In Australia, the weekly average of COVID-19 cases has been in the single digits since January. As such, pre-pandemic normalcy has all but returned to the country — and that includes packed, maskless concerts. On Friday night, Tame Impala returned to the stage for the first of two Tame Impala Sound System sets in Perth.
Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker conceived Tame Impala Sound System back when Australia was in quarantine, and subsequently debuted the project with a series of television performance and an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk. These performance saw Parker and co. reimagine tracks from the band’s discography with synths, sequencers, and samplers. Or, as Parker himself describes it:
“Wielding their overflowing arsenal of synths, sequencers and samplers to rework and reimagine tracks from the Tame Impala discography and beyond, Tame Impala Sound System is a pulsating, fully live and organic, free-flowing digital jam out.”
Friday night’s setlist spanned 19 songs and pulled from Tame Impala’s entire catalog, including their most recent album, including last year’s The Slow Rush. Notably, the concert marked the first time the Currents track “Gossip” was performed live, while “Beverly Laurel” made its first appearance on a Tame Impala setlist since 2014.
Watch fan-captured footage and see the full setlist below.
As it stands now, Tame Impala are set to embark on a proper North American tour beginning in August. The jaunt, which comes in support of The Slow Rush, was previously postponed due to the pandemic. Tickets to the upcoming shows are available here.
In other news, last week The Wiggles took a stab at Tame Impala’s “Elephant” and it kind of kicks ass.
Setlist:
Apocalypse Dreams
Endors Toi
Keep on Lying
Nangs
Borderline
Daffodils (Mark Ronson cover)
Patience
Breathe Deeper
Music to Walk Home By
Gossip
One More Year
Beverly Laurel
Reality in Motion
Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?
Thunderstruck
Let It Happen
Is It True
Glimmer
The Less I Know the Better
