Khruangbin Delivers '70s Sci-Fi at the Fillmore Miami Beach

Houston trio Khruangbin's live performances have always been about setting a vibe. That's not meant to be a backhanded compliment. Laura Lee, Mark Speer, and Donald "DJ" Johnson are experts at creating the right mood for their funk-laden brand of psychedelic rock.

On Sunday night, the band took the stage at the Fillmore Miami Beach for the second night in a row. Addressing the crowd, Speer acknowledged that anyone who'd attended Saturday's show would be mildly disappointed that the setlist would be nearly the same, jokingly adding that "deviation is purely coincidental."

What was not a joke was that opener Toro y Moi couldn't make the second show, owing to a positive COVID-19 test. That was indeed a disappointment, considering that Chaz Bundick is a headliner in his own right. Taking his place was A Tribe Called Quest founding member Jarobi White who DJ'ed to an eager crowd for the better part of an hour.

Finally, around 9:15 p.m., Khruangbin appeared against a backdrop that resembled a 1970s sci-fi movie set — appropriate, considering this is the band's Space Walk Tour.

The set opened with "First Class," and the album opener from 2020's Mordechai served as a proper introduction to the level of chill the show would come to encompass. You came to the wrong show if you entered the Fillmore expecting a high-energy performance. That's not to say Khruangbin lacked oomph onstage. In fact, the band oozes stage presence. Lee slunk around, strumming her bass and teasing the crowd with her natural charisma (and a dress slit to the thigh). Perched high above his bandmates, Johnson exuded effortless cool behind the drums. Then there was Speer, who might have the best hair in music right now, and who oscillated between sex in a suit and handsomely humorous throughout the evening.

By the time the band worked through its smash hit "So We Won't Forget," Khruangbin had the crowd eating out of its hand. The track is tailor-made for communal singalongs: "Ooooooooooh/One to remember/Writing it down now/So we won't forget." It also was the moment it dawned on me that this was the first time Khruangbin had performed in Miami outside of a festival setting.

In many ways, the band is built for festival consumption: chill vibes, retro aesthetics, easy-to-digest melodies, all fit the festival bill. And indeed, the crowd at the Fillmore on Sunday felt like a microcosm of what you might find at a music festival: chill frat bros in baseball caps, Kylie Jenner clones who may have been there mostly to say they went, and a contingent that clearly wished they'd been conceived at Woodstock in '69. Hell, even producer/DJ Diplo walked through the crowd to catch a few songs.
But even all these disparate demographics couldn't help but be enraptured by the performance. During "Evan Finds the Third Room," Lee — the trio's most popular member by a long shot  — declared "Yes!" in a way that sounded both matter-of-fact and orgasmic, as Speer and Johnson followed up with "This is the third room."

Other standouts included live interpretations of "Pelota," "New Bill," and "Maria También." But the showstoppers at any Khruangbin show are the instrumental medleys. The first kicked off with David Bowie's "Let's Dance" before working in Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day," Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money," Spandau Ballet's "True," and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game."

At one point, I couldn't help but feel that the whole show had a Tarantino soundtrack quality to it — and five minutes later, the trio launched into Dick Dale's "Misirlou" (AKA the Pulp Fiction theme song).

The climax came with the band's instrumental cover of the 1992 hit by Snap!, "Rhythm Is a Dancer." It was the moment you could distinguish between the Gen X and Millennial attendees and the younger audience members, as a perplexed look fell on Gen Z attendees who appeared unaware that the song had lyrics. The 1990s dance-music tribute continued as the band blended in Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)," turning the Fillmore into a massive dance club for the next ten minutes as the two giant disco balls reflected the light over the entire space.

Finally, after a break and a call for an encore, the band returned to perform "White Glove," "Time (You and I)," and "People Everywhere (Still Alive)." Lee had changed into a glittery fringe dress that wouldn't have been out of place at Studio 54 — naturally, the crowd went wild. Lee has become both a music and style icon to many, and the rapturous applause directed toward her all night made it clear who was the crowd favorite.

Yet Khruangbin has soared to popularity thanks to the strength of all of its members. It's not blazing up the charts — Mordechai peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200 — but the band did manage to sell out back-to-back shows at the Fillmore Miami Beach, which is by no means a small venue.

If you're looking for evidence that the charts aren't an indication of success in 2022, it's the nonstop adoration Khruangbin continues to enjoy — album sales be damned!

Setlist:

- "First Class"
- "August 12"
- "The Number 4"
- "August 10"/"Night Nurse"
- "So We Won't Forget"
- "Lady and Man"
- "Evan Finds the Third Room"
- "New Bill"
- "Pelota"
- Medley #1
- Medley #2
- "María También"/"Misirlou"/"Apache"

Encore:
- "White Gloves"
- "Time (You and I)"
- "People Everywhere (Still Alive)"