The Australian band’s divine performance even made some people faint
The cold Laval air was filled with the sounds of police sirens and fans chattering about the upcoming Tame Impala show. Standing in line, it was evident that an infectious energy was spreading.
The opening act went by the name of Junglepussy. She was an oddball choice as an opener by Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker, since she is a hip/hop artist and Tame Impala is a psychedelic alternative band. Her performance was a bit underwhelming on account of her half-hearted dance moves, but the highlight of her show were the visuals, which elevated the senses for each one of the songs. Her most memorable songs were “Trader Joe” for the hilarious pop culture quips which left the crowd reeling with laughter, and “Nah,” which sounded like a Nas-influenced beat.
After a 15-minute intermission, Tame Impala started off with a luscious intro involving lunar visuals moving around (among other spherical objects). The setlist was comprised of the band’s greatest hits like “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” and “Borderline.” The third song, “Nangs,’” had the Currents album artwork as visuals, which seemed to almost breathe, contracting and expanding and flowing in a “current.” They then dedicated “Breathe Deeper” to Junglepussy, thanking her for opening for the band, which was kind on Parker’s part.
After bantering with the crowd, Tame Impala played their song “On Track.” Before playing, Parker said that it was the first time the band had performed it live in front of an audience. I really appreciated that the group took the time to mention this little tidbit, because normally bands will say things like “You guys are the loudest city we’ve been to!” just for the sake of riling up the energy of their fans. However, here Parker showed a genuine excitement towards sharing this previously-unperformed song with the audience, creating a memorable experience.
At one point in between songs, Parker said “That stuff smells nice, Montreal weed is good!” The conversations that he had with the crowd were lively and personal too, especially after a member of the crowd gave him a bouquet of flowers.
The seizure-inducing light show seemed divine, and for each song the visuals were stunning, putting on a psychedelic show which felt like an LSD trip, at least to those who indulged in said practices. During “Breathe Deeper,” two fans fainted. Clearly, they did not pay attention to the song’s title. Understandably, the light show was so overwhelming with the face-melting visuals that surely a lot of other fans felt like they were going to faint as well.
One of the most memorable songs was of course “Elephant.” The sheer monolithic sound of the guitar and bass overpowered most people’s ears but thankfully it was not too overwhelming! Another song that shared this frequency was “Let It Happen.” In my opinion, “Eventually” happened to be my favourite song from the setlist.
During “Runway Houses City Clouds,” a fan was injured just as the band started to play. Parker stopped playing the song to make sure they were okay. Once everything was cleared up, they restarted the song and all was well. The real-time generated visuals induced a psychedelic fever dream that gave off Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas vibes. Their encores were “The Less I Know The Better” and “One More Hour,” which was the perfect send-off for the band.
Memorable songs: “Elephant,” “Breathe Deeper,” “On Track,” “Eventually,” “Runway Houses City Clouds”
Total times confetti thrown: 3
Word of the concert: Divine
Photo by Faustine Chonavel-Weakley
