After a summer without much to report on the live music front, we are expecting quite a lot of action in the coming months in Athens. For the start of this very promising new season, we had the opportunity to enjoy a gig from one of the most exciting new guitar bands to emerge from the New York scene in the last year.
Despite a very limited, vinyl only, release in 2012, the album "Light Up Gold" made Parquet Courts one of the most talked about new bands for indie rock fans who got tired of waiting for The Strokes to get back in shape. With the album's wider release early this year, Parquet Courts' following began to grow and, as their well-attended Athens gig proved, their name has become known quite far and wide at this moment.
After a rather laid-back start to the proceedings, the four-piece upped their game and very soon almost everybody in the sweaty An Club was in the mood for dancing. Tracks like "Master Of My Craft", "Borrowed Time" (check them out both here), "Careers in Combat" or the epic "Stoned and Starving" that closed their main set, showcased the band's ability to unleash frantic, garage-punk grooves that bring to mind several of our favorite names from the past, but have their own, uniquely idiosyncratic personality.
The over an hour main set was followed by an impromptu encore, but since all their best material was already played, the bonus ten minutes didn't have anything substantial to add to an otherwise excellent performance. Give them time, though, and I'm certain that this band has the chops to build a set list that will slay from start to finish.
Here's perhaps the top moment of Parquet Courts' current set list, the fired up, extended version of "Stoned and Starving":
Parquet Courts - Stoned and Starving (live @ An Club, Athens)
