Also this issue: Flash Forward Costumed lip-synchers Fischerspooner are not out to shock you. -Sean O’Neal Dirty Three -Paul Burress Jayhawks -Sam Adams Gabriel Yacoub -Mary Armstrong Brentano String Quartet -Peter Burwasser Vir Unis/James Johnson -A.D. Amorosi The Funk Brothers -Nicole Pensiero CD Reviews -Sam Adams, A.D. Amorosi and Collin Keefe

April 10-16, 2003

musicpicks

VERSIONsound

Has it been a year already? Every third Wednesday night at Silk City, your VERSIONsound selectas, Bilwa and Rascal, drop an experimental mishmash of roots, reggae and dub. It's a bubbly, head-twirling array of effects, samples, cuts, scratches and live instrumentation. Over the past year, they've featured live electronic acts like Hoopty Heaven (Bilwa's other project) and Nuri -- often with a mountain of electronic music gear and cables splattered across the table in order to construct a rich, dense, dubby, improvisational live experience. The Jamaican sounds range from deep and soothing to upbeat and danceable. You'll find a dimly lit room comfortably filled with loyal dubbed-out reggae fans dancing or lounging -- many of them with dreadlocks and kitschy outfits. Meanwhile the rasta vibes gently ooze through Silk City's smoke-filled air. For their one-year anniversary, Bilwa and Rascal will be spinning alongside Ital Sound (DJ Adam and friends) -- best known for their roots and dub night every third Thursday at La Tazza. Bilwa and Rascal are also celebrating the release of their second mix CD, VERSIONsound Volume 2, which is available at Cue Records and, of course, at the actual event. Big up to tha selectas.

Wed., April 16, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $3, Silk City, Fifth and Spring Garden sts., 215-592-8838.

—Sean O’Neal