What it was like
The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles. May 26th. The Paper Kites — the Australian band whose music occupies the specific register of folk and chamber pop where a song sounds like it was written for the exact feeling you're having but couldn't name — bringing their US tour to the Koreatown venue that does this kind of show exactly right.
The Wiltern is built for the music The Paper Kites make. The acoustic properties of the room, the sightlines from the mezzanine to the floor, the crowd density that makes a sold-out mid-size show feel like the intimacy of someone playing for a room they chose — all of it aligns for a band whose production is built around the space between the sounds as much as the sounds themselves.
Tickets at ticketmaster.com. May 26th. The Paper Kites live is the experience the recordings were always pointing toward. Get your ticket before the Wiltern closes — these shows sell on the strength of the community that has been quietly carrying this catalog for years. If you know why you need to be there, you already know to move fast.