Concert Review: Paper Route @ Union Hall, 10/20

"I can never get it right!" cries JT. But he's smiling -- the adulation coming from Union Hall's audience involves people screaming the words right back at him, jumping as high as they can, yelling the next line of the song before it's time. Paper Route are in the middle of playing "Tiger Teeth," one of the most-remarked-upon songs from album Absence. The tiny stage leaves the boys from Nashville little room for movement, and drummer Gavin is crammed into a spot near the ceiling where he has to curl up over his kit. This is a house party, not a rock 'n' roll stage.

It's dark and genial. Openers All the Day Holiday and Empires didn't hesitate to keep the volume up, Empires' Sean Van Vleet especially sounding eager to bankrupt his voice with generous, dramatic renderings of their anthems for followers of Broken Records and TV on the Radio. While some crowd cliques drifted upstairs to play a quick game of bocce ball or grab a chili dog (or grab a book from the bar's old-style library), the setup for Paper Route turned into an epic testing stage. The band's sound took its time to come together, JT and Andy gamely chanting into their mics until it happened. For most -- in particular for that one tall guy who danced like one possessed through every second of the Paper Route experience -- the wait heightened the anticipation. Some scrambled to secure better vantage points on the floor, or perched on the rickety pew near the wall. Then the band dove into the show with "Wish," amping up the momentum by following it with the best-known track "Carousel" before slowing down substantially with a different kind of sound: somewhere between Bat for Lashes, the Handsome Furs, and Four Tet, the performance is earnest and, considering the darkness of some of the music, oddly sweet.

For a couple of moments, Andy looks like a clean-living Don Draper who's suddenly discovered his love of the theremin and JT sings directly to individuals in the first few rows. Camera flashes zing out from the crowd constantly and a man dancing on the pew almost tips it (and everyone on it) into the pool of beer on the floor. "This is the first time we've ever played Brooklyn!" the band announces, to a giant whoop. "And this is the smallest place we've ever played!" But, ever polite, when people rush the stage after the last song, they delay packing up to chat with dazzled spectators. About as down to earth and well-mannered as they come, the men of Paper Route make a bleeping, crooning talent and are earning themselves a festival-strong following.

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