I never thought I'd be saying this but... thank you Jamie Durie! I know that may sound weird to hear on a music blog but let me explain.
It was Tuesday the 15th June, I had just finished work and went to meet up with my friend Olivia who had just arrived from Melbourne. I'm not sure how but at the last minute I had heard that The Roots were playing one of their jam sessions at the Chelsea Highline Ballroom that night and of course I was interested. They weren't due to start till after 12am so Olivia and I headed to a bar for a few drinks before catching a cab to Chelsea. To be perfectly honest I had completely underestimated the popularity of ?uestlove and his band of musicians and had neglected to pre-purchase tickets. It turned out to be a potentially night-ending mistake as the footpath out front of the Highline Ballroom resembled a street party due to the hundreds of people already lined up to see the gig. It was a sober feeling knowing that I had missed my opportunity to see The Roots on their home turf as Olivia and I turned to hail a taxi, trying to think of a plan B destination... enter Jamie Durie.
Before I left for New York I was prepared to see some celebrities; Robert DeNiro, Leo DiCaprio, Jessica Alba, all of the big A-listers. But I would have never expected to celebrity-site the diminuitive, male-stripper-come-landscape-gardener, Australian B-lister that is Jamie Durie. As he walked past the two of us we politely introduced ourselves and told him how much we 'loved' his show. Apparently he was in New York filming episodes for his new show and is currently living in California (in a house that Olivia exclaimed 'must have a really nice garden'). Jamie had a woman in tow so he eventually excused himself and proceeded to stroll right up to the front of the VIP line. This slightly confused me as I was pretty sure the last time JD was a VIP was when he was picking up his 4th Logie for Backyard Blitz (wasn't a gold one though), but what was even more confusing was when Jamie's female friend started motioning for us to join them in the VIP line...
Long story short: Jamie's female companion turned out to be the manager for a hip hop group from Sierra Leone (I can't remember their name) that was performing a few tracks with The Roots and to our surprise secured us some VIP passes. You would have been hard pressed to wipe the smile off my face, which only got bigger when Black Thought paired with the legendary DJ Cash Money to warm up the crowd. When ?uestlove took the stage and rattled off a drum and keyboard duet rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" I knew it was going to be a special night. When The Roots host a jam session they really go all out with special guests with a line-up that included Joss Stone, Bilal, Freeway, and the aforementioned group from Sierra Leone, among others.
As I watched from the comfort of the VIP 'lounge', with my new friend Jamie D occasionally tucked under my arm, I realised a few things:
- Black Thought has cemented his place in my 'top 5 hip hop artist' list.
- ?uestlove is one of the coolest people I have ever seen.
- I love writing ?uestlove using a question mark.
- Joss Stone is very attractive in person, especially when you lock eyes with her and she smiles at you.
- Jamie Durie is always willing to help out a fellow Australian in need.
- It's definitely not what you know...
- The Roots sure know how to throw a jam session.
So while I reflect on a rather surreal and crazy 'New York experience' please feel free to rock out to this classic track from 1982 (just make sure that you swap the letters D & J in your head in respect to the great Jamie Durie):
Indeep - Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (mf)
R.Hunter
Genius
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