Goldstein Auditorium was the venue for an intimate evening of music on Wednesday. A trifecta of indie acts — Charlie Burg, SALES and Whitney — performed as part of University Union’s Bandersnatch concert series.

The night opened with Syracuse University’s own Charlie Burg. Already a regular of the SU music scene, playing house shows and the WERW Launch Party, the junior music industry major released the energy of the crowd. His smooth mixture of indie, soul and R&B got the meek in the crowd bopping heads and the bold downright dancing.

The set was sampling of his music, with songs old and new. Grace Krichbaum, a freshman music industry major, joined the band for a cover of Kali Uchis’ song “After The Storm.”

After Burg, indie-pop duo SALES — made up of Lauren Morgan and Jordan Shih — took the stage.

“We love dirty snow!” Morgan said onstage. This was the group’s first time in Syracuse.

The Florida duo slowed the concert down with its reverb-drenched sound reminiscent of bands like Beach House and the Cocteau Twins. Guitars accompanied a minimalist drum set in songs like “Trapped in a Club,” a tale of an inescapable frat party from Morgan’s college years.

Between songs, the band was apt to talk. Subjects ranged from the half-price sushi the band got earlier in the day to how college is the place to find great friends. By the end of the show, the band had developed a rapport with the crowd as if they were old friends.

“Chinese New Year” rounded out the set with a jolt that woke the crowd from their ethereal trance. Markedly up-tempo from the rest of the set, the cascading drums came over the crowd like a crashing wave.

Soon after, the headliner, Whitney, came. The Chicago-based duo is comprised of former Smith Westerns members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich. The band eschewed a full setup for a stripped down, acoustic set.

Ehrlich said this was only the second time they had played an acoustic set live, and the only other time was in Portugal. As the band began with “Gonna Hurry (As Slow as I Can),” there was near silence in the auditorium. The crowd watched intently as Ehrlich belted out soulful lyrics and Kakacek followed with snappy guitar licks.

Sometimes the band would pause, only to be met will raucous applause.

“We aren’t even done with the song,” Ehrlich said through a grin, met with laughter.

The pair continued to meander through the songs off their debut album, “Light Upon the Lake,” bringing out trumpeter and keyboardist Will Miller. Miller added a layer of jazzy depth to an acoustic set up.

The band played most of the album including songs “Follow,” “The Falls” and “On My Own,” as well as two unreleased songs.

As the show wound down, Whitney closed with its biggest hit “No Woman.” The crowd sang along, rounding out the evening.

Published on March 28, 2018 at 10:10 pm

Contact Tighe: tgugerty@syr.edu