On April 15th, I had the extreme pleasure of sitting down with Michael Glabicki and Jenn Wertz of Rusted Root before their sold out performance at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. It could not have been a cooler experience than to sit and chat with one of my all-time favorite bands. I'm not even shittin' you on this one. Been a fan from the beginning, ever since I was in like 8th or 9th grade. Having seen the band 10 times now, I knew it was going to be an amazing show, and the band did not disappoint. Now I could sit here and just give a straight run through of the set list, the highs and the lows, but I am gonna try something a little different this time.

6:45 - I arrive at the Electric Factory to meet up with Mike Kaveney, now on crutched after his 5 foot 3 frame could not withstand a game of basketball. We pick up our tickets and head into the Factory, an old two-floored warehouse that houses a ton of concerts. It probably has the worst sound to it out of all the Philly venues but a certain I-don't-know-what to it, which makes it so damn loveable.

7:05 – We make our way backstage and find out that we are going to be talking with Jenn and Michael. Could life be any better?

8:20 – With the interview now over, we start to head out of the backstage area and spot a set list lying on the table. For that brief second, both Mike and I try and think of any way we can grab it and run out of there. Unfortunately, the crutches hold us back and we leave the paper lying on the table. Damn gimp.

8:30 – We make our way to the second floor and sit direct center, right behind a make shift bar and promptly order some nice Yuengling Lagers, the "official" beer of Pennsylvania. We caught the final minutes of Bohemian Sunrise, as impressive of a jam band as you can get. The crowd was really into these guys…although they sounded much like every other jam band to ever play a note.

9:05 – With Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" playing in the background, an announcer hits the stage to announce that Rusted Root now has a new album out and we should pick it up. Rusted Root walk up on stage and launch into "Back to the Earth." God damn that is a great song. Picking up the pace some, "Martyr" is the second song played. Looking down on the crowd, this place is fuckin' packed and the whole place is dancing and going crazy.

9:15 – With an impressive piano interlude, "Cruel Sun" rips through the Electric Factory. The biggest reaction of the night so far takes place during bassist Patrick Norman's solo. He has one of the best stage presence of the band.

9:23 – Some of the people behind us start to sit down as "Women Got My Money" is played. The drums are much stronger live than on the CD. Still not really into the song but Patrick is going crazy as the end of the song is jammed out. He is a goddamn monster on stage. Liz Berlin steps up next to steal a song. Her vocals during "Artificial Winter" are awesome live.

9:32 – Another one of the "weaker" tracks on the new CD, "People of my Village" is awesome live. It's the last song on the disc and I just could not get into the groove of the song, although live the energy of it is unreal. Killer song live. Oh god…. Mike is waiving a crutch in the air. I hope the gimp doesn't fall over.

9:45 – Time for the first single, "Welcome to my Party." This being the third time I have heard this song live, (10/22/00 – Live in Syracuse, NY) I was expecting a lot. Too bad it turned out to be the worst sounding song of the night. The acoustics in the Electric Factory completely killed this song. So pissed off.

9:55 – Holy shit, "Food and Creative Love"! I have not heard this fuckin song in years live and it sounds great and provides an awesome lead in to "Too Much," probably my favorite song from the new CD. I think I may be in love with Liz. She could sing the words "Fuck Off" to me and I would love it.

10:00 – Easily the most messed up portion of the night. Out of nowhere, this huge ass bouncer has the guy in some sort of chokehold. The guy is putting up a struggle until he kinda shoots up and then drops to the floor in a cartoon-like fashion. I think I just saw my very first in person stun-gunning. Awesome but the story continues. Another guard comes over and they start to escort the man out. He again starts struggling and they take him down. The bartender comes around the bar and starts kicking this idiot in the head. Now more bouncers come over to forcefully remove this jerk-off. Is there a more messes up segway to "Beautiful People."

10:13 – 10:26 – DRUMS!!!!!!! Starting off with Patrick and Jim Donovan on drums and percussion. Jenn and Liz come back to the stage and you can see that they are having a ball out there. Mike comes on stage and jams with Jim on the drum set before exiting. Liz and Jenn make their way to the front of the stage as Mike comes back on-stage as they tease "Chain of Fools." The unthinkable happens next, they just stop. The whole place is waiting for Mike to pick up his guitar and launch into Ecstasy but it doesn't happen. They just stop. AWESOME AWESOME stuff.

What a great night. This Rusted Root is different than the one I first saw around 8 years ago. They even alluded to it during our interview, but this Rusted Root is much more focused on their music. With tighter songs and stronger hooks, this Rusted Root is a band that will rise again.