Whitney, SALES, and Charlie Burg Perform at Bandersnatch
Co-reviewed by Dan Lyon and Nicole Engelman
Whitney, SALES and Syracuse University’s own Charlie Burg took to the Goldstein Auditorium stage on Wednesday night for this semester’s Bandersnatch concert, put on by University Union. The show’s focus on acoustic acts was a different step for University Union, whose Bandersnatch concerts have geared mostly towards rap and electronic performances in the past. Over 100 students were in attendance, eager to see the touring indie acts and local favorite play their sets.
Charlie Burg opened the show, setting the night’s laid-back, indie tone. Burg, a junior music industry major, writes songs that are influenced by both R&B and alternative rock. Most of the songs seemed to really fit into the former genre, with Burg crooning into the microphone and animatedly swaying across the stage to rile up his audience.
Lauren Morgan captivates the audience with her soft soprano voice, backed by Jordan Shih's light guitar strumming. Photo: Dan Lyon
Nevertheless, seeing SALES in such a large venue didn’t seem to lend itself to their sound. The band is without a bass player or keyboard, and that lack of lower frequency noise was a detriment. Although Morgan’s singing was fantastic, and the guitar work interesting, there were no rhythmic dynamics. It made all their songs seem to blend together, and the crowd seemed to become disengaged after a while. Their closing song “Chinese New Year,” with a slightly more upbeat tempo, snapped the audience back to the moment and ended their set on an energetic note.
Whitney, the concert’s headliner, sheepishly took the stage as vocalist Julien Ehrlich first stopped to take off his shoes, exposing his red woolen socks underneath. Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek sat down on stools with their guitars, and brass player Will Miller assumed his position standing between the two of them.
Vocalist Julien Ehrlich takes off his boots and sets the band's relaxed and informal tone. Photo: Rachel Kline
Instead of going straight into their opening song, the band simply looked at the audience in a humble disbelief, almost refusing to believe that anybody could possibly be there to see them play. Ehrlich informed the audience that they might even be nervous. “We’ve only done an acoustic set like this once before in Portugal,” he said. “And they might have only liked it because we were foreigners.”
With a laugh from the audience, Whitney began their set with the single “Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can).” Ehrlich’s falsetto is soft, but incredibly clear, and sends the entire crowd into complete silence. After the song ends, the band begins to consult with one another about what song should come next, and something becomes very clear: They have no set list planned. As they banter back and forth about what to play next, the appeal of Whitney is obvious. In their simplicity and realness, they don’t pretend to be anything they’re not. They let the audience in on their creative process, even if it might expose a flaw or two.
They decide on playing two songs, “Dave’s Song” and “Polly,” from their 2016 album Light Upon the Lake. Kakacek backs Ehrlich’s crisp vocals with rhythmic guitar plucking, while Miller pierces the apparent calmness with his trumpet, adding sonic depth to the songs.
Keeping with the set’s informal spirit, the band decides to play a song for the crowd that they haven’t even named yet, much less finished writing. The song captures a sense of life at a standstill, creating a melancholy that seems to wash over the entire audience.
Whitney’s sound is so heartbreakingly beautiful in its simplicity, that it’s almost haunting. After each song ends, the crowd is left speechless, but the band’s sarcastic banter snaps them back into the moment.
As Whitney prepares to wrap up their set and discusses what their final song should be, a girl shouts from the audience, “No Matter Where We Go,” one of the band’s most popular songs. The band instantly erupts into laughter and speaks completely unfiltered about how much they hate the song. But Whitney is not one to disappoint. Cautioning the audience that they’ve never played “No Matter Where We Go” acoustically, Ehrlich and Kakacek talk out the logistics of the song as the crowd waits in anticipation. As Kakacek perfects the song’s catchy hook and is ready to play, Ehrlich informs the crowd, “This is going to be weird.”
Guitarist Max Kakacek and brass player Will Miller help create the simple sound of Whitney's acoustic set. Photo: Rachel Kline
The audience bops along to the song’s light vocals and jangly rhythm. Throughout the entire song, the band members can’t help but laugh. Even Ehrlich struggles to sing through some of the lyrics. But the audience’s infectious happiness keeps the band playing, because after all, they didn’t make the set list.