Parquet Courts are a swirling mass of fun live. I managed to see them a little while back at a Laneway Festival but this was my first time seeing them live in their own show. So Friday night at the Metro was totally worth the wait. They are just truly dynamic live. But a confession, I am not a huge fan of all their recorded works. I love many of their songs but not every song hits with me. But live when you get the best of their songs it all comes to togther perfectly.

Parquet Courts I think are hard to categorise. Sure they are an American four piece rock band. Seems fairly conventional. But their music is not just rock. It contains unusual time signatures, it can be funky. it can be jazzy. They have long jams and flat out rockers. It all comes together perfectly. In this show they played a fair bit off their 2021 album 'Sympathy For Life'  including my favourite in 'Walking at a Downtown Pace'. But plenty of older tunes had the crowd going. Especially the back to back of 'Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience' and 'Freebird II'. The band are multidimensional too with all joining in on the vocals. Alhtough Andrew Savage does most of the lead vocals. Early on in the show bassist Sean Yeaton's amp blew but that was really the only speed bump in what was truly an excellent show.

Set List

Application/Apparatus

Human Performance

Dust

Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience

Freebird II

Marathon of Anger

Zoom Out

Walking at a Downtown Pace

Wide Awake

Plant Life

Light Up Gold II

Homo Sapien

Black and White

Mardi Gras Beads

Stoned and Starving

Pulcinella