This past Tuesday (November 2nd), I had the experience of finally seeing Tame Impala in his Slow Rush tour at the Hollywood Bowl. Right off the bat, showing up to the concert was quite the shock actually, and my boyfriend and I were taken by surprise.
We went from parking down the street in small discreet areas/neighborhoods, to now huge venues where you’d be lucky if you found a parking spot a mile out. Luckily though, we found something not too far but not too close and it was pricey…believe me (classic LA). We got there early, both of us ecstatic to see the show, rushed through the crowds of people, and walked vigorously down the street at full speed. I was so thrilled to finally see one of my favorite teenage acts of all time.
Arriving there, we could see this was no small venue like we were used to. The capacity was huge as we went through very tight crowds and long lines. We finally made our way towards the ticket-booth, but not before we stopped at a merch aisle of course. My boyfriend had to get the silly Rushium pill. After securing our t-shirts, we made our way through the obstacle course of a line and finally made it. Something we had planned months ahead, we were now there in the moment about to see the band.
If there’s one thing I would say that the other shows I’ve been to had less of, it was the studio performance and presence. Immediately, we were surrounded by smoke lights, screens, projectors that displayed bright, psychedelic visuals, and a very evident effort put into the marketing of the overall tour—all of which was there for us to see and now know why we paid such a high price for these tickets. Sure it was tight and cramped in the seats, but we were there alright. I was thrilled to see the band walk onto stage, picking up their instruments, all the fine tuning, and hearing the voice of Kevin Parker himself, as he played the opening track “One More Year.”
Parker wasted no time throwing out crowd favorites, including “Borderline,” “Elephant,” and of course the hit “The Less I Know The Better,” all with the most vibrant lights and some of the best production I’ve seen. This was no show, in fact this was definitely a concert. People often get the terms mixed up and I think I clearly know the difference between a show now, say something like The Regrettes or Osees, which I wrote about last time, to a full blown production like Tame Impala. Thankfully, he played some of my old favorites like “Keep on Lying,” (to which they snuck in a homage to The Doors) and even short tracks like “Gossip” and “Nangs,” which made for good intermissions.
As the songs progressed I felt myself being thrown deeper and deeper into the mind of Mr. Parker. The presence was just something else out of this world. Although I do have some complaints because not everything was without its issues. I felt as if in some tracks, mainly “Mind Mischief,””Eventually,” and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards,” they needed to have a little more umph to it. After listening to these songs so much in my headphones, I was used to those big dynamic drops in these small airpods and I was kinda saddened to see such big speakers go unused in something that could have been a powerful and heavy drop. It felt like it lacked a lot of bass and was less dramatic, and in some songs, some parts even felt really quiet which I noticed affected the entire atmosphere of the audience and the people around us.
Of course I’m not saying that the concert was terrible—by all means far from it—I’m just saying for an artist who put so much money and effort into production (the confetti being thrown, lights and lasers, etc.) I wish some of it could have been more delegated towards the sound production. Then again, maybe it had more to do on the Hollywood Bowl’s end. Like I said, I’m not too beat up about it. Nonetheless, I was so grateful for my loving BF to get us those tickets as an early birthday gift and was simply in awe to finally see one of my favorite musicians of all time. Someone who I had discovered at the mere age of 15 and have delved into every single record of.
Like any concert, in between songs, there’s some banter from the musicians, and it was very entertaining to hear his regular voice for once without all the effects he uses. Hearing him interact with some of the crowd, showed me that he wasn’t just some musician who blew up. Sure, now he’s such a big shot making music and producing for big artists like Travis Scott, but to be quite honest I miss the days where he was on the same level as indie classics like Mac Demarco or King Gizzard. He told us how much he loved the city and how he was proud of himself to finally be performing in one of his favorite places and sounded very passionate and genuine. To hear him say he finally made it as an artist was heartwarming, and that’s what makes the concert all the more special to me.
Tame Impala delivered tenfold that night and not only did I feel it was a good balance of their new stuff, which if you’re a new fan and The Slow Rush was your first introduction to his music, you would’ve had a great night. But also for my veteran listeners out there, the originals, the people who have been there before Currents and Lonerism, you would have been very pleased as well with what they played tonight. You’d just have to be there to experience it and I’m glad I can say that I was finally able to see such an influential musician in my passion for music.