Bongidae! Silverback Music Festival

Silverback Artist Management could've learned a thing or two from the Texas Rangers; the baseball team seldom plays day games because of the summer heat in Arlington. But the Hollywood heat in late August 2005 didn't deter Silverback from throwing its first all-day Bongidae! Festival and tossing several of its artists out to be barbequed in the midday sun at the John Anson Ford Theatre. Once the sun does go down, headliners Barrington Levy and Slightly Stoopid fare pretty well in front of a festive, laidback crowd (Slightly Stoopid is joined by Levy for one track and by former Bob Marley harmonica player Lee Jaffe for another). Earlier, though, sacrificial lambs Mishka, Leo Nocentelli (late of The Meters), Dubcat (an amalgam of Hepcat and Sublime alumni), and Half Pint sweat their backsides off for an early crowd that looks to number in the dozens (although the cameras cannily avoid panning back farther than the first couple of rows, except for a couple of quick and telling slips). Fishbone, third on the bill, delivers the best set, with four of the 22 songs presented here, but look like they'd rather be playing anywhere else. Making matters worse, the performances are broken up by vapid interview segments. DVD extras include a bonus 16-track live CD. A hot, sweaty, uneven stew of reggae, rock, and funk, this is an optional purchase. Aud: P. (M. Moore)