22 Jul 2018 // A review by butch181

An early night at Neck of the Woods, with doors open well before 7pm and the night set to end by 10pm. A nice early evening that still leaves the night open for those that like their late nights in town.

The opening act for the night was October. With a sound that is normally more on the industrial electronic side, she was performing a stripped-down set with a single guitarist whose instrument was heavily distorted, reverbed, and delayed. With the set being performed at a much slower pace, the set had a much more soulful sound, almost providing the feeling of emotionally tortured. Vocally, a powerful experience, October portrayed a richness, volume, and emotional connection to her melodies, despite lyrical content along the lines of 

After a quick recheck of the instruments, the band climbed up on stage and started straight into Everybody’s Stupid. Not the fastest track to start with, but that snazzy keyboard riff and the energy level of the band was enough to rile the crowd up. The enthusiasm levels were high right off the bat, and some of the more passionate fans were already jumping up and down and climbing onto each other’s shoulders. Front and centre was the man of the hour Jed Parsons, celebrating the release of his debut album Midnight Feast. Accompanying him on stage was his full band, including bassist Moses Robbins, Drummer Jonty O’Connor, Tom Harris on keyboards.

While the lighting on stage didn’t help the crowd see the band with most of their faces hidden in the dark (apart from O’Connor who was brilliantly lit), the band were so energetic that they were practically dancing on stage, and the prancing headless bodies did a great job entertaining the audience. Not afraid of banter, Jed frequently struck up conversations, introduced and re-introduced the band and gave his thanks to his supporting act October. If you have seen any of Jed Parsons music videos, you would be pleased to find that his on-stage demeanour matches the funky active performance that he portrays on the screen.

After a playthrough of Time and Dreams the band exited the stage and left Jed on his lonesome to perform his slow, acoustic track, She’s OK. The band returned, and they continued to play through the remaining tracks from the Midnight Feast album, alongside a few other tracks, most notably their choice in crowd singalong song, which came in the form of PlayStation & Porn.  The performance went off without any issues and a very agreeable crowd. They finished their set off with the singles I Need Her and Get Lost, before getting chanted back on stage for an encore. After an impromptu rendition of Happy Birthday, they closed off with a cover of Elton John’s Bennie and the Jets, a track that really encapsulated their stage presence and sound.


_{Review and photos provided by Alex Moulton}

Jed Parsons is a fresh young talent hailing from Christchurch, New Zealand. At 20 years old, Parsons is the youngest member of the ‘Fledge’ creative collective, and is already gaining a powerful reputation in the music scene as a talented drummer and a singer/songwriter.

Through his success in Mike Chunn’s national secondary school song writing competition in 2010 (Play It Strange), Parsons met with some of Christchurch’s most well renowned musicians (the roots of a creative collective now known as ‘Fledge’) including Ben Campbell (Zed, Atlas, All My Brothers), Moses Robbins (Atlas, All My Brothers) and Kurt Preston (Superfood), who went on to form a hard-hitting rock band with Parsons called House Of Mountain. Within 18 months of their formation, the group had played over 70 shows together, touring extensively around the South Island of New Zealand, and as far away as the Philippines.

The boys also play as the backing bands for both acts Happiness Stan and Hera – both extremely talented singer/songwriters from Christchurch and the Fledge crew, and both of whom Parsons has recently been collaborating with as an acoustic trio.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Jed Parsons

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