july 3
Marisa Monte: Critics are hailing Marisa Monte, the new Brazilian diva whose cascade of black hair, red lips, and sexy moves qualify her to carry the torch of Gal Costa and Astrud Gilberto. Her voice might just have something to do with it, too. Best-known for rejuvenating the bossa nova, Monte has explored a range of musical styles, collaborating with artists such as Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, David Byrne, and Arto Lindsey (who produced her latest album, A Great Noise, on Metro Blue/Blue Note Records). Tonight at 8:00 p.m. at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.), the 30-year-old singer returns to Miami for the first time since her local debut three years ago, to perform hits from her already extensive discography. Tickets range from $20 to $35. Call 672-5202. (JC)
Beast and Baker Rock the Road: Those two rascals of radio Beast and Baker kick off this fine Independence Day weekend with another local rock extravaganza at Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave.), featuring the fabulous funkin' of now-New Yorker Raw B. Jae, the low-down groovin' of Manchild, the rump-shakin' Cuban rhythms of Khadir, the hard-rockin' ruminations of Sixo, the bass-thumpin' of Buddha Gonzalez, the conga-and-guitar whalin' of Al's Not Well, the strummin' of Curious Hair, the Florida bluesin' of Iko-Iko, and the percussive bump-and-grindin' of the Baboons. The fun-havin' starts around 8:00 p.m. Admission is seven bucks. Call 374-1198. (GC)
Nicky Silver Play Festival: Playwright Nicky Silver will be in Miami as two local companies present productions of his works this week. First up, Area Stage Company (645 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) opens the dark comedy Raised in Captivity, about a brother and sister dealing with guilt, self-punishment, and redemption, tonight at 8:15 p.m. Tickets cost $35 for tonight's opening, $20 for all other performances (the show runs through July 20). Call 673-8002. Tomorrow the Florida Shakespeare Theatre (Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables) presents the South Florida premiere of Silver's ferocious comedy about five selfish people, The Food Chain, with a barbecue at 5:30 p.m. and curtain at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $50 for this opening night performance, $19 to $26 for all other performances (the show runs through August 16). Call 445-1119. On Monday the Silver Fest continues as Books & Books (933 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) hosts a lecture by Silver about his works at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free. Call 532-3222. Back at the Biltmore on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. the FST presents a reading directed by Silver of his 1993 off-Broadway comedy Pterodactyls. Call 445-1119. See our "Calendar Listings" for more information on these and other upcoming performances of Nicky Silver's plays. (GC)
friday
july 4
America's Birthday Bash: Not that there isn't a plethora of Independence Day celebrations. They're everywhere, from the tiniest backwater municipality to the White House lawn (just read the item below). But in Miami, there is one celebration head and fireworks above the rest. With more than 100,000 people expected for this -- its tenth -- year, the party at Bayfront Park (301 Biscayne Blvd.) promises to be an explosively good time, with performances by legendary rock group BTO, even more legendary blues singer Koko Taylor, and others. Festgoers can also enjoy a sports celebrity autograph area, a beauty pageant, kids' games, and -- no surprise here -- fireworks. The bash starts at noon, with the rockets and sparklers scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Call 358-7550. (JO)
Fourth of July Events Roundup: The following are just a few of the multitudinous celebrations taking place tonight around South Florida: WFOR-TV (Channel 4), Love 94 ( WLVE-FM 93.9), Spec's, and the City of Miami Beach present Jazz on the Beach with Love, a free concert starting at 7:00 p.m. on the beach at Collins Avenue and 73rd Street, featuring contemporary jazz saxman Warren Hill, Uruguayan harp wizard Roberto Perera, and Latin rhythm by Clouds D'Marcos. Call 673-7575. Three of country music's hottest stars -- Patty Loveless, Joe Diffie, and Tracy Byrd -- take the stage at the first annual KISS (WKIS-FM 99.9) Freedom Fest, kicking off at 3:00 p.m. at the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex (1 Speedway Blvd., Homestead). Tickets cost $15. Call 621-4300. Oldies station Majic (WMXJ-FM 102.7) hosts a free family celebration on Fort Lauderdale Beach (Las Olas Boulevard and A1A, Fort Lauderdale), featuring the Tokens, Tommy Roe, and Jay and the Techniques. See our "Calendar Listings" for several other events. Have fun, but don't drive drunk, and be careful with those fireworks. (GC)
Nicky Silver Play Festival: See Thursday.
saturday
july 5
Beethoven by the Beach: The Florida Philharmonic continues its all-Beethoven summer festival with a family performance entitled "Beethoven Lives Upstairs," led by associate conductor Duilio Dobrin, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale) at 2:00 p.m. Tickets cost ten dollars. The fest goes on with three piano sonata-thons: Today at 1:00 p.m. Li Jian performs at the Broward Main Library Auditorium (100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale); on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Ronan O'Hara performs at the Broward Center; and on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Valentina Lisitsa performs at the library auditorium. Tickets cost $20. Beethoven by the Beach runs through July 20 with events at various locations in the Fort Lauderdale area. Times and ticket prices vary. See our "Calendar Listings" each week or call the Philharmonic at 930-1812 for a complete schedule. (GC)
ZETAFest '97: Markham Park (State Road 84 and Weston Road, Sunrise) is bound to become a giant musical mudbath today as South Florida's single, solitary commercial rock station ZETA-4 (WZTA-FM 94.9) hosts its second annual summer rock festival. The concert begins at 11:00 a.m. with continuous music on two stages. The main stage features groovin' New Orleans rockers Better than Ezra; alternative bands Cool for August, Naked, and Orbit; straight-ahead rockers the Nixons; and the return of psychedelic, rapping, heavy-metal surf-freaks Faith No More. But the real action is on the Florida stage, where former South Beach rock band Muse, Tampa's grungy Mighty Joe Plum, Gainesville alterna-rockers Subrosa (featuring the surviving members of For Squirrels), Miami's own percussion-crazy Al's Not Well, and one other lucky band will rock the park. And did we say mud? ZETA-4 has outfitted the park with 36 drinking fountains and a mist tent. Tickets cost $11 (that's a buck a band, and it includes parking). Call 654-9494. (GC)
Miccosukee Freedom Festival: Yeehaw! There's nothing more fun than the Everglades in July! Stop laughing. Armed with plenty of mosquito repellent, you can spend a great day at Miccosukee Indian Bingo & Gaming (500 SW 177th Ave.), watching the alligator wrestling and Indian dancers, taking airboat and pony rides, and sending your kids on the carnival rides. There's also a concert by Travis Tritt, who's a pretty darned big star in country music, with blues-rock band Tiger Tiger. All this fun and games is free (hey, some people pay good money to see Travis Tritt!) and runs from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Call 223-8380. (JO)
Museum of Discovery and Science Turtle Races: On your mark, get set, go! We said, "Go." Come on already, move those shells. Bring your own pet turtle (or borrow one from the museum) as turtle lovers test their turtles' terrestrial speed at the Museum of Discovery and Science's (401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale) nineteenth annual Turtle Races. Registration begins at 10:00 a.m., with a pee-wee race for turtles less than three inches in diameter at 11:00 a.m. and the main race at 11:30 a.m. During race intermissions, museum staffers will discuss turtle-related habitat, conservation, breeding, and medical issues. Admission is free; museum admission is six dollars for adults, five for kids ages three to twelve. Call 954-467-6637. (GC)
Nicky Silver Play Festival: See Thursday.
sunday
july 6
Eddie "Gua Gua" Rivera Superjam: Eddie "Gua Gua" Rivera is considered one of the pioneers of the upright bass in Latin music; he has recorded on more than 500 albums with just about every great name in Latin music, and he broke ground with the use of the "baby bass" now so common in the genre. But it's a lamentable fact that musicians of every ilk, usually self-employed, are often devoid of health insurance. Hence the recurring phenomenon of the health-crisis benefit: Rivera recently had to undergo emergency surgery for a life-threatening illness, so tonight more than 30 local jazz artists will join forces to pay tribute to Rivera with a fundraising jam at MoJazz Cafe (928 71st St., Miami Beach). The lineup of performers includes Eric Allison, Pepe Aparicio, Johnny Conga, Joe Donato, Freddie León, Simon Salz, Maria Medina Serafin, Edwin Bonilla, and many others. Ain't it grand to have such pals? Admission is ten dollars, with all proceeds going to Rivera (there is also a two-drink minimum). Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; the music runs from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Call 865-2636. (GC)
Nicky Silver Play Festival: See Thursday.
Beethoven by the Beach: See Saturday.
monday
july 7
Tananarive Due/Ana Veciana-Suarez: This week seems to be Miami Herald women's week at Books & Books (296 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables). Former Herald crime reporter Edna Buchanan reads from her latest on Wednesday (see below), but first, dating and singles columnist Tananarive Due (The Between) reads from and discusses her second novel, My Soul to Keep, a supernatural suspense drama about a woman who unwittingly marries an immortal man. Tomorrow at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables), family columnist Ana Veciana-Suarez reads from and discusses her debut novel, The Chin Kiss King, about what happens when tragedy strikes the lives of three generations of Cuban-American women. Both readings take place at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free. Call 442-4408. (GC)
Nicky Silver Play Festival: See Thursday.
tuesday
july 8
Suicidal Tendencies: Seminal Los Angeles hardcore punks Suicidal Tendencies raged hard and strong for more than fifteen years until Mike Muir decided to pull the plug a couple of years back, saying he'd rather stop the music too soon than too late. Not generally one to eat his words, Muir is back but with an almost-all-new lineup: Mike Clarke is still on guitar, but he's joined by guitarist Dean Pleasants, drummer Brooks Wackerman (from Muir's Infectious Grooves side project), and bassist Josh Paul. And the new band crackles with the same feral energy as the old, as their reunion show at L.A.'s Whisky in March proved: Muir stalked the stage like a caged panther, bandanna over eyes, prize-fighter body poised to pounce, while the rest of the guys just whaled on their instruments. Tonight at 8:00 p.m. Suicidal Tendencies tears up Chili Pepper (200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale) with loud locals Load and Radio Baghdad. Expect all the classic tunes -- "Institutionalized," "Fascist Pig," and the ever-charming "I Saw Your Mommy" -- plus a few new ones (and keep an ear out for the new greatest hits disc Prime Cuts, slated to be the band's last Epic release). Tickets cost ten dollars. Call 954-525-5996. (GC)
Nicky Silver Play Festival: See Thursday.
Beethoven by the Beach: See Saturday.
Ana Veciana-Suarez: See Monday.
wednesday
july 9
Edna Buchanan: Miami's own Queen of Crime reads from and discusses her fifth Britt Montero mystery, Margin of Error, tonight at Books & Books (296 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables). Buchanan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter when she was at the Miami Herald, draws ideas for her books from the 3000 or so homicides she covered while on the police beat. After leaving the daily newspaper grind, she created Montero, her wannabe alter ego, a reporter who goes from one life-threatening situation to another yet somehow manages to wisecrack her way out of them all. Yes, it sounds like a million other mystery protagonists, but this one's in Miami, don't you see? The reading starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free. Call 442-4408. (JO)
Beethoven by the Beach: See Saturday.
