By Dave Schaefer
Josh Fitzwater and the Shambles, Paper Airplane, and Toronto’s Emma Lee were on the Friday night bill at Oldfield’s on High. The presidential debate likely kept away a larger crowd, but the people who did show up were treated to an entertaining line-up.
Ms. Lee started the night off. I arrived late after leaving a debate-watching party early in order to catch the show. She has an acoustic folksy sound that is different enough to be resoundingly refreshing and a songwriting ability to match it. The final three songs that I was able to catch were simple, brilliantly written tunes that weren’t too girly to be appealing to everyone.
Next up was Paper Airplane. Their poetically and musically adventurous CD “Middlemarch” (4.5 buses) is soon to be added to with their new album “White Elephants,” due out in the beginning of next year. The crowd was fortunate enough to enjoy a few songs from the new CD, including the title track. If the song “White Elephants” is any indicator of the quality of music the new album offers, it may well surpass what the band offered on their previous CD, which has gotten some national exposure this past year. And that would be quite a feat in and of itself.
I spoke to lead singer/guitarist Ryan Horns about the upcoming “White Elephants” and he indicated that though it’ll still have The Beatles influence -- much like Middlemarch -- it’ll be more diverse with more of a musical range.
As a personal note, I’m anxious for them to finish “White Elephants” so I can hear how they expand on their previous offering.
Last on the stage was Josh Fitzwater and the Shambles. The set was alive and Josh’s personality came through, creating an entirely enjoyable experience. The addition of the full band increases the power of Josh’s songwriting and ups the ante in his ability to get the attention he deserves. Prior to putting together the Shambles, Josh was largely a one-man operation and, though he put together a more than apt EP “The Story of We” earlier this year, his upcoming album -- which will start being recorded sometime in October -- is bound to be more creatively three-dimensional and have a musical depth with the Shambles. Josh and his band play well together and it’s clear that this new direction for Josh is definitely one that won’t be regretted, neither by him nor the Columbus band-watching public.
