Digging the Roots

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Opening act DJ P-Money got the crowd going with some relatively commercial hip hop and rap but managed to sneak in a few obscure treats. His spinning of Nas, Biggie, Common and Jay-Z amongst others gained the most support and cheers from those in attendance, not to mention his dazzling beat-juggling, which probably got the biggest cheers of all. Although the crowd wasn't much of a crowd until near the end of his set, P-Money did a great job of warming us up for what was to follow.

By the time the break between acts came, the Enmore was packed, and buzzing with excitement. I hear it was a sellout - it bloody well looked sold out to me. As soon as the opening strains of the introductory track wafted through the speakers, the masses began to cheer. One by one, each member came out and took their respective positions. The Roots had the

wonderful female vocalist Maimouna touring as a part of their group and she was a pleasure to the eyes and ears. Opening the set with an almost tribal rendition of Web they moved confidently into an altered version of Thought At Work which got a huge reaction. Every Roots set I've heard, whether live or on record, has a wonderful sense of flow to it. Making a set work this well is a true talent and shows the skill of drummer and musical director for the group Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, who whipped up an oustanding set for this tour and played like a beast.

The remainder of the set included a lot of material from The Tipping Point album and a liberal spread from other Roots albums, including the odd cover. Songs of note included Star (an outstanding reworking of the classic by Sly and the Family Stone), I Don't Care, What They Do, crowd favourite You Got Me, The Next Movement and Proceed. With most songs including solos from instrumental members, the wow factor was huge. Particularly outstanding were the multiple solos from "Captain" Kirk Douglas and a face-melting combined solo from percussionist Frank "Knuckles" Walker and ?uestlove. Break You Off ran into an amazing bass solo from rock solid player Leonard "Hub" Hubbard; he got a loud reaction while he broke ear drums with the chops-laden display. The jam session-esque cover of Melting Pot provided a backdrop for the musicians to shine.

Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, the group's emcee and front man, spat lyrics like wildfire, not missing a single syllable of his word-heavy songs, notably the aforementioned opener Web, which is essentially carried by his rhymes and the beat put down by ?uestlove (yes, his name really does start with a ?) and Knuckles. The band seemed relaxed and happy for the entirity of the show with some amusing moments between members (a mini dance contest with Maimouna and Kirk provided laughs for those with a keen eye) and total commitment to the crowd and themselves; no member at any stage seemed detatched or absent and all seemed to be having the time of their lives. A surprise laugh was had when, in one of the songs, the volume of all instruments dropped and a single high pitched feminine voice was heard to be singing. A look at Maimouna established it wasn't her and no one else was near a microphone until Black Thought turned around to draw attention to the fact it was none other than ?uestlove (who, may I add, has a great girlie voice).

The expected encore was thrilling nonetheless, with extra solos and songs that capped off the show. As the lights came up, each member came down to the barrier to shake hands and pass out setlists, sweat towels and picks. ?uestlove removed the drumhead from his auxilery snare and got each member to sign it before throwing it into the crowd frisbee-style.

I left the Enmore satisfied that I had seen something that changed me, but also with the feeling that more people needed to see the show. Take this as some serious advice, people: see The Roots the next time they come to Australia. Explore their work and you will not be disappointed.

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Puff not punk

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"DoI look like an Antichrist in this dress...?"

The cultural references are punk and Cyndi Lauper, a pair that one would not usually expect to find fused together. Has Dennehy confused Lauper's spiked and coloured hair with Brit Punk tonsures of the same period? Lauper is after all American and US punk at that time was more frequently represented by leather jackets and medium length hair (greasy). The piece makes no distinction between appearance and musical style, simply casting a wide cultural net and looking for surface similarities. All this gives us is confusion.

Rogue Traders is described as a "dance act" adding more confusion. Their single "…remains in the top 10 of the ARIA charts after 12 weeks", "…has been all over commercial radio" but is apparently the "…sleeper hit of the year". Some sleeper!!

Bassingthwaighte apparently has "…an extensive musical background". The one example cited of this was her recent role as Sandy in the musical "Grease". Another stylistic possibility to add to the pot?

Face it Luke, all you were really saying was the equivalent of the Kath'n'Kimesque "LOOKAMOI, LOOKAMOI". If you are going to attempt to illustrate that call, try to make sure you know something about the references you quote and don't underrate logic and consistency. One last suggestion: if all you are really talking about is the clothing and hairstyle of the subject, perhaps the piece should appear in the fashion pages.

Read Luke Dennehy's original article.

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