The Antlers - Hanbury Club, 5th March
You may remember me raving about the enchanting qualities of The Antlers most recent album, Hospice, here. This album has been constantly played in my house over the last few months and I was really looking forward to seeing this album come to life when played live. The Hanbury Club is a charming little spot that allows you to get right up close to the band, in fact even the average barfly could get a good view as it's a pretty small venue. Getting up close to the band is something that you would think help create a more intense atmosphere, more unity between the group and their fans. Unfortunately I didn't get that at this gig. Many people at the show seemed to be there on the way to something bigger and better that night and the chatter that continued among the crowd all through the gig showed that as engaging as the album is, The Antlers struggled to recreate this intensity live.
Most of Hospice was on display and many songs were re-worked to fit in with only having the three band members on stage. This limited the effect of the songs and didn't allow them to build ambience as effectively as they could on their well polished album. It was disappointing to hear one of my favourite tracks, Sylvia, transformed into a lifeless drone that didn't ache with any of the emotion that comes across so well on the album. Sure enough, Two was the crowd pleaser as drummer Michael Lerner was allowed to fully express himself in what seemed like a fairly controlled performance from him throughout the show. The drumming was one of the highlights of the evening for me, whether controlled or breaking out into a jazz-esque freefall. Michael Lerner keeps The Antlers ticking along amongst the feedback and delay of Pete Silbermans guitar and Darcy Cicci's constant shimmering noise, and therefore adds more depth to the songs when performed live.
Vocally there were glimpses of Pete Silberman's delicate vocals but being up against such a wall of sound they created it was difficult to hear him clearly, which was a shame seeing as this is one of the most emotive aspects of Hospice. There is no doubt that the songs on Hospice are firmly attached to The Antlers front man and he performed with conviction, despite teething problems with the sound to begin with.
Overall, a performance with feeling but lacking the hooks that got me so deeply into the album in the first place.
Set list not available.
First Aid Kit - The Hope, 8th March
Being the "smallest" of the groups I have seen in Brighton over the last few weeks I expected more of an intimate feel to this gig and I wasn't disappointed. Pre-show, watching an open-mic night in the downstairs pub at The Hope, I noticed the girls from First Aid Kit mingling amongst the revellers and enjoying the acts onstage. When it was time to go up to the tiny loft of a room where First Aid Kit were playing I was pleasantly surprised to see both Klara and Johanna Soderberg sitting at their merch stall and willing to chat to their fans. Klara, the younger of the two, came across as confident and approachable whilst Johanna seemed a little shy and quiet and this gave us a little glimpse as to what to expect on stage.
Klara, guitar player and lead vocalist led the banter with the crowd with a sharp wit that I would have been proud of at 16 years of age. Johanna dropped in the odd line but stayed safely behind her keyboard - only truly letting her guard down when immersing herself in the haunting melodies created by the two sisters. The sisters worked their way through most of debut album The Big Black and The Blue, and a few cuts from The Drunken Trees EP and, at the risk of sounding like a patronising, yet admittedly, un-educated fool - these girls sounded like they had been doing this for years. The confidence and maturity that is present in the delivery of their simple songs is captivating and kept the crowd on their toes.
For me the highlights were Winter is All Over You, the un-amped Ghost Town, Our Own Pretty Ways, and surprise of the night for me - I Met Up With The King, a song that didn't quite do it for me on the album as referenced in my review of The Big Black and The Blue. This song in particular came to life when played live and was delivered with more drive than the album version, which was partly thanks to the more present drumming in the live version. The fact that First Aid Kit managed to keep surprising me throughout their hour long show (whether it was the clarity and range of their voices, their confidence, or the ability to make someone else's song their own) impressed and inspired me, because they made it look easy and we all know how tough it is to do that.
Grizzly Bear - Brighton Corn Exchange, 11th March
Grizzly Bear rounded off the week of activity at the Corn Exchange and were supported by Beach House who were promoting their new album Teen Dream. I like Beach House, but I can think of a lot of bands that I like so I don't know if that says much about them. Victoria Legrand fronts their synth, loop heavy, woozathon with charisma but I found the songs labouring and all fairly similar. I was impressed with the live vocals as this was one area that doesn't sit too comfortably on Teen Dream. When I see a band live though I like to see them really pull it out of the bag and show me what they can do and for me, in this gig, Beach House could have just pressed play on Teen Dream and let it run.
From listening to Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest for the last six months I knew that I should be in for an interesting ride and I was keen to see how some songs shaped up live. The fact they perform on stage in a line shows this is a band who think outside of the box. They started with Southern Point which is by no means one of my favourite Grizzly Bear tunes and once they had dispensed of this there wasn't much to disappoint throughout the rest of the show - aside from the absence of the awesome All We Ask.
Musically, Grizzly Bear are tight, fresh, and full of ideas and this was demonstrated on Lullaby, a song that I had heard a few times on their previous album Yellow House, but never really absorbed. Hearing it live though took it to another level and really showed the versatility of the group. Colorado, another cut from Yellow House was also a mini-epic of its own, erupting into an unpredictable firework display of drums whilst the vocals of Ed Droste were melancholic and confident throughout. After seeing this gig I have certainly gone back to Yellow House and been able to appreciate it more so than before. For all of Grizzly Bear's brilliance this is the one thing about them - initially, they don't seem that easy to listen to. The songs can appear to lack melody, structure, or drive, and when I first listened to Yellow House and Veckatimest it took me a while to digest each of the songs. However, what seems to be their flaw is also their unique quality and makes them such an interesting band to listen to. On closer listening each song has a well thought out structure and depth that is often accompanied by some beautiful harmonies, of which all band members contribute to.
Individually the members of Grizzly Bear seems well trained musically and vocally, the strength of their harmonies in a live setting were at times a little quiet but did not disappoint. Being someone who plays music this gig left me thinking more about what me and my band mates should look at doing and I think Grizzly Bear are worth seeing if you want to see how four people can create so much more than your standard verse-chorus nugget of pop.
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