| « Tom Schraeder wears His Ego on his sleeve | America is killing ohGr with bacon » |
Review Fri Nov 14 2008
Standing in line on a cold night makes you Crazy? Possibly.
Last night was an exersize in organizational and logistical near-failure, as the call went out that a show, featuring The Roots and Cee-Lo, would be at the Vic and FREE caused more than a 40 minute wait outside waiting to get in.
This was an MGD sponsored event, so the product placement was there, the drink tokens were flying, and the comedian/emcee kept speaking of cool, refreshing taste, but everyone understood that the price for a free show was worth it in the end.
The Roots stepped up a bit after 9, and promptly tore it down. I've seen over 20 Roots shows , and I simply have never see them mail it in. The arrangements are always original, the musicians on point, and emcee Black Thought simply does his thing and does it at a high level.
Cee-Lo's debut on stage was met with absolute pandemonium. His began with a trip down memory lane with "Free," the introduction to his former group Goodie Mob's debut Soul Food, and "Cell Therapy," which was their first single in 1995. His rendition of "Who's Gonna Save Your Soul" was great, and the crowd, sensing a climax, screamed for the song they wanted.
One of the beauties of hip-hop shows, and Roots shows in particluar, is that they never do the song the same way it is on the album. So it took a while for people to pick up on the slower arrangement, the plodding of the drumline and the slow urge of the guitars, but the lyrics didn't change. "Crazy" drove the crowd, well, crazy. And after the song was seemingly over, they let the guitars loose and redid the chorus in full-out, rawk-style, which had them moshing on the main floor and dancing in the aisles in the balcony.
The show really amplified that Cee-Lo simply hasn't been around very long as a solo artist, and while he clearly could have done more stuff, particularly from Cee-Lo Green is the Soul Machine,, his inclusion was really as a special guest to The Roots constant aural barrage. It was quite clear that quite a few people were there to see Cee-Lo, and they probably came away disappointed, but all in all, it was a great show; tightly produced, constant music, and for a great price.
