TAME IMPALA
Hammersmith Apollo | June 25th
Tame Impala returned to London for the first time since their monumental Brixton Academy show in September – a show that, for many, had symbolised the band’s progression from cool, cult jammers to modern day superstars of psychedelic guitar music. But in the nine months that have passed since then have the band embraced this admirable shift in their position, or succumbed to its pressures?
From the very start, Kevin Parker’s confidence and comfort at centre stage made it clear he has taken the seemingly ceilingless ascension that followed 2012’s Lonerism in his stride. At Brixton he had been humble, shy, even nervous, but here he brims with the glow of a man who belongs. Parker doesn’t swagger, he just exists before you.
Likewise, the band’s songs have grown simultaneously to the personality of the individual behind them. The drum solo in the audience-igniting Elephant has gone from being brief and boisterous on record to a gargantuan full-band jam – in fact, the final four songs of the set all seemed to descend into behemoths of continual wigging out. On top of that, the setlist is dotted with an array of new instrumentals with titles such as Jam, Auto-Prog and Auto-Prog mk.II; it’d be safe to say if you didn’t come with the intention of getting a little freaky, then you might just not belong at this show. Of the incessant jamming, highlights included the rarely-played Lonerism bonus track Led Zeppelin, and Oscilly, a track that Parker introduces as a “drum symphony”, wherein the kick drum is linked up to synthesiser chords, allowing for an entire multi-platform instrumental track to be performed solely by the drummer.
Outside of the lucid and free-flowing fusions of Tame Impala’s set, we were treated to plenty of straight-up bangers. Apocalypse Dreams, Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind, and Mind Mischief all went down like missiles of ecstasy to the sold out crowd, whilst album cuts like Keep on Lying were hugely complimented by the band’s greatly improved visual show, a constant exploration of all the colours of the spectrum. Ending on the anthemic Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control, the band left the stage victorious once again, an exit that can only assure spectators that this is one of the live bands of our day.
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Words: James Balmont
Photos: Paul Broomfield
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