Thundercat is the alter ego of Grammy winning bass virtuoso Stephen Bruner. He has recorded with the likes of Ariana Grande, Kamasi Washington, and regularly collaborates with Flying Lotus. Quite the C.V., is what got me to show and packed house. The setup was Thundercat on 6 string bass and effects, drums, and keys/organ. Thundercat has an unsettling falsetto that often got lost in the sound. The crowd was into it and seemed to know the words to most songs. The drummer had one gear, fast and loud, which was problematic on the slower croony parts. Most songs devolved into speedy bass run workouts that got boring after a while. At one point, a young fan handed Thundercat a drawing, which he gushed over and dedicated a song to the artist. Not to be outdone, a young woman hopped on stage, hugged Thundercat for an awkwardly long time, proclaimed she was a singer and grabbed the mic. Security had all it could do to delicately shoo her off. I know I’m old, but on several occasions Thundercat asked the crowd; “Y’all know_____ (famous youtuber), or Y’all know _______ (recently deceased comedian), or Y’all like Manga? I can safely say No to all these questions, which put me in the minority in the crowd. Thundercat is definitely a talented bass player, bubbling with creativity, but the show left me longing for more Stanley Clarke and less Kendrick Lamar sideman.
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