07/18/08 Budos Band/Chico Mann @ Damrosch Park, New York, NY

Hailing straight from the slums of Shaolin, embodying the revivalist funk movement of Daptone Records, the Budos Band paired with the modernized Blaxploitation funk of Chico Mann for this gratis offering at Lincoln Center's outdoor plaza.

Unfortunately, the section in front of the stage was reserved for donors despite plenty of space for all. It has since been revoked, but it prompted us to head for a more egalitarian dance floor.

07/17/08 DJ Spooky @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

Ever the innovator, DJ Spooky presented his multimedia treatise on African culture, featuring his trademark instrumental beats paired with captivating images and soundbytes that painted a stark picture of modern racism.

07/17/08 Fiery Furnaces @ East River Park, New York, NY

This free evening of local indie rock was enhanced by the riverside ampitheater venue, not to be confused with its Brooklyn counterpart, East River State Park.

07/16/08 Stuart Bogie's Superhuman Happiness/Charles Gayle Trio/Colin Stetson @ Tobacco Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY

This free show at the picturesque open-air Tobacco Warehouse in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge featured three accomplished saxophonists - Antibalas leader Stuart Bogie, free jazz maven Charles Gayle and journeyman Colin Stetson who has logged time with everyone from Arcade Fire to Tom Waits.

During Superhuman Happiness' headlining set, intergalactic NASA images were projected on the screen for a spacey funk affair.

07/15/08 Mickey Hart Band @ Irving Plaza, New York, NY

07/15/08 • Irving Plaza • New York , NY
Set 1: Shakedown Street, Manila Farewell, Seven Seconds, Self Defense, Tolongo, Fountains Of Wood, Eyes Of The World, Good Lovin’
Set 2: The Center Prelude > The Center, Strange World, Your House, The Other One > Arabian Wind > The Other One > Sugaree > Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain
Encore: Papa Was A Rolling Stone > Aiko Aiko

This incarnation of the pernicious percussionist' solo band was highlighted by the appropriately psychedelic tones of San Francisco stalwart Steve Kimock and String Cheese Incident keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth.

The two sets included such Dead essentials as Shakedown Street, Scarlet Begonias and The Other One, along with a classic pairing of Scarlet/Fire, the latter of which is Hart's signature Dead composition.

LISTEN HERE!

07/01/08 Kode9/Dave Q/Juakali/Forward Motion Theater @ WFC Winter Garden, New York, NY

Of the Love Generation's tragic decline, Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, "with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." With none of the cultural gravitas, but similar proportionate respect to musical integrity, this was an inversely comparable temporal watermark for that divisive once-microgenre known as dubstep.

At the precipice of dubstep exploding beyond the bass underground, albeit in a bastardized form, one of its progenitors enlightened the womp-seekers with no pretension in an appropriately cold and characterless echo chamber, backlit by ominous monochromatic dancing shapes.

06/26/08 Tristan Perich's 1-Bit Music @ Jon Cohrs' loft, Brooklyn, NY

The allure at this inner Brooklyn loft dance party was the low-tech, hi-brow classical glitch of Tristan Perich's symphonic concoctions.