Back Beat Seattle | Show Review & Photos: Thundercat @ the Paramount, 12/4

Thundercat @ the Paramount Theater – 12/4
Show Review & Photos by John Rudolph

Thundercat – photo by John Rudolph

Thundercat’s fans loved this show at the Paramount. One fan joked with another fan, “if Thundercat were an anime character, he would have wielded a bass and killed us all.” The sentiment with most fans was that he slew the audience with his fierce bass riffs.

I expected to see a dazzling performance, and I wasn’t disappointed. My dear friend, Tammy, said Thundercat has a modern-day Parliament vibe, and yes, he does. Parliament is known for their far out “Funkadelic” stage presence and knows how to wow the crowd. Thundercat was different from Parliament in his way, wearing a Gucci adornment in his hair. His stage lighting had a very Parliament/Funkadelic vibe to them.

Stephen Bruner (that’s Thundercat!), played a six-string bass, and the backup guys played a masterful set of jazz fusion, funk, with a heavy dose of R&B. I loved that sense of the drummer, the keyboardist, and the singer all playing slightly offbeat in a cool jazz kind of way.

I like when entertainers share some personal anecdotes about their lives. Bruner shared how his mom named him after Bruce Lee (full name: Stephen Bruce Bruner). He even wore an outfit styled after Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.

The crowd danced the entire night, hopping and groovin’ to melodic beats that pounded the chest with heavy bass. They couldn’t get enough.

Later, Bruner laid down a bass solo as I’ve rarely heard, except maybe from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea. The crowd began clapping in unison during the intense solo and stomping their feet. The volume was deafening and the floor vibrated with every strum of the bass. Bruner put on a fantastic show worthy of the moniker “virtuoso.” I didn’t know much about Thundercat before the show. Now, I am looking for more music from the master.