At long last, Jamiroquai has made their way back onto U.S. soil! Following the band’s late-night television appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden on Thursday, on Friday, the pioneering British electro-funk titans continued on with their highly anticipated performance at Coachella. Marking the first time the group has played their own show in the United States since November of 2005, Jamiroquai’s Coachella performance was a triumphant affair, with the band led by Jay Kay laying out an absolutely stellar performance and foreshadowing some truly standout return shows in the making.
While the importance of Jamiroquai’s return to the U.S. has been discussed in depth, with the first of these performances finally done, it’s safe to say that the hype is real. Given the momentous occasion and the venue itself, Jamiroquai performed a set packed with many of the group’s heavy-hitters. The selections appealed to both longtime fans and potentially new fans, many who were won over at the at the gigantic music festival that is Coachella. Characteristically high-octane, feel-good, and dance-centric, across the board, the band offered up a show that fans new and old should be stoked on.
After opening up with “Shake It On”, which was well-segued into the crowd-pleasing “Little L” off 2001’s A Funk Odyssey, and a take on “The Kids” (1995’s The Return of the Space Cowboy), Jamiroquai welcomed out Snoop Dogg, who joined the band with blunt in hand for a rendition of “Dr. Buzz”, a new track off the group’s recently released 2017 album, Automaton. During Snoop Dogg’s cameo, the legendary West Coast rapper also spit verses from his own “Drop It Like Its Hot” and “Gin & Juice”, much to the delight and surprise of the amped crowd. Ahead of this collaboration, percussionist Sola Akingbola hinted at Jamiroquai’s special guest, posting a video of Jay Kay and Snoop rehearsing ahead of the Coachella set.
Following Jamiroquai’s collaboration with Snoop Dogg, the show continued in full force. Enhanced by the presence of Hazel Fernandes, Valerie Etienne, Elle Cato, who are affectionately known as the “Cosmic Babes”, the group offered up fan-favorite hits like “Space Cowboy”, “Cosmic Girl”, and “Canned Heat” in addition to working in some deep cuts from their older catalog—the group performed “Main Vein” for the first time since 2013 and “Use The Force” for the first time since 2014 during their performance in Mexico City last week. Closing out the show and following an energetic take on their classic tune “Canned Heat”, the band’s keyboard player, Matt Johnson, began to start another one of the group’s most iconic tracks, “Virtual Insanity”. However, Jay Kay waved him off, and with the group quickly running up on curfew, the band laid out a delightful take on “Love Foolosophy” to close out their set.
Setlist: Jamiroquai | Coachella at the Empire Polo Club | Indio, CA | 4/13/2018
Set: Shake It On > Little L, The Kids, Dr. Buzz (with Snoop Dogg), Space Cowboy, Alright, Cloud 9, Main Vein, Use The Force, Cosmic Girl, Canned Heat, Love Foolosophy
You can take a look at a couple of videos from Jamiroquai’s triumphant U.S. return show at Coachella below.
“Dr. Buzz” with Snoop Dogg
“Little L”
“Cosmic Girl”
“Canned Heat”