Tame Impala @ ANU Bar,Canberra 18/09/09

Sat 19th Sep, 2009 in Gig Reviews

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Spring. A time for new life. Like Easter, except we’re southern hemisphere kids, so that analogy falls flat, just like it did during catholic education.

Where was I? Oh, new things. Tame Impala are new. Dubbed by some as the new Wolfmother, and by ‘some’ I mean ‘me’, due to their throwback sound and John Hancocks on the Modular dotted line, the boys from Perth have shown that the Australian gigging public is still eager to embrace the origins of rock, as interpreted by kids younger than them.

Due to the almighty reign of terror that is the Parramatta Eels finals campaign, the first support was missed by this reviewer, however second support (whose name I didn’t catch on the night, nor can find after a good 20mins of internet searching, but I’m not a journalist) came on to a relatively large sized crowd at about 2130.

The five-piece displayed some harmonies that Robin Pecknold would approve of, with the boy/girl/boy vocal arrangement lending itself to the dulcet end result.

All in all, however, it seemed like it was just more moderately standard indie fare, just done really, really well. The back of my hand hurts right now.

2230 on the dot, Tame Impala come out to what sounds like the music you’d hear as Bob Barker presents the showcase circa 1984. Unfortunately, the music ended and then nothing for a good 30sec, then into a song. Kinda brought down the mood.

Soldiering on, with kazoo along for the ride, the band was well received. I mean, not Jonas Brothers at a high school, but people enjoyed it. Maybe I’m a curmudgeon, or maybe I just liked Cream before they put reverb on the vocals and called themselves Tame Impala, but no matter how well the music is written, and it is, it all falls apart when the two performers actually being engaging are the touring guitarist and the drummer.

That’s a little too harsh. It’s not like this is bad music. It isn’t. The world needs more rock and roll. It’d just be nice to be able to review a show and not think, “What are they offering that I haven’t seen or heard before?” and then leave with the question resolved.

On the plus side, the boys’ humility and combined age of less than your mother’s age is an admirable quality. Add to that, knocking out an extended and more psychedelic Half Full Glass of Wine as the third song was ballsy, considering such a choice could eliminate the more casual listeners on the audience. They could have saved it until last and kept everyone, but no, and good on them for it.

During the second half of the set things picked up. A whole lot of energy came from somewhere and not only infected the band, but also the crowd, and with at least the first five rows at the front in a healthy mosh, and the near-constant appearance of at least one crowdsurfer. It certainly changed the dynamic of the show and made the rest of the show a much more interesting experience.

The verdict? Hayne is God. Also, Tame Impala have some way to go, but at least they’re going, which is a lot more than some bands out there at the moment.

CHECK OUT THE FL GALLERY HERE!