This week I saw the Papermoons’ last show in Houston for a long while. Elaine Greer opened at Boondocks, a year-old bar that I like quite a bit.
When the ‘Moons finished their set, Ben Murphy (who played a bit of tambourine and sang on the band’s micro-hit, “Lazybones”) called them “Houston’s best band.” Personally, I think the Jonx are Houston’s best band, but have to agree the Papermoons are awfully, awfully good.
Ben Murphy sings with PaperMoons (photo by Ramon Medina)
That Ben loves them doesn’t surprise me. They remind me of his early 4-track recordings and the stuff he did with Pop Deflation (sorry, I wish there was something I could link too). Whispered, but well-defined vocal melodies. Skilled, minimalist guitar playing. Beatles changes. We’re not talking about crazy weird shit here; just good songs. The key to their excellent live shows is the harmony. Matt Clark & Daniel Hawkins are experts in sweetly paired vocals that aren’t saccharine or oversung. Not something you hear a lot of in Houston. Oh, and Daniel Hawkins is a hell of a drummer whose balletic arm movements and precise, deliberate hammering are a show by themselves.
The songs are pretty and straightforward in the way you’d expect from two clean-cut kids with biblical names. But there’s literally more to this band than meets the eye. First time I saw the drums and guitar duo, I couldn’t figure out where the bass was coming from. Turns out Matt, the guitarist, was rocking some midi-enabled bass pedals that looked sort of like this (except larger, clunkier, and more awesome).
Seeing this piece of dorky gear get some meaningful use is the cherry on top. I’ll miss Papermoons. I only saw them twice, so I’m disappointed they’ll be on a hiatus of indeterminate length as Matt goes to Ohio, and Dan moves to Austin. Their CD is available through Team Science Records, and I imagine Sound Exchange has got a few copies lying around. I need one; I meant to pick one up the other night but forgot.
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On a related, but completely unrelated note, I dragged out my Neko Case Blacklisted CD last night. My favorite song from that record kills me a different way every time.
Here’s a Pop Deflation song.
The Papermoons are amazing and that show was a blast. I’m so glad that they aren’t calling it quits. They’ve worked from different cities before so that shouldn’t be a problem. Ahh modern technology.
Oh and yes I picked up the last copy of the Papermoons Cd at Sound Ex recently so unless they replenished the stock you are SOL.
Oh and that was the Neko Case song that made me a die hard fan. Freaking gorgeous song and Case kills it with her voice!
That’s a pretty good clip of the Papermoons – that can’t be at the Boondocks?? Btw, do you know who is running the Boondocks, might have to do a pub crawl this holiday season. Looks like it’s just a jump from PG.
Also do you happen to know what sort of snare Papermoons uses? It sounds deep – though it appears that they’re playing in a giant chamber so it could be the acoustics.
Nah, that's not Boondocks. It's a college auditorium I think. Looks like Rice U, but there are probably lots of schools with a similar set-up.
I don't know who runs Boondocks, but this post links to their Myspace page. Try that. Great place for a pub crawl, especially since they've expanded their outdoor seating.
@Ramon, that photograph is definitely one of your best. The lighting in that room works great with the B&W.