It might be helpful if, before I go to a show, I do a little homework on the opening band. Then I’d probably know if said band was any good. I’d also probably know if it was led by someone that’s in another fairly popular band. But then, sometimes it’s nice to be surprised. And that was the case with PAPA, which opened for Handsome Furs on Wednesday night at Crescent Ballroom.

Led by Girls drummer Darren Weiss (who also sings – a feat of coordination not often seen), PAPA had me at the first song of its set, “Collector,” which I frantically tracked down the next day. It’s part of a five-song EP, A Good Woman is Hard to Find, that was released in October on Hit City U.S.A./Psychedelic Judaism. Seriously, I want to amend the year-end mix CD I make for friends to include “Collector,” a pop earworm that winds up and really lets loose around the 2:40 mark, with Weiss working up from a whisper before hollering, “I just want to be quiet now!” It was a great moment live, and a wise choice as an opening song.

Stream the EP below and pick it up on limited-relase vinyl at Hit City U.S.A.

Here’s the video for “I Am the Lion King”: