By: Sean Wilmsen
“Someone said Parquet Courts is going to destroy the Metro. We’re not violent people. We wouldn’t destroy a historic landmark."- Andrew Savage, of Parquet Courts. It wouldn’t be the last of this random, funny, crazy, and often intellectual banter that came from the Metro stage throughout the night. The chit-chat was incredibly entertaining, but the music is what drew a crowd of over a thousand to pack into the Metro to see one of the best bands currently touring. This was the third time I’ve seen Parquet Courts, a four-piece punk rock group out of Brooklyn, play over the last year and, hopefully, it won’t be the last. Ninety minutes of in-your-face rock and roll was kicked off with their second album’s title track, "Sunbathing Animal", a punk rock song that not only shows Savage's incredible songwriting ability, but also the shredding -- intentionally sloppy -- guitar playing of Austin Brown. They followed up with the single, “Dust,” off their brand new release, Human Performance, which dropped last week. The song is a drum-driven monotone track -- the kind that induces uncontrolled head-nodding your. Irresistably, I kept singing the line, “Dust is everywhere, sweep.” Yes, this band can write a track about dust, and then follow up with a track that makes you think about media consumption. Parquet Courts’ lyrics are smart, sarcastic, and witty, but can also pack a political punch.
