The Paper Kites and Donovan Woods at First Ave
Howdy y’all!
We had a really nice chill night at First Ave, with Donovan Woods opening and The Paper Kites headlining.
Woods came out solo with his acoustic guitar, backed by some warm blue and orange lighting. The night didn't start with music, though. He seemed a little nervous scanning the crowd at first, but some easy banter got the whole room laughing, and he loosened right up. From there, he went into soft strumming and smooth vocals, and I found myself actually pausing in the pit just to listen to his lyrics for a moment. His writing is bare and honest in a way that just kind of pulls you in.
He kept things short and sweet, but before "Portland, Maine" he did this whole bit about how the song had ended up on playlists like "chillout… or couples playlist for when you invite over your other couple friend and drink some wine and listen to me in the background… Mom, I've made it! I'm a background artist. Just like I've always wanted!" Big laughs all around. The song hit, and from my spot in the back, I noticed hardly anyone was on their phone, which says a lot.
Woods is someone I want to see again, longer set and all.
The Paper Kites took the stage and immediately set the tone; the whole band crowded around a single center microphone to open. It was a really intimate way to kick things off, and the lighting matched — dim, mostly orange and white, lots of shadow and backlighting that kept things feeling close and warm. A lot of really cool shadows and light, almost like sundogs outside came through, highlighting their instruments and faces in really cool ways.
Music-wise, I'll be honest, for this album, “If You Go There, I Hope You Find It”, I wasn't super deep in their catalog going in, more of a "know a few songs, like what I've heard" situation, but they pulled me in pretty quickly anyway. I did end up listening to it more because of the live performance!
They leaned heavily into the new album, however, running through Morning Gum, Change of the Wind, Till the Flame Turns Blue, and Every Town, all fresh to me but fitting together naturally. The crowd was really into it, lots of swaying, couples holding close, friends just kind of sharing the moment together.
Then came Black & Thunder, and the lights went blue, thunder rolled through the speakers, and this almost bossa nova style music started building underneath before the song kicked in. Really cool moment, where the artists clearly have a lot of fun with the show. The crowd reaction for this one was pretty fun, a lot of smiling faces.
Shortly after this section, what I really enjoyed the most from this whole concert was Woods being brought back out for a duet with The Paper Kites vocalist, singing "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You." There was a single spotlight on the both of them, and it was basically fully unplugged to where you could hear the strum of the individual strings, just the mic loud enough to catch them sharing verses back and forth. The two voices really complimented each other well, and it was a super fun moment that was unexpected, but I personally always love when openers join the headliner on stage together. The sense of camaraderie there, and not just touring to tour, shows and is appreciated.
And speaking of appreciation, again, go MSP crowd, hardly any phones! Sick to see crowds continuing to turn out and actually be present.
This show was really sweet, intimate, and fun, and I look forward to the next time they roll through, with my personal pick being a long Donovan set and more moments like that duet with The Paper Kites.
