I moved to the Boston area from San Francisco almost a year ago to be with my mom as she struggles with health issues. I lived in SF for over a decade and was truly blessed to see the amazing plethora of shows that constantly flow through the Bay Area. I saw The Roots 4 or 5 times from the (now closed) Maritime Hall to The Fillmore. Blackalicious, DJ Shadow, Digable Planets, Invizibl Skratch Pickls, World Famous Beat Junkies, X-ecutioners, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, The Coup, Jurassic 5, Public Enemy... I could go on and on and on listing the mind blowing society enhancing hip hop shows that I saw while living in San Fran.

And now here I am, stuck in freaking New England in a cultural/musical void. HIP HOP NEVER COMES HERE!!! I keep my eyes fixed on the concert calendar and am continually shocked week in and week out that the only shows that roll through town are bands: rock, folk, alt rock, indie rock, heavy metal, country, bluegrass, shoe gazing, emo, super sensitive, celtic, swing, punk, classic rock, oldies, hippie jam BANDS!!!

And based on the subject line of this posting, you can imagine where this is all going. The Roots, being one of the best BANDS in America, came to Boston last April and played a show @ Northeastern and I was furious because it was a NE students only show. I tried desperately to get in there, and even had a poster on this very board offer me his extra ticket (until the very last minute when he gave it to his girlfriend or something). I was flatout devastated. However, I was slightly encouraged by the fact that The Roots were coming back with Erykah Badu @ The Orpheum in May. Co-Headlining? Badu opening for Roots? Oh no, The Roots open for Badu and though they sound great, they play for 45 minutes and then it's over. Rising Down 2-3-4, and then we're out: Argh!!! (Side Note: seeing ?uestlove spin @ Underbar afterward was fantastic, even with the mic issues for Black Thought.)

But, what's a hip hop lover to do in the big picture of life behind the New England curtain?

Well, you can further imagine my absolute hysterical happiness when I just so happened to be combing through the local venues upcoming calendars back on December 1st and saw that, low and behold, The Roots are coming to The Showcase in Foxboro, MA on January 31st, 2009!!! Oh my God, it's the best Christmas present ever! I don't think I've ever bought tickets quicker. I have never been to the venue, but it seems like a perfect mid-sized place to see a full show of our favorite band.

And now here I am: crushed by the curse of New England:

"Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event. The Roots, scheduled at Showcase Live on Saturday, January 31, 2009, at 8:00PM, has been canceled.

Your credit card will automatically be credited the ticket price and convenience charges, and should post to your account within 7 to 10 business days. Please note, the $3.00 per order processing fee, any ticketFast, or UPS delivery charges and in-store pick up charges are non-refundable.

If you have any questions, please contact us online at:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/asktm.html

Thank you for using Ticketmaster. We appreciate your business!"


I am seriously going to drop to my knees and cry. I don't want a refund! I want The Roots! I want hip hop to come to Boston! I want some freaking well deserved love. Please, ?uestlove, tell me you're coming back. With your upcoming gig as the house band for Jimmy Fallon (congrats BTW), I can't imagine that you guys will be back anytime soon...

I seriously cannot believe this...

Snow up to our waist, dark @ 4pm, power out for days, and now this info arrives 2 days before Christmas...

And I just went to the Showcase site to see if there was an explanation as to why the show was canceled, and from their website it looks as if there was never a Roots show in the 1st place. And the freaking ridiculously lame-ass show replacing them is enough to make me want to never look at another Boston area music calendar again:
http://www.showcaselive.com/event-schedule/jan-09.aspx

"Girl Authority

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Rounder/Zoë Records tween girl singing sensation GIRL AUTHORITY - one year older and a little bit savvier - is back with Road Trip, their sophomore CD. All the elements that made GIRL AUTHORITYÕs eponymous debut CD such a success (100,000 copies and counting sold to date) remain firmly in place: the nine cute, bubbly girls who sing, dance and have personality to spare; the nicknames designating each girl (i.e. Rock nÕ Roll Girl, Boho Girl, Country Girl) with fashion- forward clothes to match; the covers of classic hits and todayÕs chart-toppers, sung with the same fun and enthusiasm that have attracted a legion of devoted fans across the country; and the groove-infused backing tracks, played by some of todayÕs most gifted musicians. www.girlauthority.com "



Yep, that sounds about right. Welcome to New England!

The Roots??? Nope, Girl Authority!!!

Knocked Unconscious by The Injustice,
Riddles

Stay tuned...Boston area show...in January....wonder where!!???

Yo, KMack, where you getting that info on a Boston show in January? I mean, when someone (such as myself) goes on and on about being devastated from The Roots canceling a show, ya gotta come on with a little more info (i.e. a direct link to the information) before you start dropping cryptic mystery voodoo like that.

Lord knows, we already HAD a Boston area show in January!!! And now it's gone.

Please, my man, give us a link and show me the dangling carrot for reals!

Cause I see nothing here on The Roots winter tour schedule:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=6614625&blogID=424275994

And it's very frustrating to still see the Foxboro show as happening on 1/31 on their Facebook page:
http://apps.facebook.com/ilike/artist/The+Roots

Please step up with any and all info regarding the canceled show and if indeed there is a replacement show in the works.

Word.
Riddles

Can't give details yet. Things are in the works. Standby....

KMack,

With tonywashington's revelation that you are The Roots tour manager, please understand that I meant no disrespect in questioning your information. As I initially stated to you, the Roots show cancellation was a brutal lump of coal in the Boston area's collective Christmas stocking and my emotional response obviously reflects the raw nerve that had been struck with this whole situation.

I, along with everyone else here, remain fired up for any Roots show in the greater Boston vicinity. Hell, they could play at the JetBlue terminal of Logan Airport and I would be ecstatic.

Just wanted to keep the vibes positive in moving forward. Please keep us posted and we will scoop up those Roots tickets in a heartbeat for wherever they play.

Cheers,
Riddles

.

My living room is available most evenings...

whats the word?

>Stay tuned...Boston area show...in January....wonder
>where!!???
>

Well, KMack, I appreciate the suspense factor, but in searching around the Boston music venues, it looks as if The Roxy has let the cat out of the bag:
http://www.roxyplex.com/roxy-calendar.htm

Thursday, January 29, 2009
Red Bull Sound Clash
The Roots & Antibalas
8pm - 11pm
21+ Event
Tickets available at:
www.musictoday.com
For more info:
E: redbullsoundclash@gmail.com


I am so fired up that The Roots will indeed be in town!!!

Big ups and many many thanks to The Roots, KMack and whoever else put together this show to make up for the lost Foxboro show. The Roxy, in my opinion, is a rock solid venue and should be great for The Roots to lay it down.

The musictoday.com link for tickets just seems to take you to their generic home site. But by using the web template of the other tickets they have up for sale, it looks like The Roots tickets will show up here:
http://www.roots.tickets.musictoday.com/Roots/calendar.aspx

I am just gonna keep my fingers crossed that this all goes to plan and we all find ourselves getting down to The Legendary Roots Crew in downtown Boston on Thursday, Jan. 29th.

It's been an emotional roller coaster, but as long as we're standing in front of The Roots when all's said and done, 2009 will be off to a great start.

Can we see The Roots in Boston in January? YES WE CAN!!!

Word.
Riddles

Just bought my tickets! Direct link:
http://www.redbullsoundclash.tickets.musictoday.com/RedBullSoundClash/calendar.aspx

I don't know much about Antibalas or the sound clash concept, but I'm going to remain positive about the sheer fact that The Roots are playing:
http://www.myspace.com/redbullsoundclash

copped my tix, so AMPED!!!! AAHH!!! antibalas is dope. there are like a dope afrobeat band, huge band like 14 musicians. my uncle's best friend is actually in antibalas, and they are dope!

ooh good thing it's 21+, great...

I agree w the OP, I saw them last year w/ badu and at NE and they were both shortened sets. I'd love nothing more than to see a full roots set, but seems like this won't go down for a while.

as for the boston scene, you just gotta look deeper. krs one played a few shows this summer(including a free one). Check out the middle east, they have a lot of underground artists (mr. lif, immortal tech, ra the rugged man etc) and it's really small / up close and personal. oh & at least we got rock the bells close enough to boston, surprised nobody mentioned that

I was born just outside Boston and moved to SF when I was a number of years ago, but I try to keep up with the Boston Hip Hop scene. The major venue I always hear about is the Middle East. Don't know if that helps, but I know they got stuff going on. I know the UGHH.com actual store is out there somewhere and every once in a while they got something there. I would imagine if you stopped through there they might know about something or have some flyers, but I've never been there so I don't know for sure

they have a decent amount of in stores and stuff going on there

>>Snow up to our waist, dark @ 4pm, power out for days, and now this info arrives 2 days before Christmas...

haha, you in boston siberia?

i know boston has just a fraction of the population of the bay, and we have new york between us and the rest of the country so we sometimes get skipped on national tours ... but dont act like there's NO hiphop here! i saw immortal technique and termanology kill the middle east 2 weeks ago. i want that roots show as much as you, and im confident they'll work something out for us. in the meantime, go down to ughh by the corners of mass ave and huntington and cop the reks album.

just hope that jan show can still come through sometime in Boston, i go to school there, so after the 14th would be dope lol!!

actualize,

I am up in Portsmouth, NH, so yes, it was feeling like Siberia for a while there. I appreciate your positive vibes and ideas. I have indeed been to the Middle East and saw Mike Relm rock it down. However, my overall gripe is with regard to national touring acts (as referenced in my original posting) not coming to Boston. And with that you cannot argue. I can appreciate that there is a local Boston hip hop scene and I am trying to get wise to that. But with NYC so close, I remain drop jawed at how many Dave Matthews type bands roll through here day after day and yet there never seems to be any big name (i.e. nationally known) hip hop acts. Hence, my excitement and then massive disappointment with The Roots.

Thanks for the heads up on Ughh, Reks and Termanology.

Much respect.

the eleventy billion white college students in the Boston area.

PLEASE say the House of Blues!

-what better way to kick things off then with the Roots @ a brand new venue

anywhere in the city is better then having to go to Foxborough

and yes BOSTON is a hip-hop disaster. hardly any shows ever come here. its pathetic

probably later in February than earlier

i forgot that it was going to be later in the month.

maybe the Wilbur Theater? That will be a great venue once they finally get their liquor license.

oh well, wait and see

C'Mon man,

Roots are dope, but its not a huge blow to Boston music scene. You wanna see a good show just stop by the middle east any weekend. That said, if a new date is made for a roots gig I will definitely be there haha

Please , I go to BU and am from the chi. and so mad i missed the roots this past fall. when they were in boston i was in CHI and vice versa, but i will be there on the 29th. Kmack if there is anything, i can do for this show, ANYTHING please let me know and ill make it happen.

Where on the 29th???

The Roxy.

Redbull Soundclash w/ The Roots & Antibalas

http://www.myspace.com/redbullsoundclash

But i'll def be there

They havent played in Boston as a headliner in WAY too long(opened for Badu last time around)

I'll go into it with an open mind, and hoping that I see some very memorable shit( which I'm confident is the case)

But damn if I'm not greedy enough to want a solid Hour and a half set of just the legendary in the Boston area soon

wait, so are they opening for antibalas!? antibalas is DOPE but that seems backwards.
regaurdless, this is gonna be an amazing show. this is so much better than having to find a way down to foxboro.

Boston hiphop & afrobeat scenes win!

both bands on separate stages

kinda battling back and forth

yall gotta come to new england on a weekend...

The Roots Onboard For Red Bull Soundclash
January 08, 2009 - Branding

By Kamau High, N.Y.

The Roots, who were recently named the house band for Jimmy Fallon's upcoming talk show on NBC, "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," will perform at a Red Bull sponsored event at the end of January.

The show, on Jan. 29 at the Roxy in Boston, is billed as the Red Bull Soundclash. Red Bull, an energy drink maker, has previously put on Soundclashes in Japan, Russia, Hungary and L.A.

The Red Bull Sound Soundclash is modeled on the Jamaican tradition of two rival DJs playing music in front of an audience. For the Boston event, Antibalas will serve as the other band the Roots will do battle with in a series of four rounds of competition for audience favor.

i'm so goddamned excited for tonight. this will be an excellent way to cap off this insane month.