In Concert: Parquet Courts
The first thing you notice at a Parquet Courts show is how Andrew Savage (vocals/guitar) attacks the mic. It’s not vicious, but rather dynamic. He is passionately enunciating lyrics with sweat and spit.
And so went Friday’s show. Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre hosted one of Brooklyn’s finest exports performing songs off their newly released album, Human Performance.
Photo by Myles Herod
The night itself was a mix of old and new, breakneck and lumbering. The band’s New York sound has evolved. I drew comparisons to the city’s legendary noisemakers, The Velvet Underground. Particularly on the night’s extended, sloppily fantastic closer “One Man, No City.”
The first thing you notice at a Parquet Courts show is how Andrew Savage attacks the mic. It’s not vicious, but rather dynamic. He is passionately enunciating lyrics with sweat and spit.
Although the venue was at half capacity, attendance did little to curtail the band’s 20 song set list. Love was sent on stage by Toronto fans from the start. A mosh pit formed, lively dancing and stage diving ensued. All propelled by deliciously loud cuts from the band’s set.
Photo by Myles Herod
The sonic assault would rise and fall throughout the evening.
Credit goes to Savage. His performance, both vocally and physically, lit a proverbial flame under bandmates Sean Yeaton and Austin Brown. The energy occasionally erupting into a calamity of blissful, albeit ear pounding, feedback.
Interestingly enough, one of the few more lively Human Performance tracks, “Two Dead Cops” whipped the crowd back into the thick of things once “Dear Ramona” brought levels below rollicking.
Photo by Myles Herod
Parquet Courts is an incredibly tight quartet. Peel away the commotion and what’s left at the root is an experience of unique and sometimes humorous music.
Some call it “Americana punk.” I call it vital rock and roll for 2016. My eyes and ears were not disappointed.
