Picks of the Week: Thursday, July 13
 
KID BEYOND
 
If there was an Olympic gold medal awarded for beatboxing, Kid Beyond would win it. It's not just his vocal flexibility that impresses -- a mind-boggling array of blips and beeps, grunts and squeaks -- but the way he weaves these sounds into accomplished arrangements of complex tunes.
 
Armed only with a laptop and a mic, Kid Beyond (a.k.a Andrew Chaikin) records himself live performing as first one instrument, then another. Within five minutes, as each recorded line layers over its predecessor, he is surrounded by a wall of sound resembling a full orchestra. And just as you realize you are in the presence of a bona fide virtuoso, he begins to sing along.
 
This show marks the release of his first CD, Amplivate, on Love-Million Records.
 
-- Nicole Gluckstern