Audio By Carbonatix
thursday
may 27
Remember Gino Vannelli? The hunky Canadian singer with the powerful voice was best known for “I Just Wanna Stop” and “Living Inside Myself,” his Top 10 hits from the late Seventies and early Eighties. The aptly named tunes mirror Vannelli’s career, which, as far as we know, pretty much stopped and had him living who-knows-where. Over the years he produced music for bands as diverse as Earth Wind & Fire and the California Raisins (those crooning Claymation characters) and chirped a song or two, but he was never able to regain his past success. Give the guy points for persistence, though. Tonight at 8:00 Vannelli is back. He performs at the Lincoln Theatre, 541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $26.75. Call 305-358-5885. (NK)
The painters, sculptors, jewelers, potters, illustrators, and others collectively known as Miami ArtWorks landed at the Paseos Shopping and Entertainment mall one year ago and set up shop with studios and a gallery space on the ground floor. The group soon expanded from six to more than twenty artists, and in January they moved to a larger space formerly occupied by the Miami Youth Museum, on the mall’s third level. So far they’ve subdivided the area into studio space and facilities for teaching art classes to adults and kids. They’ve been throwing monthly art parties, for, er, months now and tonight from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. the group, led by artist Ellie Schneiderman, will celebrate its One Year Anniversary at Miami ArtWorks, 3301 Coral Way. Admission is free for members. Nonmembers can join for $15 dollars, which includes a very artsy black (you expected white?) T-shirt. Call 305-444-8890. (NK)
friday
may 28
For the past ten years dancer-choreographer-teacher Karen Peterson has directed a company composed of disabled and nondisabled dancers. Most of her work has been done in the community, but last year Peterson successfully taught mixed-ability dance to more than 100 individuals in S‹o Paulo, Brazil. The exhilarating effects have yet to wear off as evinced by Karen Peterson and Dancers, who will perform at the New World School of the Arts Theatre (25 NE Second St.). Aside from the spontaneous piece A Two-Solo Improvisation for Three, the bill includes Forever in Our Hearts, a dance for five women set to the music of tango master Astor Piazzolla; and Open House, featuring Brazilian music and a score by local new-music composer Gustavo Matamoros. Showtime is 8:00 tonight and tomorrow, with a 2:00 p.m. matinee tomorrow Tickets range from seven to ten dollars. Call 305-378-6626. (NK)
saturday
may 29
Local musicians Jeff (yes, he goes by one name, like Cher) and the mighty quirky Amanda Green, sporting fuchsia locks of late, will open for former hometowners Muse tonight at resurrected live-tune venue Rose’s Bar & Music Lounge (754 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). The altrockers, who used to play to packed houses at Rose’s, picked up stakes three years ago, moved to Los Angeles briefly and then to Atlanta to find superstardom. In 1997 they released their first major-label album (for Lava, an Atlantic subsidiary) and it went the route so many debuts go — nowhere. So they’re doing what most bands that find themselves in that situation do: searching for a new deal. Give the guys some much-needed moral support. Doors open at 9:00 p.m. Admission is six dollars. Call 305-532-0228. (NK)
sunday
may 30
The Roots and Culture Festival, an annual outdoor fete devoted to all manner of Haitian music, reggae, hip-hop, soca, and urban fusions thereof, this year moves from the street to the grounds of Miami Edison Senior High School (NW 62nd Street and Second Avenue). Revelers can still expect a daylong schedule of entertainment from 1:00 p.m. to midnight, featuring local Haitian roots groups Ayabonmbe and Kazak Experience, as well as members of the popular band Boukan Ginen from Haiti. Other acts include Black Haze, Frankie Mix aLot, Bossa Combo, and the Kebra Nagast Band. Caribbean radio personalities Clint O’Neil, Mike Andrews, and others will host. Booths serving island cuisine and rides for the kids will also set up on the grounds. Admission is a one-dollar donation to benefit the Haitian Refugee Center’s J.J. Damas Fund. Call 305-756-5627. (JC)
monday
may 31
If the sky decides to rain on your family’s traditional Memorial Day picnic, don’t worry, we have an indoor alternative for you and the kiddies. The whole family can feel as though it’s taken a brief trip to the Everglades without even leaving the city when visiting REPTILES! Real and Robotic at the Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium (3280 S. Miami Ave.). Four major reptile groups — lizards, turtles, snakes, and crocodiles — are showcased in lush tropical settings. Real live creatures include a South American smooth-fronted caiman, an albino Burmese python, the venomous golden eyelash viper snake, and the rhinoceros iguana. A 36-foot western diamondback rattlesnake, a 20-foot-long chameleon, and a 13-foot freshwater snapping turtle are among the robotic animals on display. If the kids whine, you can always threaten to throw them to the beasts. The exhibition runs through September 6. Admission is nine dollars for adults and six dollars for kids. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Call 305-854-4247. (NK)
tuesday
june 1
About two weeks ago the Louis Wolfson II Media History Center, one of this nation’s largest film and video archives, handed out its film and video awards honoring outstanding productions made in or about Florida. Excerpts from entries, which came from all over the world, were shown at the awards ceremony. A national panel of representatives from esteemed organizations such as the Directors Guild of America and the Museum of Radio and Television chose the winners. If you missed the ceremony, you still have a chance to see the award winners. Over the next ten days the center presents special screenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays during its Video Rewind series in the auditorium of the main Miami-Dade Public Library (101 W. Flagler St.). Today at 1:00 see judges’ picks in the documentary category. Admission is free. Call 305-375-1505. (NK)
wednesday
june 2
While journalist-novelist Richard Lourie (Zero Gravity, First Loyalty) was researching his latest book in the former Soviet Union, he knew he was on to something good when the KGB arrested and interrogated him. What got the coppers so miffed: The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin, an imagined memoir based on historical fact. You see, Stalin wasn’t exactly the nicest of guys. Okay, he was downright evil — and a wee bit paranoid, too. Judging from the book’s first sentence, “Leon Trotsky is trying to kill me,” the author seems to have captured the malignant dictator’s personality exceedingly well. Judging from the book’s dedication, “To whatever spirit possessed me to write this book, may it be gone forever now,” the author seems to believe something otherworldly made him pen this novel. Eek! Lourie, who now serves as Mikhail Gorbachev’s translator for the New York Times and regularly writes articles for the Times, the Nation, and the New Republic, reads from his creepy book at 8:00 p.m. at Books & Books, 296 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. Admission is free. Call 305-442-4408. (
