In a month-long series of free Monday night shows, Long Beach-based indie-rockers Crystal Antlers performed their last free set in July to a crowded room at The Echo on Monday.
Despite having just released their new album Two-Way Mirror, the set list was spotted with both new and old songs, including “A Thousand Eyes” from their self-titled EP and an unreleased song.
Percussionist Damian Edwards could have stolen the show entirely for himself with his animated stage presence. He was engulfed in the music for the whole set, sporting an OFF! hat and going shirt-less and pant-less with a tambourine on his head by show’s end. His fun time became the audience’s fun time as well. Organist Cora Foxx made her presence known with a loud set, being about as noisy as guitarist Andrew King, but the audience liked it loud. Vocalist Jonny Bell dedicated a song to a guy who said he found the band’s t-shirt lying on the ground at a party.
It did not seem to matter that the band had played the same venue four times in one month; the majority of the crowd enjoyed the band’s performance. Whether it was the numerous time changes in several of their songs, Kevin Stuart constantly banging on his drums despite the amount of sweat protruding from his body, or the PBR—something kept everyone on their toes.