Big Gigantic throw down at Hollywood Palladium with a host of special guests in support of their new album ‘Brighter Future 2’

Big GiganticBy Josh Herwitt //

Big Gigantic with Goldfish, Party Pupils, Covex //
Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles
July 9th, 2022 //

You might not be aware, but Big Gigantic have been releasing new music consistently for more than a decade now.

The longest stretch between albums for the instrumental electronic/hip-hop/jazz act from Boulder, Colo., in fact, has been less than four years, and after dropping 2020’s Free Your Mind just before the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken have already delivered another fresh set of tracks to tickle our earholes.

Hitting 18 U.S. cities this summer in support of an eighth LP entitled Brighter Future 2 that dropped last month, the duo took the stage at the Hollywood Palladium last Saturday for its first proper LA show in a while. The last time we caught Big G in the City of Angels (read our review here) ourselves, they were at another Tinseltown venue only a few blocks away and it was there that I began to wonder if I was too old to be attending their shows.

Big Gigantic - Dominic Lalli


Big Gigantic’s Dominic Lalli

Well, more than seven years have passed since then and I guess not much has changed for yours truly. Even though I didn’t happen to catch Lalli and Salken when they played The Novo in 2018, I have seen plenty of Big G performances from Avalon Hollywood to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. But this was the first tour I have witnessed that has included multiple special guests, and on this night a modest-sized crowd was treated to appearances by Covex, Party Pupils, Goldfish and ELOHIM — to name a few — during their roughly 90-minute set.

Lalli has always been at the center of things for Big G. The formally trained saxophonist who went to the Manhattan School of Music spent a few years touring with Colorado funk ensemble The Motet before he started making electronic music in 2008 but has become a seasoned veteran on the decks at this point. And with Salken laying the beat down on top of Lalli’s production, they had no problem filling the entire 4,000-person ballroom with their big (gigantic) sound.

As the years pass and I find myself listening to less and less EDM, I know there’s always Big G to bring me back to my more youthful days. Who knows when they’ll return to SoCal, and with coronavirus cases in California on the rise again, it’s hard to know when the next throwdown will be. Until then, we’ll make sure to savor every last moment of this one.

Chromeo, Tipper, Vulfpeck, The Glitch Mob & more hit the beach at Lake Perris for 2022 edition of Same Same But Different

Same Same But Different Festival - 2022 lineup

Same Same But Different //
Moreno Beach – Lake Perris, CA‎
September 9th-11th, 2022 //

Does it feel like festival season in the Golden State or what?

On the same day Goldenvoice revealed its new Portola Music Festival with Flume and The Chemical Brothers headlining its inaugural edition at San Francisco’s Pier 80, another California music festival also has made its plans known for this September.

Same Same But Different follows in the same sort of vein as Lightning in a Bottle by offering more than just music, with yoga, educational workshops, and wellness activities, as well as arts and crafts, all part of the event’s programming two weeks prior to Portola and one week before Primavera Sound LA.

But like LIB, it’s the music that ultimately attracts fans to SSBD and this year’s roster boasts a variety of electronic- and funk-leaning acts beginning at the top of the bill with electro-funk lords Chromeo rocking the stage Friday, British electronic composer and producer Tipper turning up Saturday, and funk quartet Vulfpeck and LA beat-scene veterans The Glitch Mob co-headlining Sunday.

Along with the aforementioned four headliners, the three-day fest’s undercard delivers other can’t-miss acts such as Washed Out, Poolside, Emancipator, Lettuce, The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), Neil Frances, Beats Antique, The Polish Ambassador, Moon Boots, The California Honeydrops, Sacha Robotti, The Floozies, Goldfish, Harry Mack, The Funk Hunters, Manic Focus, Justin Jay, Anomalie and more at Moreno Beach inside the 1,800-acre Lake Perris State Recreation Area. See the poster above, and check back here as additional artists are announced in the coming months.

SSBD tickets can be purchased starting this Thursday, May 19th at 1 p.m. PT during the presale with payment plans available for those who only want to put down $49 right now, but don’t forget to register here for your chance to also win a grand prize of four VIP weekend passes and car-camping or one free GA ticket. Three-day GA passes start at $285 and jump to $345 while VIP are available for $490 before increasing to $580 here. The general on-sale, meanwhile, begins this Friday at 1 p.m. PT so get them while they’re hot!