. This only hurt my
feelings more due to Young Knives being a Leicester band with severe home
support. I took three deep breaths and waited for The Antlers to begin.
The performance was entirely made up of 'Burst Apart' songs.
This isn't a bad thing, but I just wanted to scream 'SYLVIA!!' or something of
the sort. I don't think this audience were avid fans or had even heard of the
band previously. It doesn't take many minutes to read about the band ground-breaking
debut album 'Hospice', released in 2009 to tremendous acclaim. With respect to
the fans that showed up, I'm sure they'll agree that the atmosphere was pretty
poor. I put it down to the lack of audience, but you could realistically
mention the laid back attitude of Peter Silberman and co.
They played approximately five to six songs in a half hour
slot. 'I Don't Want love' was the opening track and it sounded absolutely monumental in this venue. The
reverberation was striking in comparison to Toot's & The Maytals two days
prior. Peter was on key and the band seemed to be enjoying playing here. It's
almost as if they used this festival as a warm up to a bigger one (Reading/Leeds
was two weeks after). The final third of I Don't Want Love was astounding.
Peters high pitched vocals bounced off the walls and shook the chandeliers.
Once this song ended the audience of 75 began to clap repetitively, as if they
actually were being forced to clap out of courtesy rather than appreciation and
support.
'French Exit' sounded fresh and brought a clearer sound
quality compared to the album version which includes several layers and many
synthesizer drones. I loved the opening thirty seconds and the initial drum
beat sent shivers down my spine. I received the same feeling with the eerie and
mouth-watering 'Parenthesis'. With the brilliant drum and high noted guitar
opening, the 'cat' drones were heard with hilarity. If you don't understand
what that means then check out the above video. Peter sang his delicious verse as
the bass riff hit like a tonne of bricks. Something which I admire in The
Antlers sound is their ability to create such beautiful sounds. Burst Apart is
an album which shows maturity and progress by each member, which is why the
teenagers began leaving before the 10 minute mark.
It's hard to replicate what you create in the studio, but
The Antlers surprisingly can re-create glorious layers. The track 'EverynightMy Teeth Are Falling Out' sounded incredible. The introduction was clear cut
perfect and peters vocals sounded incredibly refined. The final 30 seconds were
amazing. Beautiful guitar sounds raised the roof and as the band abruptly stops
playing, the audience begin clapping instantly.
The eeriness of 'Putting The Dog To Sleep' was enough to win
me over. The highly reverberated barre chords were played in perfect time. The
sparse instrumentation only added to the improved atmosphere due to the
connection between loyal fans and the band. Peter wails out the key lyrics of,
"Put your trust in me, I'm not going to die alone." Then the
desperate finisher of, "I don't think so..."
I thoroughly enjoyed my 30 minutes listening to The Antlers
play their downtempo-esque music. Time flew by as I angrily and childishly
waited for 'Two' or 'Kettering'. This material was more than doable for me to
spread the word to my family and friends sitting outside listening to Young
Knives. Before I sign off this live review, I must personally apologise to The
Antlers. I'm sorry that the Summer Sundae audience was pathetic... You deserved
better and I overheard some listeners sharing negativity which wasn't correct.
To some, The Antlers are ethereal and wonderful. To the 15 year old Young
Knives fans, The Antlers are "boring shit". Again... I'm so sorry.
~Eddie
