BASSIST PLAYED POWERFUL HOMECOMING SHOW TO SOLD-OUT GREEK THEATER

Thundercat needs no introduction being one of the most prolific artists of our generation with his influence spanning across multiple genres of music. From co-producing some of the biggest songs with Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar to having significant ties with the new Jazz scene in LA, his range is close to no other. It has been three years since a studio album release (It is What It Is) from Thundercat, but his songs remain just as relevant as ever. Thundercat and Tame Impala (No More Lies) recently released a joint track, hopefully signaling towards a new era of releases from. 

The show’s lineup featured two openers. To start the night off, a DJ under the name Kitty Cash, played lots of dub remixes and UK Jungle tunes to get everybody moving. She also played some unreleased music that featured Thundercat. After her set, we were greeted by Pedro Martins, a Brazilian Multi-Instrumentalist, who is credited up and down Thundercat's last album. The set was performed as a three-piece, featuring Pedro on guitar, Daryl on bass, and Justin Brown on drums. The moment the act stepped on stage, it was obvious we were in for something crazy; the bassist (Daryl Johns) came out barefoot. Perfectly on-brand with Thundercat, the band tackled complex grooves and obscure scale changes to a very impressive degree. Pedro’s guitar playing was a standout as it felt emotional with the way that he played; it was almost as if he was talking to the audience.

Before Thundercat came on, fellow fans made their guesses about who Thundercat might bring on stage. The lights then went down a Mac Miller song played as Thundercat walked out from under a giant inflatable cat. Instead of going straight into a song, he greeted the audience with a warm welcome and expressed how happy he was to be there. After the dust had settled, it was straight off into the races as the band opened up with “Great Scott,” the intro track on the album It Is What It Is.

Shortly into the set, he brought Pedro Martin back out to play the closing track on the album, citing it as one of his favorite music-making experiences ever. The chemistry between Thundercat and Martin was quite infectious as they moved from the closing track to covering one of Martin’s own songs.

Thundercat also delved an older track, “Without You,” from the 2013 album Apocalypse, which showcased his live vocal prowess and how tight the band was.

With barely a lull between songs, Thundercat went into “Black Qualls,” where to everyone's surprise, Steve Lacy came out to sing his verse. At this point, it turned into mayhem in the crowd.

As if it couldn’t get better, Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, came out to finish the song alongside Lacy. Fans were running down from the stands to get as close as they could to the stage. As the song finished Lacy left the stage, but Gambino stayed. Thundercat started playing the lead bass line to “II. Shadows” from Gambino’s legendary album Because the Internet, which Thundercat has writing credits on. Gambino doesn’t tour often, and hasn’t played the song since 2015. Everyone in the crowd felt how special of a moment it was to witness it. Glover thanked Thundercat for writing an incredible song with him and recognized how far they have come over the years.

Thundercat also brought out his long-time friend Taylor Graves to play “A Message for Austin/Praise the Lord/Enter the Void.” The song is a tribute to the late Austin Peralta, a close collaborator with them both. The pair continued with “Thousand Knives,” a rethinking of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto composition. Thundercat cited how important the composer was to him and reminisced on when they would practice at Graves’ parent's house. The two would watch Sakamoto’s 92’ Olympics performance which played a really big part in their sound. Deeper cuts in the set were “Existential Dread,” and Flying Lotus’s “Black Gold,” which features Thundercat.

Introducing Suicidal Tendencies, Thundercat said “Now are y’all ready to turn this thing up? Like seriously everybody gets their Mouth Guards out.” Again the mayhem ensued; they came out to “You Can’t Bring Me Down” which started a mosh pit. The Greek Theater has a very small GA pit so it was quite entertaining to see them keep a mosh pit contained to that size.

As the legendary set came to a close, Thundercat brought out his brother. The crowd sang Happy Birthday to him, pressuring him to play drums, given that he is quite an incredible drummer. The duo would played the song we were all waiting for: '“Them Changes.” Everyone in the crowd was singing along.

Just as Thundercat thanked everyone for a wonderful show, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala came out of the shadows. People who thought the show was over ran back to their seats for a third round of mayhem. The duo performed “No More Lies” live for the very first time. To top off an insane night, Parker picked up the guitar and they seamlessly moved into the Tame Impala’s “Apocalypse Dreams.” If you are a Thundercat fan, you know that the song played a big part in his career.

Once the show was finally over, the crowd left in shock. As fans walked back to their cars, everyone was talking about how it was one of the best shows they’ve ever seen in their life. Check out the setlist here!