Williamsburg is generally a lively area on a Saturday, but it was extra animated this past weekend thanks to Live for Live Music's Brooklyn Comes Alive.

It was a heaven of super jams. In case you didn't know, super jams are basically jam sessions featuring super groups, which are essentially little one-off conglomerates of top performers.  

Not only did Brooklyn Comes Alive sell out, but it sold out despite going on the same day Central Park hosted the Global Citizen Festival, which featured generational talents like Pearl Jam, Beyonce, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran. That's a huge feat in and of itself.

The party kicked off at noon with the Blue Note Jazz Brunch at Verboten and Verboten Cabaret: three sets featuring otherworldly jazz talent including Maurice Brown, Holly Bowling, and one of my personal favorites, Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin & Wood.

The day grooved on as Verboten hosted sick super-jams full of some great talent.

Kung Fu's Tim Palmieri, Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick of the Trey Anastasio band, Russ Lawton of Strangefolk, and a bunch more held down the main area for hours. In between, Hayley Jane and Wiley Griffin played solo acoustic sets on the Cabaret stage. 

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Things really began to heat up around 7:30 p.m., though, as Music Hall of Williamsburg opened its doors for four incredible sets that would run into the wee morning hours, some of the best live music I've seen in a long, long time-- and I see a lot of live music. 

For the rest of the night, it was a bounce between the two venues to catch at least some of everything. 19 year old electro-soul production whiz Marvel Years teamed up with RAQ's Todd Stoops, who applied his signature clavichord style to the synths, and crushed it. 

Two highlight tracks were Marvel Years' "Ratatat x RJD2", and "Hilltop Hoods x Notorious B.I.G." mixes. Bonkers.

That set was dope, plain and simple. It was a great way to bring the energy up for the remainder of the night. At the same time, Andrew Block's super jam was getting funky at MHOW. 

Next, for me, had to be Eric Krasno's super jam. Krasno's all over the place. "Kraz" is a special talent; a succinct jazz, funk, and psychedelic guitarist who will make your soul jump out of your body and dance and pray to Jesus like it's Sunday morning. 

Especially with Nigel Hall and Marco Benevento trading off keyboard duties. Holy hell, it was amazing. I had to jet over to Stratosphere All-Stars. Stratosphere is a little different as they're not totally a one-time only group, though the lineup does change a bit here and there. 

This incantation of Stratosphere saw the inclusion of the Disco Biscuits' Marc "Brownie" Brownstein on bass and Lotus' Mike Greenfield on drums, so it was basically half of Electron gettin' down with Todd Stoops and Marcus Rezak. 

This set contained one of my favorite moments of the whole day. Featuring Hayley Jane on vocals, they did a couple Biscuits songs sandwiched around Pink Floyd: Humu>Hey You> Home Again was something to behold.

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The constant rise of energy in "Humu," drove perfectly into the sedated introduction of "Hey You," which spiraled out into a wonderful "Home Again," and made great sense as Brownie really was...home again.

Rezak is a great guitarist and fully capable of nailing Biscuit tunes. For real, Rezak's sweeps are stunningly crisp, clear, and basically perfect. 

There was a big difference between Rezak's interpretation of the guitar work and the noticeably swaggier (sloppier) Barber versions to which I was accustomed. Loved it.

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Between Stratosphere All-Stars and Roosevelt Collier super jams, I caught some of DJ Logic's set at Verboten Cabaret. As always, DJ Logic was mint. 

That man, to the best of my knowledge, has never played a boring set. Each time I've seen him, it's always a dance party. Great vibes.

By the ten 'o' clock hour, the trek between Verboten and Music Hall of Williamsburg was its own party. 

"Hey, you're going the wrong way," and, "We just came from there; it's awesome, but we had to see some of this!" could be heard from blocks in every direction. 

Roosevelt Collier's set was another gem. This lap steel guitarist is top notch. In a music industry full of phony acts, Collier's vibe felt nothing but authentic and home grown. High energy, but laid back with solid grooves in the rhythm section tying everything together? A lot of fun. 

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But before long it was time to run back to Verboten to catch some of Brownie's DJ set. Fully honest: I've seen bad Brownie DJ sets. His track selection was never bad, but his ability to spin them into one another seemed lacking. 

This set, however, marked a monstrous change in my perception of Brownie's DJ skills. 

The tracks were filthy, and I mean filthy. Plus, there were basically no problems with transitions. It was super smooth, super dancy and a little heavy for what I was used to coming out of Brownie. Sick.

Maybe the cherry on top of the whole night was Relix Presents: Marco Benevento & Friends over at Music Hall. Anyone who's seen Benevento can attest: the man is a slinky monster of happiness. 

Each and every sound that comes out of the PA during Marco Benevento & Friends is elated or a space between elation; it's difficult to imagine that just one man has all that happiness inside him. 

Don't get me wrong, it's not relentlessly sappy or constantly gleeful. That would be boring, and this was anything but. 

Benevento has a curious knack for tension and release, and it can come out sounding much like Joy Division or Gorillaz and, um, that's incredible. 

To close out the night, I went for one last walk between MHOW and Verboten. It was getting late, but I couldn't live with myself if I missed the Orchard Lounge reunion set. Having only caught OL since the temporary absence of their third member, I'd only been told how sets I'd seen "weren't the same." 

Now I know why. I really liked what I heard of Orchard Lounge as a duo, but now that my eyes have been opened-- live-- I get the difference. The words "Orchard Lounge, you complete me" could be heard from a few different heads.

It's true that the line up of sets all day was really well curated. But there is something to be said about Marco Benevento and Orchard Lounge being the late night sets. That was, in a word, fantastic. 

I wouldn't have been any happier to see either of those sets at a different time. They bounced off of each other perfectly. 

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Indeed, the whole day did. Here's the part where I implore Live for Live Music, Relix, Six Point, Good Looks Collective, Brooklyn Bowl and Blue Note to make Brooklyn Come Alive again. Maybe, more venues? Two days? Ohm the possibilities are endless..

One thing's for sure, this (hopefully first of many) Brooklyn Comes Alive was awesome. 

Also, check out the sound board of Stratosphere All-Stars' set here. It's dope!

Check out What You Missed from Saturday's Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. 

[Feature Image Courtesy of Instagram]