[screen capture from this recent YouTube video. Other photos on this page are acidjack’s shots from the show]
Each succeeding year that we’ve seen Parquet Courts, they’ve become more and more assured and impressive. The Brooklyn band — who are now “big” enough to have headlined Webster Hall at the end of last year — decided to end their latest stint on the road in the best possible way. The foursome landed this time at Bushwick’s Palisades, a resolutely scrappy DIY venue where the room is spare, the drinks are cheap and the vibe is warm (even if the temperature is not) for a two-night stint. This level of ticket sell-out reminded me of the best days of 285 Kent (also, not coincidentally, booked by legend-in-the-making Ric Leichtung‘s Ad Hoc), with wall-to-wall bodies flooding the front, each step closer to the stage a squeeze you just might not be able to make.
Parquet Courts inspires that kind of loyalty, and deserves to. Their style may be rooted in garage and punk, but they play like serious musicians, shredding their way through material from both of their 2014 records, Sunbathing Animal and the newer Content Nausea (released under the name “Parkay Quarts”). Besides Andrew Savage’s lead vocals that are easy to actually make out (and display his obvious sense of humor), the band’s most notable calling card is their ability to construct earworm riffs that make you remember songs of theirs even if you’ve only heard them once. This set did a fine job of mixing up short masterpieces of the band’s like “Light Up Gold II” and “Careers In Combat” with pieces that give Savage, guitarist Austin Brown, bassist Sean Yeaton and drummer Max Savage a chance to stretch out and show their chops, especially the “Instant Disassembly” that came earlier in the set. At times it felt like the band wasn’t even taking a breath between songs, with the riff of the next number cranking up at the last downbeat of the one before. It made for a kind of momentum that reminded me of Parquet Courts’ current career.
Befitting their love for the hometown crowd, the set we got here was longer than than other recent shows, and included a new song mix, including a cover. At first, the Monday night crowd felt a little sedate, to the point that you can hear a fan screaming “Wake the fuck up!” at least once on this recording. But the only blame for that can go to how densely packed it was in there — sardines can’t dance, either. By mid-set, the true believers had assumed their rightful places up front, and the pogoing and pit were in effect. The band kept joking with the crowd about how any of us got tickets in the first place. But that’s one advantage of having your tour-ending shows at Palisades on a Monday and Tuesday night — you can make a pretty educated guess that the people who choose to be there are the ones that actually give a shit.
The band is off to Australia and New Zealand, and then the festival circuit, in March. At their current pace, they may as well have another album done by summer. Until then, we wish them well. Success sits well with them.
I recorded this set with spaced DPA 4061 omnidirectional microphones on a post right at the front of the venue (see the photo below), plus a soundboard feed set up by Ben of Palisades, with the mix created by Parquet Courts’ touring engineer (whose name I would appreciate having). The sound quality is in-your-face excellent. Enjoy!
Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]
Stream the complete show:
Parquet Courts
2015-02-09
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
DPA 4061 (FOB, spaced on pole, slightly ROC)>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: [Parquet Courts FOH — please share his name if you have it])>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (compression on SBD and AUD sources, channel adjustments, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tape exciter, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.5 (track, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks [Total Time 1:08:31]
01 You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now
02 Bodies Made Of
03 Black and White
04 Instant Disassembly
05 Always Back in Town
06 Ducking and Dodging
07 New Age [Blitz]
08 [banter1]
09 Everyday It Starts
10 Master of My Craft
11 Borrowed Time
12 Careers In Combat
13 Dear Ramona
14 [banter2]
15 What Color Is Blood
16 No Ideas
17 Pretty Machines
18 Psycho Structures
19 Content Nausea
20 Light Up Gold II
21 Sunbathing Animal
If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Parquet Courts, visit their website, and buy their albums here.
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