Live Review: The Roots, Urthboy

Tonight Urthboy is leading us up the steps to the temple of hip hop. A solid performer on the local music scene, he is backed up by a DJ, drummer, keyboards and vocal collaborator, Jane Tyrrell.

Urthboy demonstrates strong vocal skill and stage presence, but the content of some verses is lost in the mix. The counterpoint female vocal provided by Tyrrell is a triumph and they deliver popular singles including We Get Around, Knee Length Socks and The Signal as expected. Lineage is an important point in rap and the added extra here is the paying of respect to the pioneers of the local scene and (of course) to The Roots.

The Roots show how hip hop can be at its most compelling when it is charged with social and political content. Over the last 20 years, The Roots have released a string of solid albums, collaborated with some of the best in the business and been widely acclaimed as one of the best hip hop groups and live performers around, with good reason. 

Lead vocalist Black Thought unleashes some of the best rap lines you will ever hear and the live delivery is like a continuous, stream-of-consciousness, lyrical flow. There are no breaks between tracks, no talking to the audience to fill in some time, just interrupted energy.

Some performers are content to repeat the same studio version of a song for years, however The Roots are looking for something more and the breadth of their musical ability opens up creative doors that are closed to many. Solid beats from ?uestlove anchor the set as it ebbs and flows. This is an evolving journey and they can get bit funky, or draw jazz inflections as required. Highlights include a tuba solo, (understandable given the tradition of marching bands in the USA) and Capt'n Kirk scatting along with his guitar.

The Roots' recent slot on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has led to an increased fan base. Instead of a reprise of Fishbone's Lyin Ass Bitch, they channel a Living Colour style of rock, covering sections of Guns & Roses and tracks Bad to the Bone, reggae classic Uptown Top Ranking and several others. This is a popular interlude, but is not as compelling as their original works.

Fans of the band's original music may have preferred a straight hip hop show and fans of the cover tracks may not have connected with the purer, first half of the performance. Perhaps that's the message - good music should bring people together and not isolate itself behind genre boundaries and preconceptions. The Roots are in their element live, are great stage performers and don't have to answer to anyone when they deliver a show as good as this.