Tame Impala Debuts ‘Deadbeat’ Tracks at Brooklyn Tour Kickoff
Tame Impala, photo by Julian Klincewicz
Tame Impala touched down in New York on Monday, Oct. 27, to set off the American arena tour supporting the release of Deadbeat. In the first of four packed performances at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Kevin Parker and his backing band formally introduced the project and the stage show fans can expect as they cross the country in the next few weeks, complete with live debuts of the bulk of the album’s tracklist.
Tame Impala set off Friday’s show with the 2012 Lonerism standout “Apocalypse Dreams,” which provided a lucid, anthemic opening to Parker’s first non-festival performance since March 2023 and first US appearance since May 2022. The artist and his live ensemble of Dominic Simper, Jay Watson, Julien Barbagallo, Cam Avery, Rafael Lazzaro-Colon and James Ireland proceeded into new material with the hit single “Dracula,” currently sitting at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. This live debut was the first of 10 scattered throughout the show.
Tame Impala’s first set on the main stage continued with old favorites like “Breathe Deeper,” “Borderline,” “Elephant” and Currents rarity “Gossip,” alongside first-time treatments of Deadbeat’s “Afterthought” and “My Old Ways,” the latter holding at #56 on the Hot 100. After blazing through “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards,” Parker departed for a solo DJ set on the B stage, including an electrifying medley of “No Reply,” “Ethereal Connection” and “Not My World.”
For the final movement of his performance, Parker launched the hypnotic Currents favorite “Let It Happen,” then bolted through new entries “Obsolete” and “Piece of Heaven” before wrapping the main portion of the performance with longtime standards “Eventually” and “New Person, Same Old Mistakes.” After a beat for applause, the band lit up an encore with their first live treatment of the 2024 Grammy-winning Justice collaboration “Neverender,” followed by “The Less I Know the Better” and finally “End of Summer,” the closing cut from the new album.
Tame Impala will return to Barclays Center tomorrow, Oct. 31, then conclude the series on Nov. 1. Following stops in Chicago, Austin, San Diego and Oakland, Calif., they’ll conclude their US run at Inglewood, Calif.’s Kia Forum on Nov. 17. Find tickets and more information at tameimpala.com.
