Papercranes
Words: Julie Martin
Photos: Sean Birdsell

Appeared:
August 30, 2007
Crowbar, Ybor City

Paper is best recycled.

It seems cruel, perhaps unusual at best, that the first band of the night was named I Love U, spelled with a capital "U" and not y-o-u.  These fellows weren't loved much.  In the fashion of time constraints the four constituent musicians were on for an audience of early comers that were few in number.  It was, however, an appropriate warm-up for the fluid noise of melodious nature that would ensue.

The Vera Violets sprawled on next with ladies in white dresses and boots on tambourine, keys and vocals; gents on two guitars, bass, drums and color lights to indicate the mood.  It was moody and the reverb was circular like the short bobs that bounced and swayed.

Two men arrange and rearranged on stage in between The Vera Violets and Papercranes.  A self-deprecating statement about how short their set would be and that's how the best act of the night began.  Just as swiftly it was over.  Textual’s performed as a two-piece, with Dave LeBleu, of The Mercury Program on drums and an accompanying bass.  So far it's a long night and Textual is third in a line-up of five.  The sounds were fetching and brief.  It seemed an intentional theme with a song titled “Gone as Quick As It Came”, perhaps an intentional pun?  A majority of the material was instrumental in a jazzy math-rock approach.

The set was not dismantled, but rather added to as the members of Papercranes joined drums and bass.  Rain Phoenix is the focus of this project as vocalist.  Her voice was full and earthy with good range, but her lyrics were disappointing.  I think the moment that made my attention wane was during the fifth song when the chorus clamored, "Am I the treasure in your chest?"  It may have also been the awkward intermissions like, "...I got divorced recently" and nothing to follow it...not as smooth a transition as Phoenix may have expected. 

Summerbirds in the Cellar closed out the night.  Summerbirds are surely a Tampa favorite and any opportunity to catch their live act is a happy one.  A new release from them, Druids, is due in October.  I was tickled when half-way through the set I heard a nearby patron exclaim, "I want that drummer in my band...I don't even have a band, but I want that drummer."