06/19/08 Medeski Martin & Wood/Ceramic Dog/Taylor McFerrin @ Prospect Park Bandshell, Brooklyn, NY

Having formed in Brooklyn, my favorite trio returned to its stomping grounds for this free Celebrate Brooklyn gig.

The lax security at Prospect Park allowed us to smuggle in a bag of wine so the night became slightly hazy.

Opener McFerrin was enjoyable if forgetable.

Ribot was skronky if not especially melodic. For his stylistic elasticity in a studio gig, he often seems apt to the polar opposite in many of his solo endeavors.

The headliners played a danceable improv-heavy set highlighted by a Ribot sit-in.

06/13/08 Mavis Staples @ Central Park SummerStage, New York, NY

Mavis Staples is best known for "I'll Take You There" and her collaboration with The Band on "The Weight" at The Last Waltz.

Both songs were highlights of this free show in the park.

05/31/08 Consider the Source/Fiasco/Aa/The Beets/etc. @ Goodbye Blue Monday, Brooklyn, NY

The tail end of this all-day Todd P showcase was supposed to take place on a beach in the Jamaica Bay, but the forecast called for rain, so it was moved to this Bushwick watering hole.

The decor of the bar was a pop culture junkyard explosion. Towers of cathode ray tube televisions and other archaic audio visual equipment lined the walls. Doll parts and action figures glued to mirrors adorned spare surfaces. The outdoor courtyard was strewn haphazardly with mattress springs and outsider sculptures. It was perfect.

Bands included teen punkers Fiasco, lo-fi indie rockers The Beets (not from Doug) and noise masters Aa (aka Big A Little A).

But the best act by far, to my hippie ears anyway, was the Middle Eastern influenced prog-jam trio Consider the Source. I had heard their name bandied about and checked their tunes online, but seeing them live was a treat. It's not much of a stretch to call the bassist Claypoolesque.

Little did I know then that just a few weeks later, they would be performing in my very own backyard.

05/31/08 So So Glos/Eskalators @ Bowery station>M train, New York>Brooklyn, NY

Local all-ages, all-venues show promoter Todd P planned a unique event for this Memorial Day weekend, starting with a subway platform performance by lo-fi punksters So So Glos.

From there, the original plan had us headed out to Jamaica Bay for a waterfront day fest. However, the inclement weather forecast changed plans.

We piled on to the Brooklyn-bound M train for an old fashioned train party featuring the 3rd wave ska of the Eskalators en route to the day's final destination.

05/24/08 The New Deal/Awesome New Republic @ Bowery Ballroom

After Raya Brass Band at Rose, we headed across the Williamsburg Bridge to catch one of my favorite bands at their most frequented NYC digs.

The opener was a high energy dance act in a similar vein that got the crowd moving with renditions of "Eye of the Tiger" and "Thriller."

The New Deal put on yet another wire-to-wire all-out dance party. They may be predictable, but they are predictably awesome, masters of the tension release peak jam.

LISTEN HERE!

05/24/08 Raya Brass Band @ Rose Live Music, Brooklyn, NY

Just a few weeks before this pristene spring day, I had taken my girlfriend to get a cheap mountain bike, so she could join me on city rides on days like this one.

So that's what we did.

The ride from Flushing to Williamsburg takes a little under an hour, about the same as the train.

Unfortunately, my girlfriend, inexperienced as she is in the ways of the bicycle, suffered a minor injury en route to Rose.

Luckily, the bartender at Rose provided some tender loving care and Band-Aids. After catching the tail end of Raya's set of rollicking Balkan-tinged brass reverie.

05/??/08 Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, New York, NY

The free music season in NYC seems to start earlier every year. On this sunny day in May, I convinced my friend Sylvia to drive us into Manhattan for some early afternoon jazz at the new jazz cafe in Columbus Center.

Jazz @ Lincoln Center had opened up recently and spread various performance and educational spaces throughout the building, curated by Wynton Marsalis. Nearly every performance space, Dizzy's included, features a plate glass windows overlooking the hustle and bustle of Columbus Circle as a backdrop.

After the show, we explored the other performance spaces, including the small yet stunning Allen Room and the larger and equally impressive Rose Theatre where we were privy to an orchestra's rehearsal.

Later, we perused the paintings and sculptures that populate the mall.