DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight on guitar, center. Photo by Bob Lee for the LA Beat.
LA is both a good city and kind of a tough city to be in if you want to get a new scene happening. There’s no shortage of musicians, no shortage of audience, but real estate is expensive and venues that cater to the adventurous have a tendency to open and close with regularity. The Wisdome is a live music and art venue not quite like any that exists in LA right now, or really anywhere else I know of. And it is presently doing something that I have thought should be done for years: presenting live music in a planetarium environment, where the listener can stare at psychedelic projections on the roof, while a live band plays in front of them. With the right music, and the right visual artist, this combo can blow minds, and the All Star Funk Jam hosted by Fishbone’s Norwood with several of the members of Trulio Disgracias and multiple stellar guests in attendance, the venue realized a good amount of its potential.
Much of the evening was dedicated to songs by Funkadelic, with P-Funk veteran guitarist Dwayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight among the assembled players on stage. Opening with a blast through the guitar feature “Maggot Brain”, one could recline in chairs at the center of the floor, watch the spacey visuals above, and experience the sensation of sailing through outer space on a cloud of distortion. This is a pretty neat trick, a real brain massage that is not readily available at just any nightclub. Continue reading →
