Graham Parsons House Show

Graham Parsons and the Go-arounds, a Kalamazoo band, played a local show on the night of Feburary 20th at 444 Locust Street. Around 9:00 the house began to fill up. A B.Y.O.B. decorum had not discouraged a house full of party-goers from venturing into the bitter-cold night in search for good live music. Only about 50 people were able to squeeze into the basement. These lucky few got the good live music they were looking for.
People were squished into every possible nook and cranny by the time this five-man act started playing at around 9:45. The band started with a few up-beat tunes that got the crowd dancing, in the spaces that they could. The band’s rock and country influences showed and every so often the group smoothed into a bluesy rift that buckled the knees. Andy Catlin (K’09) manned the keys and completed the quintet with fiery fingers on these fast numbers. The Go-arounds didn’t shy away from a few slower songs either – much appreciated breaks in the otherwise high-energy set. On these songs the pure vocals of Graham Parsons led a soul-filled progression, aided by harmonies from the other two microphones on stage. These guys could really sing.
Graham Parsons and the Go-arounds is comprised of Graham A. Parsons, the band’s front-man, on lead guitar and vocals. Grant Littler on guitar, Ted Kloosterman on bass, and Adam Danis on drums make up a killer rhythms section; and Andy Catlin (K’09) supplements on keyboards and guitar. This band has chemistry. The continuation of an old project, Toro and the National Guard (minus a few), the group seems to have found their nitch with this act. A constant morphing of folk, soul, blues, country and rock music, the band seems to have reached a happy medium in their upcoming release of a three-song EP (available on myspace music.)
The band’s new identity comes with a new tour around the state over the next few months. That means less shows for Graham Parsons fans in Kalamazoo. The locals soaked up their time with the band on this night, calling out for “one more song” three or four times at the end of the set. Graham and company were all too happy to oblige the audience, slowing things down for a bit only to end with a raucous last song featuring Catlin on the guitar this time. The set ended at about 11:00 and the crowds lingered only long enough to watch the band pack up and to exchange a few words with the boys. The next act played to a mostly-empty basement as the party followed Graham and his vagabonds into the night.