*exact date unconfirmed*
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion show at Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NE, US with Beck and The Roots in 1998.
Black Thought of The Roots discussed this show during an interview with hiphopdx.com/:
“Thought also spoke about the Roots’ infancy and how tours with diverse artists such as Beck, Beastie Boys and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion helped mold the Roots into the formidable band that can been seen every weekday night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In 1998, the Roots opened for Beck and Jon Spencer at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. When asked about the show, it instantly rang a bell due to the unexpected lineup.
“I remember that show,” he tells DX. “That’s crazy! We were a motley crew, as I recall. All those tours we got ourselves on at that point in our career, like earlier on, with the Becks and the Beastie Boys and the like, it helped to sort of acclimate to the fact that we were going to have to be able to win an audience over. It gave us sort of a skillset that enabled us to base each performance on the people who were in attendance, what the energy was in the room and to sort of rise to that challenge every night. So yeah, it definitely equipped us with far more tools than just a hammer.”
“That was definitely the formative stage and those experiences still stick with me. That’s why I immediately remembered the show that you were talking about. Because I remember being like, ‘Yo, we’re with Beck and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in Omaha, Nebraska.’ Like, “What the fuck?” And having to come out and do your thing, especially on a gig where you’re not the headliner and sometimes you’re not even the main opener, where you’re having to go on super early — it’s a huge challenge. But I think that’s what helped us make our bones.”” – hiphopdx.com/
