The Roots And Bad Brains Make Picnic Worth The Heat

Fort York

Toronto, ON

on Jul 29 2007

Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack)

07/30/2007 2:00pm

It may have been a strange collection of artists, but the Rogers Picnic succeeded in putting on a show with a number of great bands. Fort York was an inspired choice of venue that, while sorely lacking in the shade department, provided a huge amount of space for people to sit around and relax while enjoying whichever group they came to see.

I got there just in time to catch Little Brother, and they were without a doubt the most energetic performers of the day, save for headliners The Roots. MCs Phonte and Big Pooh engaged the audience throughout their too-short set and talked to the crowd more than any of the other bands. The North Carolina group know how to put on a show, even to the small gathering of people who showed up in time for them. I'd strongly suggest you check them out the next time they roll through town, which they frequently do.

Unfortunately, the next few acts didn't quite match LB's on-stage energy, but they provided nice background music for the majority of the audience sitting on the grass. Dears' frontman Murray Lightburn said no more than two words to the crowd ("Thank you," if you were wondering), and they played their last gig of the Gang Of Losers tour without much fanfare.

The New Pornographers were more energetic, but that might come from the fact that their music is so irresistibly catchy. Band leader Carl Newman had some pleasant back and forth with his niece/Neko Case's stand-in, Kathryn Calder, making their time on stage at least seem enjoyable, unlike the last band. They played a couple of (admittedly not so great) new songs, but focused mostly on Twin Cinema material, with the title track being one of the highlights of the day.

Tegan And Sara were the first big draw of the afternoon. Though you can't expect much in the way of energy from them, they communicated with the fans enough to get the energy up. Their set list centred primarily around 2004's So Jealous and this year's The Con, which is fortunate as that's what the majority of attendees were familiar with.

While every other band had fans standing around, the only mosh pit of the day rightly belonged to the legendary Bad Brains. That I was even watching the classic lineup of the hardcore heroes (sandwiched between Tegan And Sara and Bedouin Soundclash, no less) was somewhat surreal. Guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Daryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson are even tighter now than they were on their early recordings, which is an impressive feat for guys well into their fifties.

Though singer H.R. may not be as wild a performer as he was during the band's heyday, he has an easygoing stage presence that exudes effortless charisma. He could have said anything and the crowd would have gone nuts — that's how easily he had them wrapped around his perpetually peace sign-throwing fingers.

The songs from their unbelievably strong new album, Build A Nation, fit in perfectly with older cuts, and their performance echoed the surprise most felt when they heard the record. It was obvious who the large group of people in studded belts and Black Flag T-shirts were there to see, and that chunk of the audience promptly left the concert grounds as soon as the Bad Brains did.

So, how exactly did Bedouin Soundclash follow that up? Not very well. That the trio played after the punk pioneers was sacrilegious enough, but their set, though not technically bad, failed to live up to the Brains'. They were certainly solid, it was just unfair of the show organizers to place them between two acts highly regarded for their live performances. One positive aspect of the set was that their easygoing reggae-lite provided nice background music to the horde of people who left to get food at that moment.

After an extended set-up, The Roots' ringleader Black Thought came on stage, backed by percussionist Frank Knuckles filling in for regular drummer ?uestlove. The two launched into "Here I Come" from last year's Game Theory and, after spitting a few verses, they were joined by the rest of the band.

A lot of praise has been thrown at The Roots for being an incendiary live band, and not one word of that is hyperbole. The group — rounded out by guitarist Kirk Douglas, bassist Leonard Hubbard and a three-piece horn section — were on fire throughout their hour-long set. Black Thought is a machine, barely pausing for a breath between rhymes. He also showcased his rarely heard singing talents, which most fans were shocked to hear.

When I saw the band last year at the Kool Haus, they played for more than two hours, and I feared we might be in for another self-indulgent jam session. Fortunately, given the time constraints of the concert, they kept things at a concise pace, even with Hubbard's mind-bending bass solo. In fact, after they brought out Pos and DJ Maseo from De La Soul and Lupe Fiasco, I found myself wanting them to play another extended set.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. However, The Roots managed to round out an entire day of great musicianship by ending the best way they could — leaving everybody wanting more.