[photos taken for nyctaper by Kate Ehle – many more here]
As the climax of what Peter Silberman called the “best year of [his] life” from the stage last night, The Antlers performed consensus album of the year Hospice songs to a sold out Bowery Ballroom — a room packed to walls yet eerily quiet during the music. We have meticulously chronicled the band’s evolution over these last few years, and last night was certainly the intensely satisfying culmination of many aspirations and expectations. In today’s New York Times, Jon Parales described the concert:
In an enthralling concert at the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night, playing the songs from “Hospice” to a rapt audience, the Antlers (from Brooklyn) made clear that the music was not just a vehicle for the story. It was its own molten element, moving at its own pace. Songs emerged from, and sometimes dissolved back into, stretches of abstract sound: Mr. Silberman’s guitar feedback darkening like storm clouds, Darby Cicci’s hissing or whooshing keyboard sounds, Michael Lerner’s atmospheric cymbals, the band’s loops and layers of static and effects that only gradually led into chords and rhythms. Eventually they were topped by the words.
At nearly ninety minutes, The Antlers performed what Peter later described to me as the longest set they have ever played. The band also debuted an as yet untitled new song. Additionally, there was a special appearance by Sharon Van Etten on both “Thirteen”, which she sings on the album, but also on the set-closing epic “Wake”. The intensity of the performance of the album’s climax moment was awe-inspiring as Peter, Sharon and Darby sang the final words “don’t ever let anyone tell you you deserve that” in perfect harmony and unison. It was a moment that we will not soon forget.
This set was recorded by both nyctaper and acidjack. We set up in the center of the balcony and rose the microphone pole up over 10 feet with four microphones. This excellent recording captures the excellent sound quality in the venue and the depth of the performance. Enjoy!
Uninhabitable Mansions and Sharon Van Etten were also recorded and will be posted soon.
FLAC and MP3 Downloads of this show are now available at Archive.org [HERE]
Antlers
2009-12-15
Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY USA
Four-Track Digital Master Recording
Recorded Behind Soundboard Booth
Neumann KM-150s + DPA 4021’s > Edirol R-44 (Oade Concert Mod) > 2x 24bit 48kHz wav files > Soundforge (level adjustments, mixdown, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries) > flac
Recorded by nyctaper and acidjack
Produced by nyctaper
2009-12-16
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:24:29]
01 Thirteen*
02 Kettering
03 Sylvia
04 Bear
05 Atrophy
06 [Untitled new song]
07 Two
08 Shiva
09 [banter]
10 Wake*
11 [encore break]
12 Cold War
13 Epilogue
*with Sharon Van Etten
If you email nyctaper for access to this recording, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Antlers, visit their website, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Hospice directly from Frenchkiss Records [HERE].
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