Live Report: Thundercat, All Together Now 2018

"Aw, fuck it," said frequent Kendrick Lamar/Flying Lotus collaborator and acid jazz musician Thundercat before launching into his All Together Now set. One could hardly blame him for being fed up. Due to technical difficulties, his start was pushed back 15 minutes and when he finally appeared on stage the mikes didn't work.

The minute they started functioning properly, he and drummer Justin Brown blasted into their set. It wasn't long before they were taking the Something Kind Of Wonderful crowd down a rabbit hole, delivering insane licks on his electric guitar hooked up to his decks. His sound recalls the Mario Kart soundtrack but on psychedelics, a comparison given credence by the musician later name checking Nintendo Switch before launching into the hilarious track 'Friend Zone', featuring the lyrics: "I'd rather play Mortal Kombat anyway, hey / I'm all about my Johnny Cage / If you're not bringing tacos I suggest you start to walk away / Bitch don't kill my vibe"

At first Thundercat aka Stephen Lee Bruner seemed slightly anxious performing due to stage problems - telling the audience jokingly: "I'm going to need a drink after this." However, by the time he delivers what must have been ten to twelve minute renditions of tracks 'Tron Song' and 'Lone Wolf and Cub' midway through, he's in his element. Both songs culminate in a frenzy of crazed guitar plucking and eclectic jazz drumming from Brown, with Thundercat grinning and nodding his head up in down in joy like he's thinking this is what I was born to do.

"Insane. Absolutely insane," a woman next to me said. She was right. It's incredible how thrilling the set was even with the odd audio distortion and stage techie running around. It is a testament to Thundercat's immense talent.

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