My Flying Lotus Experience (feat. Hiatus Kaiyote and The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
“Let me geek out for a bit. I think [playing alongside an orchestra] is a dream for so many musicians, not just myself,” said Flying Lotus.
Flying Lotus was onstage, about five songs into his setlist. After performing, dozens of black coats assembled in a mannerly fashion into the seats behind the musician.
The event was at the Hollywood Bowl, a fantastic venue celebrating a century-old anniversary of arts and music. That night, this KCRW-sponsored event presented Flying Lotus and Australian funk band Hiatus Kaiyote, both of whom were accompanied by Principal Conductor Thomas Wilkins and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
One very unique aspect of attending the Hollywood Bowl is its food and drink policy—attendees can bring their own refreshments into the venue while concessions are sold throughout the amphitheater, we saw people bring in Tupperware, coolers, and stacked pizza boxes. This was also a LA Philharmonic event, meaning that bottles of wine are also allowed inside the venue. It’s a small detail that really enhanced our viewing experience.
The night played out like a movie. Not just in a general sense, but it had three discernable acts that upped in quality and excitement.
As we made our way to our seats, the massive concert screens tower over us. The Hollywood Bowl 100 campaign hit the audience with historical facts and snapshots of who performed in the last century. KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” hosts Anthony Valadez and Novena Carmel emceed the event, welcoming the crowd before Valadez started DJing the opening set. He played a mix of Latin, hip-hop, and jazz instrumentals to warm up the amphitheater.
After a brief introduction from the hosts, Hiatus Kaiyote entered the stage. The four-piece band all had very distinct apparel, with singer Nai Palm most notably wearing a large, pink dress resembling a koi fish. The lights dimmed, turning a deep red as they open with “Red Room.” Later, she introduced legendary instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson equipped with a violin. The funk reverberated through the arena.
Nai Palm’s voice echoed powerfully and politely as if she were a tenured kindergarten teacher welcoming students on their first day of school. Her vocal runs never stagnated, turning into croons and beatboxes before it crescendoes…and suddenly disappeared. The rest of Hiatus Kaiyote and Atwood-Ferguson remained locked in, never missing a beat.
Halfway through their performance, Nai Palm addressed the crowd. She eagerly announced that the Hollywood Bowl orchestra will be joining the band on stage. As the lights gradually turned to cooler hues, both ensembles played in tandem to close out their set with downtempo songs.
There was a brief intermission before Flying Lotus entered the stage. With the mic in his hand, he asked how the crowd is doing before starting. In previous performances, he is usually silent with his head down. One of our friends said, “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard him talk.”
The lights dimmed once again, this time with a purple hue. He played songs off of Yasuke, the anime he executive produced for Netflix centered around a black samurai in feudal Japan. The soundtrack reflects those influences, emitting sounds of nature and traditional instrumentation. The lights shifted to aqua blue and with his flower-adorned DJ stand, the scene played out like something out of Shakespeare’s A Midnight Summer’s Dream.
Before the orchestra marched out, FlyLo had a drummer, percussionist, bass guitarist, and keyboardist. Atwood-Ferguson returned for violin double duty. Similar to Nai Palm, FlyLo shared his excitement to play with the orchestra. As they entered from both sides of the stage, FlyLo played music from Cosmogramma, his third album. The orchestra showcased its versatility to elevate higher-energy songs as the lights transform to warmer tones.
For those unfamiliar with Flying Lotus shows, it’s not a hip-hop DJ show. He doesn’t tend to play a lot of the hits–no “Never Catch Me,” “More,” or even “Land Of Honey.” His performance of “Crust” gathered the most applause.
At one point, one patron behind us said, “goddamn, where are the rappers at?” Albeit hilarious, most are aware of his show’s understated tendencies regarding his setlist— he only played two or three songs that feature a vocalist.
Flying Lotus is one of those “your favorite producer’s favorite producer” type artists. Throughout his time, we noticed his insanely calculated production pairs to the strength of an orchestral arrangement.
His setlist ended in a similar fashion that it started. He let the crowd know he was grateful for their time and the opportunity to play alongside Wilkins. There were no fireworks, no encore, and no insane light show to cap off the night. Interestingly enough, there were no disappointments on our end.
Flying Lotus only has two more shows to close out his tour, both of which are in Brooklyn. While Flying Lotus doesn’t have these unique shows lined up for the rest of his tour, he is not a musical act readers will want to miss.
