march 12
Subtropics 10 New Music Festival: Its different. It's innovative. It's that stuff you don't hear on the radio very much, stuff you probably don't have in your CD collection but think is incredibly cool nonetheless. We refer to experimental or new music. And the Subtropics festival is the best way to listen to lots of it. During the next seventeen days musicians from all over the world will descend on Miami and fill a variety of venues with their stimulating sounds. Six composers and performers who form the crux of Tampa's Bonk Festival perform "The Best of Bonk" tonight at 8:00 at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables) and tomorrow at 8:00 at the Ambrosino Gallery (3095 SW 39th Ave.). Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Galerie Douyon hosts the Subtropics Marathon, a three-hour long concert by Drew Krause, Lisa Lacross, and Luis Gomez-Imbert, who will play works by composer Earle Brown and by South Florida musicians such as Alfredo Triff, Gustavo Matamoros, and Christine Burns. Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre (541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) veteran composer Brown -- part of the New York School, along with John Cage, Morton Feldman, and Christian Wolf -- conducts the New World Symphony's Percussion Consort in a performance of his piece Sign Sounds. Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables) Japanese pianist Fumiko Miyanoo performs the music of Japanese and American composers. Admission to the Earle Brown concert is free. Tickets for all other events range from $10 to $15. Call 758-6676. (NK)
friday
march 13
South Beach International Art and Design Fair: Would that your living room were as huge as the Miami Beach Convention Center. Then maybe you could crowd it with all the wares you discover and love at these gargantuan art shows. Alas, you live in an efficiency the size of a closet, so you must be highly selective. The opportunity to acquire yet more stuff arises when the South Beach International Art and Design Fair rolls into the Miami Beach Convention Center (1901 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach). Today and tomorrow from noon to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday and Monday from noon to 7:00 p.m., more than 100 artists and dealers will show off a variety of work, including paintings, sculpture, jewelry, glass, ceramics, textiles, silver, and furniture. Bring your checkbook. Admission is ten dollars. Call 561-220-2690. (NK)
Grand Prix of Miami: Dashing twenty miles an hour over the speed limit in your new Beetle not enough for you? You'll have a ball over the next three days when the checkered flag is waved at the Grand Prix of Miami, a speed freak's delight. You won't be allowed behind the wheel, but you'll get to watch cars zoom more than 200 miles per hour around the newly redesigned 1.5-mile oval track at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex (1 Speedway Blvd., Homestead). Qualifying rounds get under way today and tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. and continue well into the afternoon. See and hear defending champion Michael Andretti compete against Al Unser, Jr., Bobby Rahal, Paul Tracy, and many others on Sunday at noon when the most prestigious race begins. Take your earplugs. Tickets range from $40 to $200. Call 230-7223. (NK)
Subtropics 10 New Music Festival: See Thursday.
saturday
march 14
Paco de Lucia: Born into a musical family in the south of Spain, Paco de Lucia took the Gypsy-inspired sounds of flamenco and hit the airwaves with his guitar for his first performance at the tender age of eleven. Now, 40 years later, he's heralded as one of the greatest of all living guitarists. Although de Lucia claims flamenco as his roots and his true love, he is sometimes criticized by purists for incorporating nonflamenco instruments like bass and saxophone into his work. The naysayers shouldn't have too much to say tonight because de Lucia is supporting his latest release Lucia, which he says is pure flamenco and is dedicated to his mother, who passed away in August. He performs with his septet at 8:00 tonight at the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). Tickets cost $29 to $49. Call 673-7300. (LB)
Jazz Under the Stars: Bad weather in February forced the rescheduling of this event. It's back tonight from 6:00 to 10:00 at Metrozoo (12400 SW 152nd St.). Jazz Under the Stars takes place in the concert field across the street from the zoo, not in the park itself, so don't expect to feed the monkeys. Bring a chair or a blanket and hunker down to hear jazz ensemble Athenas, guitarist Joyce Cooling, and saxophonist Boney James. Tickets cost $15 in advance, $20 at the gate, which closes at 8:00 p.m. Call 238-0703. (NK)
Nil Lara: Local boy made good Nil Lara can't seem to tear himself away from his hometown. And that's just fine with us. Even though the rocker with the Afro-Cuban bent is recording for a major label these days, he still finds time to come back to Miami and entertain his diehard fans. Tonight at 8:00 hang out on the waterfront and catch Lara, masters of funk Manchild, and sonsters Algo Nuevo at Big Fish Maiyami (55 SW Miami Avenue Rd.). Ticket prices for this all-ages show range from five to seven dollars. Call 460-3200. (NK)
Subtropics 10 New Music Festival: See Thursday.
South Beach International Art and Design Fair: See Friday.
Grand Prix of Miami: See Friday.
sunday
march 15
Fusion vs. D.C. United: Sick to death of football, baseball, basketball, and hockey? Looking for a different team to whom you can pledge your undying loyalty? Major League Soccer returns to South Florida (yes, believe it or not, we did have soccer here many moons ago) with the Fusion. Armed with a slew of world-class players such as Marco Etcheverry, Alexi Lalas, Jaime Moreno, and Eric Wynalda, the Fusion kicks off its season against current Major League Soccer champs D.C. United today at 4:00 p.m. at the modernized and enlarged Lockhart Stadium (5301 NW Twelfth Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Tickets range from $10 to $30. Call 888-387-4664. (NK)
Dresses for Humanity: An Exhibition of Dresses of Diana, Princess of Wales: Seven months after the death of Princess Diana, anything connected to her continues to hold certain people in thrall. Mauren Rorech, owner of a Tampa fashion company, acquired thirteen of Diana's gowns at a June 1997 auction. A few months later, after the princess's death, Rorech bought one more at a Boston auction. Hoping to raise $100 million to contribute to Diana's favorite causes, Rorech is sending her collection on a two-year, twenty-city tour. She'll then donate them to the charity she established, the People's Princess Charitable Foundation, which will make them available for any purpose Diana's sons choose. The highlight of the exhibition: the navy blue velvet Victor Edelstein-designed number Diana wore when she twirled around the dance floor with disco king John Travolta at a White House dinner. The exhibition runs through April 12 at the Lowe Art Museum (1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables). Admission is $21.50. Call 284-3535 for hours. (NK)
Subtropics 10 New Music Festival: See Thursday.
South Beach International Art and Design Fair: See Friday.
Grand Prix of Miami: See Friday.
monday
march 16
Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons: It was Friday the 13th of February the last time the Heat met the Pistons -- make that the last time the Heat beat the Pistons. (After eight straight victories against Detroit, it's getting to be a habit.) That night Heat center Alonzo Mourning scored an amazing 39 points. Then the jinx kicked in: Small forward Jamal Mashburn, a.k.a. "Mash," lived up to his nickname, mashing his right thumb in a fall and sustaining a serious fracture. Mashburn, who had been averaging nineteen points in his previous five games, is probably out for the season. Nevertheless, the Heat is still leading the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. At 7:30 p.m. at the Miami Arena (721 NW First Ave), the Pistons chug back into town. Will Miami experience victory number nine over Detroit and sacrifice another top player in the process? At least it's not another Friday the 13th. Tickets range from $15 to $60. Call 530-4400. (NK)
South Beach International Art and Design Fair: See Friday.
Dresses for Humanity: An Exhibition of Dresses of Diana, Princess of Wales: See Sunday.
tuesday
march 17
Opening Day at Hialeah Race Track: Looking for a way to spend that big raise? Tax refund burning a hole in your Bermudas and you haven't even received it yet? The best place to blow plenty of ducats is the magnificent Hialeah Race Track (2200 E. Fourth Ave., Hialeah). Built in the 1920s, the park (listed in the National Register of Historic Places), used to house a jai alai fronton, an amusement park, and the first greyhound track in the United States. The place is still a lot of fun. From now until the end of May, thoroughbred racing (including the Widener Handicap and the Flamingo Stakes) takes place every day of the week except Thursday. Entertainers such as Albita, Roberto Torres, and the Village People will perform free concerts. And who can resist all those great giveaways like baseball caps and ice cream? Today starting at 11:30 a.m. you'll be treated to free admission, exhilarating horse racing, and of course, the ever-present flamingos stepping daintily about the park. Call 885-8000. (NK)
Rolling Stone Covers Tour: What can we say about this formerly sacred cow? Rolling Stone has lost a bit of its edge (okay, a lot), it takes itself way too seriously as the self-described "definitive source of music and information and popular culture trends," and it kisses a lot of mainstream music butt. The magazine has remained pretty consistent in one regard, though: good -- sometimes great -- photography. Today through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the University of Miami's Whitten University Center (1306 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables), take a look at 30 years' worth of the mag's spectacular covers, featuring the work of prominent photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, Herb Ritts, and Mark Seliger. Also on display: drawings, paintings, and illustrations from the magazine; audio and video presentations; and memorabilia from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent collection. Admission is free. Call 284-2318. (NK)
Dresses for Humanity: An Exhibition of Dresses of Diana, Princess of Wales: See Sunday.
wednesday
march 18
ArtCenter-South Florida's Thirteenth Anniversary: Many people consider the number thirteen bad luck. (See Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons, above.) Not the people at ArtCenter-South Florida (1035 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). The center just entered its teens and the staff is throwing a big fiesta and an exhibition to commemorate the occasion. Tonight at 7:00 dance to the sounds of a DJ, feast on food from various Miami Beach establishments, then raise a glass and raise your eyes toward the work of thirteen lucky artists -- Jorge Pantoja, Carolina Sardi, Karina Chechik, Jens Diercks, Jorge Vera, Christina Ferre, and Jeannie Taylor, to name a few -- whose work was chosen for this show. Tickets for the bash cost $13 for members, $50 for nonmembers, and $75 for nonmember couples. Call 674-8278. (NK)
Subtropics 10 New Music Festival: See Thursday.
Dresses for Humanity: An Exhibition of Dresses of Diana, Princess of Wales: See Sunday.
Rolling Stone Covers Tour: See Tuesday.
