Parquet Courts performs at Bonnaroo's This Tent July 14, 2019 in Manchester, Tenn.
Hayden Goodridge | MTSU Seigenthaler News Service
New York City rockers Parquet Courts revved up their Friday afternoon crowd at This Tent with a set filled with garage grooves, aggression and classic punk energy.
The group’s sound derives directly from the 1970s New York punk rock scene, started by bands that include The Ramones, Talking Heads and Television, who rose out of the famed CBGB nightclub. But while Parquet Courts has clear roots in the past, the group blends this raw sound with progressive elements and dynamic songwriting.
The band’s aptly named lead singer, Andrew Savage, spent the Bonnaroo set sneering cunning lyrics over the guitar-driven music. His lines could have been straight out of a political manifesto, with phrases such as, “Only through those who stay awake can an institution be dismantled,” on the fiery “Total Football.”
But for all the rebellious attitude they dished out, Parquet Courts’ slower, atmospheric jams stole the show. The laid-back bass line from Sean Yeaton on “Before the Water Gets Too High” set the crowd dancing to the funky rhythm.
The group ended the set with an extended jam of “One Man No City”—a song paying clear homage to the art-rock quirkiness of Talking Heads. The shaggy, Johnny Ramone-haired guitarist Austin Brown took the reins on vocals for the song, with a David Byrne-esque presentation while the song slowly devolved into noisy experimentation.
Though Parquet Courts let their raucous music do the talking for them, they left the stage with a quick farewell from Andrew Savage:
“Be safe — we love you.”
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