Live Review: The Antler's @ Maxwell's

(photo via nyctaper, which has a bootleg of the show)

My first stop at legendary Hoboken club Maxwell's was to see the Antlers who played the last show of a week tour on Saturday evening. Excellent, tiny club with a bar that can't be more than 50 feet from the stage.

Openers Family of the Year and Holly Miranda were fine, but there was a clear step up when the Antlers began their set with "Bear." Peter Silberman can definitely do all his falsetto stuff live. I wasn't sure how the highly conceptual Hospice would hold up over a live performance, but the live sequencing worked. "Sylvia," the strongest song in this set came in the middle, and Siberman ended logically with "Epilogue."

The huge dynamic shifts sounded great in such a small venue. The only problem was that at some of the quiet, poignant moments the talk at the bar was louder than the band. The girl singer from Family of the Year was wasted and talking really loud during the whole show, which seemed sort of disrespectful. But these moments were fortunately pretty brief, because the Antlers would bust out a huge crescendo and get everyone re-focused. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the irony-free Hospice, and at the show I was surprised at how well the Antlers were able to perform such a nuanced set from the album. Now, I am on notice. The Antlers are for real.

The last chance to see the Antlers in the area for a while will be at the Brooklyn Vegan show in Williamsburg on October 20. Tickets

mp3 The Antlers Bear