Oh man, Tame Impala…where do I even start?  Having just seen Tame Impala play at Shaky Knees less than a week prior to Friday night’s show, people kept asking me, “You’re seeing them again?!”  Umm, yes.  Now I may be biased, but I completely believe they are one of the most innovative bands of our time, and I would never miss an opportunity to see them live. 

Excited to the point of feeling sick, it was a dream come true to be able to photograph the band that I adore so much.  As the music buzzed through me, I was again in awe of how effortlessly the band made it all seem, which is a true testament to how incredibly talented they all are.  The band had a lot of banter, mainly from Jay and Kevin, with the crowd.  Jay apparently really likes John Belushi and thought there were a lot of sexy Chicagoans in the room.  Kevin mentioned that when he was mixing tracks for Live Versions, also recorded at the Riviera Theatre, he had a hard time drowning out the cheering and singing from the crowd.  Like the crowd back in 2013, Friday night’s attendees were completely engaged, knew the lyrics, and weren’t afraid to dance.  I always feel proud when Chicago crowds are good to the performers, and this bunch was lively and appreciative of the Aussies.  As with their Shaky Knees performance, even though some of my old favorites like Solitude is Bliss and Half Full Glass of Wine had been removed from the ranks, we were able to hear some of their new material live.  On both occasions, the pre-encore finale (Apocalypse Dreams) and the encore finale (Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control) were unreservedly face-melting.  Cranked louder than the other songs, the vibrations going through my body were so strong that I had to consciously focus on remaining upright. 

In the end, there is honestly nothing in this world quite like a Tame Impala concert.  For those of you who missed out on this show, or for those of you like me with extreme Post Concert Depression, they will be playing Saturday night of Lollapalooza.  Until then, enjoy some Live Versions and get excited for Currents to come out in July!

For more photos from the show, click here.

Preorder Currents here

Review and photos by Abby Walter