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.
