Jim James & the Roots Team Up at Prospect Park

Two of my favorite concerts this year have been the Roots and Jim James, so for me, it was a no-brainer to attend State of the Union in Prospect Park.  Billed as "an evening of collaborative performances," the show only featured four such collaborations, but solid sets from both acts satisfied the soggy spectators.

"A little rain's nothin' to be afraid of.  I think it makes it more fun," remarked Jim James as raindrops fell on the Brooklyn crowd.  "Every time we've played in the rain, we've been lucky enough to get a beautiful rainbow."  While we never got the rainbow, we did get to watch James have a blast.  On "Know Til Now" alone, he mimicked a sax solo on a real saxophone and danced around with a golden teddy bear statue held high above his head of wild hair.  If it was your first time seeing Jim James in concert, it would've been hard for you not to be completely hypnotized by the charismatic frontman.  However, I attended his fourth solo show ever, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, so I was more interested in seeing how the band (guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Ratterman, keyboardist Dan Dorff, bassist Alana Rocklin, and drummer Dave Givan) would gel now that they'd had more gigs under their belt.  Although they didn't top the dark magic they conjured in "God's Love to Deliver" at MHOW, their time playing together resulted in a few new glorious jams by stretching out some of the other Regions of Light tracks.  After Jim James' solo on "Dear One," he left Dorff, Ratterman, and Givan onstage for a pounding three-member drum section that was then reduced to a Givan solo, packed tightly with propulsive fills.  James returned with a black towel on his head to slow things down with "A New Life," taking what seemed like a minute-long pause before delivering the final "Once more!" into the song's joyous ending.  "Of the Mother Again" benefited from some sweet vocal harmonies from Rocklin and Dorff, as well as a groovy closing trip.  

"All is Forgiven" was the standout. The band ripped open the dirge with sounds resembling the crackling electricity of the switch used to bring life to the Frankenstein monster. They continued down the macabre path with James adding some sax to the high-voltage mix before making his way into the wings.  As it turns out, Jim was the reanimated monster, creeping stiff-leggedly back onto the stage while singing the opening lines of "God's Love to Deliver." The 13-minute opus featured laser keys, a saxophone reprise, and a ferocious electric solo that had the roadie struggling to put the guitar's wireless transmitter back in JJ's suit pocket. "It's a real goddamn pleasure being out here," James said, having finished the Regions album, minus "Exploding."  He capped it off with Monsters of Folk's "The Right Place" and the Woody Guthrie-penned "Changing World" just as the rain stopped.

I was glad the storm ceased, though I knew the weather would have no effect on the legendary Roots crew. Their uninterrupted set in the rain at Beale St. Music Featival in May was the best of the fest. They took the same non-stop house party approach, albeit abridged. Pausing during "Mellow My Man," Black Thought polled the audience, "Brooklyn, y'all still with us or what?" It was a warranted question, as a snippet of "Jungle Boogie" was unfortunately the only tune that had succeeded in igniting the crowd. This made the heady keyboard jam following "Jusufckwithis" an even bolder decision, whereas in Memphis they went with a ?uestlove drum solo that whipped the crowd into a frenzy. If I had to pinpoint the moment things turned around, it was a little ways into the epic "You Got Me" sequence, the hallmark of any Roots show. Percussionist Frank Knuckles jumped from his riser and did a lap around the stage, raising his sticks in the air to elicit applause, and sprinted back to hit his cymbal perfectly in time. This lead into Kirk Douglas singing along with his guitar notes, climaxing into "Sweet Child o' Mine," where audience excitement hit an all-time high.  The Roots owned everyone from that juncture on.  The band fed off the energy of the fans, and vice-versa, creating that perfect concert symbiosis.

I found it a little disheartening that so much love was shown for the covers as opposed to the originals, but then again, several Roots' classics like "Proceed" and "Step Into the Realm" weren't on the setlist.  But now that we were eating out of their hands, they brought their own material back, and we lapped it up.  The crowd smiled at F. Knuckles' silent hypeman schtick on "Here I Come," but they absolutely lost their shit when the entire band broke into a choreographed dance.  Cody Chesnutt may not have performed "The Seed" at the Bandshell last week, but the Roots plunged into it with gusto, and the fans responded by singing along even louder.  Nobody cared that they were playing it safe by ending with two more covers, especially during "Move on Up" when Capt. Kirk and Tuba Gooding, Jr. leapt off of the stage and raced into the center lane that divided the venue.  "Celebrate Brooklyn! Celebrate life!" Black Thought yelled to the screaming masses.

The stage was dark, but camera flashes illuminated the lion-like Jim James smiling for photos with the band.  We kept cheering for the partnership we'd been promised, and two minutes later, the lights popped on, revealing Jim and the Roots.  They began with "Dear God," bringing to life the Roots' 2.0 version of the Monsters of Folk track. James sang the hook and even busted out some more saxophone. The Roots-James union reached its pinnacle with a reggaefied take on Prince's "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," so unique in sound that it wasn't immediately recognizable.  They followed with two songs James performed at last week's Bonnaroo Rock n' Soul Dance Party Superjam, Bill Withers' "Use Me" and John Lennon's "Instant Karma!" While typically a fail-safe cover, "Use Me" was a strange misstep, seemingly done in a different key.  "Instant Karma!" was good, but it was over too quickly, possibly because the encore itself was so brief.  Hell, it was only twice as long as "God's Love to Deliver."  And though I would've preferred more of the alliance, I walked home in a good mood, a Jim James' shirt in hand and a Roots' song in head.

JIM JAMES - 06.18.13 - PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL (1 hour, 15 minutes)

SET -
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.) / Know Til Now / Dear One / A New Life / Of the Mother Again / Actress / All is Forgiven / God's Love to Deliver / The Right Place / Changing World

THE ROOTS - 06.18.13 - PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL (1 hour, 10 minutes)

SET -

Table of Contents, pt. 1 > The Next Movement > Get Busy > Jungle Boogie > Mellow My Man > Jusufckwithis > Keyboard Jam > Who Are You & Who Are Your Crew* > Break You Off > Turn on the Lights* > You Got Me > Shame on You* > Love to Love You Baby > Shame on You* > Sweet Child o' Mine > Bad to the Bone > Who Do You Love > Bad to the Bone > Immigrant Song > Welcome to Jamrock > You Got Me > Unknown (tease)* > Thought @ Work > Apache / How I Got Over > Get Into It* > Here I Come > The Seed 2.0 > Move on Up > Men at Work

JIM JAMES & THE ROOTS - 06.18.13 - PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL (25 minutes)

ENCORE -

Dear God 2.0 / I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man / Use Me / Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

Beale Street Music Festival: Day 2 Review

For day two, we had wanted to get to the festival in time to see Blind Mississippi Morris because Brad Webb would be playing with him, but our ride lied to us, so we made the journey downtown via the Memphis city bus system.  It gave us a chance to see the city from a local's perspective, driving past tiny brick houses and Speedy's Donuts & Deli, which was advertising a "Toast Sandwitch" as part of its grand opening.  The scene at Beale St. was completely different than the previous day, with vendors selling fishbowls of alcohol to ponchoed pedestrians.  Evangelical Christians with signs were out to protest the debauchery.  We timed the rain shower perfectly with a meal at Miss Polly's Soul City Cafe, where I had some of the best chicken and waffles I've ever had.  The waffle was crisp with a fluffy inside, and the fried chicken skin pulled back to reveal juicy, tender meat so delicious it made me consider eating chicken again permanently (I gave up chicken a few years ago, but make an exception for chicken and waffles.).  We paid our respects to the Elvis statue, and walked down to the riverbank, joining the line to enter the festival.  The female security guard was intense, confiscating Carrie's granola bars because she couldn't prove she was diabetic.  God forbid someone sneak some healthy food into this place.  "You got any knives on you?" the guard asked me.  I laughed in her face.

Jerry Lee Lewis' band was getting the crowd's mojo working when we arrived just in time for them to introduce the Beale St. Music Festival stalwart.  "Well, at least it ain't rainin'," Lewis offered with a laugh, taking a seat at the piano.  At 77, his voice isn't what it used to be, but his piano-playing hasn't suffered a bit, pounding out a set of originals and covers in his trademark style, chock full of glissandos.  He came across as a funny grandfather, especially when commenting on the weather.  "It was cold when I got out here.  Now it's kinda... little bit cold," he said, wiggling his fingers.  But rock's original wildman hasn't gone completely soft either.  "Nice piano.  Don't worry; I'm not gonna burn it up.  Not unless she gives me a really hard time.  Then I might strike a match to it," he warned the audience.  After a rollicking "Roll Over Beethoven," Lewis slowed things down with his take on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."  Somewhere, a fan blew a few soap bubbles into the sky, creating the illusion of Glinda floating by.  "I know there's a lot of requests out there, but I can't do all of 'em," Jerry Lee said, settling for his two best-known singles, originally recorded down the street at Sun Studio: "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire."  Everyone sang along.  It may have been an abbreviated set, but I'm glad I got to see him perform. 

"It feels good to be back in the dirty South," proclaimed Big Boi after opening with an Outkast medley of "Bust," "ATLiens," "Skew It on the Bar-B," and "Rosa Parks."  A DJ spun his backing tracks, supplemented by a live guitarist and drummer to enhance the concert experience.  "Shutterbug" had me grinning from ear to ear, especially when Big Boi and his hype man hopped on one foot in a choreographed dance.  The Sir Lucious Left Foot barrage continued with "General Patton," "Follow Us," and "Daddy Fat Sax."  He followed that with two Outkast bangers, "Ghettomusick" and "B.O.B." before cooling out on "Ms. Jackson."  Turning the mic to the crowd to sing "ooh ooh ooh" while the DJ dropped the audio only furthered the inclusive, party feel.  Though it was tough leaving, we departed when Big Boi brought out special guest, Killer Mike.

We only left Big Boi because we had to see Mavis Staples.  Her band was just finishing an instrumental as we snagged a choice spot in the center of the mat.  Mavis used a cane to return to the stage, looking like a soulful Yoda.  Bundled up in layers, including a scarf and a hoodie, Staples led the group on the Staples Singers' 1975 #1 hit "Let's Do It Again."  I could hear the bass from "The Way You Move" bleeding from the other stage, but when the band dropped into "I'll Take You There," I knew I'd made the right decision.  Mavis took her time with the song, chatting to the audience throughout.  "We've been takin' y'all there for 63 years!  And we ain't tired yet," she announced.  Then, with a smirk, "How 'bout dem Grizzlies?" causing the crowd to go nuts after the previous day's advancing win over the Clippers.  After embarking on some crazy vocal riffing that sounded like a cross between the fairy godmother and the boogieman, she urged the audience to participate by singing the four little words of the hook back to her: "I know if we can take y'all there for 63 years, y'all can take us there for 60 seconds."  She held out her microphone, and we took her there.

The Black Keys drew the biggest crowd of the weekend, so we weren't able to get super-close, but we were still closer than at Global Festival.  Unfortunately, the sound was muddier than the ground we were standing on, the drums flat and the vocals barely audible.  It's a shame too because Dan Auerbach was really letting his solos rip on "Howlin' for You" and "Gold on the Ceiling."  Maybe if more time was spent soundchecking instead of stringing up the giant flashbulbs, it could've been improved.  They still hadn't switched up their setlist from last year, so we retreated halfway through "Your Touch."

I've seen Warren Haynes solo, guesting with Grace Potter, and sitting in with Soulive, but never fronting the Mule, so we trudged back to the Orion Stage.  Sadly, they were most of the way through "Soulshine" by the time we found a spot, Haynes teasing the Allman Brothers' "Jessica" in his final licks.  They proceeded with the crunchy "Thorazine Shuffle."  "Banks of the Deep End" was the perfect vehicle for Warren's gruffly beautiful voice, and he inserted a bit of "Ohio" into the song on the anniversary of the massacre at Kent State.  They closed with a pair of funky By a Thread tracks, "Steppin' Lightly" and "Broke Down on the Brazos."  The crowd cheered for more, but the band had to clear off to make way for ZZ Top.

The Roots capped off the evening perfectly with a continuous set lasting over an hour and a half.  Nothing could stop them; not even the light rain that had some fans reaching for their ponchos.  The first third of the set focused mainly on Roots classics like "Table of Contents," "The Next Movement," and "Proceed," with the first pause coming 33 minutes in, mid-"Mellow My Man."  Black Thought breathlessly remarked, "I need a cup of coffee, y'all," and they jumped back into the song, not breaking for another 28 minutes until a fake-out ending in "Immigrant Song."  "Immigrant Song?" you say.  Already no strangers to the cover tune, the band's time on Late Night has allowed them to pick up even more, injecting bits of "Love to Love You Baby," "Bad to the Bone," and "Mercy" into the mix.  Even the "Inspector Gadget Theme" made an appearance!  "Welcome to Memphis," their take on Damian Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock," saw them creating some eerie live dub sounds, the crowd singing back, "Out in the streets they call it murderrrrr!"  The band was in top form, ?uestlove keeping the ferocious pace, Tuba Gooding, Jr. blasting on his sousaphone, and Kirk Douglas singing along with his guitar solo.  After rocking us with "The Seed 2.0" and "Move on Up," they closed up shop with Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo's "Men at Work."  "Thank you! God bless! Goodnight!" said Black Thought, finally able to exhale.  Legendary Roots crew, indeed.

Check out Day 1 and stay tuned for Day 3.

JERRY LEE LEWIS - 05.04.13 - BEALE ST. MUSIC FESTIVAL

SET -

Move on Down the Line / You Win Again / Wine Spodee-O-Dee / Before the Night is Over / Waiting for a Train / She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye / Why You Been Gone So Long / Roll Over Beethoven / Somewhere Over the Rainbow / Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On / Great Balls of Fire

THE ROOTS - 05.04.13 - BEALE ST. MUSIC FESTIVAL (1 hour, 32 minutes)

SET -
Table of Contents, pt. 1 > The Fire > The Next Movement > Step Into the Realm > Let's Take It Back > Proceed > Get Busy > Jungle Boogie > Drum Solo > Dynamite! > Inspector Gadget Theme > Mellow My Man > Jusufckwithis > What It Is* > Who Are You & Who is Your Crew* > Break You Off > You Got Me > Shame on You* > Love to Love You Baby > Shame on You > Sweet Child o' Mine > Bad to the Bone > Who Do You Love > Bad to the Bone > Welcome to Jamrock > You Got Me > Mercy > Thought @ Work > Apache > How I Got Over > Get Into It* > Here I Come > The Seed 2.0 > Move on Up > Men at Work

Ben Kenney Powers Through His Second Week at Rockwood

Originally, February 13th had been reserved on my calendar for Ben Kenney at Rockwood Music Hall, but then I was presented with the opportunity to see the Sound City Players at Hammerstein.  So imagine my excitement when it was announced that Kenney would be playing Rockwood again on the 27th, and this time "taking it up another notch" according to his Twitter.  For those of you who may not recognize Kenney by name, perhaps you're acquainted with a group in which he used to play guitar called the Roots?  Or maybe you've heard him play bass in a little band known as Incubus?  His own tunes lean more towards progressive rock, and if you're intrigued, Ben has generously given away his discography for free on his website.

"I'm gonna make a preemptive disclaimer that I've had a lot to drink.  Let's get it on.  Let's see if I'm not too drunk," he challenged before crunching into "Not Today," the opening track off 2008's Distance & Comfort.  Though Ben's performance wasn't hindered by his alcohol consumption, I was struggling with my own buzz.  A waitress approached me right before the set, and informed me there was a one-drink minimum.  While normally I wouldn't care, I recently saw Ben Taylor and Broken Anchor at the venue, and each time, beverages weren't required.  (I might add that their website mentions nothing about drink minimums either.)  Had I known, I wouldn't have been in Williamsburg right before, downing some 11% ABV beers on an empty stomach.  Alcohol doesn't enhance concerts for me, so that extra beer just got on my nerves; not to mention it's harder to take notes with a fucking pint glass in my hand.

Rhythmic clapping bridged the gap between "Not Today" and new song "Leave on Your Makeup."  "Empty Handed" exemplified Ben's impressive vocal range, his voice not unlike his Incubus bandmate's, Brandon Boyd.  Backed by two friends, Joe Baldacci on drums, and Ashley Mendel on bass, Ben turned the mic over to Ashley for "Distress!"  The Mendel-penned ditty featured one of the heaviest grooves of the night, but I much preferred Ben's voice to Ashley's, whose tone matched his emo haircut.

The ready-for-the-radio new number "Concord" was reprised from two weeks ago, though this time without the "Mickey" and "Low Rider" teases at its start.  Admitting his guitar was out of tune, Kenney defiantly said, "Fuck the tuner."  "Just make it louder," offered Mendel.  And louder he made it on "Rubber Sheets," which featured a guitar solo that brought Kenney to his knees, out of sight to many in the packed house.  When you could see him, his face was a series of alternately pained and joyous expressions, real guitar-player looks.  "The vein is gonna come out the forehead that only comes it when I'm bending over or bending over," he warned before a breakneck "Aftertouch."  "That song went by fast," he laughed at its end.

Unfortunately for me, the whole show zoomed by, even though it was a 56-minute set, which is lengthy for Rockwood.  They followed with "Truly," a song by the Division Group, the band Kenney formed with Mendel on drums and Soulive's Neal Evans on keys.  He then gave the audience some vocal coaching for a two-part harmony on "Worlds Collide," another highlight of the night.  For the final song, Kenney chose "Wrong" from 2006's Maduro.  Not content to end it there (Hey, he promised to take it up a notch.), the band segued into the Pearl Jam classic "Even Flow" to end the show.  "Let's go to the bar next door and get drunk afterwards," Ben suggested to the applauding crowd.  If I hadn't have been halfway there already, I may have taken him up on the offer.

BEN KENNEY - 02.27.13 - ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL (56 minutes)

Not Today > Leave on Your Makeup* / Empty Handed > Distress! / Rubber Sheets / Concord / Aftertouch / Welcome to the Jungle (tease) / Truly / Worlds Collide / Wrong > Even Flow

Soulive and Karl Denson Play a Quick Set

I went to Summerstage today to see Soulive play with Karl Denson. I've had mp3s by the goateed saxophonist for ten years now, and I was introduced to Soulive five years ago, when I worked with the Evans brothers' brother. This was right when they released No Place Like Soul, adding Toussaint the Liberator to their lineup as vocalist. Purists rejected the new sound and Toussaint moved on, which was a letdown for me because I found him to be quite a welcome addition. Admittedly, I've never been a huge jazz fan. I can appreciate it, but it's not something I listen to frequently. I'd never seen Soulive or Karl Denson, so now was the time.

The line to get into the event was long, likely due to opener Riq & Rah (Black Thought and Rahzel). I caught some of their performance, but mainly had to listen in line as they covered recent hip-hop songs like "Hip Hop is Dead" and "Otis." "If your friends are out there now, wave goodbye to 'em," informed the security guard who let our batch of the queue inside. I made my way in just as they took things way back with Slick Rick's "Children's Story." Their set ended with the last verse of "The New Style" in a tribute to Adam Yauch.

Soulive and Denson took the stage modestly, and then dropped a bomb on the crowd, with what would possibly be their funkiest song of the night. Guitarist Eric Krasno played with an intensity that suggested he was fighting inner demons, and Neal Evans spun sonic spiderwebs with his Hammond B3. Karl then traded out his sax for a flute, and they played the title track off their collaborative EP Spark! that comes out on Tuesday. The release is a tribute to jazz guitarist Melvin Sparks, but I'm not sure if the songs are covers or just similar in sound to his work. Song three featured an amazing saxophone solo by Denson (Maybe it was the funkiest?) and some slick drumwork by Alan Evans, who holds his drumsticks in the traditional grip, making it appear so effortless.

After three jazzy workouts, the final song was a misstep in my opinion. It began with some ominous bass keys and flute, but then Krasno started sprinkling Moroccan guitar riffs into the mix, causing the groove to sort of unravel. Amping up the licks with Hendrixian distortion towards the end of the song seemed a last ditch effort to bring it back together. It would've been less of a disappointment if they had played another song after, but those 37 minutes were it. It burned bright at the start, but before you knew it, it fizzled out and was over. Spark indeed.