The Parrots, Dalston Victoria, London review • DIY Magazine

“Are you having fun?” frontman Diego Garcia checks in with the crowd at numerous times during The Parrots’ sweaty and boisterous set at The Victoria. It’s pretty much rhetorical - the crowd-surfing and pit-dancing during opening sets by The Orielles and fellow Madrid outfit Los Nastys show this mob has been having fun from the get-go. Then when the headliners burst onto the stage the venue erupts into the ramshackle chaos that has made the Spaniards’ live shows so notorious.

After opening with the summery riffs and sing-along chorus of ‘Let’s Do It Again’, the garage rockers crash their way through fan-favourites - notably ‘All my loving’ from 2014’s ‘Weed For The Parrots’, and ‘Too High To Die’ from new album ‘Los Niños Sin Miedo’ also proving an instant crowd-pleaser. Diego’s distinctively unruly screech adds to the unpolished charm and playfulness of the trio’s nostalgia-infused fuzz, as does the ever-constant grin on bassist Alex de Lucas’ face.

By the end The Parrots are having the time of their lives… they’re also suitably fucked. When the first few riffs of slacker anthem ‘No Me Gustas, Te Quiero’ kick in, there’s absolute mayhem. Alex launches himself, guitar and all to join the crowd-surfers while Diego tries and fails to climb on top of the onstage tower of speakers- there’s quite literally a mass of sweat-drenched t-shirts and their owners flying everywhere. Diego’s attempts to calm the stage-invading riot with ‘lullaby’ ‘Somebody to Love’ is ignored; instead all three Madrilenians give in to the rowdy hugs and t-shirt pulls of their disheveled fans. It’s clear that Diego needn’t have worried at all – tonight’s been one big party.