Live Review: Tame Impala & The Growl

Fellow West Coasters The Growl open the night on a positive note. With two drummers in tow the six-piece channel the spirit of blues and '70s rock whilst twisting it into their own unique vision. They demonstrate a decent range early on and then push it even further when their two time-keepers switch places to change up the gears halfway through the set. Frontman Cameron Avery exerts a strong presence and reins the attention in full with the arresting Smoke It Down.

With the zeitgeist shining bright on psychedelia once more, Tame Impala arrive at The Tivoli stage with a slew of recent festival dates under their belt. The anticipation for such a club performance, however, is quite understandably at a peaking point. When the repetitious rhythms of Be Above It tumble out of the speakers, the mounting melodies begin to effectively mutate the on-screen visuals that loom above the four band members. An ominous rifle scope, laden with green, acts as the central visual theme, and during the songs this imagery becomes positively distorted into swirling patterns as if by some wondrous form of melodic alchemy. The first chords of Solitude Is Bliss send people into an ecstatic frenzy that lasts the duration of its infectious form. Yes the people are excited, and rightly so because tonight the sounds effectively envelope the audience in their presence and the music really hits home with the intimate force of this spectacular venue. Endors Toi, It Is Not Meant To Be, and Music To Walk Home By follow in similar stride, but then when the galloping riff of Elephant hits, the reduced pallet of green on screen explodes into a wash of psychedelic colours. This becomes a highlight as an extended jam truncates the last bar before it is brought back in for one brief burst of final glory. But it doesn't stop there. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, Lucidity, Altero Ego and Mind Mischief – the gems just keep on coming, and what a wonder it seems that a mere two albums can birth such live fruits. The set hits a great climax with an exquisite rendition of Desire Be, Desire Go and then Apocalypse Dreams sadly signals the end is nigh. They return to the stage joined by Avery on maracas and rewind to the project's beginnings with an epic encore of Half Glass Full Of Wine. They bid farewell to the adoring throng, leaving nothing but fond memories in the wake of yet another triumphant performance.