“This is unreal” – a 100% true fact spoken by an audience member during night two of the Kevin Parker, AKA the “one guy” of Tame Impala, show in Toronto. A spectacle of flashing lights, lasers, and confetti explosions, it was an unforgettable performance, accompanied by a 20,000 person dance party in Scotiabank Arena.
Since last coming to Toronto in 2022, Parker made sure to put on a show that exceeded expectations. His most recent album, Deadbeat, shifted from the synth heavy, psychedelic sound of past songs, to electronic rave music – bringing together a crowd united by a need to cover their eyes.
Djo – as in, Stranger Things actor Joe Keery – got the crowd grooving immediately with his 80s inspired tracks from The Crux/The Crux Deluxe and older tunes from his earlier albums. His first song “Awake” began dark, filling the room with a red haze. As the crowd cheered, the swell of the bridge heightened the intensity, as the sound of the electric guitar reverberated across the walls and the venue was lit by beams of white light. Keery continued on with hits like “Roddy”, “Lonesome is a State of Mind”, and “Egg”. As his set neared the end, Keery sprinted around the stage, guitar in hand, before finding his home again at the mic for a performance of “End of Beginning”. A fitting title for the final song of the opening act.
DJO live in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena photo by Lia Pulumbarit
When the time came for Tame Impala to take the stage, the crowd welcomed him with thunderous applause and cheers. Through the warm hues of yellow lights, the band began the set with “Apocalypse Dreams”. While the lighting for the opening song was already impressive, it was nothing compared to what was yet
to come.
As he went on to play “Deadbeat Jam”, the screens lowered, hiding the band behind the glow of the word “DEADBEAT” circling the stage with Parker strutting alongside. By the end of the round, the arena had gone dark before bursting into a fluorescent blue laser show that nearly cut through the crowd as the sounds of “Borderline” rang across the venue. Parker continued for several songs on the main stage before quickly heading to
the back of the arena for a seemingly much needed bathroom break that the audience was lucky enough to be a part of.
After a few minutes spent watching his feet behind a toilet, Parker returned, hopping onto the b-stage for a “listening room” style performance of “Ethereal Connection and “Not My World”. The heavy beats contrasted the quaint space he had created for himself in a square of flickering lamps and a mid-century modern rug that he readily lay upon. Most of the crowd took this time to sit down for a moment as well, resting their feet before an explosive performance of “Let it Happen” back on the main stage.
Confetti shot out amongst the crowd, as beams of light created a glimmering effect as the confetti slowly descended back on the stage and the surrounding pit. It felt as though this must be the end, given the elaborate display, yet Parker continued on. As he wandered the stage, he took moments in between songs to acknowledge the crowd, even pointing out the delightful smells of “devil’s lettuce” that filled the air. A smell so enticing that Parker decided to treat Toronto to “Posthumous Forgiveness”, a song he was playing for the very first time on this tour.
Tame Impala live in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena photo by Lia Pulumbarit
As the night had slowed a bit after “Let it Happen”, Parker was sure to pick it back up for set closers “Eventually” and “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”. Both light shows in these songs were hypnotic, feeling like hallucinations you could only witness in an altered state of mind. The lights dimmed and the crowd roared for an encore. The round, raised platform was a sea of confetti, enough that warranted a quick leaf blower intermission. Tame Impala then returned to the stage to perform three more songs. Before moving into the encore Parker announced that he was “legally drunk” which, of course, led him to down an entire beer on stage as the band played “Dracula”, one of Parker’s most popular songs on Deadbeat.
Parker then sang out the familiar notes of “The Less I Know the Better” as the crowd jumped and bopped their heads along to the longtime favourite. The night ended on Deadbeat single “End of Summer” immersing the audience in the song’s beats and the vibrant colours of even more confetti and shimmering lights.
When the overhead lights came up and the band exited the stage and the audience paused to take everything thing before hustling out of the stadium. It was truly a memorable night of music and spectacle, driven by electronic beats and Parker’s strong vocals.
While the tracks from Deadbeat were lots of fun, it was Parker’s old hits that really stole the show. It doesn’t seem to be too much of a stretch to say that fans are hoping for Parker to return to some of his old sound. Maybe “only going backwards” wouldn’t be too much of a bad thing for his next album.
Words and photos by Lia Pulumbarit
Tame Impala live in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena photo by Lia Pulumbarit
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