Lee "Scratch" Perry

At the age of 76, Lee Perry's grip on reality seems to have finally and completely relinquished. But who needs reality anyway? It's a cumbersome thing for so intrepid and visionary an auteur to burden himself with. Deep within the reggae mastermind's septuagenarian lunacy lies the warped vision that shaped dub and inspired everyone from Bob Marley to Primal Scream. His latest LP, Repentance (his 54th studio release), is a pastiche of unions so unlikely they could only have been dreamed up by someone who is only half paying attention. Co-produced by Andrew W.K., the dancy and deeply digital club-dub offering features appearances by Moby, Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale, and porn star Sasha Grey. Why the schizophrenic recruitment policies? A listen doesn't make the answer immediately clear, but the Upsetter's music has never been about being immediate or clear. Perry may be crazy, but it's not Charles Manson. It's Brian Wilson. 18+.
Fri., July 11, 8 p.m., 2008