Despite his size and trademark ninja vest, strapped loosely over a lumberjack flannel, Thundercat cuts an unassuming figure. Backed by acclaimed jazz drummer Justin Brown and keyboardist Dennis Hamm, the cat otherwise known as Stephen Bruner donned his six-string bass and launched into Hard Times. Along with contemporaries Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington and Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat is at the forefront of a movement pushing contemporary jazz, and by default funk and hip hop, in a new direction. In a live setting, the ideas he presents on record were reduced to their base elements, with the trio using the song structures as templates within which to construct solos and to jam.
Dipping through selections from last year’s The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam and 2013’s Apocalypse, pauses were brief or non-existent. The few times Bruner did attempt to speak, he seemed awkwardly short of banter. The inclusion of Complexion, one of many songs with Thundercat’s fingerprints all over it from Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, was an unexpected pleasure. After using a wah pedal to imitate the rhythm of the rapped vocals, the bassist took the time to praise his friend as a genius, along with taking a sly dig at Kanye, “TLOP, what’s that? Don’t even.”
Thundercat’s playing was nothing short of mesmerising. His fingers moved across the fretboard like droplets of rain, while holding down a solid groove. It was a seemingly effortless performance from the 31-year-old bassist, his precision never wavering.
Lotus and the Jondy from Apocalypse became a soloing showcase for Brown, and proved to be one of the highlights of the night. The drummer attacked the kit in a manic display of timing and passion, moving in and around the beat as his bandmates remained locked into a groove, revealing why he’s one of the world’s most in demand jazz drummers.
Them Changes, one of Thundercat’s best songs, was also a set highlight, while party anthem Oh Sheit It’s X revealed itself to be little more than a very catchy chorus, not that it really mattered. Returning for an initially solo encore of Without You was a nice variation, before the band joined in and took the evening home. It was a masterclass from one of the innovators of funky stuff.
LOVED: The gig.
HATED: The girl in front of me constantly twitching with impatience and checking her phone.
DRANK: Nothing.
BY BIGG ALEX WATTS
