thundercat-music-hall-williamsburg

Thundercat was funky (but cool) at Music Hall of Williamsburg

by Andrew Marinaccio

Thundercat @ MHOW – 11/25/13 (via Austin Stillwell)
Thundercat

Stephen Bruner, more famously known by his superbassist alter-ego Thundercat (or as a onetime member of Suicidal Tendencies), keeps down to earth even when his music’s whizzing past the stratosphere. Like his space-bound cohort Flying Lotus, Bruner’s astral funk recalls the cosmic freedom of Sun Ra and the proggy busywork of any given tune from Sonic the Hedgehog, the latter’s DNA equally ingrained in his music and lyrics. Bruner will be the first to admit as much. Walking on stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg Monday night (11/25) in a wide-brimmed suede hat, tasseled red scarf, and necklace adorned with three large discs emblazoned with the Thundercats cartoon logo, he looked like himself: nerdy hobbyist and spiritual guru. He proceeded to reveal both those sides of himself with unrelenting passion and fretwork.

From his airy rendition of George Duke’s “For Love I Come” to the glitched-out funk shuffle of “Daylight,” Bruner and his band (including drummer Ronald Bruner Jr., also a former Suicidal Tendencies member, who matched his brother’s virtuosity at every turn) bounced between worlds and off his infinitely elastic basslines, morphing album cuts into mile-a-minute jams that changed before one could pin them as mere noodling. While “Heartbreaks + Setbacks” and the retro-futuristic cool of “Tron Song” erupted into soulful arpeggiated infernos, songs like “Evangelion” and FlyLo collaboration “DMT Song” kept the set cool and meditative. Amid all the burbling bass runs and freewheeling synthetic jazz, there were plenty of slower hooks for the audience to sing along with, proving Bruner has found plenty of fellow stargazers to groove with him through his solo career.

Even with the death of Austin Peralta marking Thundercat’s latest work – Bruner made shout-outs to his departed bandmate and friend in the quieter spaces of his set – his music and presence remain committedly light-hearted and magnanimous. His spirit was undeniable on closer “Oh Shit It’s X,” the impossibly bass-laden disco blazer where Bruner, in his glowing falsetto, recounts the dance floor antics of a high clubber. Naturally, the crowd honored his request to sing the song’s central realization: “Oh shit. I’m fucked up.”

While Thundercat was in NYC he also recorded a WNYC Soundcheck Session. His tour wrapped up in DC the next day, but he’s got a couple one-offs left before the year ends, which are listed, along with a stream of that session, below…

Thundercat on WNYC

Thundercat — 2013 Tour Dates
12/5 Echoplex Los Angeles, CA
12/27 Fillmore Silver Spring, MD supporting Common