Blurred Lines Gets Re-Worked by The Roots on Jimmy Fallon

The Roots hold a soft place in founder Brandon Dorsky's SUPERGOOD heart.  Having seen them upwards of 40 times - they capture a special place a top the list of bands he's seen most.  Their acceptance of a spot on Jimmy Fallon's late night program meant less touring than their former 200+ shows a year - but hey, the world now gets the treat of seeing them every night - and that is a net positive.

Earlier this week, they really impressed when Robin Thicke joined the legendary Roots crew and Mr. Fallon for a special rendition of "Blurred Lines" with classroom instruments.   Which version do you prefer?  The video might not be as sexy as the scandalous original, but check it out and decide for yourself.

Bonnaroo 2012: D'Angelo's First American Performance in 12 Years

Just in case you hadn't heard - or haven't seen - D'Angelo joined ?uestlove & Friends at their Bonnaroo 2012 Superjam - and paraded through Jimi Hendrix and other classics.  Catch a few videos below and remind yourself why you shouldn't miss the chance to take a trip to Manchester, TN in June 2013.  

They Are The Legendary Roots Crew...

Saturday night's Roots concert at House of Blues was exactly what I needed - a smack in the face from a veteran band.

While festival season brought out many great acts, including The Roots themselves, I felt it rarely elicited straight magic from those veteran touring artists when they hit the massive stage. The metaphorical torch of rocking the crowd felt like it had been passed to the groundswell of rising talent that go bananas when they see capacities they previously thought unattainable - the way Childish Gambino did at Bonnaroo or The Stone Foxes did at Outside Lands Festival. Well, this Saturday, The Roots reclaimed the throne as the best live show in town...any town.

The fearsome Fallon house band executed Roots classics, a few new joints and a healthy mix of covers to an over capacity crowd at the Sunset Strip's The House of Blues. Entering around 9:45, I caught a handful of tracks off of "How I Got Over" - including the end of the title track and "Fire" (normally accompanied by John Legend) on ground level where you could barely find place to stand. Apparently I missed Thought @ Work - but Thought's buttery poetic verses over the new material clearly announced he was on his illa-fifth adrenaline.

If there was any question whether they were ready - their drop of the now infamous "Hear I Come" let you know America's favorite house band from Philly via NYC had indeed come. The eruption from the floor (and the sheer volume of people) resulted in my retreat to the balcony - which proved brilliant. The view from up top showcased a crowd packed so close it was like they were trying to get a better smell of the Roots' sweat.

Focusing on a lot of Things Fall Apart and Do You Want More?!? material for a good section of the show - from sexy bass on The Next Movement and beautiful melodies on Step Into The Realm and You Got Me to the always smooth Proceed and an amaze-balls version of Mellow My Man - it felt like it was a Roots show from a decade earlier. The bass was often so in the pocket, if you shut your eyes, you may have even thought that Hubbard was still slapping licks....except that Tuba Gooding Jr. wasn't in the band back then and his bass drone was an undeniable highlight.

Doing 360 degree rotations and two stepping all over stage, Tuba really rocked the crowd with showmanship. Him and Captain Kirk Douglas traded stage theatrics to really entertain the packed house (as well as themselves).

They may have been the most emphatic performers on stage - although they got a challenge from Childish Gambino who made a surprise appearance during an interlude after the Mellow My Man jam. Gambino played three songs with his own band, which, at times, included ?uestlove on percussion. He came out to 'Freaks and Geeks' - one of his most bragadocious but nonetheless dope releases, but he closed with "Bonfire" the overnight heater that had seen its real introduction at a Paris show and on Hot 97 just earlier that week. The actor better known as Donald Glover certainly made the most of his appearance only raising my expectations for his next show and his hopefully coming soon album on Glassnote.

Bonfire by Childish Gambino

Gambino quickly relented the mic to the master, Mr. Trotter, or Black Thought, who shortly after the interlude orchestrated a series of amazing rock covers - from "Sweet Child O Mine" to Gil Scott Heron's "The Bottle." The Roots continued their stage show - with Kamaal, James Poyser and the new bassist all joining the choreographed dances - and by shows end - even Frankie Knuckles was in the dancing mix.

Myself nor the rest of the crowd wanted the show to to be over. Attendees endured to the bitter end and then hung around stage hoping to get just a second more and then to get whatever drum sticks or other items The Roots were willing to hand out (?uestlove gave away the head on one of his drums). Some even retreated to The Foundation Room where Poyser, Knuckles, Tuba Gooding Jr. and Gambino could all be found mingling with concert goers. Everyone left satisfied because it was easily the best concert House of Blues has hosted all year...

Outside Lands Feedback

Outside Lands Festival capped off what has easily been the best festival season of my SUPERGOOD career. While there are actually a few local (Sunset Strip Music Festival, Sunset Junction) and a few more destination (North Coast Music Festival, De Luna Music Festival or Treasure Island Festival, VooDoo Fest) – after the huge Deadmau5 and Arcade Fire closing sets, it may as well have been the end because I’m satisfied.

Exiting to people’s claims of “receiving their money’s worth,” I can only confirm why they might have felt that way.

From the opening day’s very first acts – New Orelans Klezmer Allstars, Release The Sunbird, Marky and Arann Harris & The Farm Band each who started at noon on Friday (my personal first was Phantogram) to the final note of Arcade Fire – there was a little sample of almost every musical genre and a concentration on all flavors of rock and roll. As far as rock goes – Outside Lands really brought the heat this year with Grammy award winning Arcade Fire, Muse, Phish, The Shins, The Black Keys, The Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, Beirut, OK Go, Warren Haynes Band and more.

With only few disappointments (Big Boi did not really perform due to technical difficulty; I missed K. Flay, Charles Bradley and Tune-Yards) and lots of high lights – the 4^th Outside Lands and the return to a three-day festival was a big success in my opinion. Given that the event pretty much sold out - I’d say it was a success by the organizer’s standards too.

After a 24 hour decompression here are a few takeaways:

· The Stone Foxes are the next Black Keys. While the San Francisco based quartet are noticeably and understandably different, they both embrace the same bad ass bluesy and gritty rock and roll. No wonder both of their music has been on Sons of Anarchy and they’ve already played a show together in Arizona. I can only hope that trend continues and they are doing a run f dates together. Sign me up for a spot trailing that tour. With some attendees claiming the Foxes Saturday afternoon throwdown as the best show of the festival, they might be willing to join that caravan too. For the uninitiated I’d definitely advise checking out the free download of their song “Psycho” on their website and hit up El Cid on August 28^th when they close out Sunset Junction. Its part of the package for Junction attendees, but I think access can also be purchased separately.

· People on the lawn in San Francisco can really get down to some funk music, the people in the press tent…not so much. The Original Meters and The Greyboy Allstars turned out good sets on the mainstage and Phish dropped a version of “Funky Bitch” as well as “Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove.” Sunday didn’t have as much funky music – although I missed Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band, whom I’m guessing held it down.

· Phish isn’t slowing down. They didn’t blow my socks off – but I wouldn’t be sad to see them again either. While I’m certainly no roadie or a Phishhead – the guys can certainly still play “Rock and Roll” in their elder (and sober?) state. With a substantial catalogue to choose from, they managed to play some new songs I’m definitely not familiar with as well as a half dozen covers (“2001”, “Roses Are Free”, “Rock and Roll”, “Peaches En Regalia” “Life on Mars?” and “Funky Bitch”) and fan favorites (“Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove” and “Tweezer”).

· The Roots should put out an album called “Greatest Wedding Band of All Time” and do all covers that people love to get down to. They docovers at their concerts – it used to be hip-hop medleys, but now it has turned into full blown rock and roll, funk and hip-hop covers. I was particularly impressed with their rendition of Gil Scott Heron’s “The Bottle.” No disrespect – they are amazing at doing it, but they are also an exceptional band and also have their own great original material. Nonetheless, they get the biggest rise from the crowd doing covers and “Here I Come” – the Jimmy Fallon theme song. The covers seemed to get even more fan fare than “If You Got Me”, the groups biggest hit to date. All that said, despite crushing other people’s songs sometimes better than the originals themselves, they are much more than the greatest wedding band of all time. Bonus - someone whipped out one of the parachutes we all used to played with in phys ed class in kindergarten and 1st grade

· Watching Girl Talk and the crowd at Girl Talk is fun…being in the middle of a Girl Talk crowd is a recipe for getting touched by strangers. It is really cool to look over a crowd from a perch (which you can find at OLF) and see how certain songs resonate (or don’t) with a majority of the crowd. A surprisingly popular drop was “Got Your Money” by Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

· Erykah Badu is a force. Her energy pulled me away from Phish and I was sad I hadn’t seen more of her set. Her voice is beautiful, her band was kicking it and her soul is undeniable.

* Big Boi not playing was disappointing – but Dave Chapelle appearing and doing some comedy was DOPE.

* Big Hassle does a great job coordinating press and providing for a good experience for people covering the festival.

* Deadmau5 new cubes are a new experience. Don't miss his tour!

Chicago Funk Fusion at The Mint

Continuing the trend of funk parading through The Mint during Jazzfest West, Sidewalk Chalk, a Chicago based group that fuses jazz, funk and hip-hop, hits their stage on Sunday night.

Lifting a page out of The Roots Organix and Do You Want More? handbooks, Sidewalk Chalk makes their best efforts to blend jazz informed bass and rhythms with a female vocalist and male MCs that guide you on a musical journey. Although not as tight as the Jimmy Fallon house band, Sidewalk Chalk is finding their way in a too infrequently explored musical space. Check out this video of them in the studio....

Hats & Shoes | Sidewalk Chalk | Studio 10 Sessions from David Burkart on Vimeo.

Lissie with Questlove on Jimmy Fallon

The Roots are my favorite band of all time. I've seen them around 40 times. More than anyone else. Ever since Fallon launched with The Roots as his backing band, I'm a frequent watcher of late night television. You get to watch ?uestlove crush the drums, Knuckles on percussion, James Poyser and Kamal on keys, Black Thought, etc. Each night is an amazing one-off performance with some new guest musician....last night it was Lissie and it did not disappoint at all.

Lissie opted to utilize mostly her own band mates, but the maestro ?uestlove held it down on the kit with her crew. Looking damn dapper in his suit, braided hair and bowtie - he drove the rhythm while Lissie rocked with her beautiful voice. I really can't say enough about how beautiful I think this performance of "When I'm Alone" sounds...you should just watch it:

Aloe Blacc on Jimmy Fallon Tonight w/ THE ROOTS

Got this info in a press release from the Do-Over clan.

TONIGHT: Thursday December 16th. Aloe Blacc performs with The Roots as his back-up band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC.

DVR is on it for sure! If you're not at some swanky industry holiday party tonight - watch ALOE BLACC with THE ROOTS live instead.

Did you know Aloe's music is already going GOLD in Europe? #truth - Good Things is a GOOD ALBUM!

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/