Concert Review: Paper Route Make Music Feel Big At Rough Trade NYC
With a screen of ever-changing images blasted behind them, and sounds that vibrated into viewers’ souls like star beams shining through a desert, Paper Route reminded Rough Trade NYC on November 10 that music is big because it satisfies our inner thirst for life. Paper Route managed to create a concert experience that transformed Rough Trade into a safe space of mutual peace, love, and joy, which seems like a miracle in this post-election aftermath. While riots/ protests may have been spread throughout the country, Paper Route gave a performance that showed listeners why we wake and rise up everyday; there is something beautiful to being alive.
Currently, Paper Route is on tour for their newest record Real Emotion, and their performance gives exactly that: real emotion. Not only do Paper Route show music as escapism, but also enlightenment. Songs like, “Pretend” and “Writng On The Wall” made me want to put my arms in the air like I was on top of a all, green mountain and absorbing the breezing wind, yet this wind came in the form of JT Daly’s voice. Daly’s vocals are enlightened escapism because they assure that Paper Route’s lyrics do not simple take you to another world but to a better version of yourself. Songs like “Real Emotion” appear like sonic guidebooks on how to embrace life better even when it is going for the worst. The message felt unbelievably loud and proud to the crowd that was eager to hear this band, that unbeknownst to me, had a growing following because of their musical optimism, which is something I witnessed and felt.
Paper Route are the perfect blend of passion and positivity, which makes their concert a must-see. Again, their music feels like air; it just enters and enlivens you with its freshness. Moreover, seeing how the imaginative, twilighted images match the vast sound styles of Chad Howat’s piano and Nick Aranda’s guitar arrangements gives viewers an “out of body” experience. There were moments when the audience was no longer at Rough Trade NYC, but instead they were in our minds and hearts. Yet, this time, they were not scared of or berated by the negative thoughts that can, usually course through all of us. Instead, like a beacon of grace, Daly’s voice carried a soulful wonder to elevate the explorative nature of Paper Route’s songs.
For the Paper Route, they see life and the human spirit as a flower with its petals slowly opening to be blossomed, and Daly’s voice is that water that makes sure of its fruitful bloom. The lead singer has a way of making every lyric feel like a spiritual concoction of humanity’s ability to be inspired and curious. In songs like “Calm My Soul” and “Balconies” there was a childlike delicacy, from which Daly approached the music, that reminded me of children’s capacity to see and eagerness to spread ideas. The same can be said for Daly whom will dance across the stage or be still like a singing statue just to bring a song’s “real emotion” to viewers. He had a magnificent way of drawing his frontman energy to go from quiet and tender to a zooming burst of light like, in the song “Chariots”. Overall, I could not get enough of this band, nor did I want to.
//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.jsPaper Route – Balconies (Album Party Live Performance)//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js
There is a subtle element of spiritual revival to Paper Route’s concert. They serve words and sonics brimming with a zest and fullness for life. They almost sound eternal in their ability to capture how life is not only universal but timeless in its joys and woes. For some reason, we all struggle now to figure out love as much as humanity did thousands of years ago. This virtue, along with life itself, has managed to confound human beings, whom struggle to know what is their “meaning”. Yet, Paper Route get you one step closer to discovering the meaning of life through a concert that makes you feel alive. For More Information On Paper Route And To Check Their Future Tour Date Click Here.
