Returning to the stage after a couple months spent recharging, future funk veterans Lettuce kicked off their Get Up 2025 tour on January 24th–26th in California. The sextet blasted off for three consecutive shows in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Oakland, traversing south to north and teaming up with Wu-Tang Clan elder statesman GZA for a co-headline situation. On the third night, the malevolent maestros uncorked a top-shelf vintage throw-down of massive proportions—a thrilling journey that revealed the band’s expansive rotation and ever-glistening quiver of colorways, a gift delivered in the celestial confines of the East Bay’s renowned Fox Theater.

The run got off to an auspicious, somewhat rocky start. Lettuce keyboardist/vocalist Nigel Hall was snowed in back in New Orleans, forcing him to miss the San Diego show completely, as well as most of the following night at The NOVO in L.A. The great Swatkins showed up and saved the day, stepping into the sub role for LETT as he’s done admirably a time or two before.

Missing Nigel and somewhat cold having been off the road, Wednesday at The Sound in SD just didn’t really gel properly, or coalesce in that crucial sense as is the norm for Lettuce. Musically, the band played it pretty safe for the most part—not its established modus operandi. Swatkins shined on clavinet and channeled Roger Troutman on talkbox. A determined romp through “Hawk’s Claw” with a “Phyllis” outro section was the highlight of the tour opener.

Thursday in the City of Angels, things perked up considerably. At The NOVO in downtown L.A., the group was joined by longtime friend/collaborator Chali 2na, and the baritone emcee kicked another trademark freewheeling freestyle, before Nigel eventually arrived onstage mid-set after two days of frustrating travel trouble. Legendary WAR vocalist Lonnie Jordan (a Los Angeles local) took center stage for a segued trifecta of his own “LA Sunshine” > “Slippin’ Into Darkness” > “Low Rider”. A cover found on 2012 LP Fly, “Slippin’” has been a rare gem of Lettuce live sets for two decades; as such it was an honor and joy for the band members to perform this revered tune with the man who gave it to the world 54 years ago.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by LETTUCE (@lettucefunk)

Wu-Tang Clan’s masterful emcee GZA opened up the shows performing his seminal 1995 sophomore LP Liquid Swords (in-full but out-of-order), along with select verses and cuts from the rapper’s expansive, verbose canon. The Genius rocked the chrome microphone with his classics, emboldened by a sturdy four-piece backing band Phunky Nomads, who brilliantly brought to life RZA’s spooky, off-kilter, head-nod Shaolin soundtracks with nuance, passion, and authority.

While GZA’s lyrical delivery wasn’t necessarily as razor-sharp as in the Killa Bees glory days, he still moved the crowd effectively and proceeded to burn down the ministry, blastin’ em with gaseous elements, his iron mic, and genuine craft. Midway through the GZA set at the Fox in Oakland, Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch—himself a prolific hip-hop producer and passionate aficionado—joined the Phunky Nomads on drums for “Animal Planet”, a David Atterborough-themed narrative that explores the natural world through an animal’s perspective. The beat interpolates Issac Hayes‘ “Man’s Temptation”, and the classic appears on GZA’s Legend of the Liquid Sword (2002).

Nearly one hundred years old, the majestic Fox Theater welcomed Lettuce back after many moons spent playing other Bay Area rooms. The intricate, detailed decor—full of Indian, Moorish, and Medieval elements, rich colors and gold leaf, and bejeweled golden figures that flank the stage—lent a ceremonial energy to what was a stunning display of sonic sorcery. Bathing in minimalist lighting with lots of space between them, Lettuce took the stage and launched into the pulverizing psychedelia of “Mt. Crushmore”, which aggressively segued into an instrumental run through Redman’s “Tiger Style Crane”, a track produced by Deitch. Normally a shorter intro track, “Mt. Crushmore” set the tone for the vast array of furious styles to come.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kory Thibeault (@korythibeault)

Guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, looking sharp in a bright white wool NY Knicks jacket, assertively led the guys through the obtuse funk of “The Lock”, which mutated into Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders deep cut “Finders Keepers”. Back in the saddle and feelin’ himself, Nigel Hall starred on a pair of sensational vocal numbers: “Yearnin’ and Learnin’” (Earth, Wind, & Fire) and “Risin’ To the Top” (Keni Burke).

Jesus Coomes‘ bass playing was exemplary all night long. Though seated on a stool, he was a driving force and subsonic anchor underneath a barrage of kaleidoscopic jamming that covered more than a little ground. The LETT rhythm section pushed Shmeeans to the shred-zone on their Prince-inspired original “Royal Highness”, which also featured fantastic trumpet from Eric “Benny’ Bloom, who is recovering from a jaw injury that you’d never even know happened with the way he was painting “The Town” throughout the hour-and-a-half session.

The show’s highlight for this writer was a bubonic reading of “Purple Cabbage”, a monumental, multi-hued excursion that oscillated from Dilla– and DJ Premier-scented hip-hop to hyper-kinetic drum ‘n’ bass and beyond, then back again. The group defied the laws of sound, science, and gravity, revealing shapeshifting textures and torrid tones, and exploring outermost galaxies before Source guided the band back to earth, and the squad landed the spacecraft.

A spirited “Krewe” soared sky high, bouyant b-boy vibes buoyed by a searing tenor sax solo from Ryan Zoidis and raging Rhodes piano from Hall. A revamped “Do It Like You Do”—which saw Coomes dedicate the song to fallen former Lettuce bredren James Casey—brought the show to an ecstatic conclusion, putting a sultry exclamation point on this smoldering slab of grade-A Lettucefunk to the feet and frontal lobe.

words: B.Getz

Click below to view a gallery of photos from Lettuce and GZA at Oakland’s Fox Theater. Lettuce performs tonight in Columbus, OH before GZA rejoins the tour for the next leg of shows. The band has big plans for 2025, including the long-awaited audio/video package from its debut collaboration with the Colorado Symphony in November 2018, and another performance with them in March. Check out forthcoming Lettuce tour dates found here.