More about: Tame ImpalaAll Points East

Amongst the torrential flood of festivals held last weekend, All Points East served as the indie counterpoint to Reading and Leeds, Boomtown, and Carnival. Held in the sprawling Victoria Park, Thursday’s lineup was an odd jumble; almost none of its forebears had much to do sonically with headliner Tame Impala. Ironically enough, most of the preceding acts totally outshone Tame Impala’s slot. 

Working Men’s Club impressed on the North Stage, where the tent was the perfect environment for their unique blend of synthpop terror. Anyone who’s listened to Fear Fear knows that album is bursting with personality, and All Points East made me appreciate the album a lot more. Where previous gigs in Rough Trade East suffocated the band, the North Stage showcased frontman Sydney Minsky-Sargeant’s idiosyncratic performance style – fearless, expressive, and totally unabashed. It’s a refreshing antidote to the lacklustre charisma many bigger musicians are bridled with. 

In comparison, Dry Cleaning’s appearance on the East Stage was much less suitable for their music. Their musical strategy is for frontwoman Florence Shaw to deadpan passages about her life against raging, rollicking post-punk instrumentals. It works in a solitary setting, where you give your full attention to the lyrics, but less so in a huge open-air setting. Instead, you get the feeling you want something more to happen, which is frustrating given how interesting their music is. That being said, Shaw is completely captivating to watch – her witchy hand movements and intense gaze is incredible to witness.

Caroline Polachek also played on the East Stage, and as a seasoned performer, her set was much more entertaining to watch. Sporting some creative hair (I can only describe it as looking like it was copy pasted out of a manga), Polachek stunned with her vocals, as precise and mysterious as always. She’s a whirlwind on stage to watch, as she skipped, swayed, and pretended to throw grapes into the audience (in homage to her song, ‘Billions’).  Pang is a really subtle, delicate album, so it was great to see a live drummer translate the songs into something more suitable for a live audience. 

Finally, I rudely squeezed my way into the crowd for Tame Impala. As an Australian, Tame Impala are especially close to my heart, and it would be my first time seeing them live. I got into them around Currents (basic, I know), and one of the main draws of that album was Parker’s synth work. Some of my favourite moments on that album are embedded in the sound design, all of which was completely lost on Thursday’s performance. I’m not sure whether it was sound mixing issues or neighbourhood volume restrictions; either way, Tame Impala’s slot was incredibly disappointing. It was so quiet that I could literally turn to my friend, Maddie, and hear her ask me: ‘don’t you think it should be a bit louder?’. 

Don’t get me wrong, there were good bits about it, too. The visuals, as usual, were stunning - festival goers were greeted by a giant UFO of lights, plenty of trippy, psychedelic visuals, and even some rainbow confetti. Let’s be real, though; Kevin Parker is not the most lively of performers, and a lot of Tame Impala’s live reputation comes from the multi sensory experience that they provide. 

It’s lucky they have such a dedicated fan base, because the crowd picked up the sound where Tame Impala couldn’t. ‘Elephant’ was an absolute riot, and every word of ‘Feels Like We’re Only Going Backwards’ was screamed. Sadly, the crowd was louder than the music, and I was right up front – by the time ‘The Less I Know The Better’ was chanted, I had accepted defeat. 

See photos below from Kian Boyle:

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More about: Tame ImpalaAll Points East