Total euphoria! Headliner Tame Impala steals the show at London’s All Points East Festival
Tame Impala took to Victoria Park, August 25th, for an exclusive London show and exceeded all expectations! Australia’s Kevin Parker and 5-piece band performed on the main stage East and thrilled the crowd of fans who screamed the guitar riffs and synths back to him all night. The Tame Impala live experience was out-of-this-world, as psychedelic rock is paired with a mesmerising lightshow including a huge circular lighting rig shooting coloured lasers, almost resembling a UFO.
Personally, All Points East festival felt a lot less chaotic and rowdy than any other festival I have ever attended perhaps due to it being a day festival or because there was a range of ages. Although don’t get me wrong the festival itself had a great vibe, the music was outstanding and, in my experience, very friendly people. The perfect festival for someone that “doesn’t do festivals” with fairground rides, clean functioning toilets and short food and drink queues.
The music was a day of contrast, with a lot of softer sounding artists including Q, Omar Apollo and the standout for me Montell Fish starting the day. Chill RnB vocalist Montell Fish controlled the smallest ‘BMW play next stage’ with fans singing along to his beautiful vocals. This included new album tracks that recently blew up on TikTok, ‘Fall in Love with You’ and ‘Talk 2 Me’ with some fans standing on benches to get the best look. Meanwhile the North arena tent (where I spent most of the day) was full to the brim with ravers listening to various DJ sets including dreamy FKJ – until it was Tame Impala time!
Tame Impala’s electrifying set was 90 minutes of pure bliss! It began with a trippy satirical advertisement video of a pharmacist presenting a new (made-up) drug called ‘Rushium’ before fading into the first song ‘One more year’. The first few songs of the set were all handpicked from popular album ‘Slow Rush,’ and the crowd got dancing immediately. Kevin parker, seeming more charismatic than ever, hyped London’s crowd saying, “I thought this day would never come” followed by asking listeners to get “a little rowdy” to the rocky old fan-favourite ‘Elephant’.
Songs from a mixture of all albums played and by the midway point, the energy in Victoria Park was nothing but exhilarating with psychedelic visuals and multicoloured lasers that could be seen even from the back of the park. When the intro of ‘Let it Happen’ played, fans jumped higher than ever as the show turned multisensory as heaps of coloured confetti was released to create the ultimate live concert experience.
The setlist continued to impress right down to the final part. My personal favourite ‘Eventually’ did not disappoint; the crowd sang every word, note and drum with all hands in the air to catch the lasers from the UFO-like structure. For the last two songs “The less I know the better” and “New person, same old mistakes” I left the front of the crowd to get the full experience from further back. Copying the people around me I begged to get on my friends’ shoulders (sorry Dylan) to make the moment even more special – and special it was.
The only thing I have left to say is that Tame impala is probably the best festival set I have ever witnessed with the perfect balance of music, visuals and vibes, and by the end I really did feel like a brand-new person!
The next pick deserving WAY more recognition is Essex-based trio Bilk! Their unique sound is inspired by a variety of genres, such as pop-punk, rock, rap, grime and of course classic indie. Personally, I see most similarities with singer-songwriter Jamie T along with alternative rap artists such as Slowthai or Easy Life.
club are an exciting band from Wrexham (north Wales), and as said so themselves are “just four lads making music”. The band’s success is rising as they recently played Isle of White and Neighbourhood Weekender festival and supported The Snuts in a sold-out Manchester gig. On top of that, the Welsh 4 piece just completed an 18 show UK tour that was very well received, highlighting their nationwide fanbase.
The Skinner Brothers are from London, made up of 4 members, their music is a blend of genres such as jazz, rock, and alternative rap. Their top songs include: Nothing but an Actor, Stupid Much? and Away Days. I think what sets them apart is having slower melodies paired with strong cockney vocals and their overwhelming passion that can be heard through songs such as away days that was inspired by British football culture and the emotions that comes with it.
I was shocked to see that this London-based trio had just 3000 monthly Spotify listeners and I think they deserve to be on your playlist! Aftercare currently only has 5 songs, the standout tracks for me are Spaceman, Samviktor and Sunday Comes around. With all 3 boys playing guitars they create softer sounding melodies that resemble more alternative bands such as Weezer and The Strokes.
Paul McCartney the Beatles legend had the Saturday headline spot, and he did not disappoint. His 38-song set was full of great moments including: breath-taking fireworks, a heartfelt tribute to bandmate John Lennon, and the crowd singing Paul happy birthday to celebrate his 80th! But the moment that has had everyone talking is when he surprised the audience of over 100,000 people with icons Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl. The appearance of the Foo Fighters’ frontman made the performance even more special as he played for the first time since the death of fellow bandmate and friend Taylor Hawkins. The trio of Rock n Roll royalty performed Springsteen’s ‘Glory days’ followed by Beatles classics ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ and ‘The End’ with both guests taking part in an epic guitar showdown!
A collaboration I really enjoyed was during Lorde’s magical Sunday set, when she invited special guests Arlo Parks and Clairo to sing ‘Stoned at the Nail Salon’ with her. The New Zealander star described the song as “the ultimate comedown anthem” and joking that her set is the perfect place to do this after a heavy few days. As somebody who is obsessed with all 3 singers, I can only describe them as the holy trinity of alternative indie vocals. The trio did not disappoint as they harmonised beautifully creating a wonderful moment for the audience to reflect on the whole weekend.
The duo that has caught the most attention from the weekend and a highlight for many attending was when American pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo invited British icon Lily Allen onto stage. 19-year-old Olivia stole the headlines as she sang Lily Allen’s notorious tune ‘F*** You’ directing it towards members of the Supreme Court that voted to overturn abortion rights in America. Rodrigo spoke aggressively, “so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this. They clearly don’t give a shit about our freedom”. The teen then named all 5 judges before giving an unforgettable performance alongside Lily who is known for her outrageous comments and controversies. The singing itself was far from perfect but the chaotic energy captured the beautiful raw emotions of anger and vulnerability.
