TAME IMPALA w/ WHITE DENIM
ORPHEUM THEATER
MADISON, WI
OCTOBER 9, 2013
I have been very blessed to have seen
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals live in concert on two occasions before Adams' self-imposed and health related sabbatical and decreased presence from recording and touring and after both performances, I remarked to myself that each of the shows were precisely the type of rock concerts that I had always wished to see as they felt like throwbacks to a different era (notably the 1970's) yet they were also completely in tune with right NOW!
I experienced those exact same feelings at the AMAZING Tama Impala concert, which occurred on the evening of October 9th at the legendary Orpheum Theater in Madison, WI. It was a performance of full on visual psychedelia and supreme musicianship which often found the five piece band, led by mastermind, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Kevin Parker, venturing into extended soundscapes that would not have sounded out of place during a
Pink Floyd show or even
Tangerine Dream but with superb pop songcraft combined with
Led Zeppelin swagger and chest rumbling wallop. Every single moment and sound felt just absolutely RIGHT and I am already hoping the band returns to my city in the future as I would drop everything and see them again in a heartbeat.
Tame Impala was supported by the
Austin, Texas based band White Denim as their opening act and I am excited to inform you that my jaw hit the ground with their mesmerizing and musically athletic performance. Before the show, I have never even heard of this band and by the middle of their first song (or was it a medley?) of their roughly 45 minute set, I knew without question that I was seeing perhaps the very best opening act that I have ever seen (and that even includes seeing
The Pixies open for
Love And Rockets back in
1989--but that's another story)!
White Denim, which consists of
James Petralli (lead vocals, guitar), Steven Terebecki (bass guitar vocals), Joshua Block (drums), and
Austin Jenkins (guitar) performs an amalgam of rock, jazz, fusion, pop, blues and even Latin rhythms and a dash of prog rock into a propulsive musical stew that left me blindsided with their dexterity and effortless ease with songs that shape shifted on a dime. They played in a fashion that I really thought that new, younger bands just did not even play anymore and it was deeply inspiring to witness, and of course, to hear.
James Petralli and Austin Jenkins' guitar work was dizzying and intricately layered with almost
King Crimson-esque interlocking solos and patterns while Steven Terebecki's bass playing was as fluidly galloping and head spinning something that could have been in the neighborhood of
Geddy Lee or even the late
John Entwistle. Joshua Block's drumming was supremely impressive as well and through all of the songs (or again, were they medleys?), several of which lasted between 7-even nearly 15 minutes, Petralli's enthusiastic lead vocals soared confidently. Now, as I have already stated, I had never even heard of this band before tonight but I feel more than compelled to seek out their music to become even great acquainted. And frankly, after the high bar set by White Denim, Tame Impala needed to look over their shoulders a bit!
But onto the main event...
After watching White Denim exit the stage and subsequently take down their set, a small crew of lab coat wearing roadies entered the stage to set up for Tame Impala, who finally walked on stage at nearly 9:00 p.m. As fog machines, dry ice and whatever other substances could contribute to the enveloping haze within the Orpheum, the five piece band launched into
"Desire Be Desire Go," the second track from the debut album
"Innerspeaker" (released May 21, 2010), complete with hallucinogenic imagery on their movie screen sized backdrop, flowingly gorgeous lights and best of all, top notch musicianship.
If there was any sense of healthy competition between the two bands, it only served to ensure that the audience would indeed receive performances of the tallest order, which is precisely what we all received as far as I am concerned and also by gauging the reaction of the crowd. It was truly wonderful to have such a close vantage point to the band (I was standing at the barricade in front of the stage) to see how these five members would actually perform the music Kevin Parker (mostly) creates completely by himself on the albums.
With a set list devoted to Kevin Parker's earnest and intimately introspective yet undeniably cosmic material from "Innerspeaker" and last year's outstanding
"Lonerism" (released October 5 2012), he was aided beautifully by his band mates,
Dominic Simper (guitar/synth), Jay Watson (keyboards), Paisley Adams (bass guitar/vocals) and Julien Barbagallo (drums/vocals), as they all not only perfectly translated the studio work to the stage, but also elevated the songs through multi-layered extended sections and grand psychedelia that transfixed, transported (even those of us who were not under the influence, like your favorite virtual DJ) and packed a powerful punch (the rhythm section certainly made your insides rumble).
Kevin Parker, who was barefoot throughout the show, cut a strikingly tall, approachable yet aloof figure whose somewhat languid demeanor belied the fact that he was entirely the master of this musical experience as Tame Impala phased beautifully from one song to the next. While we were all certain who the "kingpin" was on stage, the band members all congealed with terrific and visibly comfortable camaraderie. As far as any highlights, all I had hoped for was that the band would play the downright interstellar
"Music To Walk Home By," and after they did perform that track as the fourth song in their set, I was already more than satisfied and took everything else as a blessing!
"Endors Toi," "Alter Ego," "Solitude Is Bliss," "Elephant" and the EP released
"Half Full Glass Of Wine" all exploded in musical rainbows and that aforementioned Zeppelin styled wallop and crunch.
"Be Above It," which in its studio form is a sparse track consisting of not much more than a drum machine beat, synthetic chords and Parker's spacey vocals, blossomed into a lengthy electronic dreamscape that sounded like
Pink Floyd's "On The Run" or again something that Tangerine Dream would have envisioned. And the inevitable encore, which gave us the one-two punch of
"It Is Not Meant To Be" and
"Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control," could not have ended the show any better.
And then, there was the show's visual component which was simplistic and yet provided a most honest sense of awe and amazement. One section of the show found Parker alone on stage facing the large screen which presented a variety of images throughout the show. When he played a note, a chord or series of notes and chord upon his guitar, the images would shimmer and sparkle into a variety of geometric patterns, making it a toy that I think everyone watching wanted for themselves...or at least have the chance to take a crack at it.
Another section of the concert found the band members themselves displayed upon the screen in real time and somewhat interacting with themselves. And I loved the electronic eye that blazed at all of us through the sheen of purple and pink spotlights.
In many ways, Tame Impala gave me the type of concert that I have never seen before but have always wanted to see in terms of glowing visuals and formidable musicianship. It made me wonder if some Pink Floyd shows were something like this one. But, for all of the nostalgia Tame Impala indeed conjures, this is no copycat act attempting to cash in on tried and true rock and roll tricks. Kevin Parker's musical vision is as idiosyncratic as it is authentic and I sincerely wish that he returns to his studio in the near future to craft more music as lovingly as he has already achieved.
A most wonderful night it was in downtown Madison with a sea of college students and
ahem...other non-college students spilling out into the night air (after all receiving a copious contact high), floating happily on the succulent sounds of both White Denim and Tame Impala.
Seeing both bands perform so supremely, and with such heart, talent and soul, truly gave me hope that music is still in fine hands, especially during these increasingly homogeneous times. It was truly a surprise that this Australian based band would arrive in Madison, WI. but
what a gift and here's hoping that they return soon!
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