REVIEW | Parquet Courts
CONCERT
Parquet Courts ★★★
Chevron Festival Gardens | Review by Nick Sas
It was like a volcano building up, and up.
And then, nothing.
Parquet Courts, the oddball bunch of goof-offs from Brooklyn via Texas, played one of those sets on Friday night that threatened to go into the next dimension.
But in the end, it was just, well, OK.
For fans of the band, particularly those who had seen their rollicking 2014 Laneway Festival set, having the boys on the big stage on Friday night at Festival Gardens was penned in as a must-see.
It certainly seemed that the word had spread on Friday night, with an almost-packed Festival Gardens - which has a capacity of 1350 - coming out on Friday evening.
As it turns out about half of the crowd seemingly had no idea who they were, but that comes with the territory playing at PIAF.
Regardless it appeared to impress the boys, with lead singer Andrew Savage commenting: "we haven't played a stage this big since the last time we were in Australia".
Kicking off proceedings with You've Got Me Wondering Now from their 2013 EP Tally All the Things That You Broke, the sound was pretty much spot-on from the get go.
The oddball adventure that is Bodies Made Of followed, with Austin Brown, who looks like a young Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, spitting out the vocals in his unique slacker style.
Instant Disassembly, with its incessant, slow-moving riff, is probably one they should keep off the set-list next time.
It created a bit of a lull, with Savage admitting they were all "jet lagged as all hell", and was perhaps one of the reasons Savage's voice was a just a little laboured all night.
An impromptu happy birthday to bass player Sean Yeaton came before a delicious rendition of Master of My Craft segueing into Borrowed Time - as it plays out on the band's 2013 album Light Up Gold - which was just brilliant.
Another slight lull ensured, until the manic Sunbathing Animal morphed into a massive psycho freak out.
The band walked off and it was poised for an encore of Stoned and Starving - their street-wise opus on, yep, being stoned and starving.
But nope, that was it. In pure punk styling, there was no encore, leaving somewhat of a sour taste.
Opening the night, Perth's Timothy Nelson and The Infidels did everything but leave a sour taste, impressing with their pop stylings.
With three back-up singers and a full band - and on the back of a recent jaunt through the Wheatbelt - the group sounded amazing.
In particular Calling Out to You - the band's best-known track (which should be on everyone's playlist) - gained a big reaction from an obviously-impressed crowd.
