“This is not a concert. This is a party.”
Louis Celestine, better known as Kaytranada, embarked on his headliner tour to play some of his classics, but also to let this new album be celebrated in a live setting. If there is one thing about Kaytranada’s music, it is that it’s meant to be danced to.
Grammy winning electronic/dance producer Kaytranada made sure the crowd knew that this was not just a concert. With the backdrop of Petco Park, it felt like there was no better place in San Diego to be.
A sea of metallics, chrome, and silvers reflected all across Gallagher Square to fit the aesthetic of Kaytranada’s, “Timeless.”
Celestine’s debut album, 99.9%, became a breakthrough due to his unique touch on the tempos, melodies and layering techniques that gave him his own individualized sound. This album still has some of his biggest hits, and he makes sure to play a song or two at each show on this tour.
With the lineup for the night, it felt more like a festival or club. Kicking off the show was longtime collaborator, Lou Phelps (the two performers are brothers, so really lifetime collaborators). His upbeat hip-hop sound got everyone on their feet and dancing. He was constantly engaging with the crowd and started the night out with a bang.
As the sun set over Petco Park, Channel Tres came out with an explosive performance. It was such a beautiful dichotomy of intense rap with soft dance performances by the four backup dancers. The dance moves had an isolated smoothness to them that fit the visuals and music so well. The overall scene was such a treat for the ears and the eyes.
Closing his set, Tres yelled, “Did y’all come to this dance party to dance San Diego?” He made sure this answer was yes by playing “6 am” which repeats the phrase “we ain’t leaving.”
Now with the dusk setting, stars and moon above, it was the perfect setting for Kaytranada to emerge from the shadows and start his much anticipated set. Fog filled the stage until the shadow became clear, and next thing you know red visuals and strobes are flashing everywhere with his first song of the album “Pressure” echoing through the sold out venue. The pulse of the song immediately gets your head moving and submerges you into the artistry.
Physically feeling the bass from the music moves you without even realizing it. In the first few moments just glancing around the venue, there were few phones, just heads up as people were hypnotized by the performance.
Changing visuals for each song, he starts to ease into some of his songs with features, like “Snap My Finger” with PinkPanthers and a crowd favorite, “10%” with Kali Uchis. These had a nice feminine touch and it was empowering to look around and see so many women let loose to the melodic voices. Despite it being a diverse crowd, with a pretty even split of men and women, it felt this concert was kind of one for the girls with so many women just letting loose and dancing their hearts out.
That is not to say they were the only ones feeling a sense of relief seeing this music live. It was clear everyone just wanted to let their hair down and voices to be heard. Especially when he played some of his most beloved remixes of “Kiss it Better” by Rihanna (probably the closest I will get to hearing her live) and “CUFF IT” by Beyonce, which had the whole crowd screaming.
He changed gears towards the latter half of the show moving back into a more soulful, consistent sound. He raised his wine glass to the crowd and said a toast in honor of his appreciation for everyone that was there.
“You could be anywhere else in the world and you’re here with me,” Celestine said. “I appreciate that.”
He brought out Channel Tres to play their song “Stuntin” which the crowd loved. To match the vibe he also played his arguably biggest song off this album, “Witchy” with Childish Gambino that felt fitting for the week of Halloween. Another fan favorite (and the first song of his I ever heard) was Intimidated featuring H.E.R.
This music was accompanied with mesmerizing visuals, with the graphics constantly matching the sound of the music, but as the excitement and catharsis would build in the songs, the stage would erupt with fireworks and such grandis light shows.
As the show came to the end, there was no slowing down the partying. Finally, Kaytranada closed out the show with his classic remix of “Be Your Girl” by Teedra Moses, which had everyone on their feet. Screaming this as the top of my lungs with the rest of the crowd was when the group high of it all hit, and sent us all into a group trance.
Kaytranada has a way with music that no one else quite has with his mix of rap, R&B, jazz and many other genres he can play around with. The next time you just have the urge to get up and dance, put on a Kaytranada album to get that relief.
