It’s a Saturday night and I’m excitedly walking up a steady incline surrounded by a colourful crowd of people.
We are on a pilgrimage to musical mecca to experience psychedelic enlightenment – otherwise known as the last of Tame Impala’s two sold out shows at Alexandra Palace.
The North London venue sits righteously at the top of a hill and arguably has one of the best views of London.
Thousands of people gather at the top before the concert, to admire the city lights through intoxicated eyes.
Whilst walking through the entrance gates, I pass the singer from Alt-J and see all of the shaggy haired members of psychedelic band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard waiting in queue.
There was a mutual air of excitement as 10,000 of us slowly dribbled into the large standing space knowing we were about to see our favourite Aussies play a set of dreamy hits.
The lights dim and the crowd relax into the darkness before being awoken by the sound of heavy droning echoes and a drumbeat.
Tame Impala were saying hello to us with their instrumental intro, which acted as a warm up for the two-hour workout we were about to witness consisting of mind manipulation via fuzzy synths and guitar sounds.
There is a mutual cheer as frontman Kevin Parker emerges under an angelic light – he is our messiah. The band goes straight into Let It Happen, the opening track on their newest album Currents.
Parker’s live vocals match exactly to the record, but the band’s most recent synthesised sound is obvious when played live. The bass guitar is noticeably funkier and fulfilling especially on The Less I Know the Better, which booms through the Palace’s speakers.
Everyone dances as the Perth rockers play a mixture of hits from each of their three albums. The audience respond particularly well to old singles such as Alter Ego and Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind, both from their much heavier and crunchier album Innerspeaker.
The night drew to an end and the band return to the stage to play Feels Like We Only Go Backwards before finishing with New Person, Same Old Mistakes – an unusual choice.
It was clear from the night’s performance that Tame Impala has evolved from the band they were five years ago.
They played a confident set that allowed them to play song after song with little audience interaction. Their music spoke for itself.
Featured image by Emma Viola Lilja via Flickr CC