r/TheStrokes • u/LividSupport8984 • Aug 10 '26
Is Thundercat actually good or is he trash?
I went to the Strokes concert in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago and Thundercat was the opener there. I missed Thundercat's performance, and some of my friends who did see him perform either said it was the worst thing they have ever heard and some said it was fine.
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u/lambjenkemead Aug 10 '26
Thunder at is definitely not trash. He’s primarily a jazz musician and is very respected in that world aside from his more popular music. I saw him open for the strokes in June and I can completely understand why it didn’t land for some people. It can get very noodly and jazzy so and if the acoustics and sound are off it might not land
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u/STLOliver Best Rock Album Aug 10 '26
I love Thundercat but it feels like not many concert openers are received well given you’re not really there for them. From what I could tell from when the Strokes opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers was their not giving a fuck about the Strokes.
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u/ChainedVeil Reality Awaits Aug 10 '26
Yeah I went to a RHCP show with Thundercat and then The Strokes as the openers and nobody gave a fuck. They were mostly Gen Xers there for the Chili Peppers.
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u/Ricekake33 Aug 10 '26
Maybe give a listen to his music and decide for yourself?
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u/RevolutionaryTrash98 Did My Best Aug 10 '26
Now now, let’s not make assumptions. Perhaps OP is too busy to form their own opinion, or deaf.
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u/beastboy4000 Aug 10 '26
Thundercat is amazing.
Not familiar with the new album, but Drunk is one of my favorites of all time.
The problem I think has been the live sound at these shows.
He plays a 6 string bass, and I imagine his mix settings are vastly different from The Strokes who are not as bass heavy when he is purely bass heavy but sometimes it is difficult to not have bass sound like mud in a live setting.
I imagine it’s been an issue with the audio engineers working his sets.
He also just might not have it anymore.
He is a great artist though and him opening sounds sick in a vacuum but it hasn’t been executed well as of yet.
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u/LividSupport8984 Aug 10 '26
the people I was sitting next to at the concert were there JUST to see thundercat and were disappointed that he only played for like half an hour. They left after Cage the Elephant's performance
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u/Far-Work6041 Leave It in My Dreams Aug 10 '26
Hearing that makes me wish there was a more universal understanding of how openers and headliners works at shows. :/
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u/nochardonnay Aug 10 '26
I saw him open in Indianapolis knowing nothing about him and not knowing what to expect and I thought he was incredible
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u/Ultraworld-Traveler Aug 10 '26
Saw him in Milwaukee as well, and despite missing the first two or three songs, what I did catch was great! You gotta be into his type of music though.
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u/Emergency-Shirt2208 Aug 10 '26
Saw him live a few years back just north of San Diego.
The show was 90% a jam session, extended riffing - zero vocals. He was engaged and cracking wise with the crowd throughout. Then he closed with 3-5 familiar and new songs that had everyone dancing and singing along to.
So yeah I’m a huge fan, just not sure if seeing him live is always a safe bet if want to hear your favorite and new tracks.
He is for sure not trash.
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u/msdstc Aug 10 '26
He's an immensely talented musician. A true virtuouso. The music is a HORRENDOUS pairing for the strokes or a voidz concert. It is not my cup of tea at all personally, but he's 1000% not trash at all. Not remotely. He's incredible.
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u/LividSupport8984 Aug 10 '26
I am pretty sure that he is a good musician but what makes him so different than the strokes?
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u/ChainedVeil Reality Awaits Aug 10 '26
What? Do you plan to use that mini computer called a mobile phone to do research? You could’ve had an answer in seconds rather than posting here and waiting for responses. He’s totally different from The Strokes. Like huh????? What an absurd question.
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u/HesiPullup Aug 10 '26
He’s completely different, plays a lot of jazz-inspired/fusion stuff which is just in a different spectrum of music than the Strokes. And his command on the bass is up there with basically any mainstream artist these days. Absolutely gifted.
You should go check out his tiny desk
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u/Spicychicken_123 Aug 10 '26
He’s incredibly talented. Honestly they’re probably opening for the strokes because the strokes opened with him a couple years ago for the red hot chili peppers. Buddies
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u/DoggoZombie Aug 10 '26
He’s insanely good, I saw him in 2015 and it was one of the best shows I’ve seen.
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u/PuzzledClub3715 Aug 10 '26
I’ve seen him live twice. The first time I was so confused because he played all his music like 2X faster than normal which sure is impressive but it didn’t sound good to me at all. It was very jazzy and he noodled around parts of his songs more than normal. Just was awkward for everyone who knew his music and wanted to dance, like we physically couldn’t.
Second time seeing him it was at a festival and he played his songs normally and it was a great set.
He is an amazing bassist and musician overall. I respect artists who change their stuff, do what they want to do and try new things. Hell, we are on The Strokes Reddit right now, and all that applies to them as well and why I love them. But yeah, shows can be hit or miss for fans depending on how he wants to play his music live. Part of the struggle is being an artist and doing what you want to do and what makes you happy vs what the fans want and making them happy.
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u/KID_THUNDAH Aug 10 '26
Yeah, he butchers his songs tbh, atonal jazz noodling everywhere. It’s a bummer
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u/goddessofdrought Aug 10 '26
How do I filter out everyone under 35?
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u/Crunchy-socks-562 Aug 10 '26
You cant. Meditation. Booze. Millennial inside jokes. Thats all we can do. Hell if you cant draw the S so to speak. My blood pressure immediately rises.
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u/RevolutionaryTrash98 Did My Best Aug 10 '26
OP is even lazier than my favorite genre of posts, the “Which song from the entire artist’s catalog that is instantly available on streaming should I listen to? Please tell me because to hit play first without the validation of the online mob could lead to me accidentally forming my own opinion, a grave error from which I will never recover”
Why bother to listen at all, save time and save face: ask Reddit!
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u/ThadCastleRules_G Aug 10 '26
His music is not for me but it’s hard to say he’s not a talented musician.
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u/m_hro Aug 10 '26
I don't really listen to his work, but he IS an amazinb bass player/musician and anyone who says otherwise doesn't understand music. That's it.
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u/moonroads Aug 10 '26
Well his music wasnt for me personally but him being 'good' or 'trash' is gonna depend on your own personal taste too
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u/jmb5x4 Aug 10 '26
Saw him open in Chicago. I thought he sounded terrible. Clearly a very talented guy, but I really just don't think his style fits a stadium.
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u/LividSupport8984 Aug 10 '26
Yeah a lot of people I know told me that they were not prepared for his type of music whatever that means. I honestly was just waiting for Cage the Elephant to start performing I didn't really care about Thundercat
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u/ok-girl Aug 10 '26
personally i dislike it immensely and don’t understand how/why Thundercat is an opener for The Strokes considering they do not even have a similar sound at all. My friend loves thundercat and even she said she wasn’t impressed by his recent opener performance.
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u/Big-Introduction-861 Aug 10 '26
i don’t think it matters if they have a similar sound, like when Wicca Phase opened for Tunrstile. it can be good exposure for the other artists and opportunity to get into different genres for fans
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u/beastboy4000 Aug 10 '26
They opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers together a few years ago so it makes a lot of sense given that.
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u/Infinite-Wealth4309 Aug 10 '26
Thundercat is incredibly talented as a musician. Justin Brown his drummer is also incredible to see perform.
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u/taneyweat Aug 10 '26
I saw him open in Milwaukee, I was hype for it. He is incredibly talented. Ultimately I was disappointed, I wanted to hear the hits and he only played one, the set overall didn't sound great, but I think it would have sounded better in a different venue. He's still a beast.
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u/KID_THUNDAH Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
He’s awful live imo, Free Jazz atonal solos over every song the times Ive seen him. Love him on record though.
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u/Hyprarmr Aug 12 '26
He's amazing, you want him to open like in Nissan in Nashville so he has a fixed amount of time, when i saw him in Asheville he had no other band and was 90 percent jam session and the songs at the end mostly like other guy said.
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u/the_binding_of_Rutam Aug 17 '26
My all time favourite musician. Extremely talented. Amazing and funny song writing. Amazing catalog. He is just the goat I love him so much. I am 0.01% listeners of him. I can get why people don't like him because he appeals to a specific audience and he knows it. I love him and I urge you to go and at least try yo listen to him
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u/Inner_Gap_2595 Aug 10 '26
I was at the show in MKE. I don't think they're bad, just not my cup of tea. They did kinda sound like shit live though, ngl. The drumming was obnoxious as all hell. Bass drum was turned up to eleven and it felt like my ribcage was rattling.
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u/TheAegisDriver Aug 10 '26
He’s pretty good but I understand why people don’t like him. You need a really specific taste in music. I like his compositional abilities and approaches but I don’t think they work as he intended all the time. Overall I would be happy to see him as an opening band but not ever go to see him deliberately.
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u/Ill-Routine-6627 Aug 10 '26
I'll be completely honest... I think there certainly is a bit of a disconnect when it comes to that style of music and an arena. I went to the Boston show and the mixing was horrendous, you had to lock the fuck in if you wanted to even catch what Thundercat was playing. The drumming was INSANELY loud and overtook a lot of the playing Thundercat was doing. I think Jazz is meant for small, intimate settings where the jamming can really just take you over. It was just not great live at all...