the roots @ house of blues AC

The only way to truly appreciate The Roots is at a live show. Even live recordings can't capture the almost spiritual energy felt while witnessing their jam sessions and improvs in person. The crowd was an interesting mix as expected. Lots of raggedy white college kids and well dressed 30-ish black people. House of Blues is a nice intimate venue and we sat upstairs in the balcony with the grown folk.

While Black Thought showcased his virtuoso MC skills to jumpstart the evening, much of the concert showcased the musicality of the band. Highlights included Questlove, guitarist "Captain" Kirk Douglas and sousaphonist Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson performing an amped up version of Bob Dylan's anti-war song "Masters of War". Quest intro'd the song by crying out "We got one more year of gotdamned Bush!" Kirk's got a dope voice, Damon adds a lot of energy and personality to the group and of course Quest killed it with the drum solo. The Roots then delighted the crowd with some classic cuts - especially the jazzy renditions of "Mellow My Man" and the rocked out "Star" and "The Seed". My only complaint is that they didn't play many cuts from their upcoming album. But ultimately the cohesion and improvised give-and-take between each group member made this performance memorable.

Couldn't get any photos in but here's some great pics from their nyc show a few days ago courtesy of Mel.