Tame Impala Live at Stubb’s with Sour Notes and Feathers After Show

Photo by Brian Gray.

Tame Impala is a band at the pinnacle of hype right now; their second album Lonerism has received universal rave reviews. Tuesday night, these Australian psych-rockers paid a visit to Austin to play a sold-out show at Stubb’s with country mates The Growl. After Growl played a set of moody, churning psych rock with heavy grooves, winning over the crowd, Tame Impala took the stage for a highly anticipated show.

Photo by Brian Gray.

Emphasizing psychedelic light displays and producing impeccable sound, Tame Impala show lives up to the hype. It’s always disappointing when you see a band live that you’ve been listening to repeatedly for months and they fail to rise to the occasion. Under the leadership of Kevin Parker, the group began somewhat lethargically, but only a few songs in, hit their stride with first-album favorite “Mind Mischief,” actively dancing around the stage and never looking back.

Photo by Brian Gray.

From there, the band built power up to the climax of crowd pleasers like the driving “Elephant” and the psychedelically dreamy “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” The former, unsurprisingly, motivated the crowd than any other during the night, inducing fist pumping and dancing. For the most part, the songs tended to sound heavier live, emphasizing the crunch of guitars and relegating keys an atmospherics to the background.

Tame Impala has proven that they aren’t just a band who can put out great albums, but who can captivate a live crowd. They may be a band that has the longevity to be one of indie rock’s primary staples.

Photo by Bryan Parker.

Austin’s Sour Notes played the aftershow inside Stubb’s to a packed house. The band talked little, as is often the case, powering through their diverse catalogue of songs. With their blending of pop, indie-rock, psych, and influences from every decade from the 50s to the 00s, the band is incredibly enjoyable to watch live. Don’t take my word for it, the crowd at Stubb’s Tuesday was more into it than I’ve seen at any local show recently, fist pumping, dancing, taking their hats off and waving them around.

Photo by Bryan Parker.

Closing out the night, Feathers performed their brand of reverb-laden synth pop. The band has been garnering attention for the past year, performing important festivals and producing a good amount of buzz. Tuesday, we could see why, as they sounded tight and crisp with frontwoman Anastasia Dimou moving around the stage in a short, black dress. We hope to see Feathers again in the near future. You can catch them several times at SXSW, including the 101x sponsored showcase.

Special shoutout to Brian Gray over at Austin Town Hall for hooking us up with photos while our own Bryan Parker took a night off from the pits. Brian is one of Austin’s best and hardest-working live music photographs. Dig the shots of The Growl and Tame Impala below © Brian Gray and Austin Town Hall; shots of Sour Notes and Feathers © Bryan Parker and Pop Press International; click any image to open in slideshow view.