I pulled myself away from messin' with The Chief at the Chestnut Street Stage. I had found me a job, and in that moment, my job was to get funky. I rounded the corner to the Jazz Street Stage and what to my wondering eyes should appear? He's ba-ack! Dancing Guy. In his same ol' too-exposed-for-my-comfort shorty-shorts. And I had hurried only to have Papa Grows Funk start late.

I braced myself against a pole and watched the crowd swarm like bees, enjoying the perfect weather and the profusion of mouth-watering smells from the grill. It seemed the Jazz Fest was everyone's Saturday night date.

The band started off 20 minutes late, but once it got going it produced a wall of sound that begged the crowd to jump up and boogie. Dancing Guy did, along with a scattering of hip-hopping young hippy types making the most of the small space between the tables and the stage. One guy in the audience even stood up and played his acoustic guitar along with the band.

Papa Grows Funk is a perfect outdoor concert band. It plays that easily accessible long jamming music that brings party-goes to frenzy. But I'll tell ya, for a straight-and-narrow-looking guy, Jason "Big Wind" Mingledorff sure can blow some heady curves on his sax. Perhaps that's why guitar-playing June Yamagishi was drooling.

From there I went to check out Canadian Tim Posgate's Banjo Hockey at Xerox Auditorium. Once I got past the seedy-feeling bus station behind the now-vacant Midtown Plaza, the X Plaza seemed an oasis of safety. That the venue required climbing up two flights of stairs was a surprise. (There is an elevator if needed.) Restrooms were up at least another level. (I didn't check.)

The auditorium is a nice space with a low stage that encourages an intimate listening experience. (Except for the volunteers chattering in the lobby. Keep it down, you guys!) The crowd was on the light side, about one-quarter full. The three horns and string section were playing a playful tune that reminded me of a carnival. I settled into my seat, the show providing a nice rest stop amidst the festival flurry. The way the band members all bounced off each other in harmonic discordance and then caught up on the rebound made for a fun journey. In fact, the last piece was called "F" as in "fun." And it was.

Perhaps next year the new sponsor (Xerox) will open up the sunken atrium as a venue. It would make a perfect space with its upper perimeter for additional viewing.