Jungle has only two gold singles, and just one of those two charted in the U.S. But based on the reaction from the crowd during Friday’s sold-out concert at the Hollywood Bowl, you’d be forgiven for not believing the British band has an outsized resonance that stretches across the globe.
Indeed, from set opener, “Busy Earnin’,” to the encore selection “Keep Moving,” attendees sang along word for word as Josh Lloyd-Watson, Tom McFarland, Lydia Kitto and their deep-in-the-pocket bandmates delivered a dance party that felt joyful, breezy and even for those less acquainted with their discography, absolutely infectious.
Initially, the evening ran the risk of feeling overstuffed with not one but two opening acts: Sudanese-American rapper Bas and soul drummer/ vocalist Aaron Frazer. Kicking off the show before sundown, Bas established the easygoing, tropical vibe that Jungle would later ramp up into a carnivale-like spectacle, performing the Afrobeat-influenced “Spaceships + Rockets” before enlisting the crowd to thicken up the chorus to “The Jackie.” After a brief detour into old-school hip-hop — his DJ deftly shuffling through Naughty By Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray,” Onyx’ “Slam” and DMX’s “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” — he concluded with “Costa Rica” and “Down Bad,” two tracks from the 2019 compilation “Revenge of the Dreamers III.”
Following Bas in a Western-style shirt with red fringe (and perfect syncopation behind his drum kit) was Frazer, whose persistent falsetto fit comfortably next to the harmonies Jungle would later be delivering. True-believer artists like him can be a hard-sell for audiences more interested in wine and selfies than authentic soul, but Frazer showcased his own versatility by transitioning from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles-style numbers to material like the New Jack-influenced “Fly Away.” A founding member of Durand Jones & The Indications, Frazer continues to navigate his musical identity as a frontman, and his performance evidenced the virtuosity he brings to retro-soul, if not quite a singularity — at least not with the likes of Mayer Hawthorne, Adrian Younge, and the rosters of labels like Daptone and Now-Again Records constantly issuing similar music.
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Shortly after 9:00pm, Jungle took the stage in front of a massive screen that broadcast hypnotic computer graphics — many resembling reinvented dance floor iconography (an oscillating disco ball, or the glowing grid Tony Manero danced on in “Saturday Night Fever”). Erick the Architect joined the band for their second number, “Candle Flame,” and his nimble verse bridged the genre gaps between Bas, Frazer and the propulsive, not-quite-fully-electronic music that Jungle would perform. “Dominoes,” which followed, initially felt a bit too subdued for the party vibe established by “Busy Earnin’” and “Candle Flame,” but uptempo renditions of “The Heat” and “Heavy, California” quickly whipped the audience back into that initial, heated frenzy.
The group’s 2023 single “Back on 74,” a recent viral sensation on social media that immediately sounds familiar and timeless, was played just shy of halfway through their show. The pacing felt like a testament to the freedom they still enjoy as superstars still able to maintain if-you-know-you-know status: by the time it arrived, they had covered that first gold single (“Busy Earnin’”) and subsequently traveled through some lesser-known material, but never compromised their audience engagement. It helps that they’ve released almost 25 singles across the 11 years of their career, but throughout the evening, uninitiated listeners would likely have trouble distinguishing the standouts from the also-rans, especially given their commitment to blasting them out into the brisk Los Angeles night.
By themselves, McFarland and Lloyd-Watson provide strong counterpoints to one another: the former building a pillowy harmonic foundation with his falsetto and the latter cutting through it with his soulful tenor. If on record the addition of Kitto occasionally evokes the muscular femininity of tracks by Sault, in person she’s a mesmerizing scene-stealer: occupying center stage for “Problemz”; alternating between singing and playing the flute during “Us Against the World”; boogieing across the stage with her bandmates on “Keep Moving.” The only reason she didn’t fully draw attendees’ gaze during the band’s performance of (yet another) viral single, the non-album track “Let’s Go Back,” was because Will West, who danced in its music video, was working his way through the crowd at the time with a camera crew in tow.
Their live performance of that track reiterated the cohesiveness of the band’s creativity, formulating songs not just with vocals and instrumentation but careful consideration of the imagery and choreography that’s instantly synonymous with them. But it was “Time” that particularly showed their aptitude for arranging, as each performer, and each part of the song, fit perfectly together on stage. There are acts like Basement Jaxx who can make a concert feel like Rio de Janeiro on New Year’s Eve, or ones like Justice and Daft Punk who seem almost monolithic on stage, but Jungle creates a perfect, unintimidating, come-along-for-the-ride, and more importantly come-as-you-are party vibe that draws you in. Rather than fealty to boilerplate concert pacing — letting the band catch its breath while the audience dutifully applauds — the absolute ocean of cell phone flashlights shining back at them to return for an encore after “Good Times” felt like an earned gesture of reciprocity.
It was one that they met with appreciation and passion, and yet didn’t seem to let it go to their heads. After “Keep Moving,” Jungle left the stage five minutes before the Bowl imposed its draconian curfew — and did so with a bow as Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven” played over the venue speakers. It was, admittedly, a slightly less on-the-nose selection than, say, Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” but it conveyed the right message to attendees: you wanted an experience that feels classic and contemporary at the same time, so we’ll give you one. The three hours flew by like it was nothing, and as fans danced towards the exits, it was clear Jungle left them wanting more — not because there was a single unsatisfying moment, but because the experience made everyone feel so good.
