Perth, Australia’s Tame Impala played their first Seattle show ever last Friday at Neumos. Having had quite the breakout year in 2010 and still riding the buzz from their well-received debut Innerspeaker, the Aussie foursome played a set that was a bit rough around the edges but successfully wowed the capacity crowd.
The show sold out soon after the 8pm doors time, so even the opening band – two dudes called Brainstorm that filled in for Stardeath & White Dwarf after they cancelled due to illness – got to play to a decently full venue. They used an odd, minimal setup of guitar and drums with a sprinkling of synth and tuba to create a shifting, multifaceted sound that was overly ambitious at times and refreshingly new at others. The band’s multitasking drummer alone was worth showing up early for, playing synth leads on a Microkorg with one hand while keeping a one-hand/kick pedal drum beat with the other and sharing vocal duties while ripping through pummeling syncopated fills.
Since the initial opener cancelled Tame Impala came out just after 10:30, beginning their set rather appropriately with album opener “It’s Not Meant To Be.” Vocalist/guitarist Kevin Parker was dialed in, his instrument running through an impressive setup of effects pedals and modules that mirrored his warped, cloudy guitar tone on the album. Bassist Nick Allbrook provided some extra-thick grooves as the bottom-end foundation for Parker and the rest of the band to jam over, and as weird squiggling, spiraling shapes flashed on the screen behind them it felt like the Aussie foursome was capturing the dreamy haze of their album’s sound in concert form.
The setlist included almost every track from Innerspeaker and a couple selections from their 2008 self-titled EP, but also featured an exceptional cover of Massive Attack’s “Angel.” The brooding bassline and stuttering percussion cracks chilled as Parker’s gentle voice settled in beautifully but uneasily, making the song an unexpectedly dark but very, very awesome turn to the set.
A perfect show it was not, however, as the young band’s inexperience showed at times throughout the show. Many songs were played at slower tempos than the album versions, something that may seem minor but was really noticeable in more driving numbers like “Alter Ego” and “Lucidity.” Combined with what seemed like an uncharacteristically low overall volume for a Neumos show, a couple tracks that are real burners on the record lost some of their punch. The four members also had an astounding lack of stage presence between them, remaining mostly stationary throughout the night and barely engaging the crowd at all.
But these shortcomings were miniscule enough that they could be easily excused and chalked up to the fact that these guys’ first full-length album came out seven months ago. And with Tame Impala playing shows as good as Friday’s was at this point in their career, it will be interesting to see where the next year or two takes them.
Re: “The four members also had an astounding lack of stage presence between them, remaining mostly stationary throughout the night and barely engaging the crowd at all.” This was the biggest disappointment for me personally. It was so crowded in there that we left early (with LP in hand) to listen to it at home where we had some elbow room.
Agreed! Huge potential. But the continuous video screen images throughout the whole show kinda ruined it for me… I’ll do their lights next tour…