Legendary

From The Roots' new gig to the beeriest week of the year, important things are afoot in Philly.

by Brian Howard

Because you're all busy wondering a) if there are any Democrats who pay taxes, b) if AIG ever actually made money, and c) if Roland Burris is blessed with zero self-awareness, you may have overlooked some important things afoot in Philly town.

First, The Roots debuted as Jimmy Fallon's house band on the snickering SNL alum's maiden voyage at the helm of Late Night. Fallon on night one (that's all we were able to see as of press time), though fumbly and leaning hard on SNL callbacks with guests Robert DeNiro and Justin Timberlake, seemed like a guy who'll get the hang of it. I don't think anyone doubted that the Legendary Roots Crew would be fine in the format. But I think lots of us were worried they were hitching themselves to a wobbly star, setting themselves up for a big letdown in a career that's seen a few.

The Roots are more than just emblems for Philly music over the last 15 years; they're surrogates for the city. They keep it real, hold it down for the true school, even as undeserving upstarts snatch the fame they rightly earned. As a result, Black Thought, ?uestlove, et al., have been sitting on the brink of superstardom for so long, they might as well apply for a mortgage. Each album since Illadelph Halflife was going to be the one to push them from hard-touring cult legends to mainstream stars. And with each release, mainstream America proved it was just not clever enough for a hip-hop band with heady rhymes and man-made rhythms.

Of course, banking on the acuity of Fallon fans is a risky gambit, but for his part, Jimmy seems intent on making more than passing use of his house band. Black Thought's "slow jamming the news" segment was the première's highlight, and the band's choice of intro music —Taxi theme for DeNiro, "Barry Gibb Talk Show" for Justin Timberlake — was inspired. All of which is to say that if Fallon can get over the jitters and build on his rock-solid first week of guests, The Roots could have themselves a nice little gig. And if not, maybe they can host the show themselves.

It's a fitting subplot for our biannual music issue in which Patrick Rapa's hand-picked an assortment of Philly's up-and-coming talent and Michael T. Regan has once again trained his attentive eye on capturing the photographic soul of a musician (with the exception of Sterling Simms, who's so up-and-coming he was unavailable for a photo shoot). In addition to the five profiles you'll find in the cover package, the CP music crew reviews a batch of new local CDs at citypaper.net/music.

The other big news is that it's Beer Week. Yes, for many of us, to borrow a phrase from Philly Brewing Co.'s Nancy Barton, "every week is beer week." But on Friday, the second annual Philly Beer Week kicks off with a dizzying array of genuinely amazing events for lovers of good beer. In appreciation, our resident foodies (hoppies?)/Meal Ticket bloggers Drew Lazor and Felicia D'Ambrosio have curated an all-beer food section this week beginning with Felicia's cheat sheet for navigating the 600-plus associated events. Tim Hyland looks at the growing trend of beer in high-end restaurants, and teetotaler Nick Norlen quaffs his first-ever brew. While I'm sure the staff here will be all over this thing, you can meet Drew in person as he hosts the Beer and Cheese Smackdown at the Sidecar Friday at 6 p.m. as Michigan breweries Arcadia and New Holland pair beers with six cheeses provided by Claudio's. Check Meal Ticket for coverage throughout the week.

Drink up.

(bhoward@citypaper.net)