Day By the River, who are planning a tour in January and who have the hottest street buzz in town (I even get letters!), hit the UM patio this Friday.
This Saturday at Stephen Talkhouse Johnny Dread and the Monkey Wrench Experience rock steady.
One of my favorite singer-songwriter-guitarist dudes, Paul Roub, will play solo at Coyote this Friday, opening for the band with the hottest street buzz in town, Treehouse. Meanwhile, Roub is trying to put together a new band -- noisy guitars, solid melodies, brutalized drums, rock and roll -- so bass players and skin pounders should call 444-4405.
If you're up for a road trip this weekend, there's a huge three-day barn-dance and fiddle-playing festival on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. Mark O'Connor and Chubby Wise are the big-name performers, but there'll be tons of bands and events. Call 800-535-2228 for details and directions.
In case you haven't heard the street buzz, the South Florida Rock Awards event is fast approaching -- it's December 16 at Plus 5. A few pretty good bands with hardly any street buzz at all are skedded: The Itch, Cell 63, Nil Lara, and Black Janet playing acoustic sets, plus full-band performances by Forget the Name, Natural Causes, Voidville, the Goods, Holy Terrors, Jack Off Jill, Dore Soul, and Collapsing Lungs. I dunno, they all sound like the Groove Thangs to me.
Not just a street buzz, but the subject of a New Times "Music" story and, later, international fame and acclaim, local label Murk has now compiled those amazingly hot singles of theirs into a full CD. Heavy on the house tip, the release includes some remixes by Danny Tenaglia among the deep sounds created by Murk bosses Ralph Falcon and Oscar Gaetan. Check it.
Last week it was the BPs and Bored Shitless, this week Churchill's Hideaway keeps it coming with the Hemp Awareness Concert tomorrow (Thursday) featuring Toadjam, the Tribe, Blue Moovey, Glenn Allen, and Alex Lyons. Then, on Saturday Whig Party wigs out with Soma, from Gainesville.
Third Wish is at the Musicians Exchange tomorrow (Thursday).
Joe Risolia has come up with an idea that'll either ruin him or make him rich and famous. I'm betting on rich and famous. He's built a vending machine that, along with the usual unhealthy snacks and smokes, will also include a stereo and CDs. Put the headphones on, select the CD, listen. If you like it, insert some dollar bills and out pops your own copy. He's putting the first one in at Squeeze. Risolia and his brother Paul are already well-known for their vending machines painted with likenesses of masterpieces, but this is a new step. What makes it interesting is that the music inside will be local only. If you make local music, call 865-5962.
Show buzz: The Niki Taylors play tomorrow (Thursday) at Button South. Spy Dog drops in Friday at Brickell Tavern. Excessive rocks hard tomorrow (Thursday) at Reunion Room, where Sinful Lust is slated for Friday. (Make sure you check by phone all Reunion Room shows, you never know who might have been banned.) This Saturday Chuck Hall, along with Dave Bricker, do the acoustic underground thing at Unitarian Universalist Society (279-8100). Broken Spectacles present another big multi-media concert, this one on Friday at the Zoo inside Mr. Laffs in Davie. Dania Morris releases Beethoven's Boots at a big party tomorrow (Thursday) at Stephen Talkhouse, where she'll be joined by Lyrics for Lunch, Paul Roub, Omine, Zac, and the Baboons.
The Slammie Awards folks are looking for pro bands to play at the big show next June. Call 407-697-7699.
Butthorn of the week: Van Dome. The complaint is from a self-professed "Beatleshead," who, along with a couple of friends from Tampa, went to the Beach club to see Beatlemania. "They played one set and said they'd be back after a short break. Well, they never returned. They were asked not to return because the people wanted to hear club music. This club really suckered us."
The media circus: Dogs, frogs, cats, human babies. But nary a photo of Day By the River. This column sucks.
Pet corner: Rabies suck. Deadly to both human and nonhuman animals, the infamous disease could explode into an epidemic if people don't start getting their companion animals inoculated. The Humane Society of Greater Miami has launched a campaign to alert humans to the fact that only two of ten dogs and hardly any cats have had the necessary shots. Besides common sense, the law itself requires inoculation. Call 696-0800.