The Roots vs Antibalas

The format of the show was like nothing I've seen before. They had two stages set up on opposite sides of the room with a dance floor in the middle. First they "warmed up" (each played a few songs). Then the format was multiple "rounds" where the two bands were given certain challenges. For instance--round one was "The Cover". The DJ (who opened the night with a bunch of funky jams) would drop a record, and each band would have to finish the song in their own style. Next round was "The Takeover" where one band would start one of their own songs, and the other band would have to finish it. Next was "The Clash" where the DJ would play a style of music, and each band would have to play one of their own songs in that style. Then "The Joker" where each band brought up a surprise special guest. And then a finale with both bands on the same stage (they played a Fela Kuti song). The whole thing was hosted by Akrobatic, a local legend of Boston hip-hop, and he's just a walking talking good time...

The only downside was the song selection for the "Covers" and "Clash" rounds. For Covers, it was all TV theme songs!! First it was Cheers, then The Jeffersons, then Knight Rider... i was hoping for some... well... songs... and the "Clash" could have been more diverse, too. First was reggae, then jazz flavor one, then jazz flavor two. I think it would have been fun to see them play punk, classical, hair-metal, etc. And then there's the inherent contradiction of two bands that are pretty overtly anti-corporate in their lyrics playing under a "Red Bull" banner... but i'm sure that only weirdos like me would let that enter their thought process during a night of such incredible music.

Overall, it was a REALLY cool show and they kept us dancing/head-bobbing for the whole thing. It was well rehearsed and there wasn't anything going on that the bands weren't expecting and hadn't practiced before hand, so it wasn't like they were going to be thrown for a loop or had to make stuff up on the spot. But it was great to see the interplay between them, and great to hear the fusing of the two styles. The Roots live band isn't really like a hip-hop show--they had a tuba player, no DJ, sort of a funk-rock feel, not really a boom-bap rap on any of the tunes. Antibalas is just awesome, in my opinion--I happen to love Afrobeat so I'm biased. But they are great at what they do. Really tight, really funky. Best show I've seen all year, and I'm sure I'll still be able to say that in December. Unless we play a show that I'm able to watch from outside of my own physical body.