Parades, Little Scout @Woodland, Brisbane(09/04/2011)

Tue 19th Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

A Saturday night in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley is completely unpredictable. With dozens of bars, clubs and pubs within a couple of square kilometres there are a variety of venues that one could stumble into, but one of the Valley’s best kept secrets hides down a laneway surrounded by some of the city’s biggest nightclubs. Woodland is a relatively new bar but is quickly building a reputation as a great live music venue and tonight it plays host to two great young Australian bands.

Opening proceedings this evening are local act Little Scout. With a constant stream of high profile support slots and critical acclaim without the release of a full length album Little Scout are a band on the rise. Originally a four piece, tonight there are five on stage combining to produce dreamy indie pop that has the early arrivals captivated.

The first impression of lead singer Melissa Tickle is that she is straight from the Blasko/Mitchell/Stone mould, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but throughout the set she grew in confidence and proved that there is more to both her vocals and performance than first meets the eye.

With their debut album on the way and no doubt a tour or two to follow the future looks bright for Little Scout and it won’t be long until we see them filling venues as headliners.

Since the release of their highly lauded album Foreign Tapes last year Parades have been a star on the rise. Consistently listed in the press as one of the albums of the year, rave live reviews and a steadily growing following have fallen their way yet this reviewer has never had a chance to see what all the fuss about. Tonight the Sydney four-piece are gracing Woodland with their presence and those in attendance are in for a real treat.

They begin casually, with not much more than a greeting before beginning their set to a crowd that went from being scattered throughout the venue to filling the floor space directly in front of the stage within seconds. The beauty of Parades is the fact that they play as a band, combining perfectly to achieve the sound that they are becoming known for. They are not about outlandish guitar solos or soaring vocals, it’s the sum of all their parts that is the sole focus and this is what sets them apart.

There is a mathematical aspect to their music that comes to the fore in a live setting, with the calculated guitar work and systematic yet somewhat unpredictable drumming having the hipsters moving. Finding set highlights is difficult for a band like Parades with no big singles and such a strong album but personal favourites Loserspeak In New Tongue and new single Water Stories stood out with Jonathan Boulet’s drumming a distinct feature of both.

These two bands combined to make what could have been a regular Saturday night something quite special. Their performances were worth much more than the modest ticket price and it makes one reflect on just what it takes for a band to make it, when Parades are touring non-stop, working hard for minimal reward whilst some of their clearly lesser talented peers are making waves worldwide. Parades deserve every accolade, positive review and ticket sale that comes their way.