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Tame Impala in Toronto

Tame Impala
Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto, ON
May 1

Tame Impala is a self-described “psychedelic hypno-groove melodic rock” band. This wordy declaration held true as their Toronto show opened with the swirling lo-fi buzz of ‘Why Don’t You Make Up Your Mind’. Frontman Kevin Parker immediately established his propensity for opaque lyrics with dreamy melodies, as he and Dominic Simper doubled up on the chunky guitar riff that anchors the groups latest single. With a primitive visualizer backing the stage and long hair bobbing in their faces, the young Aussies could have stumbled right out of 1973.

‘Solitude Is Bliss’ followed, its introductory riff – reminiscent of 90’s alt-rock – providing the most modern musical take of the performance. The early appearance of ‘It Is Not Meant To Be’, track one from 2010’s Innerspeaker, garnered surprise and excitement from the crowd. Nick Allbrook’s juicy bass line stood out as a major improvement from the album cut before Parker unleashed a languidly dissonant solo. The decision not to save this popular tune until later in the show was a risky one, but the night had something in store that was out of anyones control.

Around the time that ‘Alter Ego’ was ringing out with its soulful gallop, many members of the audience began glancing at their phones and whispering about the breaking Osama bin Laden story. The news traveled quietly throughout the room as the band worked its way through ‘Expectation’, a cover of Massive Attacks ‘Angel’, and ‘Desire Be Desire Go’, the latter offering by far the most notable melodic hook of the bunch. Finally, during a break between songs, Parker announced that he had just been informed of the death of bin Laden.

Follwing a mixed response of applause and indifference, drummer Jay Watson jokingly dedicated the next song to the fallen al Qaeda leader. “That’s gonna get us in trouble”, he quickly appended. The number that followed, ‘Jeremys Storm’, had a loose instrumental intro that gave way to racking choruses evocative of Tortoise’s powerful post-rock style. With just enough prog influence to compliment the bands mind-bending method, this one was a definite high point.

The only major question when it comes to Tame Impala is their potential for staying power. While their show was adequately entertaining and their sound well defined, they could use some improvement in writing memorable songs. It’s been a year of immense success for the upstart quartet, and it will be very interesting to see how they respond with a second LP and beyond.