Even if you’re not a fan of The Roots, you may be familiar with their drummer, Ahmir Thompson, aka Questlove, aka ?uestlove, aka Questo. He’s got a big, signature ‘fro and often supplements his concert dates with deejay gigs, where he spins fanciful sets featuring everything from ’90s hip-hop to ’80s TV themes to ’70s funk. He has also drummed on great albums by Erykah Badu and D’Angelo.
During a two-month period beginning last fall, Questo filed a video diary of his experiences while touring Europe to support The Roots’ Game Theory album. The tour has now hit the States, and if you saw them at the Fillmore this past week, the diaries make for an excellent little companion guide.
Normally I don’t go around seeking out artist blogs or diaries because a) it’s often a bunch of “Hey everybody what’s going on, we just came from Amsterdam and we’re really tired, will write more later, peace out,” b) they lie buried someplace where I’m not going to see them unless I’m a big fan and c) oh right, I wouldn’t care about them unless I’m a big fan anyway.
Well, all of the above is more or less true in the case of Questlove’s diary. I’m NOT a diehard Roots fan. While searching a general music blog, I stumbled onto these videos. There is indeed plenty of “I’m really tired right now because… ” The postings were sporadic. I was still waiting for a new one this month, as a matter of fact, before realizing that the European leg of the tour is done and thus, without any goodbyes or announcements, so is the vlog.
But there was still something about his tour diary that got me, and I found myself watching every single entry. Maybe it’s because it’s in video rather than text; maybe it’s because Questlove is often filming it when he’s alone in his hotel room, with the camera super up-close-and-personal; maybe it’s the little smart-ass text asides superimposed over the action — check out the way the captions mock him in this installment.