The late afternoon sky grew cloudy as concertgoers accumulated in Prospect Park. Luckily, the rain never came— and the crowd that evening was only showered with funk and jazz. Prospect Park had a really nice, laid-back vibe to it on Thursday, with families and friends sprawled on blankets, eating picnic dinners, and waiting for MM&W to come on stage. The concert was part of the Celebrate Brooklyn! series: a string of free and public music, film, and dance performances that Prospect Park is hosting throughout the summer. 

Both openers, Marc Ribot and Cell Theory and Taylor McFerrin, were quite enjoyable. McFerrin didn’t have a huge audience, but Ribot and Cell Theory got the energy going in the park as more people filed in.

Drummer Billy Martin’s solo during the first set was the highlight of the show, as his talent and technique can only be truly appreciated when seeing him live. The group’s sizzling chemistry continued into the second set after a short break, but the momentum was cut short when Wood announced that, after only about an hour and a half of playing, they had run out of time. The show was blazing while it lasted, although it would have been better if MM&W could have kept grooving for another hour.  

-Erica Block