Maria Taylor

The Parson Red Heads

Echo - April 20, 2006

Live Review and Photograph by Alexis Roberts

I won’t lie:  I tend to get antsy during opening bands—especially unfamiliar ones—but something about The Parson Red Heads (who aren’t really redheads at all) caught my attention and had me nodding along.  Their last song, “Burning Up The Sky,” was a folksy acoustic song, while the majority of the others were more influenced by artists of the late ‘60s.  Not only are they energetic and fashionably coordinated (they all wore white), but they deserve some type of award for fitting all seven members plus instruments onto the petite stage at The Echo.

Once The Parson Red Heads exited the stage, it was about 10 p.m. and the venue had filled up near capacity.  Before Maria Taylor and her band finished setting up, there were already young men in the audience squawking “I love you, Maria!”  She just went about her business without really acknowledging it.

After everyone was tuned up and ready to go, she simply greeted the crowd by saying “Hi” and smiling, then jumped right into “Leap Year.”  I was glad to see how well that song went over live, because on the album, 11:11, it’s driven by a techno-esque beat, laced with what sounds like a cello and violin.  The live version, which used none of that, came out a bit more like a ballad, and was just as heartfelt.  Taylor later graced her fans with three new songs—but didn’t mention the titles of them.  One seemed slightly more angsty than her older material, while the other two kept in line with her old tunes:  dreamy and folkloric.

Though the music that Taylor and her band play is on the outskirts of the town of “sit-down folk rock,” they still managed to rock out in certain parts of songs, and you could tell that they were having fun when they reached those crescendos.

Before they played their closer, “Song Beneath the Song,” Taylor introduced her band to the crowd, and it was then that we found out that she had brought her brother and sister on the road as bandmates.  Once the song started, the crowd was moving and jumping around as she sang the poppy chorus.  Everyone quickly caught on and began singing—“It’s not a love / Not a love / Not a love song!”  Next thing you know, Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) jumps on stage with a beer and begins singing along and playing the keyboard with Taylor’s sister, Kate.  It was an unexpected but pleasant surprise; the funny thing was that only a handful of people recognized him.  Once the song finished, he hopped off and disappeared as quickly as he had shown up.  Taylor made a comment along the lines of “Some guy from another band just decided to sing with us tonight,” and the crowd applauded wildly.

I recommend heading out to catch a performance from Taylor and her band soon—it’s only a matter of time before her music catches on with more people and she begins selling out larger venues like her good friend Conor.