Packway Handle Band - What Are We Gonna Do Now?

The Packway Handle Band totally won me over with their live show, so I picked up their most recent album, What Are We Gonna Do Now?  The group shows off some of the humor and energy that characterizes their live shows, but ultimately the album lacks something; the PHB is more suited to the live format.

The strongest track are those which feature the band's sense of humor.  "I'm Glad You've Got My Priorities So Straight" is a vitriolic masterpiece delivered in a completely deadpan manner.  "The Packway Handle Song," instead of revealing the secret of the band's name, takes glee in obscuring it further.  It also gets some digs in at Tennessee folks (the band is based in Athens, Georgia, home of UGA).  These songs are both written by fiddler Andrew Heaton, who also pens the title track, which closes the album and serves as kind of a roster for the band.  By this time, the schtick wore a little thin, and I was left wondering, "another novelty song?"

The band shares songwriting duties, and the other band members tend to play things a little more straight.  Mandolin player Michael Paynter contributes many of the tracks.  Opener "Walking Disaster" is almost emo in its self-deprecation, but some of the imagery couldn't help but make me chuckle: "I'm what the rubber-neckers are gawking at."  Classic.  Paynter's ballad "Tired" isn't as strong, dialing back the album's energy three-fourths of the way through.  The third songwriter is guitarist Josh Erwin, who contributes unremarkable instrumental "Horse vs. Technology" and the deliciously dark "Lord Baltimore," a kind of bluegrass heir to Nick Cave's creepy "Red Right Hand."  It's one of the album's best moments and shows a nice contrast to some of the group's lighter moments.

All in all, What Are We Gonna Do Now? is a decent album, with some standout tracks (Priorities, "Walking Disaster," "Lord Baltimore") alongside some more forgettable ones.  Definitely check those tracks out, and be sure to catch the Packway Handle Band if they come to your town.  The live show is killer.

Packway Handle Band official site

Live Review - 8/8/2011 Packway Handle Band at Cantab

Wow, the Packway Handle Band was awesome.  I'm not sure I've seen a live band with that much energy.  Their stage act was polished but also felt spontaneous and fresh.  The group had clearly worked hard on it, working in a close space and moving to crowd around the stereo condenser mics.  The visual machinations complemented the sound; for instance, during the choruses of the caustic "I'm Glad You've Got My Priorities So Straight," fiddle Andrew Heaton and mandolinist Michael Paynter would stick out a limb as straight as the title suggests.

The group plays a lot of offbeat covers - The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" and Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting For My Man" are two examples - and these were crowd pleasers, but the group's original tunes engaged the crowd as well.  Paynter eschewed his mando for a small drum kit on a couple occasions, and it fit the mood of those songs and added some variety.  Like Trampled By Turtles, the Packway Handle Band is pretty irreverent in their approach; the solos of Heaton, Paynter, banjo player Tom Baker and flatpicker Josh Erwin bordered on a punk aesthetic.  Another unique highlight was Paynter and bass player Zach McCoy beat-boxing at the beginning of a raucous version of the Violent Femmes' "American Music."  The Packway Handle Band does everything they can to make a live show a fun event, and it shows.

Opener Hickory Strings didn't have the same rapport with the audience despite incredible instrumental skill.  The trio of Geoff Brown (mandolin), Mark Whitaker (banjo), and Gian Pangaro (bass) played pretty instrumental tunes, often acoustic symphonies with multiple parts.  Brown and Whitaker are fine melodic players, and Pangaro showed great range, whether bowing in a cello-like feel, slapping a percussive backbeat, or keeping time in some sparse tunes.  But for all their skill, the group had a tough time engaging the crowd.  The Monday ambiance (bluegrass night is usually Tuesday) might have thrown things off; I'll have to check them out again on a more typical night.

Packway Handle Band official site
Hickory Strings official site