Born in a world where listeners have a short attention span and are download crazy for singles with catchy hooks, The Antlers’ Hospice was a welcome deviation from the norm. Praised by many critics as one of the best albums of 2009, this concept album takes you deep inside an honest, dark, and hauntingly truthful story of loss and finding hope in a hopeless situation. The Antlers’ live set at The Vic in Chicago on President’s Day was nothing short of majestic. Listeners found themselves engulfed in the sound coming from the three-man band led by Peter Silberman’s captivating vocals.
Hospice, Silberman’s autobiographical opus, was the result of months of bedroom isolation and depression. Silberman emerged from his Brooklyn apartment in search of musicians to help bring life to his story. Partners in crime, Darby Cicci (synths) and Michael Lerner (drums, percussion), joined the team and expertly supported Silberman’s vocals. Though never dominating the music, Lerner's pounding rhythms added frustration and anger, while Cicci's ambient sounds drew emotional boarders encasing the venue.
Audience members who hadn’t listened to Hospice prior to coming to the show lost interest in a couple of the songs half way through. Where those who had listened intently to the album prior to coming to the show and appreciated the dissonant sounds that aided to the meaning of the lyrics, others found it excessive and annoying. After staying for the next act, The Editors, one could understand why.
Fans who came for The Editors were clearly those who appreciate and probably need a lot of stimulus with their music. With fast pace beats, a spastic front man you couldn’t take your eyes off of, and a light show that flashed with each pounding of the drum, one could see where fist-time Antlers’ listeners could get lost. In stark contrast to The Antlers’ music, almost every Editors’ song ended abruptly and one wasn’t required to understand the lyrics in order to enjoy each song.
Nonetheless, those who came to hear The Antlers’ were drowned in the message of the album. Little was lost in translation from album to live set with a miniature collection of five of the ten title tracks. Audience members could feel the re-lived anguish Silberman felt at times hunched over his guitar pounding his feet to the rhythm of the drums. Crowd favorites “Two” and “Bear” were met with roaring applause and chills.
It would behoove those who attend The Antlers’ live show to listen to Hospice before you go. Hospice is an album that requires time and patience to fasten full understanding and unearth deeper meaning. Finishing their set, The Antlers’ chose “Wake” instead of “Epilogue” in which the album ends. A believably purposeful choice for The Antlers to perhaps provide an explanation for releasing such a personal recount of past events of which the true story is still a public debate. The explanation lies in Silberman’s line “Because the hardest thing is never to repent for someone else, it’s letting people in” repeating over and over that he is “letting people in”. Honest, dark, and hauntingly truthful. A hope at the end of the tunnel that healing comes from the simple act of recounting memories as you see it and hoping from that forgiveness is born.
