It’s late August and it’s hot in Austin. Not even a few, cold Lonestars have enough cooling powers to combat the 100-degree weather. It’s the presence of PAPA, the Los Angeles brainchild of drummer/lead vocalist Darren Weiss and bassist Daniel Presant, backed by guitarist Evan Weiss and keys player Ben Usen, that bring the soothing joy that comes along with a fine breeze. As the quartet takes Stubb’s outdoor stage they are met with a fierce crowd.

The audience, no matter where you move about in the packed mass, is whispering in anticipatory pockets about this evening’s opener, Cold War Kids.  PAPA’s Darren Weiss takes the stage with the welcoming line, “We’re starting it off right tonight in Austin.”

And start it off right, they did, despite a minor tri-mishap with the drums, bass and lead guitar, an un-phased PAPA tuned in and turned up.

Second track “Let’s Make You Pregnant” set the energetic pace of the evening. The Californians’ take the beat of sunny LA and mix it with a New Orleans kind of funk to create a drum-driven 45-minute set. Lyrics, “I don’t care where you’ve been sleeping, as long as while you sleep, you dream of me // cause my days are passing slowly, you’ve already got all I’ve got to give // I’m a man, let me be good to you honey,” are suddenly heard throughout the audience and are paired with swaying limbs on tipsy bodies.

Weiss calls out as if still singing to the woman he desires to get pregnant in the track, “Austin, let me be good to you, Honey.” Weiss’s are identifiably similar to that of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ front man Alex Ebert and The Killers’ Brandon Flowers. Both raucous and anthemic, this former frontman of indie darlings, Girls, knows how to deliver an ambitious performance.

With sing-along choruses and atmospheric rifts, it is clear that this band, adored in the UK, are emerging on the U.S. scene. Opening for Cold War Kids doesn’t hurt, on a tour that takes them through October. PAPA will then head to Europe to play crowd favorites “I Am the Lion King,” and “Ain’t It So.”

PAPA are full of Americana flair and charisma. Watch out Cold War Kids, you might have some competition in the coming month.

Photo by Lisa Vaughan Carter

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