Tame Impala make their return to the UK for their appearance at All Points East
The first All Points East since 2019 continued its sheer brilliance streak with the help of Tame Impala, Caroline Polachek, FEET, Dry Cleaning, Working Men’s Club and more.
Photo: Jennifer McCord
Some three years ago or so, before the madness unravelled, All Points East announced that Tame Impala would be headlining in 2020 and, subsequently, I rushed to buy tickets for an artist who very rarely frequents this side of the Atlantic.
Bought as a gift for my boyfriend, we both waited in anticipation as the first night of APE was cancelled and then the next, until eventually the news we were hoping to never hear was announced: we wouldn’t be seeing Tame Impala in the midst of a pandemic and we had no idea when he’d be back.
So, naturally, to hear he’d be back in 2022, when most of us were vaccinated and Australia was no longer dealing with a lockdown, was a dream. Even after all these years, I still wanted to experience a Tame Impala set as much as I did when I was sixteen and heard my first song of his, and I was excited beyond comparison to bear witness to such a glorious night.
It’s the 25th of August and it finally feels real: I’ll see Tame Impala in the flesh and it’ll be like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’ve heard that his shows go beyond the music, that he feeds into concepts and incredible light shows to create an intimate atmosphere.
Before the big headliner, the one everyone’s been waiting for for God knows how long, we traipse around the grounds, eager to explore and find someone or something new. Conveniently, a handful of food stalls (one coincidentally being fully vegan and just what we were after), were placed just next to the smaller Firestone-sponsored stage, where Elujay was set to perform — an artist whom I’d never heard of before but was instantly intrigued.
Although we didn’t catch his whole show as it clashed with French artist and Mac Demarco collaborator MYD’s DJ set, what I did see was new, invigorating and definitely left the young talent on our watchlist.
It was time for a band we’ve frequently covered before, one where the lead singer has spoken out about fellow Manchester musicians being “boring”, leaving me with incredibly high expectations of their set. Working Men’s Club, while being an exciting new band, were cut short by the looming Dry Cleaning set, one that even someone yielding a WMC t-shirt was leaving early for.
The Florence Shaw-led act were as loud and as deadpan as I expected, with the guitarist Tom Dowse stealing the show thanks to his eye-catching dancing; clearly enjoying his time at one of London’s best festivals, giving us a show to remember just from the evident passion written all over his face.
After Dry Cleaning departed, next on was the uber-popular Caroline Polachek, whose first and last song was the only one we’d managed to catch — the last unsurprisingly being the only song I’d heard of hers: So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings (probably thanks to TikTok, I think).
Why did we miss most of Caroline Polachek’s set, you ask? Well, a few months ago I saw Coventry’s FEET live with my parents (because our favourite band Bull were supporting, of course) and found myself impressed with their energetic, early The Rolling Stones reminiscent show that led me to see them live again in a brand new setting. If not for the show they put on, then it was to annoy my boyfriend by shouting the lyrics to English Weather in his face.
After a moment of calm, where said boyfriend won me a Coca-Cola branded bum bag and we scoured the area for more vegan food, the obvious build-up to Tame Impala’s stage entrance was nearing and we’d found ourselves waiting with bated breath at the barrier.
With big festivals, there are always those people in the crowd that make you roll your eyes and assume they’re not aware of basic gig etiquette and, naturally, the audience for Tame Impala was full of them. The worst offender, however, has to be a man (a prepubescent one by the sounds of it) who wouldn’t stop shouting “turn the fucking music up!” and trying to convince the security guard to let him hop the fence into the VIP area because his two friends had “travelled all the way from America and wanted to be closer.” He was one of those people that wouldn’t stop talking non-stop and, to top it off, had one of the worst singing voices I’ve ever heard (if you can call it that) — I mean, who comes to see Tame Impala and gets the lyrics to their biggest song wrong? This guy, apparently.
To start off with their set, an ominous woman in a lab coat appeared on the big screen talking about “rushium”, something that I learned they’d made to open their The Slow Rush tour.
Kevin Parker took to the stage after a burst of bright, cinematic lights and I felt that familiar flush of shock that musicians actually exist in real life and not just via your earphones.
There’s truly nothing — and I mean nothing — that can compare to the intense rush of ticking a band off your long bucket list of must-see music. And what a hell of a band to finally see after years of anticipation; of seeing them live through a second-hand lens.
Starting off their set with a classic and very clearly Tame Impala intro — one, if you’re a fan, I wouldn’t have to tell you about. After setting the tone for the rest of the night, then followed One More Year, an energetic and very welcomed opening song before trailing into Borderline, one that, upon its opening notes, had the crowd in hysterics and fully hypnotised by Kevin Parker’s musical mastery.
Although I was slightly disappointed they didn’t play Posthumous Forgiveness, for the chance to see such an immersive performance I didn’t mind cutting my losses. After all, that particular track is about his late father, so perhaps it isn’t the easiest one to perform live when you’re at your most vulnerable.
Despite the range of what was played, the track that stuck with me was Elephant; a track that was the first song I showed my now-partner when we were simply coworkers at Primark some five years ago, using some God awful blue earphones I’d bought for eight quid from Asda. I’d waited for this moment for a long time and the wizardry of Tame Impala had made it all the more special. Thank you, Kevin.
See you next year, All Points East.
