We Caught Parcels' West Hollywood Gig This Week & They Were On Fire

Making ourselves right at home in "The Deck" section of Troubadour - which looks down on the stage and crowd, stage-left side - we now eagerly await this evening's support act, Pratley. Singer/guitarist James Watson and bassist/keyboardist Sam Wilkes wander out on stage and sit down on folding chairs.

Laptop beats are triggered and Wilkes' jerky head movements punctuate every single chord. Watson eventually removes his mic from its stand and stands up for a bit of a boogie when he’s not playing guitar. He then tells us they’re “super-happy to be here”. The duo deal dreamy, plaintively pretty melodies that become danceable once laptop beats are activated. Their closer Don't, which we're told is off "the new album", features falsetto vocals that positively shimmer - a set highlight. 


The Troubadour band room's curtains don’t quite close and at one point we gaze across and clock Louie Swain from Parcels brushing his teeth. The quintet file out on stage and it’s straight into Lightenup with those transcendent four-part harmonies (all bar drummer Anatole "Toto" Serret). And Parcels are certainly not boring to watch, either! 

There are some funky moves going on behind Patrick Hetherington's keyboard stand. The crowd cheers wildly. Withorwithout closes out almost a cappella to shine a spotlight on those glorious harmonies - there's definitely some Bee Gees channelling going on. Serret then stands up and joins in on harmonies during Bemyself while playing tambourine until Swain approaches, taking the instrument out of his bandmate's hands and continuing to play it without missing a beat.

Hetherington sure pulls one hellavu stank face while strumming that guitar! There's lots of rhythmic shoulder-shrug dance moves in the audience. Mostly instrumental song Everyroad with its spoken-word samples is absolutely nuts live! Tieduprightnow scores a deafening crowd singalong. Moustachioed Parcels guitarist Jules Crommelin conjures a separate round of applause for Serret, extolling, “He’s such a good drummer!” 

There’s some 'discreet' vaping going on down in the front stalls and one girl impressively exhales some smoke out through her nose! 

A brand new track reveals there’s plenty left in the band's songwriting tank. During this song, Crommelin and bassist Noah Hill walk towards the edge of the stage and at first we think they're gonna stage dive, but instead, they jump down into the middle of the crowd where they execute some simple dance steps in unison. The pair then encourage everyone around them to join in, the effect is spectacular and the punters absolutely love it. 

Overnight goes off, but is not the only peak in their set. Parcels are fucking loving it up there and this joy permeates the crowd. This band's attention to textural sonic detail is astounding, with Crommelin picking up a triangle for one part in IknowhowIfeel. Then the band members rack off, one by one, lapping up their individual rounds of applause until it’s just Serret left drumming behind the kit and, yep! He’s a dreamboat to boot. 

The house sound system kicks in, but the audience stays put. Cheers and chants for, "Two more songs!” continue for about three whole songs. Why haven’t the house lights been activated yet? A stage invader even jumps up onto the stage and yells, "One more song!" into a mic. 

No wonder Daft Punk wanted to work with Parcels, they're aural molly!