Tonight at Von King Park in Bed-Stuy,
we attended what seemed more like a raucous, fun-filled old school house party
than a show in the Summerstage concert series, presided over by the original human beat box, Doug E. Fresh with the able assistance of DJ Dee Wiz.
Audience members were literally grooving in the aisles to the backdrop of what seemed like the soundtrack of our lives,
or at least those of us - and we turn one year shy of sixty tomorrow - who can still remember what must be music ancient history to the young people in the audience.
Doug E. Fresh introduced his young son soon after he first came out and he said this was going to be a "family show."
Later his somewhat older sons came out and did their thing, but Doug also said he wanted the feel of a neighborhood party in Brooklyn, especially with Island People and those of us who are "Straight-Up Brooklyn."
In this he and DJ Dee Wiz succeeded beyond anything we'd ever really seen at a SummerStage city park concert because the audience was an integral part of the show,
every bit as much as the old-school hip-hop, pop and reggae standards from the 70s and 80s that we partied to.
The audience was filled with people of all ages, including little kids bopping around.
DJ Dee Wiz got the audience up
and moving early.
Some b-boys did their thing in front of the stage early.
There's a good view of the amphitheater at Von King Park from the rafters.
The Red Bull girls were out giving away cold caffeinated drinks as they did last night at Betsy Head Park.
Egypt, who's back on WBLS 10-3 weekdays following Steve Harvey's show, introduced Doug E. Fresh.
He had such an ease with his audience. There were a lot of "hands up" moments.
"Feel free to enjoy yourself," he told the crowd as we listened to everything from "One Love" to "A B C" in addition to old-school hip-hop.
He asked for those 25 and over, 35 and over, 45 and over. We fit into the "50 and better" category "who understand real old-school" and we were far from the only ones.
"Brooklyn likes it loud," Doug E. Fresh said.
It was a real party evening, and we're grateful for SummerStage for bring us Doug E. Fresh, who's not only a great entertainer
but who seems like a first-rate human being.
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