Last night, John Legend and The Roots brought their recent collaboration the intimate state of West Hollywood’s Troubadour, the 54-years-young legendary music venue that has hosted more historical moments than many notorious venues—CBGBs, The Filmore and neighboring Whiskey A Go-Go—combined. And while this inspired pairing might not rank with Elton John’s first U.S. appearance or Mookie Blaylock’s first ever gig under their new name, Pearl Jam, last night’s performance threatened to rip the old wooden ceiling off. Showcasing their new overtly conscious album of soul covers, Wake Up!, the five-piece crew (no Black Thought, no Tuba Gooding Jr.) ripped through a majority of the record, including the title track which found Common making an unscheduled appearance onstage. But other than this hip-hop interlude, it was near impossible to place a date on last night’s groove. Legend’s voice easily matches up with the greats—Stevie, Marvin, Smokey—while everyone knows The Roots are capable of evoking their own ripples in the time/music continuum. Such throwback performances don’t always play so well, but in this case, it was nothing less than inspired.

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