First D.A. Pennebaker directed the National’s set at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, then Terry Gilliam took on an Arcade Fire show, and now another acclaimed director, Spike Lee, has offered his skills for the latest installment of Vevo’s Unstaged series: John Legend and the Roots at NYC’s Terminal 5. Performing in front of the album art to their new covers record, Wake Up!, Legend, ?uesto, and friends unleashed a killer set of tunes off said album, as well as one song that didn’t make the LP cut: Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up.”
Though props are due for making the song their own, I can’t say I’ve heard a rendition of Arcade Fire’s undeniably thrilling Funeral anthem to date that can hold a candle to the original. Legend and the Roots’ take on Bill Withers’ “I Can’t Write Left Handed,” however, is a brilliant, apropos homage to the early ’70s Vietnam protest song, not to mention it features stunning guitar parts by “Captain” Kirk Douglas. Watch both clips (via Cover Me and Pitchfork, respectively):
John Legend and the Roots – “I Can’t Write Left Handed” (Bill Withers Cover)
John Legend and the Roots – “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire Cover)