When I arrived at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on the evening of March 14th, I immediately knew I was in for a treat. Australian psychedelic rock band, Tame Impala, was bringing their Rushium tour to New York City. Outside the venue, hundreds of fans posed for pictures outside of Barclays Center, which was lit up in bright lights advertising the Rushium Tour. Hometown rapper Junglepussy kicked things off.
Inside the arena, fans poured into their seats with eager anticipation for the show to begin. At 8 pm promptly, the lights went down, and the arena erupted into roars and cheers. The opening seconds of “Main Attraction” played and Junglepussy entered from stage right. Donning a luxurious bedazzled suit coat and fashion-forward neon cowboy-ensue boots, Junglepussy erupted into a highly emotive performance. It was clear to see that Junglepussy had garnered some support of her own, as fans along the barricade hooted and hollered words of encouragement in between songs.
Perhaps my favorite moment from Junglepussy’s set was her performance of “Pop For You”, a personal favorite song of mine. Junglepussy picked up a sign from the set behind her that read, “This pussy don’t pop for you”. Without saying a word, she placed the sign on her head and strolled slowly across the stage with a smirk on her face. Looking out into the crowd, fans were going absolutely insane by this point in her set. She captivated the crowd of thousands inside Barclays Center that evening. Just before Junglepussy concluded, she took a moment to thank her city, her family, and her friends for making this moment possible for her. While Junglepussy might have been an unsuspected opener for a band like Tame Impala, she definitely left her footprint on the fans that evening.
After a 30-minute break, the stage had been cleared and set up for Tame Impala’s set of epic proportions. I watched from the pit at stage left as a bright white screen came on at 9 pm sharp. A clinician appeared on the screen, discussing the benefits of Rushium and encouraging fans to take their Rushium now — so it would kick in at the height of the Tame Impala set. The video distorted and faded to black as Tame Impala took the stage.
Tame Impala, the project of Kevin Parker, opened their set with “One More Year”. Immediately, fans were thrown into a colorful, bright, laser-filled psychedelic journey. We all couldn’t have been happier. Throughout the night, it was one big dance party. Fans were dancing with each other in their rows as the lasers shot throughout the venue. Tame Impala played a lengthy 16-song setlist which included fan favorites, “Breathe Deeper”, “Elephant” and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” They concluded the night with a two-song encore of “The Less I Know The Better” and “One More Hour”.
My favorite moment from the set was when the infamous confetti cannons erupted over the GA pit crowd. Bright rainbow lights shined throughout the venue as the confetti sprayed everywhere. Everyone had the biggest smiles on their faces. I had been wanting to see Tame Impala for many years. At that moment, everything had aligned perfectly, and I was having the time of my life. After years of seeing the videos and pictures from a Tame Impala show, I can finally say that I understand the hype! Tame Impala puts on one hell of a captivating, intense, and beautiful performance — both sonically and visually.
