Jottings from the Granite Studio

Our friend from the bayou Mike J. hooked YJ and me up with VIP seats to The Roots concert last night. He called us the first day tickets went on sale and asked if I wanted him to pick up a few for me…Hell, yeah. I figured I could explain later to YJ why we’ll be eating ramen for the next two weeks.

First off: The band was tight. Serious musicians all, they could be among the best ‘technical’ musicians I’ve seen live since Phish disbanded. And it was a party. It started a little slow–some very slight technical problems and a quiet crowd (at first) made for an awkward beginning, but the show picked up momentum and by the end the Star Live club was popping. Fabulous time. They even pulled out a few classic rock and disco chestnuts for us geezers, quoting “Immigrant Song,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Rock and Roll, Part 2″ and “Iron Man” in between funky sets of originals. Picking out high points would be tough…but Captain Kirk’s guitar work was amazing–he did a bluesy solo number in the middle that recalled some sort of unholy alchemy of Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince. ?uestlove’s backbeat was solid, with complicated rhythms not once diminishing from the power of his drumming (Think of an even funkier John Bonham) and Black Thought kept the party jumping so well I almost forgave him for wearing a Yankees hat the whole time.

VIP tickets were pretty cool but had a “Luxury Box” feel to them. It was nice to be up high (we were directly above stage left) and we had our own sofa, table, and waitress. It was also refreshing to have a lot of space rather than constantly being jostled and such but here’s the thing…the jostling, standing in a sea of humanity all moving to the music–that really is the point of a concert. It’s like going to a baseball game: sitting up in the air conditioned bubble of a corporate box just doesn’t feel like being at the game. I think next time I’ll probably save some cash and go second tier down in front of the stage. Sonic Youth is coming to town next week, but after blowing out for Roots tix, I may have to wait a little longer before I go see another international act.

Now back to the books…