With temperatures hovering near the 20-degree mark on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a sold-out crowd sought the warm spirit of Afro-beat to stave off the chill.  Antibalas, a 14-piece orchestra, delivered an ecstatic two-set show, featuring a selection of songs in the spirit of Nigeria's late political and musical ambassador Fela Kuti. 
   Antibalas' back-to-back weekend shows (they played the previous night at Southpaw in Brooklyn) were a homecoming of sorts.  The band, formed in 1998 and rooted in Brooklyn, garnered a massive New York following from Africalia, their now-defunct Friday-night party in Tribeca.  They have spent much of the past year promoting their March 2002 Ninja Tune release, Talkatif, at venues all over the world.  An appearance on the critically lauded compilation Red Hot & Riot - naturally, a tribute to Kuti - has helped them maintain a high profile. 
   Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") take inspiration from Kuti but earn props in their own right for first-rate song structure and instrumentation.  While the pan-cultural representation is seen in the varying musical styles, ethnicities and languages (English, Spanish and Yoruba) of the band members, you'd be hard-pressed to pin down exactly what the political message was in the three-hour-plus show.  That was fine with the audience - even the lead-footed white boys danced as if they were taken over by divine intervention.  
   "Elephant" and "Hypocrite" highlighted the first set - the latter was introduced by the band's founder, baritone saxophonist Martin Perna.  The four-song second set kept pace through the closer, a cover of a Pee Wee Ellis gem, "In the Middle."  Besides Perna's virtuosity, conga player Ernesto Abreu and vocalist Duke Amayo deserve special mention for their contributions.  The 13 players - 14 by the end of the show (bass player Del Stribling arrived during the second set; his daughter was born earlier that evening) - could have benefited from a larger venue, but the crowd, college age to fiftysomethings, didn't seem to mind the cramped quarters.