It was with little surprise that many received the news that Gotye’s American-dominating hit ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ was named by Billboard‘s Hot 100 as the highest selling single of 2012, nor much of a shock that the Kimbra-featuring duet helped place Mr Wally De Backer in front of three Grammy Awards Nominations for the 55th Annual Awards (to take place on February 10th).
America’s love affair with Gotye, and his ubiquitous single, all began in one major foothold: US Television.
On it rise to the top of the US charts, Gotye stopped in to appear on popular comedy skit show Saturday Night Live, via proxy with covers on primetime television programs American Idol and Glee, and all starting with his first US appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live early in 2012.
Same time twelve months on, and two Australian artists could be set to ‘pull a Gotye’ with their own appearances on US Television all scheduled in and ready to take America by storm, in Perth superstars Tame Impala, and Ballarat indie outfit Gold Fields.
Tame Impala is a band that’s already made major in-roads into the American market, and their plaudit-magnet of a second album, Lonerism, has already cracked the US Top 40 off the back of their tour of the country last year.
Their latest invasion plot includes expanding their February/March tour of America with an additional seven dates in May/June, following their festival appearance back in Australia for Groovin The Moo.
Two Australian artists could be set to ‘pull a Gotye’ with their own appearances on US Television
The new American dates brings Tame Impalas’ dates to 25 shows, with a large proportion of them already sold-out, but the whole she-bang kicks off with a performance of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on February 18th. No word as yet, but its likely the band will perform ‘Mind Mischief’, the latest single from Lonerism that recently received a ‘Hot For Teacher’ video treatment.
Considering Jimmy Fallon’s house band is hip-hop maestros The Roots, who regularly collaborate with the show’s musical guests, there’s no telling what could happen (perhaps a Roots-enabled rendition of ‘Elephant’ or ‘Apocalypse Dreams?*drool*)
Meanwhile, Ballarat-based quintet Gold Fields will be making their US debut TV appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform their hit single ‘Dark Again’ on February 27th. Their network appearance comes at the tail-end of an extensive co-headline tour of America with A Silent Film and Royal Teeth, which kicked off this week in Washington, DC.
“We’re overly excited to get back there… we’re playing a few more shows around [America].” – Rob Clifton, Gold Fields
Gold Fields’ debut album Black Sun, and its mix of shimmering synths, choppy guitars, and electro-flecked pop choruses has already earned the Aussie band attention from US media.
Fasionistas ELLE premiered the model-starring video for ‘Dark Again’, while MTV named Gold Fields as one of their ’13 Artists To Watch In 2013′, ranked along the buzz-worthy likes of Alt-J, British songstress Jessie Ware, moody hiphop mixtape Canadian The Weeknd, and the Triple J Hottest 100-conquering ‘Thrift Shop’ hitmakers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
Gold Fields’ February tour also precedes their visit to SXSW 2013, as one of 40 Aussie acts flying the flag at the Austin, Texas annual industry conference. Something which keyboardist Rob Clifton tells Tone Deaf, in a forthcoming interview, the band are hugely thrilled for.
“We’re overly excited to get back there,” says Clifton of the five-piece’s fourth visit to America, “we’re playing a few more shows around the place, but I’m hoping it won’t be as full on as before.”
Speaking of the band’s touring schedule, the keys man says “we spent a few months travelling in a van, playing a show nearly every night. It was really tiring – we’d wake up, drive 8 hours to the next city, then play a show and maybe get four or five hours sleep. We did that every night.”
If Gotye’s world-breaking success is anything to go by, their hard work should pay off very soon. You can view the US tour schedules for Tame Impala & Gold Fields below.
Tame Impala US Tour 2013 Dates
Mon Feb 18 / Late Night With Jimmy Fallon TV Appearance
Tue Feb 19 / Terminal 5 / New York, NY SOLD OUT
Wed Feb 20 / 9:30 Club / Washington, DC SOLD OUT
Thu Feb 21 / Cat’s Cradle / Carrboro, NC SOLD OUT
Fri Feb 22 / The Orange Peel / Asheville, NC SOLD OUT
Sat Feb 23 / The Georgia Theater / Athens, GA SOLD OUT
Mon Feb 25 / Fitzgerald’s / Houston, TX SOLD OUT
Tue Feb 26 / Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater / Austin, TX SOLD OUT
Wed Feb 27 / Granada Theater / Dallas, TX SOLD OUT
Thu Feb 28 / Cain’s Ballroom / Tulsa, OK
Sat Mar 02 / Headliner’s Music Hall / Louisville, KY SOLD OUT
Sun Mar 03 / Turner Hall Ballroom / Milwaukee, WI
Mon Mar 04 / First Avenue / Minneapolis, MN SOLD OUT
Wed Mar 06 / Vic Theater / Chicago, IL SOLD OUT
Thu Mar 07 / St. Andrews Hall / Detroit, MI SOLD OUT
Fri Mar 08 / Newport Music Hall / Columbus, OH SOLD OUT
Sat Mar 09 / Kool Haus / Toronto, ON SOLD OUT
Mon Mar 11 / Corona Theater / Montreal, QC SOLD OUT
Tue Mar 12 / House Of Blues / Boston, MA
Sat May 25 / Sasquatch Festival / The Gorge, WA
Sun May 26 / Crystal Ballroom / Portland, OR
Mon May 27 / Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver, BC
Wed May 29 / Fox Theater / Oakland, CA
Mon June 17 / The Tabernacle / Atlanta, GA
Tue June 18 / The National / Richmond, VA
Wed June 19 / Electric Factory / Philadelphia, PA
Gold Fields US Tour 2013 Dates
* = w/ A Silent Film
# = w/ Royal Teeth
Feb 4: Washington DC@ U Street Music Hall *
Feb 5: Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live *
Feb 6: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
Feb 7: Philadelphia, PA @ TLA *
Feb 8: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
Feb 9: Providence, RI @ The Met *
Feb 11: Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel *
Feb 12: Detroit, MI @ The Shelter *
Feb 13: Columbus, OH @ The Basement *
Feb 14: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
Feb 15: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
Feb 17: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
Feb 19: Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep * #
Feb 20: Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge * #
Feb 22: Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue * #
Feb 23: Missoula, MT @ Elks Live * #
Feb 24: Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café * #
Feb 25: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios * #
Feb 27: US debut TV appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Feb 28: Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour * #
Mar 2: Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * #
