august 21
Frugal Indulgents: It's hard to be a broke twentysomething with expensive tastes. When you have Donna Karan tastes and a Clothestime budget, having an empty wallet seems to be a constant rebuke. But don't despair -- Jennifer Griffin, one of the authors of Frugal Indulgents: How to Cultivate Decadence When Your Age and Salary Are Under 30, comes to Books & Books (296 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables) tonight at 8:00 p.m. to give tips on how to live more than comfortably within your means. Think of it: Just by shelling out thirteen bucks for the book (what else is that gonna get you -- a drink at the Raleigh? half an appetizer at China Grill?), you get great advice about how to live the high life on a low salary, including how to find a cheap apartment, where to buy inexpensive clothing, and how to score a free vacation back home. Call 442-4408. (JO)
Coral Gables Congregational Church Summer Concert Series: The summer is coming to an end and so is this concert series, which concludes tonight at 8:00 p.m. with a performance by jazz legend Milt Jackson and his trio. Known for his seamless improvisations, vibraphone virtuoso Jackson has for six decades played and collaborated with the pioneers -- Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Coleman Hawkins, among others. With the Modern Jazz Quartet, he revolutionized the use of vibes by improvising on classical themes. While not the first vibraphonist to play jazz (Red Norvo and Lionel Hampton preceded him), Jackson is credited with being the first to play bebop on his instrument. Pianist Michael LeDonne, bassist Melbourne Cranshaw, and drummer Granville Roker join Jackson on-stage at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables) as he performs songs from his latest release, Sa Va Bella, a tribute to Billie, Dinah, Sarah, and Ella, those great ladies of jazz. Tickets cost $25. Call 448-7421. (GC)
Reba McEntire/Brooks and Dunn: Those red curls, that perky smile, those impressive lungs. No, we're not talkin' about Annie. Think south, much farther south, to Nashville, where Reba McEntire reigns as one of the crown princesses of country music. Since launching her career in 1978, the Oklahoma spitfire with the angel-pure delivery has released two dozen albums, five of which have gone triple platinum. A country and western renaissance woman (the daughter of a steer roper, she used to compete in rodeo barrel races), McEntire was also a best-selling author with her 1994 autobiography Reba: My Story, and she hosted a nine-week series of classic ABC daytime dramas (okay, soaps) called A Daytime to Remember this past spring. Tonight at 8:00 p.m., La Reba belts out tunes from her latest release, What If It's You?, at the Miami Arena (721 NW First Ave.). Honky-tonk cowboys Brooks (he's the cute one) and Dunn open. Tickets cost $41. Call 530-4400. (GC)
friday
august 22
Megadeth/Misfits: Two darkling bands from opposite sides of the nation invade the Sunrise Musical Theater (5555 95th Ave., Sunrise) tonight at 8:00 p.m. When Megadeth emerged from Los Angeles in 1983, the band had perfected a jazz-oriented blend of chops and emotional aggression that often accelerated to lightning speed without loss of control. Megadeth is at the top of its game with its latest release, Cryptic Writings (ironically enough, frontman Dave Mustaine's former band, Metallica, which paved the way for Megadeth's success by topping the charts with thrash first, has lost its edge in the eyes of many critics and fans). About the same time Megadeth was starting up, tourmates the Misfits were hanging it up. But New Jersey's gloom-punk sons are back in business after a fourteen-year hiatus with their latest disc, American Psycho. Sure, things just aren't the same without Glenn Danzig at the helm, but hey, what is? Tickets cost $22.50. Call 954-741-7300. (GC)
Sonic Machinery: The danceable crunch and grind of industrial music takes over Squeeze (2 S. New River Dr., Fort Lauderdale) as Florida-based indie label Innerface Records celebrates the release its fifth project and first industrial hardcore and hip-hop compilation, Sonic Machinery. Among the bands on the CD are Nation of Fear (with former Collapsing Lungs singer Brian Tutunick), Cleaner (which does a snazzy cover of George Michael's "I Want Your Sex"), aggro-boogie band Purge, Euro-synth band Renz and its industrial hardcore offshoot the Sect, and experimental trip-hop duo Sinamen Skunk. All of the above will perform tonight beginning at 9:00 p.m. Admission is five dollars for those over age 21, and seven for those ages 18 to 20. Call 954-522-2151. (GC)
Boxing on the Beach: The Team Freedom fighters return to the Seville Beach Hotel (2901 Collins Ave., Miami Beach) tonight at 8:00 p.m. FECARBOX WBC champion Eliecer Castillo (Cuba) slugs it out with Freddy Adams (USA) in the main event; additional matches feature Team Freedom fighters Eliseo Castillo, Anselmo Felipe, and Jan Carlos Suarez (all Cuban immigrants), plus Alex Lugo (Colombia), Charles Wittaker (Cayman Islands), Felix Marti (Dominican Republic), and Domingo Alvarez (USA). Tickets cost $15 for general admission and $20 for ringside seats. Call 888-3812. (GC)
saturday
august 23
Hialeah Fest: !Oye, consorte! Get yourself over to Churchill's Hideaway (5501 NE Second Ave.) tonight for un tremendo bayu. The third annual Miami Rocks Festival goes wild with a whole mess of bands from -- ta daa! -- the City of Progress: Al's Not Well, Maria, the Butterclub, Derek Cintron, and Egg, and some extra-special surprise guests. Admission to this eighteen-and-over show is five dollars. The party begins at 8:00 p.m., and there will be plenty of bocaditos and pastelitos for munching, plus giveaways and trivia contests for you Hialeah old-schoolers. Call 757-1807. (GC)
Ah-Tha-Thi-Ki Museum Opening: No, it's not some new dance craze or sushi roll. The Ah-Tha-Thi-Ki ("a place to learn," for those who don't speak Seminole) is the first museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Florida Seminoles. Although even they can't claim to be Florida natives (they are descended from the Creek Indians of Georgia and Alabama), the Seminoles do have more than 200 years of fascinating and often tragic history in this state. After coming perilously close to extinction in the mid-1800s owing mainly to a couple of wars with the hostile American government, the tribe has rebounded to about 2000 members; several hundred of them live on the Big Cypress Reservation west of Miami. The museum is located on 60 acres at the edge of the Everglades and includes exhibits, more than a mile of nature trails, and a living Seminole village and ceremonial grounds. The grand opening, scheduled to run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. today and tomorrow, features stomp dancers (rarely seen apart from sacred ceremonies usually closed to outsiders), storytellers, and Seminole singers. Admission is six dollars. To get to the museum, take I-75 (Alligator Alley) west toward Naples, get off at exit fourteen, and head north about seventeen miles. Call 954-792-0745. (JO)
Coast for Kids Summer Show: Meet Sesame Street's Elmo, encounter a land shark, drive a car or truck, surf the Web, and play with wild animals at the third annual Coast for Kids Show at the Broward County Convention Center (1950 Eisenhower Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). Coast radio station (WFLC-FM 97.3) hosts this giant indoor (read: air-conditioned) playground and educational event for kids and parents, featuring a minicar track from the Florida Department of Transportation, a petting zoo, local children's entertainer Mr. Mike Raffone (get it?), a video arcade, a Florida Marlins interactive road show, a baby diaper derby, and a safety obstacle course done by the Broward Safe Kids Coalition. Admission is five dollars for adults, one dollar for kids age twelve and under. Show hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. today and tomorrow. Call 954-522-9808. (GC)
sunday
august 24
H.O.R.D.E. Tour: Lollapalooza was pretty cool, Warped totally rocked, but the sixth annual H.O.R.D.E. might just be your best bet for variety on the giant multiband summer rock-festival circuit. Where else can you get the Godfather of Grunge, big-horned pop-skankers, and bango-strumming, swing-time nostalgists on one stage? And you are just in time to catch the festival's final date today at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre (601 Sansbury's Way, West Palm Beach). Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Squirrel Nut Zippers, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Taj Mahal and his band, Soul Coughing, the Fool, Spiritualized, Leftover Salmon, To the Moon Alice, and Breedlove are among the many bands performing at this tour stop. The show starts at 3:00 p.m.; plan on getting there early to see Young jam with other musicians on the workshop stage. Check out the "Music" story on page 87 for more on the tour. Tickets cost $28. Call 561-795-8883. (GC)
Take the Desert by Storm!: The Bass Museum (2121 Park Ave., Miami Beach) celebrates contemporary Israeli culture with a family day of dance, music, and art from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. today. Enjoy Israeli folk dance by the Hora Dancers at 1:15 and 2:30 p.m., an interactive musical performance by storytelling singer-songwriter Hagi at 1:30 p.m., and Sephardic, Yemenite, and Middle Eastern music by the Shalom Band at 3:00 p.m. And don't forget to view the exhibition Desert Cliche: Israel Now -- Local Images before it closes down to begin its U.S. tour. But do leave your camel at home. Admission is free. Call 673-7530. (GC)
Ah-Tha-Thi-Ki Museum Opening: See Saturday.
Coast for Kids Summer Show: See Saturday.
monday
august 25
Will to Be Well: Explore the mind-body-spirit connection at this panel discussion tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Coral Gables Youth Center (405 University Dr., Coral Gables). WPBT-TV (Channel 2) public affairs host Carlos Pagan moderates the panel, which features Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, medical director of Camillus Health Concern and head of gastroenterology at Mercy Hospital; author and London Sunday Times medical and science correspondent Neville Hodgkinson; and spiritual educator and Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization president and United Nations representative B.K. Mohini. A staff member from the Courtelis Center, a local institution dedicated to holistic healing, will also be on hand. Admission is free. Call 442-2252. (GC)
tuesday
august 26
Bobby Slayton: One man, two personas, a unifying sense of humor. Bobby Slayton the actor is a versatile chap who has appeared in the films Get Shorty, Ed Wood, and Wayne's World 2, plus three pilots for CBS. Bobby Slayton the comedian, the subject of his own HBO One Night Stand comedy special, is known as the "pit bull of comedy," thanks to his vicious, biting wit and his kill-or-be-killed attitude. Slayton appears at the Improv Comedy Club at the Streets of Mayfair (2911 Grand Ave., Coconut Grove) tonight through Sunday. Showtimes are Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday at 8:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m.; and Saturday at 7:45, 10:00, and midnight. Admission is $10 on weekdays and Sunday; $12 on Saturday. Call 441-8200. (GC)
wednesday
august 27
Cinema Wednesdays: War is hell, but it sure makes for good cinema. Florida International University's University Park campus (SW Eighth Street and 107th Avenue) resumes its free classic film series at the Graham Center tonight at 8:00 p.m. with William Wellman's 1927 silent classic Wings, an exciting drama about two young men who fight in World War I. The first film to win an Academy Award for best picture, it features some of the best aerial photography and dogfighting sequences ever filmed. The series continues every Wednesday; other classic films to be shown include 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front (September 3), 1932's Grand Hotel (September 10), 1935's Mutiny on the Bounty (September 24), 1937's The Life of Emile Zola (October 1), and 1942's Mrs. Miniver (October 8). Call 348-2461 for a complete schedule. (GC)
Bobby Slayton: See Tuesday.
