TAME IMPALA - ALEXANDRA PALACE, LONDON 12TH FEBRUARY (LIVE)

The infamous ascension up to Alexandra Palace was a wobbly one to say the least; many weaker mortals would adopt a different technique by taking the bus up Muswell Hill, but not us. Having filled our boots with cans of larger and pre mixed Captain Morgans and Coke in the off license at the foot of the mountain we began our climb. This is a necessary part of the night it gives you that much needed time to sink as many as possible before entering the gig and becoming subject to extortionate beer prices. There is a catch 22 though, you find yourself so inebriated by the time you finally get there that your plan flies out the window. Like the little bitch you, only a few hours before, ridiculed for succumbing to an evening of exploitation, those ‘extortionate’ beer prices seem to fade into the back of your mind becoming secondary to your insatiable need for beer. We’re not cheap skates though don’t get us wrong but when you’re paying £6 for a pint of Fosters you know something is up. Whilst on the topic of prices, we couldn’t help but notice the price of Vinyl at the merch stand. Tame Impala had all of their albums available at exorbitant prices with ‘Lonerism’ & ‘Currents’ on offer to be yours at a whopping price of £30. Word on the street is, you can grab ‘Currents’ on Vinyl LP for as little as £19.99 at THEROCKWOLF, I know right that’s incredible what a time to be alive. A little birdy also tells us that they will soon be stocking Tame Impala’s whole back catalogue! Who are these wonderful people?! Look they’ve even provided you with the link to the STORE: http://www.therockwolf.co.uk/#!product-page/skv1o/c6f1b0f0-2853-ba72-6727-1361ddc0396b. Anyway like most of our blogs we seem to have again drifted off the intended path, so back to business (cue game face).

Well where do we start, my palms are sweating at the prospect of writing this review. I fear my words will not quite do the performance justice. It was by far one of the most unique shows we have ever attended the atmosphere couldn’t be further away from your typical sweaty rock gig. The air was fresh with an inviting sense of calm and joy filling the room. Tame Impala burst onto stage and got straight down to business playing ‘Let It Happen’ the opener from their latest album ‘Currents’. The pulsating synth and dismembered riffs swirled round the room like an intoxicating fume that enlightened anyone in its wake. Within a matter of minutes they had managed to captivate the audience on what was potentially their largest headline show to date. Most bands would wait until the encore before introducing the pyros, so it came as a shock when the confetti cannons were fired after only 5 minutes of the gig. It made you wonder whether the thousand pieces of brightly coloured confetti were infact acid tabs delicately floating into the drinks of thousands of fans, unknowingly preparing them for the next hour and 25 minutes. The tour wasn’t about promoting or celebrating ‘Currents’ the album was released almost six months earlier back in July, this tour felt like a reflection on the bands journey so far. Well we say band but we all know frontman, Kevin Parker, is the mastermind behind the whole charade. Having opened with something new the band immediately flipped into nostalgia mode with 2012’s anthem ‘Mind Mischief’. This was the highlight of the evening for us, we love this song it has such a warm and enthusiastic sound to it like your floating around in a bubble with involuntary giggles having smoked half an ounce of pineapple kush. The whole spectacle throughout was accompanied by fantastic lighting and trippy visuals as could be expected, the room was submerged in colour. The Ally Pally is notorious for its below par acoustics often said to give an unwanted echoing sound at gigs, Tame Impala look tailor made for the venue. Their reverb driven wobbly resonance was well adjusted to the venues setup, with every note heard in crisp fashion. The heart-felt sing a-longs to songs like ‘Yes I’m Changing’ and ‘Eventually’ produced a colossal sound in the hallowed hall, the floor of the palace drenched in a sea of outstretched arms.

Many people rashly comment on the lack of stage presence and static nature of Tame Impala on stage, apparently this constitutes to an average performance of polished songs and organised fun. Yes, Kevin Parker may be a perfectionist known for locking himself away in the studio not to be disturbed, we still fail to see how this is a bad thing. His dedication to songwriting makes up for the lack of movement on stage. He is the polar opposite to your typical man-child rockstar that prances around the stage from left to right, if anyone claims to have ever seen him kicking his legs out and swinging his guitar around on stage send them our way, we want what they were on. But seriously guys cut the shit, their psychedelic rock infusion is hardly the time and place for such amateur dramatics. We say you should stop being so preoccupied by watching the stage and enjoy the music, that’s what you’re there for right? There is a strong element of humble class to Tame Impala, they avoid all the added extras and just let the music do the talking, and when you’re playing bangers like ‘Elephant’ mid gig you don’t need to do much on stage to contribute to the atmosphere. If he wants to spend the gig with his head buried into his mic and pedal board then so be it we are far too engrossed to worry about these small technicalities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAa23c88J1c

The rest of the gig was packed with songs from across all three albums, they aren’t short of material now days that’s for sure with a strong setlist ending in a self assured encore consisting of ‘It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ and ‘New Person Same Old Mistakes’. The meat and backbone of the gig consisted of ‘The Less I Know The Better’ and ‘Alter Ego’ two tracks that got the crowd dancing around. The only track we feel was missing from the setlist was, for us, the high energy fuzz riff driven sound of ‘Lucidity’. The biggest reaction of the night has to go to ‘Elephant’ though sending the crowd into absolute mayhem. This is perhaps one of the best examples of Tame Impala’s diversity, they can go from an energy filled Glam Rock stomper into vulnerable and endearing tracks like ‘Eventually’ before you have even realised they changed song. In the same example they can transform the atmosphere of a show from stadium anthem to an intimacy that is usually set aside for venues only a fraction of the size. This all but affirms their persistent rise through the ranks going from O2 Academy in Brixton onto another chapter with this recent tour. The two sold out shows at the Ally Pally look to be the closing end of another chapter for the band as they continue to excel to new heights. We may be looking back at this evening in awe one day if they continue on their current trajectory, before you know it they will be playing venues like Wembley Arena and the O2 Arena with no intent at looking back unless upon reflection. You can check out the full setlist here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/tame-impala/2016/alexandra-palace-london-england-2bf3144e.html. If you were there too drop us a tweet @therockwolf1 or comment below and let us know what you thought of the gig.