It’s been only a few short weeks since I’ve discovered the charming and whimsical music of The Paper Raincoat, an inventive duo consisting of Brooklyn artists Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong. Moments after their myspace page loaded in my browser, the catchy song “Sympathetic Vibrations” started filling my room with a unique sense of hope and curiosity. I found myself intrigued in a way that I haven’t experience in a long time. It’s really quite wonderful to discover a promising new act only to find that they’re to play soon in your neighborhood. 
The Paper Raincoat performed at Club Passim, a small vegetarian restaurant off an alley in the heart of Harvard Square. Its the smallest and most intimate venue that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a performance at in the Boston area. Located slightly below street level, its windows were lined up to the feet of scurrying passerbys who would sometimes circle around, gathering the courage to finally bend over and peer in on the music.
Paul Brill opened the night, performing an entertaining set of thoughtful and quirky music. The addition of the Oboe/English Horn added depth and personality to the already rich music. Brill has a talent for giving each song a unique sound and mood, which made for a versatile set of music. An accomplished songwriter and composer, he currently has an Emmy nomination for his film score to “The Devil Came On Horseback,” a documentary on the genocide in Darfur.
When The Paper Raincoat took the stage they revealed that they were minus their drummer and would have to rely on spontaneous inventions to compensate. This resulted in audience participation for many of the songs, Alex with a xylophone on his lap, keyboard to his left, and drum set to his right, and a lot of shuffling around on a tiny stage. Alex’s show of MacGyverisms were impressive, at one point he conjured a beat by stomping on a tambourine: crude, but effective. Another instance had him requesting a specific beat from one side of the audience and another from the other side, however, we collectively decided that splitting the beat between the audience wasn’t such a good idea.
The band did a good job making light of the uncertainty, soldiering through their set in fun and playful way. They performed all the songs on their Safe In The Sound EP and ended with a few new songs from their upcoming release in October. Their music is conceptual in the sense that it’s written from the perspective of a fictional 50-year-old character named Grace. Digging deeper into her fictional world we find that the band name, The Paper Raincoat, comes from a failed invention of her recently deceased father.
I have to admit that I was supremely excited for this show, partly because I haven’t been this excited for a new act in some time and partly because, while I’ve never seen a show there, I’ve eaten lunch at the venue and the tininess of it has the potential to be everything that you’d hope for when you see a live show: intimate. The band didn’t upset and ended up exceeding my expectations. Amber Rubarth’s vocals are sly and full of life, and Alex’s command over multiple instruments is formidable and confident. There were so many great moments: from the connection formed between the band and the audience through well-timed hand claps, the quirky song written specifically because “there aren’t enough two person collaboration on a single piano,” to the a cappela verion of “Creases” as the encore.
The encore was especially entertaining as they invited Paul Brill back on stage to accompany them and had him hold out his hand as they rotated giving each other high-fives as an improvised percussion technique.
The songs tackle serious subject matter while confidently possessing a consistent feeling of hopefulness. Whether singing about feeling lost and lonely in a crowd, or being a quiet face staring out windows, the music carries the meaning with a gust of whimsy and beauty. There’s a unique way of seeing the world that translates wonderfully in their music. I think the best testimony to the spirit of their music can be seen in the grins on our faces as we walked out of the venue and in the night.
Set List:
Brooklyn Blur
Rough Cut
Sympathetic Vibrations
Motion Sickness
Safe in the Sound
Don’t Be Afraid
Same Old Things
Right Angles
It All Depends
Rewind
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Creases
