“Hi Melbourne, how are you doing?” asks The Antlers frontman Peter Siberman to a watchful, waiting audience in the Melbourne Recital Centre. It’s four songs in and this is their first bit of on-stage banter, aside from some barely audible “thank you’s” after each round of applause. “I hope you’re enjoying The Antlers at the movies,” he adds, in reference to the formal, seated venue. The band joke that it’s supposed to be a comedy.
Tonight is a night that many couples would indeed be watching romantic comedies on the big screen, with key guy Darcy Cicci asking who in the audience is here for a Valentine’s date (cue awkward formal seated venue silence) and adds that they would be the band to see if you wanted to break up with your date. Support act Lanks – named as such “because I’m lanky” Cicci says almost apologetically – was more upbeat about the gig as a romantic date option and notes all of the couples in the audience, so I’m siding with him and sticking with my choice of taking my partner to hear depressing songs about death and loss as a good one. So what if their most upbeat song of the night is called I Don’t Want Love?
The plus side of hearing The Antlers in a venue like The Recital Centre is that you can enjoy the complexities of their richly layered music through crystal clear sound. The instrumental climaxes to epic slow-burners like Doppelgänger and No Widows are spine-tingling, and the delicate, trance-like builds to these moments are perfectly suited for a tranquil sit-down show. But, halfway through, it’s clear the cinema-style set-up is holding the band back, and Siberman suggests we all stand for the remainder of the show. From here, the band–audience connection becomes more solid and the Brooklyn four-piece are visibly more comfortable; Siberman even offers the band up to be a Valentine’s to anyone in the crowd who isn’t coupled up. The set closes with Hospice’s devastating Epilogue – sure, it’s sad, but also deeply romantic. The Antlers are not shy about sharpening the lens on the darker, sadder aspects of human relationships, but that’s what makes tonight such a refreshing alternative to roses and chocolates.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Loved: My date.
Hated: Travelling home on a tram filled with screaming teens from the One Direction concert.
Drank: An intermission wine.
