Fans of Australia’s Tame Impala shrieked and whooped Wednesday night at The Fox Theater in Pomona as roadies dressed in white lab coats prepped the stage like scientists. Tame Impala finally appeared to a slowed down version of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and moved into “It’s Not Meant To Be” from 2010’s “Innerspeaker”. Frontman Kevin Parker has remained at the helm of the group along with multi-instrumentalists Dominic Simper and Jay Watson, Cameron Avery on bass, and Julien Barbagallo on drums. With his mind-bending talents and voice reminiscent of a more euphoric Lennon, devotees were more than happy to take the journey into his subconscious and one fan was fired up enough to toss a bra up on stage which featured contact info on it. The band have created a particular brand of psych-rock and the synth-heavy “Why Wont They Talk To Me” and “Mid Mischief” from 2012’s “Lonerism” kept fans roaming in their psychedelic dream and dancing like absolutely nobody was watching. Just to add to the trippy motions, projected behind the band were shapes and swirls, a backdrop of patterns that moved with the melodies. New track “Let It Happen” was performed live for the very first time to excellent response followed by “Solitude Is Bliss” and “ Be Above It” featuring flexible jam sessions and kaleidoscopic colors. Predictably, the greatest audience response came at the first two notes of hit-single “Elephant” during which a few managed to crowd surf. If you were lucky enough to see through the the cell-phone wielding arms, you could behold a group completely comfortable in their fuzzy guitar tones and pounding rhythm made even stronger by the otherworldly synth and a rabid drum solo perfectly texturizing their style. Parker warned his vehement admirers “Right, once again we might totally screw this next song up” and then flawlessly executed the gorgeously hazy soundscape of “Cause I’m A Man” from their forthcoming album “Currents”. Parker admitted that he was particularly nervous about this show but from an onlooker’s perspective, he seemed just as comfortable wandering inside his own musical mind as he was to let us join him. They closed the main set with “Apocalypse Dreams” boasting the unifying lyrics “This could be the day that we push though/ It could be the day that all our dreams come true/ For me and you”, and for many fans who had waited years to see the band, it was true. Returning for an encore, Parker noted “They booked this as a warm-up show to Coachella but this doesn’t feel like a warm up…this feels like this is it!” which was followed by someone screaming, “Fuck Coachella!” The celestial “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” from “Lonerism” was the nights strongest sing-along and they finished their set with the aptly titled “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control.”
Shot for BUZZBANDS.LA
