Ever heard of Sleigh Bells? Phantogram is kind of like that but with a little less punch. This isn’t a bad thing in the least. The duo, consisting of guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel, delivered their own kind of energy during their Doug Fir Lounge performance, where they opened for indie darlings the Antlers.
Phantogram excels at building layers of sound in their music, both recorded and live. Often starting off their songs with a light drumbeat or a steady bass line, the Doug Fir crowd watched Barthel loop vocals and keys, gradually piecing together what would end up as a rich soundscape.
Performance wise, Barthel seemed far more comfortable on stage than Carter. Both shook their bodies in time to the music, but where Barthel’s movements were fluid, Carter seemed to falter. He had loosened up by the end of the set, but seemed to struggle in the beginning. Plus, pantomiming lyrics is never a good idea—no matter how good the song is. When he did loosen up though, Carter could certainly hold his own on stage, writhing around in time to the music.
Phantogram’s set drew from their debut album Eyelid Movements, which was released this past February to mostly positive reviews. Towards the end of their time on stage, Phantogram pulled out “Make a Fist,” a bonus song from the vinyl edition of their album; the song has a distinctly psychedelic feel not heard in their other songs. With a flourish, they finished their set with “When I’m Small;” when the intro hit the bass line, the lights from the disco ball exploded over the crowd in perfect unison.
The Antlers came on next to a packed house. It’s easy to see why the two bands were paired together, despite their different sounds. Where Phantogram has a party feel, the Antlers are all raw emotion. The kind of emotional transference that took place between the audience and the band is the kind that can be almost painful to witness. The band moves more like a punk band than their sound would let on, coming off musically as something more akin to indie-folk with a dreamy rock ’n’ roll edge.
They opened their set with “Kettering,” and from there, gradually jumped through their 2009 album Hospice. Singer Peter Silberman threw his body around with the kind of recklessness that can turn a performance into a memorable experience, dropping his guitar at one point in the chaos and leaving it on the stage while he kept moving.
While the band stayed true to the studio versions for many of their songs, there were parts in the set that were slowed down and reworked. “Bear” was brought down to a slower tempo, with lyrics dragged out and guitar riffs delicately quieted. The reworkings were easy to connect with, and never strayed too far from the original brilliance of their studio counterparts. As a whole, the set came together nicely, with all three members meshing into each other and silently connecting in a way that amplified their performance immensely.
The Antlers threw a new song into the mix that was an odd departure from their other work, with a distinctly Modest Mouse feel circa Good News for People Who Love Bad News. The sound is still distinctly theirs, but with a bit of an edge to it. If this is any indication of what’s to come with their new material, fans should start getting excited.
With this dynamic duo of bands, this was one of the better lineups that the Doug Fir has had under their roof as of late. The Antlers said that this was their first time playing in Portland and that they enjoyed their time here. Hopefully they’ll be gracing us with their presence again soon.
DOWNLOAD: The Antlers - Bear (MP3) or Follow us for more The Antlers MP3s (Twitter)
Two songs go in, one comes out. Pick a side.
thanks so much nadine! probably the best compliment a photog can get!
and thanks for reminding me to embed the video in the post too!
by Steve Benoit on Sun May 20, 2012 at 09.33 am from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
I can’t get over how these photos captured my up close memory of the night.
by nadine on Sat May 19, 2012 at 11.08 pm from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
Or should it be whoever? F my grammar.
by nadine on Sat May 19, 2012 at 10.30 pm from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
Whomever took these photos certainly captured the night!
by nadine on Sat May 19, 2012 at 10.26 pm from the entry: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)
“Mindkilla” is awesome. I’ve got this music video last week and really impressed through watching every performance particularly “Glass Jar”. Thanks dude. :)
dance contest
by Mark Waugh on Thu May 17, 2012 at 05.54 am from the entry: Gang Gang Dance's Illuminating "Mindkilla"
Also, I have yet to pay this venue a visit, is it good spot? good people, good vibe, good atmosphere?
... man, i hope i win some tickets…
by Jaz Bonnin-Aldatz on Thu May 17, 2012 at 12.27 am from the entry: It's all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête
Looking forward to the show. Would love to win some tix for my pals.
by MC Breath on Wed May 16, 2012 at 07.40 pm from the entry: It's all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête
I met Colin at the Los Campesinos! show last night, and he was telling me about The Antlers. I cheked them out. They are really good. The show sounded like a lot of dfun as well.
Great photos, Colin. Can’t wait to see the ones from Los Campesinos! and to see how they were reviewed.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Kelley
can’t wait for Antlers and The National in June! Thanks Colin for #7 as it shows off the Fir Lounge. Oh, say hi to Kelley for us.
I wish the antlers and the national came here in June. Alas.
Colin, it was great meeting you at the show. The photos turned out great! Hope to see you @ Stars in June!
Thanks Jenny! It was nice meeting you too. We’ll see about Stars, gotta find a way in first. Fingers crossed.