Live Review: The Antlers, Hayden Calnin

Light drizzle outside, all-out storm inside. Add to the mix some diehards looking to convert their undecided friends. That was the tension that filled the air Friday night, a tension as desperate to find a release as the fans at the front were to get Peter Silberman to sign their vinyl. “We’ll do that after,” he said.

Hayden Calnin played the slow-build precursor role perfectly, his long, contemplative synth gems getting the crowd in the right mood for the main act. Calnin’s music slowly rolls over you, his drawn-out falsetto pieces opting to linger infectiously in your mind rather than building into a multi-instrumental explosion.

The Antlers, on the other hand, are no strangers to the crescendo. The band have grown their sound over the years from the angsty, falsetto-driven rock of Hospice to the more varied, horn-driven Familiars, which opts to surround its angst with beautiful bigger-picture contemplations with ample room to breathe, as opposed to expelling the heartbreak entirely.

Their live performance was a different kettle of fish; focusing mostly on their newer material, the band delivered a spectacular barrage of beefed-up renditions, ending most tracks in a beautiful, tension-releasing storm of melodic horns, clean, chugging guitars and cymbal crashes. Silberman let his actions do the talking, putting all of his energy into long, purposeful slashes on his fret board and keeping banter to a minimum. The band hardly stopped playing, with long, discordant jams seamlessly connecting one track to the next.

The set was light on older material, although the few songs they did incorporate were retrofitted perfectly to suit their more mature style. The call and response of Putting The Dog To Sleep had the whole audience singing, ending in one of the more spectacular crescendos, while Epilogue gave every band member the spotlight, threatening to end the night on a quiet, pristine keyboard melody before erupting into an immaculate last hurrah.

As for the undecided friends? Did they change their minds? Who cares? Who needs friends when you have The Antlers?