Some came dressed in barely-there dresses, armed with look-at-me attitude. Some came in hip-hop gear designed to demonstrate street cred. Everyone came with their business face on. Russell Simmons was about to be in the house, and the vibe at Books & Books was electric. At 7:00 p.m., Simmons was…
If you haven’t heard already, this year’s Ozzfest is free. No catch, just free. However, you still need to download a ticket from the Ozzfest web site, and before that, sign up for a special download code. Tickets for the South Florida stop, on August 30 at the Sound Advice…
Maroon 5’s gig at Studio A, originally scheduled for this Saturday, has been postponed until July 10. Here’s the band’s official statement: “If you haven’t heard already, Matt Flynn’s wife gave birth to the couple’s second child on Tuesday! In order to let Matt spend time with his family, we…
No? Well, the two are two of the most important breakbeats, ever, in the history of hip-hop and dance music. Here’s a history of the amen, so called because it originates from a 1969 soul record, “Amen Brother” by the Winstons. You’ll recognize this six-second loop instantly, and this video…
Further proof that the dance music underground is growing down here: A day after posting mixes by DJ Nova and Anatoli Russki, I’ve received a message from another local mixer of minimal sounds: Baez. He tells me he’s spinning at a free minimal/tech house party this Friday at the Mark,…
An item that appeared in this week’s print edition “Night and Day” section contained errors about two upcoming shows at Churchill’s. Blitzkid will be playing there this Friday, June 8. The psychobilly festival will take place there on Saturday, June 16. Visit www.churchillspub.com for full details and an updated schedule…
The average unsuspecting gringo has no idea: Across Latin America, Los Tigres del Norte are huge, regularly selling out stadiums of more than 80,000 seats, registering global sales of more than 32 million records — that kind of huge. Detalles y Emociones is something like the group’s 56th album (really),…
Surprise! There is other dance music in Miami besides big-room 7:00 a.m. house. Regulars at small underground spots like Laundry Bar and Blue know this already. Here, a couple mixes from two of Miami’s techno warriors, devoted to that sound birthed in Detroit warehouses and huge everywhere else in the…
Akon already caused an international media stir recently when he told MTV UK he didn’t believe in blood diamonds. (He was defending his own purchase of a mine in South Africa). Then, there was the onstage debacle involving a teenage girl in Trinidad that caused him to lose his Verizon…
It’s official: The Rock the Bells tour is coming! What started as a couple of shows in NYC and California featuring possibly the best quality hip-hop lineup ever has been expanded into a national tour. Prepare yourself: It hits Miami’s Bayfront Park on August 4. Tickets go on sale June…
Is it just me or is T-Pain dominating the airwaves these days? Everytime I turn on the radio, I keep hearing a T-Pain song, or some remix with brand new T-Pain vocals on the hook. Dude is everywhere. Flirting at the club with R. Kelly on “I’m a Flirt,” buying…
If you missed last month’s KRS-One show at Studio A, you missed out. (When and where else would you get to catch Fat Joe as a hype man?). Still, even though the teacher born Kris Parker seems to make it down here at least once a year, this time local…
Let’s face it: The two countries that formerly composed Czechoslovakia barely register a blip on the South Florida radar. Asked to name a modern cultural export of the Czech Republic or Slovakia, the average educated adult might come up with author Milan Kundera and … exactly. No matter. Though their…
Last Saturday, while the Urban Beach Week throngs crowded Miami Beach, two of the scene’s biggest rising stars were hanging on a public esplanade, just a few miles north in Hollywood. Reggaeton artist Zion and multiplatinum R&B singer Akon had come together near Harrison Street, smack in the middle of…
Since its modest beginnings, the Friday-night party Revolver has become a weathervane of the latest in underground/indie/whatever (all contentious terms) culture, name checked by bands like the Sounds and even Rolling Stone. The weekly party has fueled hedonistic drinking and dancing from its early days as a gathering for moddish…
The guys of Underoath love Jesus, make no bones about it, and want you to know that. But the St. Petersburg-based quintet isn’t about that hands-in-the-air, holier-than-thou proselytizing stuff. Theirs is a mission of integrity and respect. “Something we try to do is be a real band for kids that…
The hard-rocking members of Torche have been back in South Florida for two weeks or so, and they’ve been filling their time with decidedly softer pursuits. Guitarist Juan Montoya spent a recent weekend morning helping out at a garage sale. Frontman Steve Brooks took a day trip to Busch Gardens…
Deyson Rodriguez, a.k.a hip-hop MC Soarse Spoken, has rocked thousands of fans at music festivals in Barcelona. He and his music have been featured on BBC’s vaunted Radio One. Google his nom de guerre and you’ll find his releases dissected on Websites from Sweden to Japan. But in his hometown…
Just when electroclash was becoming a punch line and dance music threatened to turn moribund again, along came Ed Banger Records to give it another swift kick in the ass. Postmodern and ice-cool, the label’s signature sound is equal parts electro-tech-house, hip-hop swagger, and punk-rock attitude and distortion. Its biggest…
Okay, so Winter Music Conference might not start officially until Tuesday. But Miami will make any excuse to party a little bit extra. And if you’re from out of town and here for the conference, you’re likely similarly swingin’. No worries — besides the city’s usual debauchery, the special events…
The sophomore album by hip-hop artist El-P portrays a world plagued by war and malevolent technology. Cities are burning under the noses of uncaring mayors. There are “rats tappin’ glass in a government lab.” It doesn’t sound happy. Then again, these aren’t happy times. “C’mon mom, can I borrow the…
“I hope you crash your momma’s car,” Rhett Miller sang back in 1994. “I hope you pass out in some bar/I hope you catch some kinda flu/Let’s say I wish the worst for you.” The lyrics to “Wish the Worst” — a highlight from Hitchhike to Rhome, the debut album…
