Jungle Keeps Fans Moving — And Wanting More — At Their Sold-Out Hollywood Bowl Show: Concert Review

variety.com:

Todd Gilchrist editor 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.