Wide Awake! with Parquet Courts

The Fox Theater on the night of the 27th was swarming with bodies, milling in to the large hall as Parquet Courts embraced the stage, greeting the audience with their instruments as a flashing, orange hue pulsed beside them. The lighting remained dim before drowning the stage in color as the New York based band erupted, beckoning the crowd to follow suit. 

The show remained consistent in offering a buzzing energy that invigorated fans, leaving us in a state of anticipation as to what the band would deliver next. Parquet Courts exhibited their masterful navigation of the line between danceable funk and unfiltered punk, proving to remain grounded in their recognizable sound and relevant lyricism, often laden with social commentary. They have experimented throughout a growing discography, refusing to be constrained to a singular, fixed genre. 

Their set at the Fox included classics off of their 2014 release, Sunbathing Animal, as well as more recent fan favorites such as Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience and Mardi Gras Beads off of Wide Awake! (2018). The venue was rich with movement both on stage and off with rhythmic head-swinging by bassist Sean Yeaton and echoing bellows by guitarist Andrew Savage that visibly reverberated through his sharp movements. Parquet Courts ended the night with Pulcinella, a slower ballad off their newest album, Sympathy for Life (2021), offering the audience a soothing goodnight before we waltzed out the venue, satisfied by a night of energy and exhilaration.