Also this issue:

The Bee's Knees
With Honey in the Hive, The Bigger Lovers get a taste of the sweet stuff.
-Sam Adams

Looking for the Perfect Beat
Dälek champions the original spirit of hip-hop.
-Paul Burress

Here Lay the Liars
Post-punk or not, you can believe the hype.
-Paul Burress

Beat Box
-Ain Ardron-Doley

And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Busted Ceiling Panels
-John Vettese

The Gig
-Nate Chinen on Jazz

Feria del Barrio
-Mary Armstrong

Lynn Miles
-Nicole Pensiero

September 5-11, 2002

musicpicks

Money Mark

Fri., Sept. 6, 10 p.m., $8-$10, with A.I. and Sola, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.

Listening to Money Mark is like being trapped in an elevator with a bottle of cheap wine, and mellow Muzak slithering through the air, calming the nerves and sedating the senses. As the unofficial fourth member of the Beastie Boys in the '90s, Mark Nishita piled his vintage keyboard noodlings onto the instrumentally charged albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication. The popular sideman has also lent his dexterous skills to such diverse artists as Beck, Buffalo Daughter, Femi Kuti and Blackalicious. His own aptly titled 2001 LP Change is Coming (Emperor Norton) forsakes the spurting streams of experimentation and bizarre lo-fi pop ruminations of his previous releases for focused compositions that fuse funk, jazz, salsa and everything easy-going. The change is a crucial one, finally giving Nishita relevance as a solo instrumental artist. They certainly won't make you bang your head or pump your fist, but the keyboardist's slow, swaggering grooves go down smoother than a shot of NyQuil.

—Andrew Parks