There’s no better measure of how the music industry feels about Thundercat—and how Thundercat feels about his hometown—than the show he put on at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday.
He drew Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, out of his retirement from live performance for a pair of songs, including “Black Qualls” with fellow superstar guest Steve Lacy.
He closed the show with support from Kevin Parker. The Tame Impala frontman looked to be moving and grooving just fine, six months removed from hip surgery, as he sang with Thundercat on “No More Lies” and took up his guitar for a take on his own “Apocalypse Dreams”.
Along the way, Thundercat brought out his friend and collaborator Taylor Graves for tributes to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto and Austin Peralta, invited opener Pedro Martins to play on “It Is What It Is” (as well as one of Pedro’s own tracks), and shocked the audience by welcoming his old band mates from Suicidal Tendencies to the stage for a thrash-tastic interlude. Those stunning cameos took an already stellar display of bass-playing brilliance and turned it into a musical moment for the ages.
Granted, there was no live appearance from Flying Lotus, though Thundercat did play “Black Gold” which the two friends collaborated on for Flying Lotus’ 2021 album Yasuke. More conspicuously absent from the legendary lineup were Kendrick Lamar and Kamasi Washington, though certainly no complaints were filed at their expense.
One guest made this show feel more like a family affair for the locals than any other: Ronald Bruner Jr. Thundercat invited his own brother onstage to celebrate the latter’s birthday, and ultimately had him stick around to play drums on “Them Changes”.
Of course, the show was much more than a parade of Stephen Bruner’s coolest and most talented friends. The songs for which Thundercat and his band were the sole performers—including “Interstellar Love”, “Overseas”, “Dragonball Durag”, “Existential Dread”, and “Captain Stupido”—served as sturdy canvases for the spectacular artistry of Stephen’s trio.
All told, it was a remarkable homecoming for the 38-year-old son of South L.A. Fans who catch him on the remainder of his In Yo Girl’s City Tour—be it in the U.S. this fall or someplace in Europe and the U.K. next spring—will surely enjoy the show, but would be hard pressed to encounter anything quite as memorable as the all-star slate that Thundercat headlined at the Greek.
Check out highlights from the star-studded evening via images by Josh Martin along with an array of fan-shot videos.
Thundercat w/ Pedro Martins – “It Is What It Is” – 10/5/23
[Video: Dy-N0-Mite Dragon]
Thundercat w/ Childish Gambino – “II. Shadows” – 10/5/23
[Video: ChilliCrabAIt]
Thundercat w/ Suicidal Tendencies – “Institutionalized” – 10/5/23
[Video: A SG]
Thundercat w/ Tame Impala – “No More Lies”, “Apocalypse Dreams” – 10/5/23
[Video: A SG]
The post Thundercat Hosts Walk Of Fame-Worthy Homecoming At L.A.’s Greek Theatre [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
