Tame Impala/Stardeath and White Dwarves/Kuroma at The Jackpot, Lawrence, KS - November 29, 2010

Tour Poster from www.tameimpala.com

What looked to be a promising evening of psychedelic, phasey grooves at Mass Street's Jackpot Music Hall turned awry quickly, as unknown technical issues led to considerable portions of the mix not making it through the monitors and to the crowd. After opener Koromo played through their set of noticeably bratty, sincere, and neo-90's-influenced music, the crowd was noticeably upbeat, pleasantly surprised and eager for more from the later groups. The obligatory tear-down/set-up break time came and went, but Star White (as one plaid-clad fellow referred to the second group on for the night) didn't appear too close to being ready to play.

Star Death and White Dwarves carry the dignified merit of recording and later performing with indie rock standouts The Flaming Lips on their 2009? remake of iconic Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. The album met mixed, generally positive reviews, but the live performances seem to have spoke the loudest, kindling a new energy in an LP of eternal quality.

So anyhow, one of those Aussies from Tame Impala  - grabs a microphone and announces to the crowd that they would be refunding everyone who paid ca$h (a pox upon your family, Ticketmaster!), and after a brief sojourn in the biting Kansas winter winds, the crowd gained freentry to the Jackpot. After another brief setup period, a group of musicians assembled from Tame Impala and Stardeath and White Dwarves made their way into what I would go so far as to call a righteous jam. The band went through a rotating lineup that included notable Lawrence resident (and Topeka, KS native) Kliph Scurlock, drummer for psychedelic jam legends The Flaming Lips. The band played on for perhaps 25 to 30 minutes of freeform music for their free show, again providing pleasant surprise to those who waited outside for the performance.

Despite major technical difficulties, the night turned out to be a success thanks largely to all of the bands, The Jackpot, and the crowd working together. Not bad for a Monday, right? 


Videos to come.