Tame Impala - El Rey Theatre - 11/16/12

Timothy Norris

Better Than: Getting high in your parent's basement and listening to Physical Graffiti on repeat.

See also: Tame Impala on the Meaning of 'Lonerism'

Australian psych-rock quartet Tame Impala played the El Rey last night in support of their recently released sophomore LP Lonerism, the excellent and much-anticipated followup to 2010's Innerspeaker, which got album of the year label from a slew of important folks. Their epic, sophisticated and heavy show thrilled the El Rey crowd, and folks sang along to most every word.

9:50pm: Ticket scalpers are doing a brisk business outside the theatre. A man offers a pair of tickets to two guys. "How much?" they ask. "$100 each," says the man. (This is five times face value). The two guys look at each other like, "That's a lot of money," and before they can respond, another guy walks up, hand over a stack of cash, takes the tickets and goes inside. The two guys look sad. The message? This is a big time buzz band. There is no time for hesitation!

9:57pm: The El Rey is one of those venues where the security people are always fairly diligent about making sure people aren't standing in the aisle or anywhere else that has not officially been designated as An Area For People to Stand In. Tonight though, the crowd is bleeding beyond the boundary lines and no one official is trying to do anything about it. The vibe is loose and excited. I've never seen the El Rey so packed.

10:07pm: The band comes onstage. Lead singer Kevin Parker is not wearing shoes. Or socks. His voice is amazing.

10:11pm: There is roughly a two to one male to female ratio in the crowd, but most everyone is bobbing their heads along with their eyes closed. That's an equal opportunity "I'm really into this music" move.

10:16pm: Critics and other excited fanboy types have compared Tame Impala's sound to that of the late-era Beatles, which is obviously a good thing. And while Parker's voice is similar to John Lennon's and the music has a complex sonic elegance, Tame Impala's sound is vastly heavier, grungier and more deconstructed than even the Beatles most deeply-kaleidoscopic psych jams. George Harrison would totally dig these guys.

10:28pm: Most rightious keyboard solo since "Roundabout."

10:30pm: Clouds of weed smoke rise from the center of the crowd.

10:35pm: Crowdsurfer number one.

10:38pm: The group's visual show is just an electric green circle that expands and contracts into various geometric forms along with the music. It's simple and perfectly suited to the sound and in moments kind of resembles the Eye of Sauron.

10:40pm: Bringing back the drum solo!

Timothy Norris

10:50pm: "Are you guys taking care of the ladies out there?" asks synth player Jay Watson, checking in on the females in the middle of the writhing crowd. In an Australian accent, this inquiry sounds exceedingly charming.

10:53pm: Drummer Julien Barbagallo is intense and excellent, providing a singular percussion that drives the sound. He totally rails on his drum set. He even slightly resembles John Bonham.

Location Info

Venue

Map

El Rey Theatre

5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Category: Music

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