Tame Impala – Melt Festival (2016)
Ever notice – such as when, say, a pandemic hits – how a resto’s takeout food never tastes as good as the very same dish when it’s served in the dining room proper? The same dam’ dish, made by the same hands.
I don’t care if I never hear another chef say the words “you see your food before you taste it”, but the truth is, it’s true and it matters. The creative presentation of a Medallion of Whatevah served over a twisted bed of pugniss and fletching (who knows), garnished with tincture of marksprout and eight (not six, you Philistine) dollops of bhulet is truly, doncha know, a feast for the eyes. The sight alone whets (not wets, you Philistine) the palate.
No different, music. A magical song in the plastic container of a studio recording will never elicit the emotions of a live, plated rendition, no matter how big or small, elegant or armpitted the venue.
You can watch the whole of this vid if you might, but really I’m just punching out the last song which begins at exactly 1:07:30. Kevin Parker has used New Person, Same Old Mistakes (Worst Song Title of the Decade, thank you) as his concert garnish for several years now, and this performance at Gräfenhainichen’s Melt Festival bears out why.
[ed. Gawd, Europeans know how to spectate]
Fairly, it’s a great tune. Okay, the bridge is a bit weaselly, but the chord shift in the repetitions of the last chorus (where the C#-minor is subbed out for a tonic major-7 [at 1:12:32] like a pile of pillows that the song collapses into) is just pure magic. Even on the canned studio recording it’s a blissful-baby moment.
But live?…
Three extramusical elements elevate this coda from bliss to euphoria. In order:
- The breakdown after the (weaselly) bridge, 1:11:39 – the loving applause before Kevin’s farewell message, perfectly injected into some musical whitespace;
- The smoke, strobe and confetti-storm visuals, 1:12:13 – I don’t normally care for the party-store stuff, but everything has its place, and here the glitter really amplifies the evening’s climax;
- The people. There are many cutaways to the crowd, but check out 1:08:25, and 1:10:18, and 1:11:32, and finally 1:12:29 during the farewell section. The pure, joy-possessed rapture on the faces of these beautiful, happy boys and girls is the reason we listen to music and go to concerts.
In the same way that any culinary creation is about looks too, the musical experience is as visual as it is sonorous.
I know it’s 75 minutes long, but if you want the full impact of that song and its ending, maximize the screen, close the lights in the room and (if you’re able) pipe it through your TV. That ending will water your eyes.
