Strongest at The Roots...

So many concert experiences start the same way...after a lengthy wait, the room goes silent for a moment, the lights go down, the fans scream in anticipation of a band's performance. The Roots show last night in Pontiac was no different except for the excitement of a seeing such a big band with a big sound in a small venue. This was a rare nightclub gig for the Legendary Roots Crew that was sponsored by Tanqueray at Sevin. And The Roots did not disappoint as they snaked their way past their fans then up onto the stage. ?uestlove leading the way, each member was keeping the beat on cowbells, tambourines, etc. All 10 members made it to the stage and from there, the jam began.

Game Theory, Everybody is a Star, Long Time & Love of My Life. Next came a look back with a medley of hip hop favorites from days gone by...Award Tour (Tribe Called Quest), Apache (Sugar Hill Gang), Just a Friend (Biz Markie), Push It (Salt 'n Pepa) and Planet Rock (Afrika Bambaata). Hearing all those old favorites got the crowd sufficiently hyped and reminded us all why we love hip hop so much. You Got Me featured some guitar work that would make Eddie Van Halen blush, while the group's take on Kool & The Gang's, Jungle Boogie featured ?uestlove's crazy percussion skills. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's Summertime provided a nice intro vibe that the group slowly transformed into the recent hit Don't Feel Right. From there a few more crowd favorites...The Next Movement and a reggae dance hall version of The Seed.

Cristian Rios captured some nice images of the show, including ?uestlove's late night DJ Session in Detroit. Check out his Photobucket images here. Here is a good shot of Black Thought early in the night (I even snuck into the background of one of his shots...so sly, Thanks Cris). Take some time to check out Cris' other photos, he has some shots of the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame's newest inductee (and first from the world of Hip Hop), Grandmaster Flash. Flash, one time! Makes me feel better knowing the Okayplayer family tree is getting stronger by the day...and everybody knows a tree is strongest at "The Roots" (never a doubt).