VIDEOS: The Roots – Phrenology Tour 2003 – 4 shows with 4 different guitarists

When The Roots embarked on the world tour for their 5th album, Phrenology, in early 2003, they had entered one of their most experimental stages (just as Common had recently done with his Electric Circus album, released only 2 weeks after Phrenology.) The Roots had fully embraced the jam band aesthetic; with guitar now an integral part of their live sound each band member took time on stage for extended solos and improvisations every night. At the same time, their sound was as tight and hard hitting as any funk/soul revue you can remember. At the top of their game, they consistently rocked crowds and impressed critics.

Questlove

With 10 years of hindsight, we can look back and see just how on point this group was as they paved the way for the next generation of hip hop and soul musicians. On the 10 year anniversary of the Phrenology tour I present four broadcast videos of The Roots from 2003, each with different lineups and guitarists.

First up is their homecoming show at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom near the end of the tour. This show featured a slew of surprise guests, including Nice & Smooth, Brand Nubian, and Special Ed. Watch the full video below in 2 parts, download the DVD, or download the full audience audio recording.

The Roots
March 14th, 2003
NYC, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
TV broadcast (pro-shot) > VHS (very low generation) > DVDR

DOWNLOAD DVD TORRENT HERE

DOWNLOAD AUDIO TORRENT HERE

01. Rock You
02. Thought At Work
03. Swept Away
04. The Next Movement
05. Quills
06. Proceed
07. Act Too… Love of My Life
08. Panic!!!!!
09. What You Want
10. Water
11. The Seed (w/ Cody ChesnuTT)
12. Silent Treatment (reggae version)
13. You Got Me
14. Drum & percussion duet
15. Peter Piper [Run DMC cover]
49min04sec

Black Thought – MC
Questlove – drums
HUB – bass
Kamal – keys
Scratch – human beatbox
F. Knuckles – percussion
Ben Kenney – guitar

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Next up is a video from their European Tour just a few weeks later. By this point, guitarist Ben Kenney had left to join Incubus on bass. Having been with The Roots since the summer of 2001 when he filled in on bass while HUB was out, he switched to guitar in mid-August of 2001, then departed in mid-March of 2003.

For this short European tour, Vernon Reid & Martin Luther both held down guitar duties. By May of 2003, Captain Kirk Douglas stepped in on guitar and has been in the band ever since. Presented for the first time with upgraded audio, you can watch this video on youtube, download the DVD, or download the broadcast audio.

The Roots
March 23rd, 2003
Koln, Germany @ E-Werk
TV broadcast (pro-shot) > PAL VHS (low generation) > DVDR (Panasonic in flexible record mode) > Sony Vegas Video 10.0 (audio upgrade) > DVDR

DOWNLOAD DVD TORRENT HERE

DOWNLOAD AUDIO TORRENT HERE

01. Rock You
02. Thought @ Work
03. Swept Away
04. The Next Movement
05. Quills
06. Bass solo
07. Sacrifice
08. Double Trouble
09. Improv Jam (w/ Roy Hargrove & Vernon Reid)
10. Fuck All My Enemies interlude > You Got Me
11. Drums & percussion duet
12. Keyboard solo
13. Hip Hop 101
14. Human beatbox solo > Hip Hop 101
73min46sec

Black Thought – MC
Questlove – drums
HUB – bass
Kamal – keys
Scratch – human beatbox
F. Knuckles – percussion
Vernon Reid – guitar
Martin Luther – guitar, vocals

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Next up is a broadcast video from the North Sea Jazz Festival during the summer of 2003. This video features both Martin Luther and Captain Kirk Douglas on guitars. And by this point, Scratch had departed from the group.

The Roots
July 11, 2003
The Hague, Netherlands @ North Sea Jazz Festival

DOWNLOAD DVD TORRENT HERE

Part 1 of 3:

01. Swept Away
02. The Next Movement
03. Quills
04. Love of My Life
05. Interlude I
06. Water
07. Interlude II
08. Break You Off
09. Bass solo
10. Guitar solo
11. Interlude III
12. You Got Me
13. Drum & percussion duet
14. Keyboard solo
15. Hip Hop 101
57min43sec

Part 2 of 3:

Black Thought – MC
Questlove – drums
HUB – bass
Kamal – keys
F. Knuckles – percussion
Martin Luther – guitar, vocals
Captain Kirk Douglas – guitar, vocals

Part 3 of 3:

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Finally, I have a short broadcast video from the Hurricane Festival in Germany on June 21, 2003. This video features Captain Kirk Douglas on guitar.

The Roots
June 21, 2003
Scheessel, Germany @ Hurricane Festival

01. Thought @ Work
02. Questlove interview
03. Thought @ Work (continued)
04. The Next Movement
05. Questlove interview
06. The Next Movement (continued)
07. Quills
08. Questlove interview
30min35sec

Black Thought – MC
Questlove – drums
HUB – bass
Kamal – keys
F. Knuckles – percussion
Captain Kirk Douglas – guitar, vocals

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P.S. I also recently uploaded 4 audio recordings of Cody ChesnuTT from his 2003/4 Headphone Masterpiece tour when he opened for The Roots. Download them here.

John Medeski, Adam Deitch & Skerik 1.5.12 @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York City – VIDEOS with AUDIO UPGRADE

Shortly before boarding Jam Cruise 10, Adam Deitch and Skerik joined John Medeski for an improvisational freak out at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge. It was a pre-show for NYC’s 2012 Winter Jazz Fest and also featured Jessica Lurie‘s new ensemble (featuring Will Bernard) , Marc Ribot‘s Young Philadelphians, and up and comers, Red Baraat (who have a crazy sound of New Orleans brass band funk mixed with Indian bhangra) .

Some of you may have noticed that our friend jamjoints posted 40+ minutes of video of the Medeski, Deitch, Skerik set on youtube last week. He was gracious enough to supply me with the raw video files so I could upgrade the audio (kindly recorded on stage by Mr. Eric McRoberts). So here it is. 40+ minutes of improv including a cover of John Coltrane‘s A Love Supreme.

BTW, the audio download for the Medeski, Deitch, Skerik set is here.

Also, if you want more of Medeski Deitch & Skerik, check out this previous blog post: http://funkit.virose.net/?p=1027.

And one more thing. Don’t forget to follow @jamjoints on twitter for daily postings of new recordings on etree and Live Music Archive.