Anderson .Paak’s Malibu is, without a doubt, one of the best releases of the year. It’s a masterpiece effort that bridges the gap between soul, rap, and boom bap and somehow manages to be the perfect fit for any occasion. After embarking on a world tour earlier this year that took him and his band, the Free Nationals, from Glasgow to Croatia, .Paak toured North America, with Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre as his penultimate stop.

Opening for the show was LA rapper Duckwrth and local electronic musician/producer POMO, who hails from Port Moody, B.C.. POMO produced the ScHoolboy Q-assisted “Am I Wrong” off Malibu, as well as .Paak and Mac Miller’s “Dang!“, off the latter’s upcoming The Divine Feminine album, and recently won a Juno for his album The Other Day. His hour-long set featured just himself and a live guitarist, and the setlist included his remixes of Rihanna’s “Kiss It Better” and Goldlink’s “Dark Skin Women“.

The real star of the opening acts was Duckwrth, a 27-year old rapper from LA with a sense of charisma and stage presence approaching .Paak’s own. Accompanied by just his DJ, Duckwrth owned the stage, whether he was sprinting across it like Danny Brown or breaking into synchronized dance routines with his DJ. Along with cuts off his 2015 album Nowhere, including the excellent single “Psycho“, Duckwrth also played a host of new tracks set for his upcoming I’m Uugly EP, including “LOWRIDR“, “Bernal Heights” (a down-tempo track accompanied only by piano), and the as-yet unreleased “Run MF”, an absolute banger with traces of punk in its production.

When Anderson .Paak took the stage at 10:00, the electricity was palpable. As the bassist started with the now-iconic bassline, .Paak’s proclamation of “Y’all n***a’s got me hot!” ushered in “Come Down”, a track guaranteed to start the evening off right. As the night continued, .Paak never slowed down: even more down-tempo tracks like “The Bird” and “Room In Here” failed to bring down the energy. Nobody in the crown could stop moving as Anderson alternated between jumping around onstage and climbing behind the drum kit, showing an underrated ability to absolutely murder it on percussion. Hits like “The Season | Carry Me” and “The Waters” were mixed in with cuts from 2014’s Venice, including a gloriously sexy rendition of “Miss Right” and a very audience-involved “I Luh You”, as well as songs from Link Up & Suede (.Paak’s EP with producer Knxwledge; the duo, who perform under the name NxWorries, are set to drop a full album before the end of the year).

Anderson .Paak is an absolute natural onstage. Despite coming from humble beginnings, living on the streets of Oxnard, California, .Paak’s a born performer. His bright smile, screams of “Yes Lawd!!”, and perfect inability to communicate with a crowd kept the crowd going all night. I don’t think I saw a single person who wasn’t moving to the music. He would later describe Vancouver as “wild af!!!!!” on twitter, and that’s no understatement for the undeniable electricity in the air for his entire performance. His three-song encore included room-thumping performances of cuts like “Suede” and “The Dreamer”, and even after the pianist finished his final chords and the lights came on there were still chants for “one more song”.

Anderson .Paak is, undoubtedly, one artist you absolutely have to see live: many have said the same, but I can confirm it. His unmatched electricity, soulful vocals, and the infectious groove of the Free Nationals makes any show a night to remember.