If The Roots were any other band, they probably wouldn’t bother with consistently playing live shows, let alone shows as unpredictable and inventive as fans can expect from them on any given night. Spending five days a week as the house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (and before that for Fallon when he was host of Late Night) is more than enough for even the most accomplished band to take on, but The Roots are still writing and recording new music and playing live whenever possible. The group’s most recent album, … And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, released this past May, is an ambitious concept suite dealing with themes of violence and poverty.
That’s the strength of The Roots, who can write and record some of the most acclaimed, complex music in hop-hop, and then back up a pop-star performance on Tonight or lay down the groove for Fallon on his “Slow Jam the News” segment. Likewise, as a live band, The Roots are just as likely to cover classic funk, soul and rock songs as they are to perform selections from their deep catalog of originals. The band’s New Year’s Eve show (and Jan. 2-3, too) at Brooklyn Bowl, where drummer and co-founder Questlove regularly holds DJ nights, promises to be even more digressive and unpredictable, bringing the kind of versatility and excitement that Roots fans have come to expect over the past two decades.
Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, 8 p.m. doors, Dec. 31, starting at $82.50 plus tax and fee. 702.862.2695
Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, 8 p.m. doors, Jan. 2-3, starting at $44 plus tax and fee. 702.862.2695
