Releasing the conceptual album twelvefour August last year, The Paper Kites have been on tour to bring fans the magic notion of what happens in the hours between 12am and 4am with their Midnight Tour.
With a focus on giving a soundtrack rather than a performance, it was a night of pure music.
Waiting in anticipation in the darkness of the Astor Theatre, the audience was first introduced to a silent visual of a couple in the midst of an argument projected on to one of four apartment windows in the background. As this played out, The Paper Kites walked on to stage and grouped together. With one microphone and one guitar, the audience sat in silence as the acoustics softly filled the room.
The show lead into a lovely rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" and the crowd continued to watch the journey of relationships that evolved through the apartment windows. The first few songs left viewers unsure of whether to watch the band or the videos but as the performance progressed, the crowd was relievedly drawn in with twelvefour highlights, "Electric Indigo" and "Revelator Eyes".
Continuing on with the structure of a midnight storytelling, as the couples in the videos reached their emotional pinnacle, the lights faded to a complete black and viewers were forced to truly listen to what the music entailed in genuinely sincere tracks, "Neon Crimson" and "Tin Lover".
As the soundtrack conceptual performance with a lack of interaction came to an end, the audience was reminded of the Melbourne quintet's humble relationship shared with their fans as they came back for a one-song encore of "Bloom". Laughs and banter were exchanged and that typical Australian down-to-earth camaraderie was found.
[gallery ids="41944,41939,41938,41937,41936,41935,41934,41933"]Photos by Isabel Marcelo
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