Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Ride, Rise, Roar & Roots Picnic 2010

If there's one thing David Byrne hates, it's the idea of performing a generic rock show. Fortunately, he continues to find new ways to keep it interesting for himself and his audiences. I'm still fairly upset that I missed his last tour, which focused on his collaborations with Brian Eno and featured a troupe of dancers, but at least I'll get to see the requisite tour documentary, Ride, Rise, Roar. The film apparently covers the development of the show itself, including the dancers' auditions and rehearsals, as well as the performances. Ride, Rise, Roar will première this month, with three screenings at SXSW:

March 15 / 1:30pm / The Paramount / Austin, TX
March 18 / Noon / The Paramount / Austin, TX
March 20 / 5pm / Austin Convention Center / Austin, TX

Another show not to miss would be this year's Roots Picnic in Philadelphia. In ?uestlove's announcement of the lineup yesterday, he strongly hinted that Run–D.M.C. will be reuniting to perform at the show, presumably backed by The Roots themselves. The rest of the bill includes Vampire Weekend, The Clipse, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew and Das Racist. The Roots will naturally play as well, plus there will be a set by the DJ/drummer duo of ?uestlove and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am EST at Live Nation.

The Third Annual Roots Picnic:
June 5 / 2pm / Festival Pier / Philadelphia, PA

I caught the final Roots Jam at Highline Ballroom late last year, during which Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew joined the Roots for a 15-minute set of their own songs and completely stole the show (which is saying a lot). I trust they'll be bringing a serious party to the Roots Picnic. Their proper album won't drop till this fall, but you can get a free mixtape at their website. Here's one of my favorite tracks:

Rapapumpum (feat. Jahdan Blakkamoore) [mp3]

No comments: