MORE SUMMER MADNESS
(JUNE FREE CONCERTS IN NYC)


The staggering number of free summer outdoor shows throughout the five boroughs is one of the true highlights of living in NYC. And this year is better than ever! It's almost too much to keep track of, unless you're as anal as I am and painstakingly enter the dates into your Outlook calendar. But never fear, I'm here to make things easy for you. Some live biscuits that I am especially looking forward to...

1.) Me'Shell NdegeOcello at Madison Square Park on 23rd St, next Wed the 21st. I was really feeling her 2003 album Comfort Woman. Never heard the jazz album she put out last year. New record coming in the Fall, apparently.

2.) Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival with Big Daddy Kane, Lupe Fiasco, The Procussions, Rhymefest, Maya Azucena, Strange Fruit Project, Sleepy Brown, Panacea

Next Saturday, the 24th, at the Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO. Cool venue. Right under the BK Bridge. I used to live around the corner, but I've never been to an event there. Speaking of venues in that area, does anyone remember the Anchorage, the amazing cavernous space inside the base of the bridge? They used to have parties there, pre-9/11.

I may actually have to miss the Hip-Hop Fest, as it falls on the weekend of my anniversary. (I missed last year's show at the BK Brewery, too.) But I would recommend checking this one out, if you can. BDK still kills it on stage. He's got that old-school, larger-than-life presence, like KRS. And you just can't go wrong with classics like "Raw," "Set It Off," and "Warm It Up, Kane." Also, I read in the Brooklyn free paper 24-7 that Kane would "be joined by some Brooklyn MC's on stage -- but he wouldn't name names prior to the show." Hmm, Biz? Masta Ace? (6/25 FOLLOW UP: GUESTS INCLUDED BUCKSHOT, SEAN PRICE, KWELI, CL SMOOTH, JUST-ICE, CRAIG G, SCOOB LOVER.)

Haven't heard anything by Chicago-based Kanye protegee Lupe Fiasco other than the single "Kick, Push", a skateboarding ode, which I love! Sure, it sounds like it's ten years old, but the simplicity of that chorus -- "and so he kicked, push, kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, coast . . . and away he rolled" -- just gets me for some reason. I've never been into skateboarding at all, but I'm digging this fond tribute to Lupe's subculture, so I can only imagine how the skaters must be loving it.

* Note: You can't just show up at the Tobacco Warehouse. You need to first register at brooklynbodega.com, then pick up your free ticket at Halcyon, the record store in DUMBO.

3.) Brazilian Girls at Pier 54, Tues the 27th. I love these guys. Loved their album. How can you not love a band with a song called "Pussy Pussy Pussy Marijuana"? Saw them at Summerstage last year opening for Femi Kuti, and even in the pouring rain the audience was grooving. (Interestingly, at that show, there was a mass exodus of hipsters after the Brazilian Girls finished their set, while the headwrap crowd came to hear some Afrobeat. What does it say about me that I loved both?)

If you miss the show in June, you can also catch the Brazilian Girls on July 11th in Fort Greene Park (my hood!).