Foster the People With Soko Fillmore Miami Beach Thursday, October 16, 2014 Better Than: A no-hit wonder. “Pumped Up Kicks” is such a good fucking song. It’s cool and catchy and inspires people to use their Shazam app when they hear it on a TV show or at a bar…
In 1994, singer and guitarist Warren Haynes never imagined Gov’t Mule would still exist in the year 2014. “In the beginning, it was just a side project, because Allen Woody and myself were full-time members of the Allman Brothers Band,” Haynes says. “We had no ambitions or aspirations. It was…
You know Chris Stein as the guitarist for Blondie and co-songwriter of the immortal “Heart of Glass.” But in the four decades of Blondie’s existence, the New Yorker has been just as likely to have a camera strapped around his neck. So, to celebrate Blondie’s 40th anniversary, Rizzoli is publishing…
Tori Amos With Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou Fillmore Miami Beach Sunday, August 24, 2014 Better Than: Listening to “Stairway to Heaven” again. At first it made no sense that a medley of Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits would be playing at the Fillmore Miami Beach as the seated crowd waited for…
There must be something about beach towns and garage rock. Fans of local favorites the Jacuzzi Boys will be delighted to know they have a West Coast doppelganger in Crocodiles, who will be coming to town for a gig at Churchill’s Pub. The San Diego band, like its Miami counterpart,…
To outsiders, art has long been shrouded in mystery. How does the artist go from a blank canvas to an image of beauty? Cultivate, a new night held the second Thursday of every month at Treehouse attempts to illuminate this process. To the soundtrack of independent dance music and to…
As the name People’s Blues of Richmond might suggest, guitarist Tim Beavers and bassist Matthew Volkes began making music together to commemorate a mutual friend’s funeral. “Tim and I went to kindergarten together, but we never played music,” Volkes tells Crossfade. “But in 2009, during our freshman year of college,…
Seventeen years after keyboardist Sarah Barthel and guitarist Josh Carter met in junior high in upstate New York, the duo are still making music together as Phantogram. “I was listening to boy bands, a lot of Top 40 stuff, but also Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Missy Elliott, and Outkast,” Barthel says,…
Little Dragon With Lawrence Rothman Grand Central, Miami Thursday, June 12, 2014 Better Than: Watching the Miami Heat lose … Sob. On a night when parking was hard to come by (as a few blocks away an NBA Finals game was being played), a sold-out crowd still managed to pack…
Bastille With Wolf Gang Fillmore Miami Beach Thursday, May 15, 2014 Better Than: Standing out in the heavy rain. If you ever wondered what the long term effects of Coldplay might be, you need look no further than Bastille. The chart topping synth heavy four piece are led by singer/songwriter…
Of Montreal With Boogarins Grand Central Miami Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Better Than: Of Montreal’s recorded material. Of Montreal is one of those critically acclaimed bands whose dozen-album deep catalog is impossible to dive into. That is, unless you see them live. Such an occurrence will baptize you into the…
Haim With Shy Girls Fillmore Miami Beach Tuesday, April 29, 2014 Better Than: The musical skills of any other teeny bopper groups. Haim (pronounced unlike late-1980s teen dreamboat Cory and more like the last four letters of Hebrew toast l’chaim or the first four letters of Spanish name Jaime) have…
There aren’t many musicians who inspire serious scholarship, but Bruce Springsteen is one of them. The New Jersey native has sold more than 120 million albums over his four-decade-plus career. Although many acts that started in the 1960s or ’70s still sell out arenas, most of these musicians (without naming…
The conversation didn’t start well when I asked singer Matisyahu to comment on his new album, Akeda. “Have you heard it?” he replied. Since it’s not out until June 3, I told him the truth, that I had not. “Listen to these songs,” he said, “and call me back.” See…
The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller A live documentary by Sam Green and Yo La Tengo The Colony Theatre, Miami Beach Saturday, March 22, 2014 Better Than: Any movie playing in the multiplex (except maybe The Grand Budapest Hotel). Even in this multitasking day and age when people respond…
Buckminster Fuller was a man full of fascinating ideas. The second president of Mensa is remembered for being an inventor, author, and most famously an architect who popularized the use of geodesic domes. In fact, Fuller thought the geodesic dome could solve the world’s housing problem because of its incredible…
Need a dose of that old-school vibe for your rap track? Well, R&B singer Anthony Hamilton provides a fine, cost-effective alternative to pricey soul samples. “A lot of people want that old sound, that old grit.” he says, speaking by phone from his North Carolina home. “So they say, ‘Let’s…
Swamp Stomp Music Festival With Bright Light Social Hour, Roosevelt Collier’s Phunk Phactory, and others Tobacco Road, Miami Saturday, March 1, 2014 Better Than: The sound of alligators and mosquitos lurking in the dark. As you look toward the sky from the Tobacco Road parking lot and see the multitude…
Soulfrito Music Festival With Nas, Don Omar, Busta Rhymes, and others Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens Saturday, February 22, 2014 Better Than: The Winter Olympics. In contrast to the Olympic Games being broadcast the past couple weeks, Soulfrito: The Urban Latin Music Festival was organized to represent nations — Puerto…
Even if Wendy Davis loses her bid to be governor of Texas, she can be proud that her political career inspired a great song. Just as the Beatles wrote “Come Together” in honor of Timothy Leary’s campaign to be governor of California, the members of Bright Light Social Hour wrote…
Nine Mile Music Festival With Ms. Lauryn Hill, Stephen Marley, Damian Marley and others Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds, Miami Saturday, February 15, 2014 Better Than: Staying home, eating discounted Valentine’s chocolates while listening to “One Love” over and over again. After last year’s Nine Mile Music Festival earned complaints for making…
Twenty years ago, one of the most common arguments between bong hits was who was the better bassist Primus’s Les Claypool or the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea. Like many other such debates (such as whether peanut butter tastes better scooped directly out of the jar), this age old question…
