Despite the fact they are now known mostly as Jimmy Fallon’s house band on the Tonight show, make no mistake – The Roots are still unbelievably great live. Behind the goofy faces and the comedy bits you see on a nightly basis lies a wealth of experience and musicianship that was on full display on Saturday night at David Pecault centre as a part of Luminato.
There’s a British show called the Mighty Boosh that starts off with the words “Come with us now on a journey through time and space” and I feel that is a very fitting theme for a show by The Roots. Ostensibly known as a hip hop act, any fan of theirs that has bothered to look past the radio hits will know that The Roots are much more than that.
No genre is out of the band’s reach – guitar rock, jazzy drums and hints of reggae were peppered throughout the almost two hour show and gave a real indication of the group’s talent. Among the highlights the groups range of skills included dueling drums, a beatboxing lession, a sousaphone solo by Tuba Gooding Jr and an electrifying display on guitar by Captain Kirk Douglas that featured licks from Led Zeppelin and Guns N Roses. Did I mention the group has choreographed moves?
Still, the fans were there for hits and inbetween those displays of talent, the Roots took the time to deliver some of their own music, starting with a few tracks off their latest album And Then You Shoot Your Cousin before moving on to the hits of past and present, including Distortion To Static, Don’t Say Nuthin, The Seed, a ripping version of Here I Come and of course, You Got Me with Captain Kirk Douglas pulling Erykah Badu’s singing duties.
The Roots aren’t just Jimmy Fallon’s sidekick and in house band. They are simply, a one of a kind band that bring immense talent, musicianship and joy to everyone at their live show. When they are in town, they are an automatic for me and should be for you as well.