(Editor’s Note: I’m sure that you’re aware by this point that Kevin and I are on summer vacation. Summer is often a weird time for me, in that I have way less stuff to do and, consequently, way more free time. On Wednesday, I overslept, sent off some e-mails, took a nap, read for an hour or two (Winter’s Tale – Mark Helprin, get it if you haven’t) and, in general, was a total waste of space. Didn’t really do anything productive. This seems to have the effect of dulling my ability to interact successfully with the outside world. Why do you care? I changed my shorts before I left for the Grog Shop and left my camera in the shorts I took off. Happily, Rob was at the show with me and snapped a picture of Paper Route on his cellular phone. That’s the picture above. It’s a little grainy, but it’s better than nothing. Hopefully you’ll think that it’s “arty” and “intentional.” I’m going to start pinning notes to my shirt like a kindergartner so that I don’t forget shit. My bad.)
Full disclosure: I walked into the Grog Shop on Wednesday night with very little information on either Paper Route or Audrye Sessions. I made the decision to roll into the show late and hadn’t heard the work of either band to any significant degree. Put succinctly, I was not a pre-existing fan of either act, but had a free evening and was angling to be impressed. Most often, I think, we go to shows with a pretty well-defined set of expectations; we want to hear a specific song or be blown away by a band we know is talented or sing along with our favorite bits. It’s kind of refreshing to walk into a venue with a blank slate. I’d heard the songs on each band’s respective websites, but I wasn’t looking for anything other than a good time. The ceiling for me was finding a new band to enjoy and, with it, new records to listen to.
What I’d heard of Paper Route was steeped in the tropes of electronic music. Live, they play like a rock act, which, given my own personal bias, was a pleasant surprise. (I just spent a paragraph telling you I had no expectations. I guess that’s kind of a half-lie. I think I thought I knew what this band might sound like live, but I was wrong.) The drummer drew a lot of my attention, in that he did a solid job of sounding like a drum machine; in this case that’s a good thing. The tunes needed the frenetic yet precise beat that he was pumping out all night. He was also full of energy; dude couldn’t stay seated for much of the set. The band also played without a bass (unless I zoned out and missed one at one point), but the sound was firmly anchored by some low-end keyboard work. For a band with a bit of an electronic rep, the two guitar, no bass, crazy-limbed drummer approach is refreshing. They’ve also got a nice sense of visual style. You can sort of tell from Rob’s Blair Witch-esque photo up there that all the band members are adorned with lights; they each had on one or two of the LED thingees that you might attach to your ass if you’re an early morning jogger and don’t want to get run over. There were also some showy red paper flowers involved on the lapels of a few band members. This play at a more complex visual aesthetic maybe speaks to the band’s major label involvement and aspirations for bigger venues. They don’t have a crazy light show yet, but I’m guessing they want one in the future. The songs in the set were pulsing with energy and emotion; dudes clearly meant it on stage. I didn’t have a problem getting into tunes that hadn’t heard before, which is a testament to both their quality and the band’s ability to deliver them convincingly. Sadly, I didn’t grab a setlist and wasn’t familiar enough with the material to be more specific on the songs that perked my ears up. I can say that I’m downloading the record directly; the show made me want to get more familiar with Paper Route.
Audrye Sessions had a ton of trouble getting the levels right. There was a pop and crackle coming out of one of the monitors, one of their headers was busted and they kept making wild hand signals at the sound guy. I’m not sure if this was their bad or if the sound guy for the early show was an intern or something. (This was indeed the early show at the Grog Shop on Wednesday. We were out the door before 9:30. The late show was Fiery Furnaces which I’m sure was awesome. I just wanted to go to bed. If you went to the late show and it changed your life, drop us a line in the comments.) It seemed like the technical difficulties kind of messed with the band’s mojo. The crowd was a little thinner, there were some loud conversations going on at the bar and things never really seemed to hit a consistent groove. The songs themselves were strongly reminiscent of mid-90s the hayday of alternatative rock, dripping with crunchy guitars, manipulation of the loud/soft dyanamic and plaintively howled vocal stylings. The frontman also went with the Jimmy Page bowed guitar move at several points during the set. There was also the prominent involvement of a glockenspiel. All in all, Audrye Sessions wasn’t quite my thing, but it felt like it was maybe an off-night for them. In a different setting, with sound they were happy with and a more engaged crowd, the songs might have translated better. I was entertained and the band clearly is stocked with talent and worth sticking around for on the rest of the dates, but tonight, for whatever reason, wasn’t so much their night.
“Turn Me Off” – Audrye Sessions
Paper Route and Audrye Sessions are all over the place through September. They’re well worth the price of admission if they’re in town. Be certain to show up early for the Paper Route set and hope for a better alignment of the universe with Audrye Sessions.
