It was hellish cold, I can tell you that much. Fireworks night in the capital and as I was driving down the A40 into the West End you could see big jets of colour exploding from all sides. Very pretty, if slightly distracting but don't worry, I managed to keep my eyes on the road just enough to ensure I didn't crash.
Parka were first on on a four band bill down at The Fly and despite this fact, and that they were having to miss the fireworks and celebrations going on outside just to entertain us they were in wicked form and top moods. Singer/guitarist Matt Thompson is a proper fucking livewire, jumping all over the stage like a madman throughout the set. I had never seen the band play live before so I didn't know what to expect and I came away very impressed. The addition of live sax and cowbell brings to mind The Rapture obviously but they're more intense than that, not as louche as the New Yorkers. Parka want to make you spazz out on the dancefloor (as indicated with a songtitle like 'Disco Dancer' for their forthcoming single) so they step it up a level. I was reminded of the pounding rhythms of The Music, but with bigger and broader tunes and choruses. If Pigeon Detectives were a bit cooler.
After setting off a party popper in their own personal tribute to Guy Fawkes night Matt finished off the set with a full on somersault on the dancefloor while still playing his guitar. Nice touch.
Songs like Hoxton Hair, Better Anyway, the aforementioned Disco Dancer and If U Wanna just sound so much better when you see Parka live as well. Bigger and ballsier. Go see them on this November tour that's currently happening (contact us for guestlist):
November
13th Nottingham Approach
14th London 229
15th Leicester Charlotte
16th York Junction
17th Sheffield Threads vs Filthy Few @ DQ
19th Glasgow Barfly
20th Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
22nd Aberdeen Tunnel Club
23rd Dundee Doghouse
24th Liverpool Bumper Club
26th Cardiff Barfly
27th Brighton Pressure Point
30th Winchester Railway
December
1st Southampton Lennons
4th London Metro
5th London Club Fandango
We've got hold of a very exclusive Subsource Remix of the new single which you can download here.
If you haven't seen it yet, here's the video for the new single as well:
