With not a turn table, DAT, or laptop in sight, the Legendary Roots Crew lit up the Fox Theatre in a fiery deliver of their trademark live show.
At the front of the stage was the group’s MC, Black Thought, decked out in his Yankees cap, classic aviator sunglasses, and unshakable swagger. The frontman rocked the mic relentlessly, attacking the air with his hands and the mic cord as much as with his lyrics.
While Black Thought took the literal spotlight on stage, the group’s big sound left no doubt about the contributions of other performers.
Featuring no less than two percussionists, a keyboardist, a guitarist, and, yes, even a sousaphone player, the Roots gave simple proof to the fact of their peerless dynamics.
As always, one of the highlights of the set was a series of extended instrumental solos, further reinforcing the supreme musicianship of the group.
Captain Kirk Douglas channeling Hendrix. Owen Biddle thumping fat tones from the bass. Frankie Knuckles killing the congos. Damon “Tuba Gooding, Jr.” Bryson treating his ‘phone like a projectile weapon, blasting the low notes.
Last but not least, ?uestlove laid down the band’s heartbeat, crushing the drums with love and freight train steadiness. Throughout the 45-minute set, the iconic drummer provided the perfect foil to Black Thought’s kinetic attack, laying down his signature beat, mixing laconic precision with virtuosic flourish.
As a treat for the audience, the ?uestlove was positioned nearly at the front of the stage house right, rather than at the back, putting him in line with the rest of the band. Considering the musical democracy displayed in their solos, this placement couldn’t have been more fitting.
The Roots are touring with Erykah Badu in support of their 2008 release, Rising Down.
Photographer’s Notes:
Having photographed the Roots just a month previous, I was eager to take another crack at the group. Their performance at the Fox Theatre presented a distinctly different experience that posed a few new challenges, particularly with mobility.
Unlike the last show, which featured a barricade the length of the stage for unrestricted movement, access points to the stage were limited at the Fox due to seating right up to the front of the stage.
I shot primarily from a small gap in between the first row and the stage, mostly from a crouched position as not to obstruct the view of the audience. With a relatively low stage in the seating-only venue, being as inconspicuous was a priority.
One of the best aspects of this show as the position of the Roots’ drummer, ?uestlove, who was sitting about two meters from the edge of the stage, rather than at the back. This more forward position provided some great opportunities.
Instead of the conventional three song limit, the alloted time for this shoot was only two songs.
Lighting:
This set featured a spotlight trained on Black Thought, just like the Roots’ April performance. However, compared to that smaller, more intimate concert, the big hall of the Fox Theatre presented a distinctly more stark treatment, with more spare effects and an overall more thin atmosphere.
The majority of the effects lighting for this set came from two arrays on either side of the stage, which featured four main spots and two lights with gobos.
As luck would have it, ?uestlove was positioned nearly in front of the right array, and it wasn’t too much of a stretch to line up his iconic ‘fro for on-demand rimlighting, effectively eclipsing the light.
Red accent lighting dominated the first song, giving way to white and blue background effects during the second song. Interestingly enough, while the lighting effects were less impressive, the show still had a pretty epic feel from my brief spot at the front of the stage.
Lenses & Gear:
I used the Nikon D3 and my trio of go-to zooms: the Nikon 14-24mm, Nikon 24-70mm, and Nikon 70-200mm. Of these lenses, they all received a pretty even representation in the final set. If pressed, I could have easily done with just the 24-70mm and 70-200mm.
Exposure & Metering:
Thanks to the spotlight, I kept the exposure for this set locked around 1/500, f/2.8, and ISO 1600. There were some slight variations to the shutter speed, but these were kept to a 1/3-stop.
More and more, I’ve been dialing in ISO 1600 on the D3, simply because it’s so incredibly nice. Noise is low while details are crisp, thanks to no extraneous noise reduction on the file.
End Notes:
I shook Black Thought’s hand. Twice. Waiting backstage in my downtime, I happened to catch the MC before and after the Roots’ performance. The second time, Black Thought thanked me for looking out. Not to geek out, but it was kind of cool.
People often think that the life of a concert photographer is really a glamorous affair, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Most of the time I’ll settle for the best seat in the house for a few songs, but shaking hands with hip hop royalty isn’t bad, either.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2008, ?uestlove, Amhir Thompson, black thought, Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson, def jam, game theory, hip hop, Kamal Gray, knuckles, live, owen biddle, prenology, questlove, rap, review, rising down, set list, Tariq Trotter, the roots, theroots, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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My name is Todd, and I love the rock show. My work has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, the New York Times, Alternative Press, Metal Hammer, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard Magazine. I'm available for worldwide travel for editorial and commercial assignments.
Clarify my doubts here, don’t you get like a place where you can watch the rest of the set?
I always thought you could just go and enjoy the rest of the show…
Oh, and another great set of pictures, I don’t know the band but I’ll try to check them out!
Hey Celso,
As for being able to watch a show after shooting, it really depends on the show. For this event, I didn’t have a ticket, only a photo pass, and as the venue is seating only, I just hung out in the side aisle during the Roots’ set after my shoot.
In some venues like larger arenas, I might have been escorted out after shooting. For smaller shows that have “general admission,” not having a ticket is usually not a problem.
The Roots are a great band, definitely check them out.
Like the first shot of ?uestlove. It’s always tough getting shots of drummers.
Thanks, Byran. Drummers are always a challenge, so I think I lucked out with ?uestlove’s relatively close placement near the front of the stage.
First things first: “guitist”? Lol :)
Second: I counted “iconic” 4 times, 3 of which were followed by “drummer,” haha. He is THAT iconic, isn’t he?!
Ok, SO many picks this time, I don’t know what to do. So (and in NO particular order):
One
Really enjoy how his eyes are on you, and the light to his left. Additionally, nothing is blocking his face — perfectly clear shot.
Two
Dude — you KNOW how I love wide angels. 14-24?? Please say so… it’s such a nifty lens, haha — and created the best (or one of) picture in your portfolio! (SPW).
Three
Favorite of the other guitarist. Like the look on his face about how he’s concentrating on the music.
Four
Hands in the air! — 25 points. I like the closer shot rather than the same one of the far away one because you can see his face, which is additionally not shaded by the hat.
Five
Another awesome freeze-framed wide angle, although I also love this one, but which is very similar to number two.
Six
I know — very similar to the last one, but I just saw it, and how you got the monitor in there makes this one a spectacular photo, and probably my favorite of all the wide angles.
Seven
Really dig the light and how him reppin’ the glasses
Eight
Really liking the emotion here, as well as the lights flanking him on either side. I guess beyond that, I can’t say why I really enjoy this photo. Although, semi-finger in the air… so thats another 12.5 points :P
Top Pick
Can anyone says… portfolio? Man, you got AWESOME placement with ?uestlove — I wish the drummer could ALWAYS be in his position! Very nice. And love how you used “eclipsed” to describe it — a very nice, and proper, word choice. Amazin’ fro, amazin’ set!
Wow — is there an easier way to put pics in the comment section? Writing all that, with html took awhile.
Hey Chris!
Thanks so much for all the detailed comments on the images, I love it. I think you’ve outdone yourself and have earned a trip to Central America.
As for the repetition, what can I say, I was beat when writing this. And ?uestlove is iconic.
About your picks:
1) ?uestlove seemed genuinely curious about me, what can I say.
2) Definitely the 14-24mm. I’m loving this lens still, even though it’s wrong 90% of the time. When it’s right, it’s so right.
3) Captain Kirk Douglas here had a killer solo near the end of the set. He even came to the front of the stage for it, I would have loved to get in there with the ultra-wide.
4) Yeah, the had posed a definite problem, together with the sunglasses, not to mention the mic covering a lot of his face most of the time. But regardless, Black Thought is as dynamic a performer as you’ll ever see.
5+6) 14-24mm!
7) Black Though loves his aviators.
8) Ha, that finger is so close to being up in the air. He’s a fierce man. So I’m up to 37.5 points?
And on the last pick, thanks! I’d love it if drummers were always up front, believe me.
I really appreciate all the feedback on this set, Chris. Thanks!
Not a problem on the feedback — love seeing your sets.
Although, totally forgot to ask — was this an all access pass show? How’d you get back to meet Black Thought?!
I was backstage because all the photographers were told that Erykah Badu’s tour manager wanted to talk to us before the headlining set.
So, I waited backstage before and after the Roots’ set. I never did talk to the TM, who was busy with other things, but I’m happy to say it wasn’t time wasted!
Wow.. what luck. Did he talk to the other photographers, too? WERE there other photographers?
Yeah, Black Thought shook hands with the other photographer who was there, too. There were four or five photogs shooting this show, but only me and one other guy stuck around back stage.
Anyway, I thought it was pretty badass meeting Black Thought like that. :)
Wow, you really got some damn good photos. Love the wide-angled shots.
Send me huge, poster-sized versions please. :)
Thanks, Marty. Nice to hear you like the wide-angle shots, I seemed to gravitate toward those a lot during this set.
todd, you nailed ?uestlove….awesome shots.
Thanks, Tim! I appreciate it. I know ?uestlove wasn’t this close to the front of the stage for all shows, so I think I lucked out.
All of your photos are great (as usual) but that first one of ?uestlove is just a jaw-dropper. Wow! And again – wow!!
I really regret not getting the chance to see The Roots when they were in this corner of the world last fall :-(
Hey Felix, thanks very much. I really lucked out with this show, as ?uestlove’s kit was set up very near the front of the stage. The other time I’ve photographed the Roots, he was at the back of the stage. Both times, the Roots have brought a really fantastic show – lots of energy and phenomenal solos from all the members.