Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals brought their Best Teef In The Game tour to the MECU Pavilion in Baltimore last night and it was a killer show! In addition to core members of the Free Nationals (Jose Rios on guitar, Ron Tnava Avant on keyboards, Kelsey Gonzalez on bass and Callum Connor on percussion and drums), Anderson also added recording artist Maurice “Mo Betta” Brown on trumpet and background singers for this tour. 

The show opened with Anderson on drums (on a platform that rose from the floor to an elevated position way above the crowd) and rolling out a fan favorite from the Malibu album, “Heart Don’t Stand A Chance”as the first song. .Paak and the crew proceeded to crank out the hits for the excited and enthusiastic crowd.

The set list included songs from Anderson’s Ventura, Onxard, and Malibu albums. He performed songs such as, “King James”, “Come Down”, “Come Home”, “Make It Better”, “Trippy, Put Me Through”, and “The Waters and Bubblin’”. He even was able to squeeze in the underground classic “Suede” (from his NxWorries days) into the show which came to the delight of his true “day one” fans. 

Anderson did a great job of alternating between playing drums on the elevated platform to being out front singing and dancing. At one point, Anderson left the stage and walked through the crowd as he sang, one of the highlights of the night!

This was my second time seeing Anderson .Paak &  the Free Nationals perform in 3 months (they performed at the MGM Grand at National Harbor in February), and he does a great job of changing things up, changing styles and adding new wrinkles. His energy and talent as a vocalist, rapper and musician makes attending his show a very enjoyable experience. If you enjoy live music, you owe it to yourself to check out Anderson .Paak when he comes to you town! If you missed our Preview Feature on Anderson .Paak, you can learn more about his music, here.

All photos copyright and courtesy of David Dixon.