Yesterday fans complained that Tame Impala‘s debut performance on the Sydney Opera House forecourt was marred by quiet sound levels and although the Opera House said they would endeavour to turn it up for the second show, some people still found last night’s show too soft.
While some punters were fine with the sound level during the performance, others tweeted at the Opera House saying, “TURN IT UP.” Another user wrote, “If I stayed home, my kettle boiling to make a cuppa wouldve been louder,” echoing the sentiments of Aussie band Sticky Fingers who said criticised the first performance saying that spooning their grandmothers graves on the other side of the world while jerking off and cuddling their teddy bears would’ve been louder. What a visual.
The Opera House released a statement yesterday after the initial complaints saying, “We will be undertaking thorough testing of sound levels around all areas of the venue during tonight’s sound check and for all future Forecourt performances.”
Yesterday triple j‘s Hack spoke to Chet Faker’s sound engineer Karl Cash. Faker performed two shows on the forecourt over the weekend and while his sound levels didn’t draw the same controversy as Tame Impala, Cash admitted there were still issues.
He said the Opera House capped peak sound levels instead of capping the five minute average like other venues.
“It’s kind of like your mum is in the next room you’re trying to watch TV at a good level and she’s like it’s too loud you’ve got to turn it down,” he said.
“At some point it was like this is not our show – this is not representative of our product.”
He added that playing shows in outdoor metropolitan areas was becoming “really difficult” which may mean there is a push to get bands back into smaller indoor venues.
“It’s going to be really difficult to make it feel good in metro areas,” he said.
Florence + The Machine will play four shows at the forecourt starting Friday. She’s the last act scheduled to play outside the Opera House this year and no doubt punters will be critical from the very beginning about sound levels given the issues with Tame Impala.
#tameimpala.@SydOperaHouse TURN IT UP. This would sound better in my lounge room.
— Michael Richardson (@richardson_m_a) November 11, 2015
As the guy behind me at the @tameimpala concert so eloquently pointed out, it sounds like an iPod dock. Terrible acoustics @SydOperaHouse
— Atomu (@AdBarry) November 11, 2015
@tameimpala sound sounds grand tonight boys! pic.twitter.com/TIO2O0K6Dr
— Sonny Joe Flanagan (@sonnyjoeflangan) November 11, 2015
@SydOperaHouse @tameimpala worst sound at this gig. Such a shame.
— DeepFriedChips ? (@deepfriedchips) November 11, 2015
https://twitter.com/DanielleMcGrane/status/664395495150784512
.@SydOperaHouse thanks for ruining @tameimpala's epic set. If I stayed home, my kettle boiling to make a cuppa wouldve been louder #SOHmusic
— Ⓥ ? (@phillio1802) November 11, 2015
@SydOperaHouse @tameimpala Such a shame the show was so quiet. Waste of time and money.
— Michael Richardson (@richardson_m_a) November 11, 2015
Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney 10/11/15
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
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Tame Impala - Sydney Opera House Forecourt