Car horns frantically beeping during rush hour, neighbors yelling greeting each other at 8 a.m. on a Sunday, and hits of uhntz-uhntz blasting from the strip of clubs that line Washington Avenue till the wee hours of the night. That's the distinct sound of Miami.
But every now and then, we get to hear some pretty good music from other places, like the California rock vibes of Queens of the Stone Age and Canadian noise makers Skinny Puppy.
Just check out the five best concerts going down this week.
See also: New Times' Concert Calendar
International Noise Conference. With Laundry Room Squelchers, Humbert, Nunhex, Astrokats, Shroud Eater, Holly Hunt, Otto Von Shirach, Mr. Feathers, Nayib Estefan, Dim Past, Kenny Millions, and others. Tuesday February 4, to Saturday, February 8, Churchill's Pub, 5501 NE 2nd Ave., Miami; 305-757-1807; churchillspub.com. Free. Make some noise with fellow "screamers, shredders, and sonic sadomasochists" to 140 performances of deranged, experimental madness from Clang Quartet, Holly Hunt, and other local and national noise makers of the ilk during the four-day INC bender.
See also: International Noise Conference 2014's 140-Act Lineup and Set Times
Queens of the Stone Age. Wednesday, February 5, 8 p.m., The Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Tickets cost $39.50 to $55 plus fees via livenation.com. Every masterpiece Queens of the Stone Age produces is "a labor of love." Guess that, and their ability to "reach out to their audience and pull some [sort of artistic] magic off" is what's made them arguably "the best rock 'n' roll band on the planet."
See also: Queens of the Stone Age on Rock Greatness: "It's Like a Magic Trick, Like Mind Control"
Dom Kennedy. Get Home Safely Tour with Skreme. Friday, February 7, 7 p.m., Avenue D Jazz & Blues Lounge, 8 South Miami Ave., Miami; 305-371-4823; avenuedjazz.com. Tickets cost $20 plus fees via ticketweb.com. "Nothing is standard," fesses LA rapper Dom Kennedy. "At times, when things ain't working, you got to try new things." And if you're bold enough and play your cards right, the impossible may happen ... Like getting your album on Best Buy's shelves (sans a major record label) and selling 10,000 copies of it in its first week, like what happened to Kennedy with his Get Home Safely LP. Here's to taking chances.
See also: Dom Kennedy on the Rap Game: "When Things Ain't Working, You Got to Try New Things"
Skinny Puppy. Shapes for Arms Tour with Army of the Universe. Friday, February 7, 8 p.m., Grand Central, 697 North Miami Ave., Miami; 305-377-2277; grandcentralmiami.com. Tickets cost $26.50 plus fees via ticketfly.com. Alright, feds may have used Skinny Puppy's electro-industrial rock to torture prisoners in Guantanamo, but don't worry; you won't need to be detained in some sort of jailed camp to rock out. Just head over to Grand Central and watch Nivek Ogre, cEvin Key, and Dwayne R. Goettel terrorize the crowd with their musical Weapon.
Panic! At the Disco. With The Colourist and Junior Prom. Saturday, February 8, 8 p.m., The Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Tickets are sold out via livenation.com. Panic! At the Disco has had its fare share of drama throughout their ten years in the music-making biz (loosing two founding members can be a tidbit stressful, you know?). But the band is still touring, topping charts, and proving once and for all that they're Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!
See also: Brendon Urie on Ten Years of Panic! at the Disco: "Nothing Makes Me Want to Stop"
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