Photo credit: Blaine Schultz
The Roots performing Wednesday, July 3, 2019 at the BMO Harris Pavilion.
The legendary Roots crew delivered a groove that cut through the Lake Michigan fog Wednesday evening at Summerfest’s BMO Harris Pavilion. The overflow crowd was on its feet from the opening James Brown samples as DJ Jeremy Ellis took the stage. Mixing horns and live instrumentation with rapping and samples, the veteran hip hop group was a non-stop monster as guitarist Captain Kirk Douglas, sousaphonist Tuba Gooding, Jr. and bassist Mark Kelley ran a three-man weave across the stage.
Front man Black Thought guided the group through midtempo jams and long instrumental breaks, even working Wisconsin into lyrics a few times. An arrangement of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up” energized the crowd and some dancehall reggae rub-a-dub sounds, complete with subsonic bass, offered a chill side.
The stage was packed with hardworking musicians and everyone was allowed a chance to shine, especially Douglas whose guitar spotlight found him channeling the late P-Funk legend Eddie Hazel. Even the fireworks finale felt part of the show. After the last tune bandleader/drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson bounced sticks into the audience, then signed a drumhead and flung it out like a frisbee. No encore was offered. None was needed.
