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We strolled into Kung Fu Necktie at about 8:15 p.m. last Friday night looking forward to catching Audrye Sessions and Paper Route (MySpace). With the listed starting time being 8 p.m. and one band lower on the bill—initially listed as "TBD"; we found out early in the evening that the opener would be Brooklyn indie-pop outfit The Narrative—we figured that we were safe arriving a little late, that we'd catch the end of the opener's set and then be fit to rock with the bands we were really interested in catching. So we were more than a little surprised when as we walked in we offhandedly asked the bouncer, "The Narrative is on now, right?" and he responded, "No, it's Audrye Sessions."
Umm, the show was scheduled to start at 8, right? Right. It was only 8:15, right? Right. Audrye Sessions was the top-billed band on the website calendar listing, right? Right. Well, at Kung Fu Necktie, things like "billing order" and "starting times" are apparently meaningless. The Narrative, a fellow audience member later told us, apparently went on at about 7:40 and did a very short set. And Audrye Sessions was actually the middle band of the lineup, with Paper Route headlining.
Fortunately, we think we only missed one Audrye Sessions song, and we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the Oakland quartet's set. Frontman Ryan Karazija has a definite brooding kind of energy. We've previously compared Audrye Sessions' sound to Radiohead circa The Bends, and after giving their self-titled album a few listens and seeing them live, we stand by that assessment. Karazija's vocal style is certainly inspired by Thom Yorke's, and the band plays pretty straightforward rock, but there are definite signs that Audrye Sessions is willing to experiment with their sound. For instance, Karazija has a proclivity for playing his guitar with a cello bow at times—something we didn't get from just listening to the album and were quite surprised to see. But it works. It's just a shame that more people didn't get to see it, as we counted only about 20 people in the concert area, and maybe another 20 in Kung Fu Necktie's front bar area, as the band played. Audrye Sessions' stage presence still seems to be developing, as Kazajira spent the better part of the set with his eyes closed and stunning bassist Alicia Marie Campbell seemed to be channeling 1994 D'Arcy Wretzky with her excellent bass playing but detached persona. That said, the core of a good band—really good music—is there for Audrye Sessions, and we very much enjoyed their set.
As Paper Route set up their things—and specifically, JT Daly's drum machine/programming board—we felt suddenly worried. Not because we abruptly thought Paper Route would suck: we'd seen them once before and listened to their EP and album enough times to be pretty sure they wouldn't. Or at least, we knew they wouldn't suck. We just wondered how well their very big sound, with lots of electronic elements supporting the more traditional instrumentation, would work in the very small Kung Fu Necktie space.
As a precautionary measure, we'd brought our earplugs, which experience has taught us can greatly increase the likelihood that you'll be able to enjoy (loud) live music when the sound quality is questionable. And we think they helped. The couple times we took our earplugs out, for comparison's sake, we thought Paper Route was good if a little muddled. Earplugs in, we saw and heard a band that really knows how to execute the complex sound they've begun to establish for themselves.
If we have a knock on Paper Route, it's that they've perhaps developed a little too much of a "sound," as a few of their songs do all sound alike. Of course, we could say the same for the early efforts of other bands—Death Cab for Cutie comes to mind—that have since developed more diverse repertoires. And down the line, in retrospect, some of the songs from Absence might not sound as same-y then as they do now, with the distinctive subtleties of each song becoming more apparent with each listen.
Of course, all of that is contingent on Paper Route's music being listenable and relevant at some future time "down the line." And we think it will be. Although Kung Fu Necktie is small, the crowd in the concert area seemed to double between when Audrye Sessions finished and Paper Route started. A lot of people in the audience were clearly familiar with Paper Route's music and sang along enthusiastically—and Paper Route puts on a show worth being enthusiastic about. Not only are the songs themselves very strong, but the showmanship and the energy they put into their performance meshes well with the music and draws you in. The guys in the band wore small flashlights on their wrists and ankles, which at first we feared would just be some kind of cheesy gimmick; but it actually turned out to be a pretty clever way of creating lighting effects in tiny venues that don't have the kind of full-on lighting system that Paper Route requires for their show to feel as big as their music sounds.
Happily, Paper Route's music is not just a whole lot of electronic effects with no substance. This was readily apparent when, shortly after their set ended, we heard that co-frontman Andy Smith was busking on the corner just across the street from Kung Fu Necktie. We ran out, and there it was—Paper Route's music, stripped down, and just as moving as when it's all done up. Paper Route has a whole lot going for themselves. They're very good musicians, generally good looking guys (Jill described them as looking, but certainly not sounding, like a "movie fraternity house band") and, based on a short conversation we had with drummer Gavin McDonald after the show, extremely nice guys who are really thankful and enthusiastic about every new fan they win. Well, they've now got us.
Photo of Paper Route's Andy Smith busking at the corner of Front & Thompson Streets by the author.
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