You can’t help but feel a tinge of national pride every time a noted publication slaps a “best new music” or “10” on a Tame Impala release.
It’s not just because we’re a country that seeks gratification at every turn. It’s because Kevin Parker is one of our most innovative exports – an artist that humbly borrows from templates of old and reengineers them into something modern and irresistible.
Before talking about Tame Impala’s performance tonight, it would be remiss not to mention the support of Midnight Juggernauts, who, half a decade ago, probably would’ve been billed as the headliners.
They do their best to wring emotion out of the growing Festival Hall crowd, though the rhythmic heaviness they deploy tends to blur the layered qualities found on their LPs.
As expected, it’s the material off Dystopia that impresses most, particularly “Road To Recovery” and “Into The Galaxy” (although a crowd pleaser such as “Tombstone” would have been just as welcome.)
But now it’s time to consider Tame Impala. By trade and in mindset, Kevin Parker is a loner. You don’t go whacking out titles like “Solitude Is Bliss” and Lonerism if you’re the life of the party.
Tonight’s performance, however, demonstrates the importance of his collective band, many of whom have sharpened their axes with similarly hazy outfits (Pond being a case in point). When Parker experiences pitch problems early on, it’s their groove that steadies things up.
Take the live deliveries of “Apocalypse Dreams” and “Endors Toi”. In them, the band not only matches the swagger of the LPs, they eclipse it. All members are also given the chance to show off their chops. Jay Watson is particularly impressive, channeling Stewart Copeland during a fuzzy jazz break in “Elephant”.
The one-two of the aforementioned and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” sends the standing room section into their heaviest jump-around of the night. The rush is all the more accentuated by the endless stream of Windows 95 screensavers being flashed on the backing screen.
Festival Hall, in all its blood spilt charm, doesn’t fully complement the spaced-out yearnings of Tame Impala (not to mention, the seats are about as comfortable as a colonoscopy). Parker and Co. suit a festival vibe, where the random puffs of weed smoke from the mosh are easily visible from the raised vantage point of a stage. Still, it never detracts from the group’s delivery, and there’s certainly more than a few hippies along for the trip tonight.
If the first half of the show is geared toward playing the ‘hits’, the second half leans toward experimentation and Perth-psych mischief. The likes of “Keep On Lying” and “Be Above It” are tailor-made for such wonderings. They might not appeal to casual attendees, but for foundation fans it is wig-out bliss. Such is also the case for “Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?”, a track that quintessentially reflects Parker’s mindset.
Perhaps something more ambitious and dramatic than “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control” could’ve capped off proceedings. Nonetheless, it did sync in seamlessly with the show’s closing half. Plus, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the durability of the band considering they were fresh off wooing crowds as far off as Coachella.
Ironically, it is Parker’s idealisation of isolation that makes him connect with such a wide reach of music lovers. If you look past the grooves and gigantic hooks, what you’ll find is a nomad from Perth attempting to makes sense of what’s around him in the best way he can.
Therein lays Tame Impala’s true appeal. Perhaps we’re all loners on some level.
