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

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.

AUDIO: The Robert Glasper Trio – 2/11/12 – St. Louis, MO @ Jazz At The Bistro

When Robert Glasper arrived at St. Louis’ premier jazz venue, Jazz At The Bistro, he promptly apologized for twice canceling prior engagements at the club (one due to the birth of his child and another due to a call from Maxwell to go on tour). He more than made up for it with 2 sets of his pensive yet blissful piano playing. With him were fellow Houstonian Alan Hampton on upright bass and St. Louis native Mark Colenburg on the drum kit.

Glasper recounted how he met Colenburg back in 1999 at this very club and how he recommended Colenburg to Common for the Like Water For Chocolate tour. Quite expectedly, Colenburg showed and proved in his hometown with two snare drums, plenty of chops, and a heavy nod to J Dilla‘s fluid yet angular sense of rhythm.

With the news of Whitney Houston‘s unexpected passing, Glasper dedicated the first tune to her, beginning the 20+ minute piece with a meditative and lengthy solo piano improvisation. After a short “J Dillalude”, Glasper jokingly name dropped 11 of the 12 guests appearing on his new album, Black Radio, and reminded everyone that the new album drops in 2 weeks. In his words, “cop that”. He closed the early show by taking requests, to which at least two audience members immediately shouted “F.T.B.” without hesitation. When someone asked “what does it stand for?”, Glasper declined to answer, preferring to “keep it off record”. Your guess is as good as mine. Notably, the trio teased The Roots‘ Grammy award winning song, “You Got Me”, as the final notes of the set.

Playing to a totally different, and noticeably younger and whiter, crowd for the late show, the trio stretched out much further. The set began with 30 minutes of non-stop music that shifted from on point jazz changes to open solos to an improvisation in which Glasper took a candle holder from the front table and held it to the piano strings as he played. (In fact, this is the section you hear on the streaming audio, above). After an hour of mesmerizing sounds, as icing on top, the show closed with a vamped out instrumental version of Q-Tip‘s track “You” from The Renaissance album. Completely satisfied, the crowd didn’t push for an encore, content to disperse back out into the cold night.

Here at Funk It, we like to bring only the choice content. So download our full 130 minute audio recording and don’t forget to spread the word about this blog to other like minded music lovers!

MP3 DOWNLOAD LINK (ZIP)

FLAC DOWNLOAD LINK (TORRENT)

Robert Glasper Trio
February 11, 2012
St. Louis, MO @ Jazz At The Bistro
Source: internal mics > Tascam DR-2d > WAV > Cool Edit Pro > FLAC
Location: In my jacket pocket. Early show: 2nd table dead center. Late show: 2nd table slightly to the right.
Recorded by RLBayers for Funk It Blog (http://funkit.virose.net/).

Early Show: 7:30pm
01. Glasper speaks
02. Canvas (Dedicated to Whitney Houston) >
03. No Worries *
04. J Dillalude
05. Drum solo > F.T.B. > You Got Me outro

Late Show: 9:30pm
01. Glasper speaks
02. Rise And Shine > drum solo > bass solo > Improv # >
03. ???
04. Glasper speaks
05. Smells Like Teen Spirit [Nirvana]
06. G & B (inc. bass solo) >
07. I Have A Dream [Herbie Hancock] >
08. You [Q-Tip]

Robert Glasper: piano, fender rhodes (on F.T.B. only)
Alan Hampton: bass
Mark Colenburg: drums

* My batteries died so about 6 or 7 minutes is missing in the middle. The track fades in and out at 4min43sec.

# Robert asked the audience member at the front table for the glass candle holder (with the small lit candle in it), then Robert held the candle holder to the piano strings while playing.

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