All the bearded, pierced, tattooed, beanie wearing people of Sydney made their way to the Oxford Art Factory to celebrate the Queen’s birthday long weekend with modern jazz extraordinaire Thundercat.
The bass guitar feast kicked off with Kirkis, the lanky Melbourne muso welcoming the crowd that slowly poured in with a wall of shimmering avant-garde noise. Kirkis and his three backing musicians, on drums and keys respectively, put their serious musical chops on display during their mostly instrumental set. The jams twisted, turned, writhed and kept the crowd on their toes the entire time, showing the crowd they were capable of groove-laden breakdowns and dizzying solos.
His half hour set came to an end-welcoming fellow Melbourne group Haitus Kaiyote. The future-soul band was well received by the capacity crowd feeding off the band’s energy and frontwoman Nai Palm’s soulful vocals. Haitus’ sound fitted comfortable in the bill between the dissonant, experimental sounds of Kirkis and the ever-smooth, alternative RnB of Thundercat. The band challenged conventions with their jazz-tinged tunes and had a great time doing it.
The room was well and truly full, and buzzing when Thundercat came on stage at around 10:30. His three-piece set-up was the most modest of the night, however it was all he needed to please the bustling punters.
The man born Stephen Bruner brought a dynamic set to the Oxford Art Factory showcasing the breadth of his discography, featuring energetic, rhythmic numbers, delicate ballads and spacey jams.
Bruner’s fingers hardly rested for a moment, walking all over the fretboard of his six-string bass, making use of different effects such as a cry-baby wah to add another texture to the songs. The singer’s voice is smooth with a sweet falsetto that fits his style of music very well.
It’s worth mentioning Bruner’s musical pedigree for someone to understand what to expect at a Thundercat concert. He is the son of legendary drummer Ronald Bruner Sr. who played for The Temptations, Diana Ross, and Gladys Knight among others, and his brother is also a Grammy Award winning jazz drummer. He received his first bass off a friend of his father’s, Michael Henderson, who was the longtime bass player of Miles Davis. After developing prodigious talent on the instrument, he played for a wide variety of acts including hardcore band Suicidal Tendencies and Erykah Badu. He also spent some time as the touring bassist of Snoop Lion (née Dogg.
Thundercat finished his hour long set with recent singles ‘Heartbreaks + Setbacks’ and “Oh Sheit It’s X”. The former is a mid-tempo song with a strong groove and strained, heartfelt lyrics about a love that just doesn’t quite work. The attendees bounced a long to the jam and it’s yearning beauty.
“Oh Sheit it’s X” described as being about “One of those nights we’ve all had” was one of the standouts of the night. The song features his trademark bass playing and an infectious call and response chorus; unabashedly claiming, “I just wanna party/you should be here with me/in this ecstasy ”, hitting both dance floors and hearts.
The encore consisted of two smoother numbers to see off punters; however “Oh Sheit it’s X” is the probably the tune that encapsulates Thundercat better than any other. An undeniable groove, tremendous bass playing and lyrics aimed directly at the heart, Thundercat is a virtuoso musician who doesn’t forsake feeling or accessibility.
