Tame Impala Review

The line to enter Pechanga Arena snaked through the parking lots, a sea of glitter and anticipation signaling that a Tame Impala show in 2025 is less a concert and more a psychedelic pilgrimage. Inside, the stage sat in the very center of the room, a promise of the immersive, 360-degree spectacle to come. From the moment Kevin Parker and his band launched into a thunderous, reworked version of “Apocalypse Dreams,” it was clear the Deadbeat Tour is an ambitious, if occasionally uneven, attempt to merge the band’s psych-rock majesty with the throbbing pulse of a dance club.

The production was nothing short of stunning. A dazzling constellation of lasers, synchronized to the nanosecond, shot from the central stage, while a massive, morphing ring of light above the band contorted into new, hypnotic shapes for every song. This visual feast perfectly complemented the setlist’s journey from the driving riff of “Elephant” to the sleek, new grooves of Deadbeat. However, the night’s momentum hit a palpable lull during a mid-set DJ interlude on a B-stage, where Parker’s solo foray into ambient mixes of “Ethereal Connection” felt more like a studio experiment than an arena-ready moment.

But any missteps were washed away in a torrent of pure euphoria during the home stretch. The one-two punch of the soaring “Let It Happen” and the timeless bassline of “The Less I Know The Better” transformed the arena into a massive, singular organism, singing and swaying in unison. For all the new, dance-forward ambition, it was a testament to Parker’s foundational songwriting that his greatest trick remains making 14,000 people feel like they’re sharing a single, transcendent dream.