Posted by Danni Le Toullec on October 15, 2010
When a band describes themselves as “the movement in Orion's nebula and the slime from a snail journeying across a footpath” and sounds like Jimmy Hendrix and Cream had a glorious love child, you don’t really expect four innocent looking boys from Perth to wander onto the stage barefoot. But looks, as the saying goes, can be deceiving.
With a sound that is as comfortable in 2010 as it would have been in the 60s or 70s, Tame Impala has been going from strength to strength this year. Following the release of InnerSpeaker (released on Modular in June this year), the band supported friends MGMT around the US, also playing their own sold-out shows in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Returning to Australia to play Splendour in the Grass, they were welcomed back with five ARIA award nominations, which include Album of the Year, Best Group and Breakthrough Artist.
Playing to their biggest Sydney audience yet, Tame Impala hypnotised the crowd with their blend of psychedelic laid back rock on Thursday night. With hair shielding their faces and the guitarist sitting down for periods of the set, the boys had a somewhat disappointing live presence that involved little crowd interaction. Lead singer Kevin Parker’s voice was so heavily distorted that you could hardly understand what he was saying the few times he spoke. This effect may create a unique sound on their E.P and debut Innerspeaker, but in a large venue like the Enmore Theatre, it tends to create a stagnant echo.
Despite these drawbacks, the crowd loved them. Rogue lighters were held up at various points and marijuana clouds sporadically burst out of the mosh pit. ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’ was a stand out, as was their well-known cover of 90s dancefloor anthem ‘Remember Me’ (originally sampled by Blueboy) and ‘Desire Be Desire Go’.
Once the four-piece ambled off the stage, the walls of the Enmore shook with the crowds’ desire for an encore. They were left hanging for a few moments until the lights finally came up and it was time to go home.
tame impala, modular, enmore theatre