After a brisk walk with my friend from one end of Piedmont Avenue to the other, and stepping over the hordes of parked Veo’s (rentable e-scooters), we made it to our glorious UC Berkeley bragging right: the Hearst Greek Theatre. Not many people can say that artists such as Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, and Mitski have performed just down your street. With these legendary legacies left at the Greek, Kaytranada didn’t falter in their footsteps and he electrified the Berkeley crowd during his two-show residency over Halloweekend— engulfing the outdoor theater with a shroud of fog, lights, and spook. Kaytranada concluded the tour for his latest album Timeless–a dreamy pop-R&B record featuring over a dozen vocalists including Anderson Paak, Childish Gambino, and Tinashe– at what I’d argue is the best venue ever (though I may be biased). His sold-out Halloween show spurred the addition of a second date for the following night, along with an encore DJ set in San Francisco immediately following his second concert. Despite the lack of trick-or-treaters, the November 1st show was just as eventful of an experience, featuring an extra surprise guest: rain! Switching from costumes to ponchos, the second sold-out crowd did not dwindle in their exuberance, and I was lucky enough to be both in costume and rained on.
Just as my friend and I found a dry-ish patch on the lawn, the opener, Channel Tres, sauntered onto stage and established a groovy atmosphere that had everyone on their feet dancing before we even got the chance to sit down. Having released his new album Head Rush over the summer, Channel Tres started with his title track, an echo-filled soundscape that hyped up the cold and drenched crowd. His songs have less of a house music influence than Kaytranada’s, yet their discography parallels one another with a similar 808-beat-led sound, and Channel Tres’ accompanying dancers solidified the rhythmic bliss of his work.
My favorite moment of his set was hearing his collaboration with Jungle: “I’ve Been in Love.” The song captures the essence of the 70s mixed with good-hearted soul, while Channel Tres’ dancers seamlessly infused the rain into their performance—like it was supposed to be there all along. I commend Channel Tres and his diverse soundscapes, and it feels like he never confined himself to one genre, but instead experimented (and succeeded) with many so you can never expect what he will do next.
The intermission between Channel Tres and Kaytranada seemed like an eternity—likely due to my measure of time being how fast I was losing body heat. Luckily, before I entered “getting sick territory” a smoky haze arose on stage, and from behind his DJ set, Kaytranada unleashed fire track after fire track. I have never been to a rave or DJ set, so this was a very new, but mesmerizing experience. He overlaid and actively mixed tracks from his own discography, while also remixing bops from Rihanna, Justice, and Tame Impala. Before I realized they were covers, I was experiencing a type of déjà vu I’d never felt as I kept thinking “I feel like I know this song, but I also feel like I’m listening to it for the first time.” Interspersing his hits like “Snap My Finger (ft. PinkPantheress)” and “4EVA,” the lights, media visuals, and the pit became the focal performers—yet still just puppets controlled by Kaytranada and his DJ setup.
I want to recognize the crowd as an entertainer in its own right. As I viewed from the lawn the hivemind essence of the pit—echoing the beat drop by moshing together to create a pulsing spectacle along with the lights and the brave souls who climbed upon the shoulders of their soaking wet friends to sway above their heads. What made the show stand out to me was less of the songs being played, but more the reaction and relationship between the artist, the song, and the crowd. While my skull makeup painted all over my face began dripping off, I couldn’t help but still feel the human connection between all of the thousands of soaking wet people inside the amphitheatre. The passion and dedication it took to withstand hours of the wet and cold for the love of music elicited a sense of belonging within myself, and I felt emotional as I swayed with my friend and allowed the music to take us away.
Towards the end of the night, Channel Tres joined Kaytranada back on stage to perform their song “Drip Sweat” and together, in front of the massive screen full of intergalactic & trippy visuals, embraced the techno plus tambourine of their collaboration. Before leaving Berkeley and heading across the bridge to their SF encore set, Kaytranada dazzled us one last time with his syncopation by playing his remix of “CUFF IT” by Beyoncé while he chugged wine and proceeded to dance off stage. Overall, the musicality and organization of the night were on point, and even the torrential downpour couldn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd. Safe to say that I ascended that night.
Review by Molly Ho
