To See Rating: 6/10
Just Curious Rating: 6/10

Band Members
Evan Way- Vocal, guitar
Sam Fowles- Guitar, vocal
Aaron Ballard- Guitar
Andy Creighton- Bass
Brett Marie Way- Drums, Vocals
(And a plethora of other honorary Parson’s)

I wish more bands did residencies in this city, and to hear that The Parson Red Heads (originally from Eugene) were doing one here in Seattle for the whole month of February at The Comet was pretty exciting. In addition to our lovely city, they are also doing one in Portland, another in Eugene, and a pit stop in Vancouver, British Columbia. To say the least, their month will be full.

Surprisingly, at least half of the venue cleared out after Pearly Gate played their set, but nonetheless the Thursday night crowd was sturdy and seemingly ready for the main course of The Parson Red Heads. With incense burning to set the mood, the California transplants took the stage and ripped into their eight song set with the fuzzy, twangy, psychedelic song called “County Line” which almost immediately got the crowd moving and bopping their heads. Despite the eight minute length of the song, there was nothing overdone or monotonous about it; it just kept on building and giving. Four songs into the set, the band had literally worked half the crowd into a full on dance party, even our very own Billy McManus was making a spectacle of his “white boy dance” and getting lost in the tight, harmonic sounds of this band.

Speaking of harmony…this husband and wife team of lead singer Evan Way and his wife Brette Marie Way could be the updated west coast version of June and Johnny Cash; their voices created some beautiful harmonies together. The Parson Red Heads play the kind of music you want to hear while hanging with all your friends camping and drinking beer or driving down I-90 from Seattle to the Sasquatch Festival on a hot summer day with the windows rolled down, amped to see someone like Wilco.  It’s just that good. The music that can create memories in an instant, or wash your weekly troubles away.

We should be so lucky to have this incredible band in our town for the whole month of February, and I can only imagine that their sets will get better and the crowds will grow larger.  So take the opportunity this next Thursday to get down to The Comet, grab a beer, and let this band do what they do best. Next week Yarn Owl, Marty Marquis (Blitzen Trapper), and The Final Spins open, and its going to be insanely good.

Check out live footage from the show:

The Parson Red Heads on MySpace

Upcoming Shows
(The Parson Red Heads are on tour! To see a complete list of shows, please visit their myspace page.)