All Photo Credit: Kili Goodrich
A Technicolor Daydream: Tame Impala Paints Phoenix in Light
Tame Impala dipped Phoenix into a technicolor daydream. Along for the ride on the Deadbeat Tour was psychedelic soundscapes with dancing lasers, glowing lights, and a storm of colorful confetti. From Kevin Parker's intimate B-stage loops to a room losing itself in “The Less I Know the Better,” the entire night was magic constantly spinning.
Tame Impala
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Tame Impala performed a sold-out show in Phoenix, Arizona at Mortgage Mashup Center. Spirals of confetti, roaring cheers, and colorful nights spun the crowd dizzy. With smiles plastered across singing faces, the fans completely dipped into the magical daydream.
Before Tame Impala took the stage, Dominic Fike opened the night to a crowd that was already more than ready to be there. His fans were loud, singing along and giving him plenty of love. Along the barricade, fans sang along with gratitude that Fike was opening the show.
When the lights went down, fans held up signs with song requests, hoping Tame Impala, Kevin Parker, would notice one and decide to play it. It was sweet to see how much people wanted to have even the smallest say in the night, and Parker invited them closely in.
Tame Impala's show is technicolor personified. I kept getting this feeling that I was on the Willy Wonka river boat ride…as crazy as that sounds… except everything was delicious in every possible way. Detoured away from the overstimulation, and stayed directly on the fantastical joyride. There was magic constantly spinning around us. The lights were bold and vibrant. Production was woven as one with the music. Every color, every laser, every flash moved with the songs, and it was the perfect color palette to the whole performance.
Parker opened with “Apocalypse Dreams,” and from there the night moved through “Deadbeat Jam,” “Borderline,” “Loser,” “Breathe Deeper,” “Gossip,” and “Elephant.” “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” had the whole room singing and swaying. I remember looking around and realizing just how many people have found pieces of themselves in the same music.
Tame Impala's music has always done so well for me. It can feel nostalgic and futuristic at the exact same time. Sometimes the lights spun giving the feeling of some sort of abduction, and the entire crowd was in a trance. It’s all very hazy, but also incredibly precise.
Parker casually mentioned that he had watched Obsession the night before. It was such a quick little comment, but I loved hearing it. For a show that was so massive and visually overwhelming (pleasantly,) moments like that made Parker feel close to the audience. It was almost like he was letting us into whatever little corner of his brain he had been occupying the night before. We were all collectively hanging out.
That feeling became even stronger during “Ethereal Connection” when Parker moved to the B Stage.
Surrounded by lamp light and a much cozier atmosphere, Parker invited the audience in further. He started looping the instruments, building the song around himself piece by piece. The entire room hummed their energy in admiration. We were peaking inside his mind while he was making music. “Not My World” followed before the whole production eventually pulled us back to the main stage.
“Let It Happen” was exactly what the room needed next. “Expectation,” “Obsolete,” “Eventually,” and “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” bloomed. The beats are so captivating, that with added production everyone was hypnotized. There was no standing still, and no silenced voice.
The encore was its own little explosion. “My Old Ways” gave way to “The Less I Know the Better” and “End of Summer.” Colorful confetti burst through the air and lasers danced above everyone's heads.
Phoenix looked unreal underneath it all. Honestly, as grand as the concert was, it still felt like a beautiful hangout inside of Kevin Parker's musical genius mind. That might be my favorite thing about Tame Impala live. Nothing feels like it's there just for the sake of being big. The lights, the music, the loops, the colors, the confetti all belonged to the same strange little universe. Everyone was collectively inside of that magic.
I watched the lights spin. I watched people dance. I watched thousands of people disappear into songs they clearly loved. I thought about my dad, and how he and I shared the same love for Tame Impala, and the connections that were similar scattered across the arena. The show was bright. Beautifully strange, and absolutely delicious. That’s Tame Impala.
Article by: Kili Goodrich
Plug In. Tune Out.
Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer Kevin Parker. Often blending psychedelic rock with electronic production, pop, disco, and dreamy, introspective songwriting.