The Roots @ Le Zenith Paris, 23 June 2012
Heir soir j’étais au Zénith pour The Roots, groupe légendaire de Philadelphie qui a joué leur funk/hip hop sans arrêt pendant une heure et demie + 2 encores – une énergie hallucinante !
This show definitely ranks within my top 10 concerts of all time.
They did The Seed (without Codi ChestnuTT) and major hits as well as a smattering of lesser known songs from their collection of 10 or so studio albums. During the second encore they sang You Got Me, normally with Erykah Badu. In both cases, the guitar player sang their parts. He was brilliant …sort of a mix of James Brown and Jimmy Hendrix.
The sousaphonist “Tuba Gooding Jr” is also quite a sight, constantly bobbing around while playing his giant tuba. And Questlove, fierce percussionist, sporting his signature Afro and hair pick.
Collectively The Roots are very tight, a beautifully cohesive group of musicians. They seamlessly weave in and out of hip hop, jazz, rock, funk and soul, including covers of The Beastie Boys, Curtis Mayfield’s Move on Up, Guns n Roses Sweet Child of Mine.
They are amazing showmen, jumping, dancing, laughing and clowning around on stage. They make it look easy and fun.
I saw them in a small club in Boston when I was 19. They were just babies (so was I!), but even then it was an explosive scene. Last night I felt once again blown away. What craftsmanship, what passion!
If you ever get the chance to see them live, needless to say, DO IT!
Mental Cheese 