august 8
Self: The songs on the Tennessee-based band Self's debut album Subliminal Plastic Motives (Zoo) move with the groove of one marvelously mutant mind, that of 22-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer Matt Mahaffey. In this collection of a dozen tunes that Mahaffey wrote, performed, and produced, grungy, crunchy guitars meet liquidy, quasi-industrial dance synths and samples over funky bass lines. The band takes the stage tonight at Respectable Street Cafe (518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach) with openers the Drag. Admission is seven dollars. Doors to this eighteen-and-over show open at 8:00. Call 407-832-9999. (GC)
Diva: In the male-dominated world of jazz music, Diva stands out as a band in which women deliver the hot licks rather than being relegated to the roles of singer and pianist. This fifteen-piece, all-woman band was formed in 1993 by veteran manager Stanley Kay, who at the time was conducting a band featuring drummer Sherrie Maricle. Kay held nationwide auditions to form the core group of Diva musicians; some of Diva's members are alumnae of big bands such as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoski, and Doc Severinsen's. Diva performs tonight at 8:00 at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables). Tickets cost $20. Call 448-7421. (GC)
Clyde Butcher: Deep in the Everglades, Clyde Butcher goes waist-deep into the saw grass marshes, looking for all the world like a vacationing Santa Claus with an old-fashioned camera. The black-and-white images he produces are even more startling: giant prints in which lighting and contrast are used to capture this rapidly disappearing Florida landscape in mystical, silver detail. The Lowe Art Museum (1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables) opens an exhibition of Butcher's works with a book-signing reception tonight at 7:30; the artist will be on hand to discuss his works at 8:00. The exhibition is on view through September 8. Admission is five dollars for tonight's lecture and reception, four dollars during regular museum hours. Hours are 10:00 to 5:00 from Tuesday through Saturday (noon to 7:00 on Thursday), and noon to 5:00 on Sunday. Call 284-3603. (GC)
friday
august 9
Vincent Bugliosi: The man who took on Charles Manson in the courtroom and in the best seller Helter Skelter tackles O.J. Simpson in his latest book, Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder. Los Angeles prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi had never lost a case when he put Manson and his "family" behind bars; as he did for the Manson case in Helter Skelter, Bugliosi documents and interprets the mountains of evidence that he believes point to Simpson's guilt in Outrage. He also details how, in his opinion, prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden failed to present much of this evidence to the jury and were unable to stand up to Judge Lance Ito. Books & Books hosts an evening with Bugliosi tonight at 8:00 at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables). Admission is free. Call 442-4408. (GC)
Robert Klein: Comedian Robert Klein isn't merely a funny guy: He's a true Renaissance man: He's a former member of Chicago's Second City, a Grammy nominee, and a veteran of Broadway and Hollywood. Recently Klein has appeared on the hit television shows Sisters and Grace Under Fire, and on Broadway in The Sisters Rosensweig with Madeline Kahn and Jane Alexander. Klein performs tonight and tomorrow night at 7:00 and 10:30 at Uncle Funny's Comedy Club (9160 SR 84, Davie). Admission is $20 (there's a two-drink minimum). Call 954-474-5653. (GC)
Miami Rock Festival: Those wild men of the airwaves, WAXY-AM (790)'s the Beast and Baker, kick off their second annual Miami Rock Festival tonight at Churchill's Hideaway (5501 NE Second Ave.). This live, local music extravaganza beginns with punkers the Holy Terrors, happy hardcorers Endo, wacky rockers Egg, and heavy, heavy bands Crease, Basketcase, and Medicine Ball. The rest of the weekend highlights Miami's own singer-songwriters: Get in touch with your feminine side tomorrow with performances by Diane Ward, Amanda Green, Jolynn Daniel, Gigi Denisco, Karen Friedman, Amy Baxter, and Nicole Miranda, then get macho on Sunday with music by Matt Sabatella, Rene Alvarez, Dennis Britt, Jeff Rollason, Matthew Shippey, and Mr. Entertainment (Steven Toth). Bands play almost nightly through the month until Labor Day (September 2), when it all comes together for the Beast and Baker BBQ. Showtime each night is 9:00. Admission varies each night from no cover to about three dollars. Call 757-1807. (LM)
Body Building and Fitness Championship: Some of the nation's buffest men and women flex their muscles and strike poses at the 1996 Southern States Body Building and Fitness Championship, being held this weekend at the War Memorial Auditorium (800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale). The event is the largest amateur championship on the East Coast and will be televised on ESPN. Tickets cost eight dollars for tonight's 7:00 fitness championships and tomorrow's 9:00 a.m. prejudging exhibitions, and sixteen dollars for tomorrow evening's 6:00 show. Call 954-761-5380. (GC)
saturday
august 10
Six in Paris/Le Petit Soldat: Cinema Vortex focuses on the work of French director Jean Luc Godard this weekend with two presentations. Six in Paris (1966), which screens today at noon at the Alliance Cinema (927 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) and tonight at 9:00 at 1659 Lenox Ave., Miami Beach, is a romantic, entertaining anthology about the City of Lights and its inhabitants created by French New Wave auteurs Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jean Rouch, Jean Douchet, and Jean-Daniel Pollet. Godard's beautifully photographed thriller Le Petit Soldat (1960) examines the moral and psychological impact of political turmoil; the film screens tomorrow at noon at the Alliance. (Both films are in French with English subtitles). Admission to each film is four dollars. Call 531-8504. (GC)
Some Like It Hot: Summer in South Florida is hotter than the hinges of Hell -- that's no secret to anyone who has ventured out of their house in the past three months. But why does it get so nasty? And when are we going to feel some refreshing summer showers? Cool off and learn a little about the weather today from noon to 5:00 at the Museum of Discovery and Science (401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale). WFOR-TV (Channel 4) meteorologist Joe Haynes will be on hand to demonstrate the science of weather forecasting, and the museum staff will re-create various types of conditions at "weather stations" throughout the museum. Kids can learn about weather safety with a puppet show, make an anemometer and weather diorama, and participate in hands-on weather experiments. Museum admission is six dollars. Call 954-467-6637. (GC)
sunday
august 11
Mike Gerber Benefit Jam: Legendary local pianist Mike Gerber has been pounding the keys behind many of the best local and national names in jazz for several years, but now his musical career is threatened by hearing loss. He's given a lot of pleasure over the years; time to give something back. The Sunshine Jazz Organization is pitching in to help Gerber with this benefit jam, featuring Gary Campbell, Ira Sullivan, Pete Minger, Melton Mustafa, Jessie Jones, Nestor Torres, Othello Molineaux, Jeff Grubbs, Nicky Yarling, Brenda Alford, Lonnie Smith, and many other local jazzsters. All proceeds will go to a medical fund for Gerber's surgery. The jam is today at 4:00 at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables). Admission is ten dollars. Call 233-6583. (GC)
Florida Grand Opera Film Festival: The Florida Grand Opera presents its annual film festival, featuring filmed versions of operas from its upcoming season, at the Miami Space Transit Planetarium (3280 S. Miami Ave.). Tonight's feature is Verdi's Il Trovatore; WTMI-FM (93.1) radio host Justin LaBarbera will provide a prescreening lecture. The festival concludes on August 18 with Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea. Tickets are $15. Showtime is 7:00 p.m. Call 933-0656. (GC)
monday
august 12
Lelen Bourgoignie and Beatriz Bordas: Two emerging women photographers from South Florida turned their lenses to, and captured images of, two very different subjects; the results are on view at the the Photogroup Center (130 Madeira Ave., Coral Gables) through August 30. Lelen Bourgoignie's photographs document the plight of street children in Romania, candidly and poignantly exposing how they run in gangs and live in sewers. Bordas's lens stretched back into art history; her constructed images recall seventeenth-century still life paintings. Admission is free. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Call 444-0198. (GC)
Buzz Aldrin: Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has long been a leading advocate of the U.S. space program; since garnering fame for becoming the second man to walk on the moon, he has written several books maintaining the importance of space exploration. His latest book, Encounter with Tiber (co-written with John Barnes), is a fictional space saga that captures the challenges and excitement of space exploration. The Miami Space Transit Planetarium (3280 S. Miami Ave.) hosts an evening with Aldrin tonight at 8:00. Admission is free. Call 854-4244. (GC)
tuesday
august 13
Tracy Chapman: When Tracy Chapman hit the charts in 1988 with her multiple Grammy Award-winning self-titled debut album, she seemed an unusual candidate for pop stardom. The publicity-shy singer-songwriter was seen primarily as a folk-oriented artist at a time when women folk artists were not exactly the rage. She stretched that definition by producing two more blues-and-rock-influenced albums, 1989's Crossroads and 1992's Matters of the Heart, and, after a four-year break, has cemented her popularity with her latest disc, the aptly titled New Beginning. Chapman is most gripping when her rich, husky alto relates personal, sobering stories and socially conscious meditations, but her blues-drenched pop tunes sure do shake. Chapman performs tonight at 8:00 at the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). Tickets cost $26 and $33. Call 673-7300. (GC)
wednesday
august 14
Images of Women: The Bass Museum (2121 Park Ave., Miami Beach) takes a look at the way women have been portrayed by artists throughout history in its latest exhibition, "Images of Women." The approximately 60 works included range from rare pieces such as Benjamin West's Countess of Northampton and Daughter and Toulouse-Lautrec's Mlle. Marcelle Lender, en Bust to Berenice Abbott's Twenties-era photographic portraits of bohemian American expatriates in Paris and contemporary depictions of sadomasochism and feminism by Richard Linder and Audrey Flack. Also featured are nineteenth-century Austrian and French portraits of literary figures and stage actresses, as well as contemporary portraits of Miami Beach residents by photographers Mary Ellen Mark, Andy Sweet, and the late Marcia Walkenstein. Admission is five dollars. Museum hours are 10:00 to 5:00 from Tuesday through Saturday (open 1:00 to 9:00 the second and fourth Wednesday of every month), and 1:00 to 5:00 on Sunday. Call 673-7530. (GC)
A Night of Disarray: Rather than schedule a bunch of bands that all look and sound the same, Squeeze (2 S. New River Dr., Fort Lauderdale) goes the eclectic route tonight with an assortment of alternative music acts that could hardly be lumped together. The four-man hardcore band Endo blends rap-style vocals with hard-hitting rhythms, power chords, and a positive message for a Rage Against the Machine-esque vibe. The Weeds do a spare, rhythmic jazz-funk thing to back a smokin' spoken-word performance. The Nocturnals explore the darkness with trippy psychedelic rock. And Honeysticks drip with darkly sweet, Brit-pop-influenced melodies. Admission is five dollars. Showtime for this eighteen-and-over show is 10:00. Call 954-522-2151.
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