"This morning, somebody called and said, 'Is it really free?' Yes it's really free," said cofounder Jacqueline Taylor. "Some people can't believe it."

... He was free to be less than perfect, which is more interesting than perfect.

Of course, the music industry can exist only if free is a rare exception. But when free, concerts should be also free of peripheral promotion; at Town Hall, you didn't even see Lifschitz's compact discs sold in the lobby. Everyday life is full of promotional swindles, spam assaults, and advertisement-driven Malware. Art hasn't necessarily stayed clear of that. But here, it can - and does.