Philly-Paris Lockdown - A Review

?uestlove of The Roots
featuring Karen Ann plus special guests
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Sunday, April 17, 2011

?uestlove

From the minute I heard that this concert was happening, I knew I had to be there.  It didn't take too much convincing to get my wife Heather to go with me either.  Here's the premise: early 20th century French composers' music reinterpreted to modern hip hop/funk style termed as the Philly-Paris Lockdown.  Tell me that doesn't at least pique your interest.


Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson is the drummer for the hip hop group The Roots.  You may have seen them on TV - they're the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  But they've had a long career before being picked as Fallon's house band.  I'm not a huge fan of most hip hop.  I think it's often not very musical and the theme of the lyrics is often not something I can relate to.  The lyrics are also something I wouldn't want kids listening to or trying to emulate.  We can have the hip hop debate later.  My point, however, is that despite my general dislike for hip hop, I've always enjoyed The Roots.  They are very musical.  In fact, they are a BAND, not just a pair of turntables and a rapper.  I would argue that ?uestlove is one of the best drummers I've personally seen perform.  I have seen him play drums in a "superjam" with jazz legend Herbie Hancock.  That was an incerdible musical experience to say the least.  So knowing that ?uestlove was putting this show together made it very intriguing.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

The venue for this show was Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the home of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.  If you have never seen a concert there, you must do so sometime.  It is a beautiful venue for music with great acoustics.  We were going to see a "hip hop" style show, mixed with some classical music, in a place where classical music is the predominant performance medium.  My first question to Heather was "uh, what should I wear?"  I went with khakis, button down shirt, and sportcoat - leaning more toward the classical music attendee attire.  It turns out that was a pretty good choice.  Now on to the music.


?uestlove came out first to give a brief background of what we were going to hear along with introductions of the musicians.  Here's the full line-up:
?uestlove - drums
Karen Ann - vocals
Andrew Cyr - conductor
David Murray - saxophone
D.D. Jackson - piano
Pallavi Mahidhara - piano
James Poyser - keyboards
Anthony Tidd - bass and keyboards
Derrick Hodge - bass
Daniel Felsenfeld - arranger
Larry Gold - arranger
Amber Coffman - vocals
Haley Dekle - vocals
Susanna Waiche - vocals
Kristin Lee - violin
Becky Anderson - violin
Joanna Franke - viola
Hiro Matsuo - cello


The instrumentation was interesting, and I was very excited to hear how it was all going to come together.  Each piece was first performed in its original context as the composer had intended.  Then they would seamlessly morph into a modern twist of that song.  Composers that were covered include Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, and Erik Satie.  Pallavi Mahidhara would perform the original form of each piece on the piano, and then D.D. Jackson would take over piano duties for the "updated" versions.  The whole concert sequed from piece to piece without breaks, as if it were a DJ mixing songs in a club.  That format alone gave the performance a very "modern" feel.


I was moved by the hauntingly beautiful original versions of the songs and mesmerized by the piano playing of Ms. Mahidhara.  The string quintet often accompanied the piano for the original part.  The strings were also used for the modern hip hop versions as well, which helped segue smoothly.  By the way, I keep referring to the modern versions as being "hip hop," however I am using that term very loosely.  Your average Jay-Z or Eminem fan would probably not "get it."  Some of the versions were more avant-garde than anything.  Karen Ann and the back-up vocalists were actually used pretty sparingly.  Karen Ann spoke some poems in French on top of the beats, and occasionally "sang" some poems.  I could have done without the vocals in general, but it didn't totally detract from the performance either. 


Highlights included the tenor saxophone and bass clarinet playing of David Murray.  Yes, bass clarinet.  Weren't expecting that were you?  Me neither.  Nice surprise.  His playing sounded a lot like John Coltrane's later modal and avant-garde material.  His interaction with the rhythm section was just out of this world.  Again, the average hip hop fan would not have enjoyed it.  But I did.  Another highlight was the virtuosic piano playing of Pallavi Mahidhara.  If you've heard any of Debussey's piano works, you know it is not written for the amateur pianist.  She played each piece with precision and such a pristine musical ear.  She may have been the MVP of the band. 


?uestlove said before they started that he was more nervous about this gig than any other he has performed since he was playing for his dad's band at Radio City Music Hall at the age of 13.  Well, he had nothing to be nervous of.  The audience gave a rousing standing ovation and I would agree that it was an absolutely phenominal concert.  It wasn't exactly classical.  It wasn't exactly hip hop.  It wasn't exactly avant-garde.  It was just awesome music.  As I continue to reflect on the concert I witnessed, I am blown away by how amazing it was.  Five stars.  Two thumbs up.  A+.  It was supposedly taped by WXPN to be aired sometime in early May.  Give it a listen if you can.  I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I did.