I haven’t seen The Roots live since I lived in Berlin many years ago. That sentence covers more time than I want to think about. So when I heard they were coming to the Blue Note in LA, I immediately knew I wanted to attend. The band and the venue did not disappoint.
Watching Black Thought, my all-time favorite emcee, the gentleman I once got to meet, along with Questlove and the rest of the band, work a room of maybe a couple hundred people like they owned the place.
A Room Built for This
The Blue Note brand is more synonymous with New York. That location has decades of jazz history. The LA spot on Sunset is newer, but what it has is exactly what made last night work: it’s small. Intimate. You can see sweat and hear breath between bars.
We got there early enough to get a good spot in line before the doors opened. Once inside, we landed a table mid-stage. From there, the whole show felt personal in a way that big venues just don’t. You weren’t watching a concert. You were in a room watching a band do what they do.
The infamous blue backdrop was behind them the whole night. Simple. Right.
Black Thought Is Not Playing With You
He was locked in from the jump. Not going through the motions. Actually present. The set pulled deep from their catalog, and he delivered every bar with the kind of precision that still makes me shake my head after decades of being a fan.
The instrument solos were a reminder of what The Roots actually are: a real band. Every member can play. Not a rapper with backing tracks. Each musician had a moment, and each delivered as only The Roots can.
The Gut Punch
The place was moving and grooving all night, but at some point, Black Thought started dancing. Not a little shuffle. Actually dancing, moving with the band, and clearly seemed to be enjoying himself while leading the show.
That was it for me.
There’s something about watching someone that good, also just enjoying it. He wasn’t doing it for the crowd. The music was right, the room was right, and it felt like he was just happy to be there.
I was, too.
The Roots are one of my all-time favorites, and I still listen to them regularly. Not as a throwback. Because the music holds up, last night was proof that the live show does too.
I waited too long between Berlin and Sunset Boulevard. Last night reminded me why I’m not waiting that long again.
Now, if they’d just release that new album that keeps getting mentioned.
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