FROM THE STUDIO TO THE STAGE BLEACHERS IN DC
BY ANNA PORCELLABleachers, a six-piece New Jersey based indie pop/rock band, have no shortage of songs that could have come straight out of a coming of age film. This March, the band, led by Jack Antonoff, made their return with their fourth studio album, a self-titled work influenced by 80’s rock and jazz while maintaining Antonoff’s signature production style. In honor of their most intimate work yet, the band has embarked on the “From the Studio to the Stage Tour,” bringing along with them indie pop band Samia. For the second to last stop of the tour, Bleachers played a sold out show at the Anthem in Washington, DC - confiding in the crowd that the east coast was one of the band’s favorite places to perform.
A sign reading “Recording: Studio in Use” glowed over the stage in a nod to the tour name as the band opens with “I Am Right on Time,” from the latest album. Bleachers’ discography tends to be reverb and synth heavy, yet their live performance is absolutely electrifying. The band - consisting of Evan Smith (saxophone/keys), Mikey Hart (bass, keys), Sean Hutchinson (drums/percussion), Mike Riddleberger (drums/percussion), and Zem Audu (saxophone/guitar) - brings so much light to the stage. With two drummers and dual saxophonists, the production and energy brought by the band brings Bleachers’ music to new heights. Multiple levels of stairs created a dynamic stage, allowing the members plenty of movement, particularly Antonoff, who climbed on top of his piano within the first few minutes of the set and was hardly still throughout the rest.
A particularly touching moment in the set was when Antonoff shared that his inspiration behind starting this band was a single synth note - made by the Juno 6. As the low, humming note in question echoed through the venue, Antonoff called to the audience “Do you feel that? We’re glued together!” At the end of his speech he encourages the crowd to get on each other's shoulders (“If you came alone, find a stranger!”) for Rollercoaster, a long-standing tradition at Bleachers shows for “the song that started it all.”
Following perhaps the only calm moment in the set - an acoustic interlude - Antonoff stated the band does not do encores, instead choosing to leave all they have on stage, inviting the audience to join them in “blowing the roof off this place!” The following five songs were accompanied with such an enormous surge of energy from both the audience and the band that the Anthem’s floor shook. Cathartic, moving, and infectiously fun, Bleachers puts on one of the most memorable live performances I’ve ever seen.
