Parachute Youth
Friday 7th June, 2013
KOKO, London
On Friday the 7th Of June, Australian duo Parachute Youth took the stage at KOKO in Camden, to share with Londoners what Australian Indie-Electronic music is all about.
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| Parachute Youth perform at KOKO in Camden, London. |
The atmosphere was electric, full of energy driven by the performance of Matt and Johnny. Performing on a stage that has seen everyone from Charlie Chaplin, to Madonna and The Rolling Stones, the boys certainly rose to the occasion with smiles plastered on the faces of hundreds of dancing fans, wall to wall, on all four stories.
Parachute Youth sees Matt mixing it up while John rocks the keyboard and lead vocals (in fact, Matt and John are both on Keys and Matt uses a controller to sequence drums/midi) - which allows John to come out to the front of the stage and really interact and get the crowd going.
Best known for their hit "Can't Get Better Than This," Parachute Youth took the opportunity to showcase more original material as well as covering Daft Punk much to the pleasure of concert-goers.
"We're only a two piece but we make a lot of noise..." Aussies Mathew Gill and John Courtidis met at boring house party. They left half an hour later and started working on some tunes. Since they first met, Matt (a former airforce avionics technician – hence the group’s name) and John (a producer/muso in the band Def Starr) signed to Aussie label Sweat It Out (home to Ajax and Yolanda Be Cool).
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| Johnny from Parachute Youth |
Throughout the high energy performance there was a sense of appreciation throughout the venue both and off the stage - the boys themselves saying they were "humbled" at the audiences' positive response. With a lot of love in the room, all of the tracks performed were so well received that when the boys finished their set with a flawlessly performed "Can't Get Better Than This," we were all left wanting more.
Parachute Youth still have a number of shows coming up across Europe and if their KOKO gig was anything to go by I strongly recommend getting along to see them. Whilst "Can't Get Better That This" and "Count to Ten" are their better known tracks, they are but a small representation of this duo's capability and experiencing the on stage chemistry and performance quality will, if not already one, convert you into a Parachute Youth fan.
I honestly cannot give Parachute Youth any higher praise for this concert. As far as I could tell in the audience, the show ran smoothly, the sound quality was excellent and the energy was non-stop. Admittedly, I did see them briefly at last year's Splendour in the Grass Festival at Byron Bay, but this show was truly on another level and if this is where Matt and Johnny are at this early on in their career, I have no doubt we can expect so much more from them in the future, both as individuals and together as Parachute Youth.
