CrossFiya featuring Talib Kweli, Rahzel, Chali 2na, Break Science, Soul Rebels & Fyre Dept

CrossFiya

The Soul Rebels 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Testify [Kanye West cover] (with Eric Krasno), Thank You [Jay-Z Medley] (inc. Ain’t No Love & Hard Knock Life), My Time, I Made It, Show Me What You Got [Jay-Z cover]

Soul Rebels with Rahzel

The Soul Rebels with Razhel 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Rahzel solo set > Rock The Bells [LL Cool J cover]

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Talib Kweli & Jesus Coomes

Words by Bee Getz:

Again, Fiyawerx Productions provided a break from the norm as it pertains to Jazz Fest, and this eclectic booking on the hip-hop side of the tracks provided a thrilling look at one of the best kept secrets in the game: Fyre Dept. This NYC- based production squad includes drummer Adam Deitch (clad appropriately in a NAS Illmatic t-shirt and his ubiquitous headphones), Eric Krasno on guitar, and the brothers Coomes, bassist E.D. “Jesus” and older brother (and Fyre Dept. OG) Tyler “TYCOON Beats.” Break Science keyboardist Borahm Lee rounded out the team, and they took the stage after De La SOUL REBELS and proceeded to destroy the packed house with authoritative, meditative beats, samples and classic loops. Beginning with some Ghostface Killah and J Dilla instrumentals, soon the Fyre Dept was fully ablaze. Deitch held down the head snapping breaks, and the brothers Coomes’ tasteful, minimalist approach had people marveling at how this here hip-hop sounded so alive, present, yet sacrificing absolutely no integrity in the name of dopeness.

Fyre Dept 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
??? > ??? > Body Movin’ [J Dilla cover], Fever, ?That’s The Way It’s Got To Be?, Flankenstein > ???, ???

Within a few songs, Rahzel grabbed a microphone and stormed the stage. After some beatboxing workouts to get warm, “The Godfather of Noize” blessed the people with a distinctive medley of Whole Darn Family’s “7 Minutes of Funk” break, interspersed with verses and portions of its two most popular children – EPMD’s “It’s My Thang” and Jay-Z/Foxy Brown’s classic “Ain’t No N*gg*.” The Fyre Dept. then flawlessly worked into NAS’ “NY State of Mind” instrumental while Rahzel delivered original lyrics, along with a version of Bob Marley’s “Jammin’” for a refrain.

Fyre Dept with Rahzel 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
???, Ain’t No Nigga [Jay-Z cover], NY State of Mind [Nas cover], Jammin’ [Bob Marley cover] / Voice Box

Fyre Dept with Talib Kweli

At this point in the show, things were wild on the dancefloor, yet extremely focused on the stage. The band brought out legendary Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli and the posse brought forth a medley of songs old and new. Beginning with “Cold Rain,” Kweli showed everyone just why he’s revered as a lyricist and performer. They brilliantly segued into his seminal anthem “The Blast” from the Reflection Eternal project of the Rawkus era; this slice of heat had damn-near everybody correctly pronouncing his name, with not a single thing left to question. “Hot Thing” was dedicated to all the lovers, and Kweli made sure to shout out Babyface as he dipped into this summertime park jam for the boo’d up set.

Fyre Dept with Talib Kweli 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Cold Rain, The Blast, What’s Real, Hot Thing, State of Grace, I Try, Get By

The Fyre Dept/Kweli collaboration reached fevered pitches as the BK MC and the veritable NY/LA dream team laced up a victorious version of “I Try” before spicing up things with a samba-influenced take on Kweli’s uplifting mantra “Get By.” This conclusion of the set had an army of heads chanting the chorus “Just to Get By” at the top of their one-hundred strong lungs; Fiyawerx Productions and the Fyre Dept. could agree on one thing, there was no putting out this CrossFiya.

Eric Krasno & Talib Kweli

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Break Science 5/3/14 New Orleans @ Howlin’ Wolf
Now You Want More, ???, Owner of a Lonely Heart [Yes cover], Brain Reaction, ???

Break Science with Chali 2na 5/3/14 New Orleans @ Howlin’ Wolf
Guns Drawn, Comin’ Thru, International

The Roots at Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

The Roots - Bear Creek Music Festivla 2013

The Roots – November 16, 2013
Live Oak, FL @ Big IV Stage – Bear Creek Music Festival

Introduction by Bee Getz

The Roots - Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

The Roots – November 16, 2013 (Part 1 of 3)
Live Oak, FL @ Big IV Stage – Bear Creek Music Festival

Hand Clapping Song [The Meters cover] > The Fire > Please Don’t Go > Get Busy > Jungle Boogie [Kool & The Gang cover] > Drums & Percussion > Jungle Boogie coda [Kool & The Gang cover], Table of Contents Part 1, Step Into The Realm > What They Do

Captain Kirk Douglas - Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

The Roots – November 16, 2013 (Part 2 of 3)
Live Oak, FL @ Big IV Stage – Bear Creek Music Festival

Who Are You & Who is Your Crew? > Break You Off > You Got Me Intro > You Got Me > Captain Kirk Douglas guitar solo > Shame On You > Love To Love You Baby > Spottieottiedopaliscious > Shame On You > You Got Me > Sweet Child O’ Mine [Guns N Roses cover] > Bad To The Bone [Bo Diddley cover] > Who Do You Love > You Got Me > Immigrant Song [Led Zeppelin cover] > Welcome To Jamrock [Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley cover] > You Got Me

Black Thought - Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

The Roots – November 16, 2013 (Part 3 of 3)
Live Oak, FL @ Big IV Stage – Bear Creek Music Festival

Thought @ Work > How I Got Over > Here I Come > The Seed 2.0 > Move On Up [Curtis Mayfield cover] > Men @ Work [Kool G Rap cover] > Outro

Words by Bee Getz:

As a child, I would watch Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” video and wonder why people would be so overcome with emotion that they would cry hysterically, faint and be carried out of the crowd lifelessly. That mystery was solved, twenty-five years later; when the ‘Legendary Roots Krewe from Philly’ obliterated Bear Creek’s Amphitheater Stage. After living out a dream (thanks to festival curator Paul Levine, who arranged for me to bring my hometown heroes onstage), I assumed the position riding the rail directly in front of emcee Black Thought. The entire Amphitheater was packed to the gills, people were screaming the band’s name with a vehemence! Ahmir ?uestlove Thompson led ‘The Illa-Fifth Dynamite Foundation’ as they launched into a gargantuan run of classics; “Table of Contents” gave way to “Next Movement,” ‘Hot Hot Music’ filled the dank air. The following seventy-five minutes was a whirlwind of unparalleled hip-hop fury: Capt. Kirk, Kamal Gray, Knuckles, Tuba Gooding Jr., Ray Angry and Mark Kelley followed their leaders thru the swamp and beyond. Roots chestnuts like “Proceed,” “Step into a New Realm” and “Mellow My Man” were delivered with vigor, the songs and style fresh to def.

See Black Thought on tha red carpet, steppin’ outta spaceships
Wit’ a glass of Chiraz, and two ‘around-the-way’ chicks!
©Black Thought of The Roots

The Roots - Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

A cauldron of my personal favorites was set ablaze; “Thought@Work”(with the “Apache” breakbeat and Beatles “Hey Bulldog” lick taboot!), the iconic Kool G Rap tune “Men at Work,” a jungle-infused “You Got Me,” Jr. Gong‘s “Welcome to Jamrock” and a ‘Fantastic’ excursion through “How I Got Over,” “Here I Come” > “The Seed 2.0” > “Move On Up” > “The Seed 2.0.” Yet it was during the undeniable Game Theory banger “Get Busy” that Riq Gz, aka “Black General Two-Fi’teen” (that’s Name, Rank, & Serial) asserted himself as the greatest emcee in the game, while simultaneously breaking down ‘The Concept’ of The Legendary Roots Krewe with one severely ill opening verse:

My squad half-Mandrill, half-Mandela
My band ‘bout seventy strong, just like Fela
We part Melle Mel, part Van Halen
And we represent Illadelph, where we still rebellin’!
©Black Thought of The Roots.

Legendary as advertised. Indeed, this writer is from Philadelphia; but please don’t get it twisted, this was fucking nuclear! The Roots headlining set on Saturday night is immediately on the short-list for greatest in the festival’s storied history.

The Roots - Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

Black Thought – MC
Questlove – drums
Frank Knuckles – percussion
Captain Kirk Douglas – guitar, vocals
Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson – sousaphone
Mark Kelley – bass
Kamal Gray – keys
Ray Angry – keys

AUDIO: Schoeps mk21/cmc6 > Sound Devices 788 by Steve Bazley
VIDEO 1: Canon G20 by FunkItBlog
VIDEO 2: Canon Vixia HF21 by FunkItBlog
VIDEO 3: Canon HF100 by Michael Allen

FULL AUDIO DOWNLOAD IN FLAC FORMAT: TORRENT or MEGA

VIDEO: Bonobo Live Band returns to Bear Creek Music Festival for a mystifyingly organic set of downtempo electronica & groove

Bonobo Live Band at Bear Creek Music Festival

    Bonobo Live Band at Bear Creek Music Festival 2013

Words by Bee Getz. Video by FunkItBlog.

One of the most revered and cherished performances in Bear Creek Music Festival history was that of Bonobo Live Band in 2010, who produced a brook of organic electronica that served to arouse the inner-naturalist within the festival. The news of Simon Green and Co.’s return was greeted with elation when this year’s lineup was announced; and in 2013, Bonobo would ornament the Amphitheatre Stage with another display of lush, orchestral electronica.

Part 1 of 10:
Cirrus, Sapphire

Launching the set with “Cirrus” from newest album The North Borders, Green was joined by drummer Jack Baker and the exceptionally talented woodwind/multi-instrumentalist Michael Lesirge. Soon the live setup would swell to encompass a three piece horn section, bassist, keyboards, and the breathtaking singer Szjerdene (pronounced “Jhurdeen”). The tall, dark songstress vocals fit naturally early (“Towers”) and deep into the set (“Transits.”) Various band members glided seamlessly in movements that ebbed and swayed with sharp intricacies, the music traversed between ambient and aggressive. Not content on staying behind the tables, Green would play bass guitar and walk around his elegant ensemble.

Bonobo Live Band at Bear Creek Music Festival

Midway through the set, Bonobo dropped solo production performance on his AKAI APC 40 and MPK 25, the vertical light rigs behind Simon aglow; he furiously tapped and twisted Black Sands ‘ Kiara” and later dropped into a bombastic “Ketto” off of Days to Come. The band smoothly joined back in and really rocked out with some jamming and solos, to satiate this particular audience.A run of Bonobo classics- including “Nightlite,” “Reccuring,” and “We Could Forever” showed tight and eclectic playing from everyone onstage, as these tracks have been performed for years with the live band. Another titanic selection, “El Toro,” delighted dancers with its bossa nova and horn/string interplay. “Know You” saw Green wailing on drum pads, as the intertwining male and female vocal samples rang out over jungle beatscience. Bonobo Live Band concluded their superb and sophisticated set with a mouth-watering take on “The Keeper”; for those who doubt the “soul” within electronic music, this was mind-boggling truth to the contrary. – Bee Getz

Part 2 of 10:
Towers, Stay the Same

Part 3 of 10:
Kiara, Ten Tigers, Kong, Ketto

Part 4 of 10:
Ketto (continued), Emkay, First Fires

Part 5 of 10:
First Fires (cont.)

Part 6 of 10:
Jets, Nightlite, Recurring

Part 7 of 10:
Recurring (cont.), We Could Forever, El Toro (inc. drums + sax solos)

Part 8 of 10:
El Toro (cont.), Transits, Know You

Part 9 of 10:
Know You (cont.), Encore: The Keeper, Pieces

Part 10 of 10:
Pieces (cont.)

A full audio recording of this 2013 set is available here.

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