paper stereo :: the fish swim in the lake and do not even own clothing

Last Saturday at the Echo, Menomena couldn’t have asked for a better opening act. Drawing most their songs from their debut full-length, the excellent “King Giraffe” (which came out a couple weeks ago), the Parson Red Heads’ eight-song set was one of the more joyful concert experiences I’ve had in a long time. The band, whose members performed clothed in white (tinged with red), knows that there’s power in numbers: with a total of ten musicians onstage, their sunny sixties psych rock was not only being played to but shared with the audience, whose members willingly gave themselves over to the Parson Red Heads’ sense of family, community, and wonderful musicianship. It was a show that felt full of love in more ways than one, an aesthetic that, in retrospect, makes a lot of other live bands feel distant and cold. This band is something special and, along with Bodies of Water, they deserve the attention of the Los Angeles music scene more than any other group right now.

The Parson Red Heads’ frontman and chief songwriter, Evan Way. He can’t be taller than five foot nine, but you’d never know it from the quiet confidence he exudes.

Jason Wrightman, Erin Way, and Aaron Ballard. I swear that, between Jason and Erin, there has never been such whole-hearted tambourine-slapping in a live performance. Ever.