The traveling Tame Impala show came to Portland this past Wednesday. Sounding not unlike a band that could have emerged from Portland's own music scene, Kevin Parker's songs tighten certain elements of the psych-rock formula to pop preciseness, while stretching out and expanding the others in unexpected ways, improbably extending the shelf-life of guitar-based music's relevancy once again.
With a relatively subdued light/visual show, the focus was on the tightness of the band's performance and the sheer musicality of Tame Impala's catalog of songs. The Roseland's rejuvenated sound system needs to be commended once again for being bombastic while retaining crystalline clarity. Otherwise, the banter was minimal and all the critical Impala cuts were performed professionally by the pride of Perth. The sold-out crowd was appreciative of the performance, recognizing the rare opportunity to see Tame Impala in a much more intimate venue (did I really just write that about the Roseland?!?!) than their draw typically allows.
More photos after the jump!
