w/ Georgia Fair, Robbie Miller
To celebrate the release of their debut LP States, The Paper Kites brought along their band of merry men including the boys from Georgia Fair and Robbie Miller
to the HiFi in West End. Last time they played in Brisbane they played
The Alhambra Lounge, so to play the HiFi is a big step up for the band.
To no ones surprise they had the venue nicely full without being super
packed!
Opening the night was Robbie Miller. He has such a beautiful
set of pipes. He flipped in and out of falsetto so effortlessly and that
made his vocals even more mesmerising. He filled out the large room
with his unique sound, and with just an acoustic guitar to accompany his
vocals this is no mean feat. I do feel however, that type of music he
was performed got a little lost in the HiFi. It’s the kind of slow
ethereal music that you kind of have to me in the mood to listen to, and
I think because of this, he lost quite a bit of his audience to their
own conversations. A shame really.
Next up were the lads form Georgia Fair. I can’t quite express
how much I enjoyed the lads’ set! They work so well as a duo, their
voices melding into one sound. Jordan’s voice is good by itself, but is
made even better by the support of Ben’s. They have an eerie yet melodic
thing going on, and this is enhanced live by the lack of drums and
bass. Their second to last song “Picture Frame” was by far the highlight
of the set. They really captured the crowd and set the tone for the
headliners.
I have a soft spot in my musical heart for The Paper Kites.
They’re the kind of band that just capture your imagination in the way
they perform. Front-people Sam Bentley and Christina Lacy work so well
together as vocalists. Add to that Dave Powys to that mixture and you
get something extraordinary. Their set is showing signs of catching up
to their national successes, however, I believe there is still a little
bit of rejigging to be done. They have so many amazing songs, and it was
great to hear all the ones we know and love, coupled with tracks from
the new record. “St Clarity” is definitely a song that is going to go
somewhere. It’s a stunner. When they performed “Young” it was such a
contrast to some of their other songs, really rad. Add that to
Christina’s performance of “Living Colour” and wow. There was one moment
that was by far and away the highlight of the set. “Bloom”. Need I say
more? You could see every couple in the room just move a little closer
together. Quite a special musical moment.
The issue (if you I can even call it that) I have with The Paper
Kites is that their songs are just gorran too stunning. Too beautiful
and the fact that each and every single song has the power to move you,
it’s something not many bands ever achieve. However, put too much of
that certain something together and it’s overwhelming. In the middle of
their set there was a group of songs that when played together were too
much. There needed to be an uptempo break in the middle.
It’s good to see The Paper Kites playing to a venue size they deserve. They said it themselves, “It’s so nice to not be playing in the valley”. This band deserve all the acclaim they are receiving. They’re something a bit special.
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