Sometimes, there is no motivation so great as the threat of not going on. At Monday’s projected start time of 9:00 p.m., three members of The Roots (keyboardist Kamal Gray, guitarist Kirk Douglas and MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter) had not yet arrived in Washington, D.C. Unsurprisingly, they were held up by the crazy snowstorm that hit everybody except us. Some bands would cite “act of God” and bag the performance, but The Roots took this opportunity to reaffirm their status as hardest working band in the business. Drummer ?uestlove acted as guest DJ during the delay until 10:47 p.m., when, nearly two hours later than advertised, Black Thought walked in the door.

The Roots are known as one of the best live music acts in the world, and for good reason. It was clear from the first song last night at the 9:30 Club, as the tempo slowly rose from a mellow rhyme accompanied by a simple beat to a full-band barrage of hip-hop stylings, that the tone was set for the rest of the night. Black Thought, Questlove and Co. brought it from that point on,…

It’s been a while since we did one of these, but our music news feature is back! Here are a few stories buzzing around the local music sphere. >> Rob Curtis has left the Velvet Lounge. The most well-respected sound guy in the city has parted ways with the club, which recently came under new ownership. If you’re not familiar with Curtis or the Velvet Lounge’s superior sound system (which he developed), just take a…

Rappers from the South are often subjected to the greatest disapproval when hip-hop aficionados start doing intra-cultural critiques. The embodiment of “bad” hip-hop comes in the form of a rapper named Lil’-So-And-So who talks about his car and bejeweled teeth while residing in one of the former Confederate states. Mind you, many of those making such claims also have a hard time conceptualizing the existence of anything beyond the Hudson River. That’s why when Little…

By DCist Contributor Steve Kiviat The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has a somewhat well-deserved reputation as a highly educational place to dump visiting relatives, but tourists and discerning locals alike can also have some fun at the event’s daytime performances and evening concerts and dance parties (not to mention chowing down on grub that’s better than street-corner hotdogs). This year’s 41st annual version features three themes: “Mekong River: Connecting Cultures,” “Northern Ireland at the Smithsonian,” and…

By DCist contributor W Jacarl Melton At the time when Jaguar Wright’s 2002 album, Denials, Delusions and Decisions, was released, the industry term du jour, “neo-soul,” was used to describe any singer who presented themselves as part of the vanguard who shunned the trappings of mainstream urban music. But the Philadelphia-based Wright resisted this categorization, and wound up standing out from those who were being viewed as artistic oddballs. Tonight she’ll be supported by the…

There’s so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it’s almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don’t have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist’s London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with…

MONDAY >> As far as rock history is concerned, the name Ray Davies is right up there with names like Paul McCartney and Sly Stone. He led one of the 60s’ most important bands, The Kinks, and continued to be prominent throughout the years, stopping along the way to have a daughter with Chrissie Hynde, write short stories and a memoir, and get shot in the leg. Now he’s touring in promotion of his brilliant…

On Sundays, DCist publishes opinion pieces about life in D.C. Today’s column comes to us from reader John Heaton. If you have an opinion to share, please email us. Almost every city has it; some local delicacy that represents the roots or fabric of the area. NYC has cheesecake and pizza, Philly has cheesesteaks, and, going out to the left coast, the Seattle area has coffee and smoked salmon. What does D.C. have? Nothing. Some…

We’ve all heard of, and most likely snickered at, flash mobs. Now meet the newest incarnation: flash concerts. In a series that’s brought The Roots to NYC, Jermaine Dupri to Atlanta, Fat Joe to Philadelphia, Staind to Boston, Collective Soul to Dallas, The Wallflowers to Los Angeles, Louis XIV to San Francisco, and Frankie J to Miami, Los Lonely Boys will be playing tonight at RFK Stadium. The shows are all announced at the last…