With the first free concert in Prospect Park, summer has officially begun. Isaac Hayes was absolutely spectacular. Sang "Don't Let Go," "Walk On By," "Never Can Say Goodbye." Artists confuse me: did he really think we'd rather hear "Soul Man" than, say, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"? It's like going to a Beatles concert and hearing them sing "Last Train to Clarksville." Dude had to be helped on and offstage, but he was in fine voice.

Free concerts in New York attract a certain type. For the encore, I was treated to six thousand people saying into their cellphones, all at once, "Isaac Hayes is playing 'Shaft'!" And directly behind me, of course, a guy thinking, "It's a good thing I brought my tambourine!"



Crowd going nuts.



Answering the question, "Roman, why don't you take more photos?"



Ecstatic New Yorkers brought to their feet by an extra-long "Shaft."