Tame Impala Live at The Fillmore

A week after the sold out Tame Impala show at the Fillmore in San Francisco, my brain has finally reformulated into a solid mass. Or at least enough so that I'm now able to construct at least a few sentence to describe the mind numbing experience that they so generously inflicted on the crowd that night. In other words... It was fucking sick.

If you're one of the many passionate classic rock lovers that is too young to have physically bore witness to most of the true greats in the flesh, I'm sure you've thought to yourself: "Man, I wish I could have seen The Beatles perform together." Or maybe: "I wish I could smoke a doobie with my teenage parents while listening to a live Pink Floyd set." And, well, I feel like we can all rejoice at the bright light ahead for that train of thought, because if The Beatles and Pink Floyd had a love child they would have no choice but to name it Tame Impala.

The latest album, Lonerism, is in my opinion one of the greatest albums I've heard in a long time. It's brilliant. And even more impressive than the emotional narrative incorporated into each song, is the fact the Kevin Parker is the sole creator of every dreamy output that is Tame Impala... The guy literally plays, records, mixes, and masters everything you hear on the album, much like what he did on Tame Impala's debut album, Innerspeaker. [yes, Jack Black.. It is like a fucking One Man Band]. The night of the show his live accomplices did every song completely to perfection and if they messed up I was way too enthralled to care. Best part in my opinion was Parker's gracious disposition from performing at the historic venue.

He was so genuinely and unabashedly humbled at the opportunity to perform at The Fillmore and I felt like most of the audience shared the equal sense of gratitude for getting to be there. [spot on with the Thanksgiving holiday, don't cha think?] There was such an amazing energy and everyone was just really into their own experience. It didn't matter what the hell movement the music was forcing your body to make, because it really was your own. Mid-show I commented to Jay something like "I probably look ridiculous, but i honestly don't even care to give a shit." Of course he laughed, and then I pondered for about a mili-second and followed up with "Wait, I'm retarded. Everyone is in their own zone...on their own level, enjoying it how they please ...Hold on. Wait!... I'm a fucking retard, this is a goddamn rock show and NO ONE GIVES A FUCK!"

And that my friends is a mid-show revelation... Can I get an amen?

Needless to say I resumed zoning out on just how good they sounded in there, each song bouncing loudly from the floor to the balconies and hopefully through the cracks of the walls so people on the streets could at least get a little taste.


If you haven't checked out Lonerism, you should. And if you ever get the chance to see Tame Impala live, you must.