Considering Thundercat dropped his monumental funk fusion album It is What It Is in April of 2020, the pandemic and ensuing lockdown orders did not allow for the Los Angeles bass virtuoso to get his well-deserved promotional trip around the sun. But the interest in his album has been unwavering, considering it won Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B record and his current tour has been going steadily.
Last night, he made a long-awaited appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and he played the first single off of the album, “Dragonball Durag,” with Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste on the grand piano. It felt like a future-jazz lounge remix of the track, with Batiste moving from elegant to totally nuts on the ivories and Thundercat shifting similar wavelengths on his oversized electric bass and vocals.
Thank you @colbertlateshow pic.twitter.com/8FnzadL1MG
— ashy daddy (@Thundercat) November 4, 2021
‘Cat was dressed in short Gucci tiger shorts and a sparkling Gucci blazer. He also had a Gucci pin on his red beanie covering his green dreads pulled back in a ponytail. Sensing a theme here? Look, when you’ve waited this long to come on The Late Show, by all means, wear all the Gucci you can.
Watch the performance above and check out Thundercat’s remaining tour dates below. Tickets are available here.
11/06 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/07 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/10 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
11/11 — Toronto, ON @ History
11/14 — St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theater
11/16 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/17 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
11/19 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Downstairs
11/20 — Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues Dallas
11/23 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
11/30 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
12/03 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
12/04 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
12/05 — Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Boise
It Is What It Is is out now via Brainfeeder. Get it here.
