Parker House and Theory may have thrown random words together from trucks and signs to come up with a band name, but the five members generate a harmonious dynamic onstage, which Saturday night at the Paradise Rock Club was far from careless.
While Game 6 of the Championship Series weighed slightly upon ticket sales for the show, it didn’t affect the performance or discourage the energetic concertgoers.
Compared to when their January show at the Paradise in January, the bandmembers seemed more comfortable with being on the stage and with themselves.
Rather than just regurgitating songs from its records, Parker House added hints of improvisation and organic transitions between songs — though the “improvs” were part of the planned setlist. The inclusion of a guest brass band on uptempo numbers furthered the sense that the show aimed to take more of a jam session approach.
The highlight of the night was the Latin fusion tune, “Sube” that repeated during the encore. The catchy, Samba-type number and had fans singing and dancing along.
Other favorites were “Tell Me” and “November.” Apart from frontman Eric-jon Tasker’s rendition of Death Cab’s “I Will Follow You into the Dark,” the audience spent the whole time clapping, hair-swishing, headbanging and hip-swinging.
During the colorful, euphoric show, each of the band members had moments in the spotlight. The harmonica and keyboard skills of Andy Wesby were impressive, while hunky bassist Colin Lewis is hard to ignore.
Lead guitarist Carlos Foglia’s charisma and sense of humor shows in his comical discourse and the fact that he plays his favorite riffs with a huge grin on his face.
Marcos Valles is the singing, drumming multitasker who occasionally enlists a substitute drummer so that he can come up to the front to sing lead and work the crowd up.
Tasker showcased a versatile voice that is deceivingly boy-band like, but still surprises with strong notes and guttural moments.
With a sound that can only be described as a big, rock ‘n’ roll dance party, the band successfully merges the unlikely pairings of pop, rock, funk and Latin with a dab of Ska.
And although it doesn’t have a particular look or aesthetic quirk, the band has mastered something far more important: delighting the audience as well as its own members.
With a new LP produced by Grammy-award winning Thom Russo on the horizon, Parker House and Theory has a promising future.