With a formidable Ninajirachi opening set, deep cuts and an outrageous laser show, Kevin Parker’s first Melbourne night finds him at the peak of his powers.

There’s a good test for an arena support act: look at the people furthest from the stage. At Rod Laver Arena, Ninajirachi has them shaking their arses.

Before Kevin Parker even appears, the Australian producer has turned the room into something considerably livelier than a crowd waiting for the headliner. Her set makes a convincing case that she could be one of the best possible openers for a show of this scale. She understands how to fill the space, but more importantly, how to get people moving in it. Watching her command an arena, you get the feeling we’re still in the opening chapter of a very big career.

By the time Tame Impala take over, Melbourne is ready.

The first Melbourne show of the Deadbeat tour reveals just how far Parker’s project has travelled. The guitars that brought so many listeners into his orbit now share territory with beats big enough to carry an arena. The newer material has a heavy groove, giving the night a physical momentum that sits comfortably alongside the familiar pleasure of thousands of people singing every word.

“Dracula” is a crowd favourite, its reception suggesting the newest songs are already earning their place beside the established heavyweights. Across a two-hour set, Parker has enough material to keep shifting the mood without losing the room.

Then comes “Expectation”. The Innerspeaker cut is one of the night’s great surprises, reaching back to Tame Impala’s beginnings amid all this forward motion. In a show operating at such enormous scale, hearing it feels like a particular reward for those who have been following along from the start.

“Elephant”, meanwhile, still hits with the force it had when it first dropped. Familiarity has done little to soften it. “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” brings another mass singalong, a reminder of how casually Parker can reach for a song that means something to an entire room.

The production deserves almost equal billing. Lasers carve through the arena with an intensity that occasionally makes it difficult to decide where to look. It’s spectacular, but what stays with you is the thought behind the delivery: the attention paid to how these songs reach people across a room this size.

Parker’s move to a second stage at the back extends that attention to the crowd furthest away. First, though, there’s a piss break. A wonderfully ordinary interruption in a show capable of making its central figure seem almost otherworldly.

There’s something deeply satisfying about seeing an Australian artist command this kind of spectacle with such assurance. Pride comes easily tonight.

Two hours of bangers, deep cuts and heavy grooves make a strong case for Tame Impala as one of the premier live acts around. Parker has built a catalogue broad enough to surprise people and a show ambitious enough to do it justice. At Rod Laver Arena, he sounds entirely comfortable with the scale of what he’s created.

Tame Impala - Australian Tour 2026
With special guest Ninajirachi

Fri 9 Oct 2026 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre – Brisbane, QLD
Sat 10 Oct 2026 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre – Brisbane, QLD
Sun 11 Oct 2026 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre – Brisbane, QLD
Wed 14 Oct 2026 – Rod Laver Arena – Melbourne, VIC
Thu 15 Oct 2026 – Rod Laver Arena – Melbourne, VIC
Fri 16 Oct 2026 – Rod Laver Arena – Melbourne, VIC
Sat 17 Oct 2026 – Rod Laver Arena – Melbourne, VIC
Mon 19 Oct 2026 – Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, NSW
Tue 20 Oct 2026 – Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, NSW
Wed 21 Oct 2026 – Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, NSW
Sat 24 Oct 2026 – RAC Arena – Perth, WA
Sun 25 Oct 2026 – RAC Arena – Perth, WA

Tickets on sale now

Tame Impala Turn Rod Laver Arena Into a Dance Floor on Deadbeat Tour