The Roots are my pick for Show Of The Year, and it's only March

Lost: One pair of socks
Where: Knocked off at The Roots concert on Saturday night.
If found please return to Jason.

That was one bad-ass funky damned concert. Damn. I know not everyone is into hip-hop, or don't listen to The Roots, or have any of their albums. But if you want to see a show, I mean an honestly entertaining, energetic, Showtime at The Apollo style show, then go see The Roots. It's maddeningly good. If you aren't grooving and moving, better have a Medic Alert bracelet 'cause you're down and not getting up.

Describing The Roots as a hip-hop act is like saying I watch a little TV: it's doesn't paint a full picture.

They're a live hip-hop act with no DJ or turntables. If they're using a sample, they're playing a sample, such as "Jungle Boogie" by Kool and the Gang and Radiohead's "You And Whose Army" (!). The 6-piece core band performed with a 4 piece brass section Brass Heaven (horn, tenor sax, trombone - the same players from Dave Chappelle's Block Party) plus a gawd-damn sousaphone player (!!) who moves like he just came out of a drumline (probably did). They play everything from funk to rock, with each band member getting a solo at some point in the show. The drummer, "?uestlove" (pronounced Questlove, aka Ahmir), is the frontman, spokesman, and producer, and the lyrics rage with urgency about a world, a society, and a country where “things don’t feel right over here.” Whether it's the government, our culture, or just everyday people let us down, they want everyone to just get their shit together, take responsibility for their actions, and get right.

Categorize that, Jack.

If you have to label The Roots, here it is: The Roots are the best example of what hip-hop can and should be, a positive force for change put to funky beats.

Rando Calrissian and I went to check The Roots out at Koolhaus. We've heard their albums for years, but were hyped about seeing them live after we saw them perform in Dave Chappelle's Block Party, where they performed their own tunes and collaborated as a de facto house band with Mos Def, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. I've been waiting a few years to see them, as my love for The Roots was over-powered by my contempt for The Docks as a concert venue, the site of their past few shows.

Zaki Ibrahim opened the show, and I was digging seeing a local songstress up there, drawing in the crowd with her beautifully lush voice reminiscent. The sweet lady's style reminds me of Jill Scott. As Rando would say, that was some baby making music. She got more comfortable as the show went on and shone with a sweet charisma. I've written about Zaki before, and I still say catch her while you can.

As the houselights go down, music starts wafting from the back of the arena. We think it's a speaker, but then I see "?uestlove's" afro bobbing up and down. The Roots hit the stage marching, entering through the crowd, getting us all pumped for the hype known as The Legendary Roots Crew from Philly. Black Thought (MC), "?uestlove" (drums and frontman), Hub (bass), Kamal (keyboard), Knuckles (percussion), and Captain Kirk (guitar) take the stage, with the 3 Philly-based Brass Heaven members, plus Clarence Thomas playing a sousaphone (think wrap around tuba). A warm greeting to the crowd and then they start tearing into the set list relentlessly, and don't stop for almost 2 1/2 hours. When have you seen a headlining band play more than an hour and a half? A few songs in, and then they start breaking out into the first of several interludes with select members of the band coming together. The first interlude was a solo by bassist Hub, who always plays with an ever-present chewstick in his mouth and looks like he just wakes up funky. This was followed by a fun bit of James Brown tribute as they broke out The Funky Drummer.

The show felt like a Motown revue show, hitting on different points all over the musical map, led throughout by Black Thought's smooth delivery. The man is a ninja on the mike. Throughout it all I recognized that vibe I saw in their performance in Dave Chappelle's Block Party: they were having as much fun as we were and were feeding off each other's energy. The only part where I was a momentarily disappointed is that they didn't have Zaki come out and sing on "You Got Me", which is sung sometimes with Jill Scott or Erykah. I say momentarily, because I was pleasantly impressed that guitarist Captain Kirk Douglas sang the song quite soulfully.

All through the show, if the Brass Heaven weren't playing, they're grooving on stage doing dance offs with each other. Clarence, the guy on sousaphone, had some good moves.... while still carrying the sousaphone. I mean this guy MOVED. I guarantee that on the Monday after the show, dozens of high school band directors were being asked why they don't have a sousaphone player that smooth. Or even a sousaphone, period.

About an hour and 15 minutes in, Black Thought announces we were at the halfway mark. I thought he was joking, but apparently not. An intermission was provided by the side-project Go Get A Late Pass, with "?uestlove", Kirk Douglas and sousaphonist Clarence Thomas doing their interpretation of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War", more as a performance think piece than merely a song. Rando thought it halted the momentum a bit, but I thought it wasn't about the show so much as needing us to listen up.

And then the party kept rolling, with their smiles beaming out into the crowd. The bass was thumping so hard and phat, Rando and I checked ourselves for nose bleeds. Twice. The Roots were playing together so tight, with some fantastic solos: couldn't they at least make it look hard? I mean there's "?uestlove" just grooving away, smiling with his giant afro swaying back and forth, calling the shots as bandleader.

The encore started off with a roaring "Are you not entertained? Do you want some more?????" before ripping into a rocking cover of "Roxanne" by The Police. My favourite song Seed 2.0 was played, and then we were re-introduced to the band with a Soul Train dance line, which saw "?uestlove" busting out moves to It's Not Unusual aka The Carleton Dance.

Rando turns to me: "Dude's doing your moves?!"

Perfect capper to the night.

MySpace: The Roots

Okayplayer.com - prominent online hip-hop website and community, co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson. Home to The Roots, Common, and Jill Scott amongst others

YouTube - The Roots "Don't Feel Right" trilogy video