Photos by Gillian Wisniewski
In the heart of Downtown Houston, Tame Impala headlined the final two nights of their “Deadbeat” tour, with supporting act DJO and Dominic Fike. On September 19th, the beginning of the end sparked around 5:30pm. Fans arrived early to line up in front of the doors, get merchandise from outside booths and to take photos in front of the tour van. It was a shocking sight to see how peaceful this large commotion was. There was no arguing in the line for photos and everyone was patiently waiting their turn. The merch lines were taking their time with no hesitation, overall a quiet landscape to take in. Taking in the serenity was key before this concert, to label this concert as “loud” would be an understatement.
The opening act was Dominic Fike, who blends genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, pop and indie music. Fike is widely known for his biggest hit “Babydoll” from his EP Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. His concerts are typically very scattered between levels of energy and remixes of his original songs. On stage he is a very energetic, extroverted person. He will bounce around off the walls, metaphorically, while dragging a long, orange electrical cord connected to his microphone. The performance is very unique, he tends to stray from the original releases in terms of vocal range. His performance very intricate and shows time, effort and dedication on his behalf. He puts on the best performance for his audience and does a great job at providing them a new experience.
Although he is an opener, he chose to restrain himself from the amount of energy he usually exudes. The crowd was frustrated by this as well. For some time, Fike chose to stand in front of his microphone and stare into the distance of the venue. There was minimal interaction with the crowd. The only form of engagement seen was through the cameraman that was on stage, forcing the camera in his face. Though it was unfortunate to see his energy levels take a significant decline, his vocal and instrumental performance was beyond extraordinary. Performing hits such as “Mona Lisa,” “Westcoast Collective,” “Ant Pile,” “Mamas Boy,” “Politics & Violence” and a few others before closing with “Why.” He closed out by saying goodnight to the crowd.
After some time, a large rush of fans began to fill up the ground and stadium seats. In moments, the seemingly empty stadium became impossibly crowded. Lines were still wrapping around the stadium as fans were rushing in. Unfortunately with these Houston dates, a lot of fans were disappointed to be rejected at the doors. They were informed that they bought faulty tickets from resellers. Some fans who traveled from outside cities spent hours trekking through the Houston traffic just to be rejected outside. Even so, the concert continued on, but fans did stir quite the retention about this online. As the venue became full, the lights dimmed and Toyota Center became pitch black waiting for Tame Impala to emerge.
As the band took the stage they began to play the introduction to “Apocalypse Dreams.” Shortly after, Kevin Parker entered through the pathway to the stage and performed the opening song. With a quick transition to the next interlude, “Deadbeat Jam,” Kevin spent some time working with his instruments and began to showcase the beautiful light display that his concerts are infamous for. When “Deadbeat Jam” ended, the large screen display lowered from the ceiling and the word “Deadbeat” revolved around the screen. Kevin walked around the stage as he sang “Borderline” and then continued with “Loser,” “Breathe Deeper,” “Gossip” and “Elephant.” Further into the concert he got to play “Dracula,” arguably his most popular song at the moment.
To end the first section of this concert, Tame Impala ended with “No Reply Reprise.” During the song the band played instrumentals to create a beat as the screen displayed lowered again. Kevin walked off stage with a security guard following him, and a cameraman behind him with the recording shown on the screen. Parker was taken through the backstage area of Toyota Center and as confusion arose from the audience. Then suddenly, he walked through a big yellow doorway that led him to a bathroom, where the cameraman proceeded to follow behind and angle the camera to his pants on the floor. As he presumably used the bathroom, time began to drag on longer and longer. Soon a loud bellow of laughter erupted from the crowd from pure confusion. Shortly after Kevin picked up his pants and washed his hands, resulting in a large cheer from the audience.
He made his way back to the second stage, showing a smaller and dimmer lit octagon that resembles a bedroom. With four lamps in the corners and cushions atop the carpet, Kevin sat in the center and began to create a beat on all the instrumental devices laid out. This is where he played “Ethereal Connection” and “Not My World.” Unfortunately this lost a lot of the audience’s attention, as a wave of fans sat down.
Surely enough, Parker got everyone back to their feet with the tiniest snippet of the “Let It Happen” introduction. Not even 2 seconds into the song and the crowd was louder than the speakers, which truthfully seemed impossible. “Let It Happen,” creates the longest moment of anticipation for fans, due to confetti shooting out on the beat drop. The online videos do not compare to seeing it in person. The display of his lasers/lights mixed with the music, atmosphere and confetti is unexplainable. It is truly magical.
After “Let It Happen” he introduced “Nangs” which went by in a flash. As the song faded out, Parker took a moment to thank the fans for the incredible night so far. Just when it couldn’t be better, he finishes his monologue by stating, “We don’t play it that often, so let’s just play it for you Houston. Here’s Love/Paranoia.” After surprising fans with this song, Parker played “Obsolete,” “Eventually” and “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” where he ended with the final confetti cannon of the night, and closed out his first night within Houston.
Or so the crowd thought. The audience did not give Parker or the band a moment of silence afterwards until they reached the top of the stage again. Coming back for the encore Parker expressed his love for the fans, and played “My Old Ways” as the first song of his encore. Afterwards, he took a seat on his stage and stated how he wanted to take a moment to soak everything in. He looked out to the fans with gratitude weighing on his shoulders.
“My favorite fuckin place to play in America is Houston,” Parker states before closing out the night with his final two songs “The Less I Know The Better” and “End of Summer.” As he said goodbye to the audience they reciprocated the gratitude by maximalizing the volume within the venue. Possibly the loudest it was all night in there just to express how grateful they were for Tame Impala to venture to Houston in this tour.
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