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Music

Is Sitting In a Stranger’s Living Room Watching a Guy Play Guitar 'Too' Melbourne?

Homemade mulled cider, polished floor boards, music and 'unique experiences' in Brunswick.

Images: Alan Weedon

Some things in Melbourne make you double take, or if you have lived here long enough, to shrug and continue with your day. Whether it's eating lunch out of a skip, emailing a tree, or watching an entire percussion band embarking from a truck into a laneway, at times you can’t help but feel you’re living a Portlandia skit.

Then there are Parlour gigs.

An initiative of musician Matt Walters, Parlour is a platform that connects musicians with hosts willing to share their lounge, patios or backyards for gigs.

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After a few dozen shows that have included performances from Jess Riberio, Grand Salvo, Brendan Welch, Oh Mercy and Dan Kelly, Parlour is proving popular for punters and musicians looking for an intimate and unique experience.

Last week I went along to watch Brisbane’s Dan Parsons perform in a living room in Brunswick, a suburb that could out-Portlandia Portland.

The initial weirdness of entering a stranger’s house vanished after meeting host Helen and her friends. It all felt like an impeccably polite dinner party only a little looser. Parlour attendees are one big social chain: gig-goers tell their friends, who tell their friends, and it all becomes incestuous—but cordial—very quickly. But if you’re the person there without a contact, you better be prepared to get chatty.

So amidst mulled wine, cake, and arts degrees, I had a chat to some of the Parlour punters.

Dan

Noisey: Hi Dan, so what made you play the gig tonight?

Parlour’s director, Matt Walters had somehow got hold of my album—I’m not too sure how, but I’m glad that he did. He said I should play one of these gigs and once I found out what it was I was rapt that he asked me because this was my perfect kind of thing.

Have you done these gigs before, at a house with a bit of formality?
I’ve done more of what you’d expect. Pub shows, theatre gigs, and funnily enough, the first shows I ever did as guitarist singing my own songs was back in Queensland in a little church not much larger than the room we’re sitting in now.

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But last night, I did a house concert just around the corner. A lady who heard me play a gig decided she wanted me to play her living room and had a house concert. It was just easy and it cuts the middleman out. It’s just you and the people. I’d love to do more of it.

Helen (Host)

Noisey: How did you get onboard?

I thought it was really neat to have the idea of having shows in your lounge room. A friend of mine called Carrie held a Parlour gig and so I emailed Parlour and it went from there. And that’s how we ended up choosing Dan, because I’m a sucker for acoustic guitar, and that was pretty much it.

What brought you to a Parlour gig in the first place?

I used to play music in orchestras and jazz bands and I haven’t been able to take part in creating music with a group of people in a long time. I don’t really like being a spectator—I’d rather take part and support artists. Being able to host a show in your home and have all of your friends come along is such a unique experience.

Matt Noisey: You’ve been with Parlour when it used to be Sofa gigs. How has it changed in the time since?

Well, the idea is just great, for singer-songwriters especially. I really like the idea of having more intimate shows, where it’s a little more confronting for the performer to be in a room full of strangers, instead of having to hide behind a whole room or bar full of people. I thought it was really cool with how Dan opened up and shared some stories. He gave us personal backgrounds for each song before he launched into it, which is not something that you have to do, but it helps to really tie it all back.

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It’s always nice to hear a bit of back and forth, like that guy in the back.

That was me! Well I felt like someone had to say something. He’d just wrote this song, hadn’t performed it to anyone, and he’s probably nervous about it, so I thought he could use some encouragement—so I thought I’d tell him it was a keeper. It could’ve been rubbish (but I probably wasn’t going to say that anyway).

Jackson and Matthew

Noisey: What did you think of the gig?

Matthew: A lot of it I found quite emotional. I tried not to trail off during the set and be present for the songs, but a lot of them just made me really relaxed.

Jackson: I was kind of reluctant to leave the house because it was a Sunday, and I was hungover, plus it was raining. But I’m really stoked that we did because it was a really nice relaxing thing to do, everyone was really friendly, and the music was beautiful.

Seeing as so much of live music is based around a pub or a night out, has Parlour made you rethink how you consume live music?

Jackson: Absolutely it removes a lot of the barriers I think. A lot of gigs in Melbourne have this big hollow D, between the people and the stage…

Matthew: …the Melbourne arc.

Jackson: So it takes a lot of the intimacy away from it. Here, you’re right up in someone’s face.

Matthew: Yeah, the artists can play around with their dynamic range. They don’t have to scream constantly to get heard. So they have the choice to go quite loud if they want to.

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Keith and Sunny

Noisey: You are friends with Helen, coming in, did you get a sense of what it was going to look like?

Sunny: No, not at all. I already know Helen’s house, but I thought there’d be some kind of stage, and somehow we’d all be at the back. But I was sitting right next to the guy. The sound was really good, which was surprising.

Other than being invited by Helen, what made you guys come tonight?

Keith: I thought it’d be an interesting way to see live music in a different setting and in a way that’s perhaps more supportive of live music in a more private setting, which perhaps is more beneficial for the artist.

Sunny: If you had enough friends and people who liked to come and listen, so why go out into the cold or a pub when you can just hang out here?

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