Roots Picnic 2011 | Philly | Review | Pics
By Team JamBase Jun 7, 2011 • 12:22 pm PDT

4th Annual Roots Picnic :: 06.04.11 :: Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing :: Philadelphia, PA
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What didn’t work? The Dismemberment Plan and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti both had their own special qualities, but the reunited Dismemberment Plan’s version of pop rock definitely did not set the place on fire. Then, Ariel Marcus Rosenberg’s onstage announcement of having voice problems as he chain smoked through his set lacked any soul or punch to remove the lackluster mood at The Root’s own backyard shindig.
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The sun slipped behind a gray veil of afternoon clouds and the breaks in the outside action made for a lazy afternoon. With Vitamin Water covering the venue, four year Picnic veteran Amanda Diva riled the crowd with snippets of hip-hop trivia, call-outs for crowd MCs and an occasional ad-libbed rap over the DJ’s mix of old and new school hip-hop favorites. This new 30-minute fast digestion formula might have worked for main stage sets, but inside the tent there were growing issues that knocked most sets off schedule. However, Hank and Cupcakes made the best of their slot and were one of several afternoon highlights. This Brooklyn duo consisted of Hank on bass in a green jump suit and heavily smeared lipstick and his counterpart Cupcakes on drums with his upper torso wrapped in florescent pink tape. The duo threw down thumping dance rock out like a machine fueled by Saturday Night Fever VHS tapes and Matt & Kim mp3’s. Their songs “Ain’t No Love” and “Pleasure Town” featured heavy funk and 70s disco patterns that burned with sex and emotion. Cupcake’s contagious drumming energy, powerful voice and wild costume evoked squeals from the crowd. After their set the duo stuck around for the rest of the afternoon and could be seen all over taking the scene. Their colorful energy and oddball musical integrity was most appreciated at an event in danger of becoming boring.
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Esperanza Spalding connected immediately with the crowd, and many were desperate to have her onstage longer. It helps when you snag a Grammy and are backed by the Roots drummer Amhir “Questlove” Thompson and guitarist Kirk Douglas. She asked the crowd, “Who say’s jazz is dead?” before setting down her upright bass and strapping on a Fender. Spalding than proceeded to carve out one of the deepest, bawdiest pockets that the Festival Pier had ever felt or heard on a cover of ’s “The Predator.” Spaulding channeled Jaco Pastorius as her spider-like fingers plucked and slapped through a funky, technical low-end. Questlove met her finger plucks with his fill of down stroked beats, thus creating a musical conversation that made our ears smile. Spaulding demonstrated poise and grace with Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It” as a late sunset broke through the gray sky.
Spalding’s set laid nice groundwork for the put-a-hop-in-your-step vibe that Wiz Khalifa and Chevy Woods carried to the stage. Khalifa’s set was impressive and gave the crowd a reason to nod as his two-step beats and smoky vibes delighted the audience. He dipped into the bag of local Philly treats and had Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and the Young Gunz accompany him during his set. Highlights featured “In Tha Cut” with its hop scotch bounce, a cover of Snoop Dogg’s “That Good,” and the crowd favorites “Roll Up” and “Black and Yellow.”
Inside the tent, Man Man’s lead singer Ryan Kattner, aka Honus Honus, just stared at the large screen and mouthed, “It’s The Roots,” as he and the rest of Man Man struggled to get set-up while The Roots already started playing. Man Man had a small crowd watching, but it didn’t matter as they raged a version of “Top Drawer” off of Rabbit Habits. Nas joined The Roots to perform his own songs “Get Down,” “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and “The World Is Yours,” before The Roots closed out the Picnic by paying tribute to late poet singer Gil Scott-Heron with Black Thought singing his heart out on the late poet singer’s 1974 funky ode to alcohol abuse, “The Bottle.”
Continue reading for more pics from the 2011 Roots Picnic…
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Continue reading for more pics from the 2011 Roots Picnic…
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Continue reading for more pics from the 2011 Roots Picnic…
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