Best New Battle

DJ battles are the norm, and battles of bands come a dime a dozen. But what about DJs versus bands? Isn't that the real question anyway? We think it might be. One breezy spring night, a bunch of funk lovers filed into the divey, wood-paneled corners of Chez Charlie to kick back and take in the sounds of James Trotter (aka Superwolf) and Pat Alexander (otherwise known as Fat Sal) trading sets with the Creighton Organization (organ player Dave Creighton with, that night, an upright bassist and a really tight drummer). During the DJs' sets, everyone got up and danced, whereas during Creighton's sets, the youngsters sat at the bar, heads nodding, gazes fixed on the skilled musicians doing their thing. It's hard to say who won. Mr. Creighton, an electrician by trade who actually carts his own Hammond organ and oversized Perrier umbrella to all his gigs, said the Creighton Organization won. But then he changed his mind. "The only losers are the people who weren't there," he decided.