Give She Wants Revenge’s self-titled debut album a listen. You’ll probably hear a few New Order or Interpol influences, but what you won’t hear is more than two people making all that racket. Sure the album is thick with synthesizers and effects, but the soundscape is so lush it’s hard…
Click here to view the full slideshow from this event.Miami Wings Jazz JamThursday, July 23, 2009Better Than: Bedtime on a Thursday night.Miami Wings is a wings joint(duh)/sports bar way down in B.F.E that hosts a weekly underground jazz jam with the help of local serious jazz radio station 88.9 FM…
Earlier, Crossfade told you all about how Victor Wooten, one of the best bass players ever, is playing the Culture Room, but the date was unknown. It’s time to clear your calendar starting at 8 p.m. on September 25, because that’s when you’ll be standing in a darkened room, mouth…
Next Friday, the indomitable Ricardo Arjona kicks off a 19-show US tour here in Miami, named 5o Piso for his most recent album, which dropped late last year. The Guatemalan-born singer-songwriter endured a failed attempt at recording as a young man and abandoned his dreams of the stage to become…
Shows this weekend by local artists, or concerts that are otherwise under-the-radar in Broward and Palm Beach. Friday:Grammy nominee Brian Stoltz, of Neville Brothers, Funky Meters, and Porter Batiste Stoltz fame, will make his way through South Florida this weekend, beginning with a stop at Alligator Alley. Stoltz’s New Orleans…
Fort Lauderdale-based foursome Fantastic 5 blend indie rock and ’90s alternative with echoing guitars, stripped down rock, and grungy vocals, and name The Pixies, Weezer, The Strokes, and Velvet Underground among their musical influences. Their songs vacillate from Nirvana-inspired opening tempos to Bloodhound Gang-style vocal antics; and sometimes the vocalist…
In the Venn diagram of modern electro, fidget and hip-house, Milan-based DJ duo Crookers resides in the overlap. The pairing of producers Phra and Bot, Crookers is often mentioned alongside the Bloody Beetroots, a similarly beat-saturated set of Italian DJs that rose to prominence through blogs. But Crookers differentiates its …
Every young co-ed that I knew when I was a young man in college loved Leonard Cohen. I’m not sure if he fit some weird Elektra complex type of role in their lives or what, but they couldn’t get enough of his deep monotone vocals and sung-spoken verses. Of course,…
Locally born and bred songstress Karina Iglesias has got more soul than a sock with a hole — one listen to her music gives that away. Songs from the singer-songwriter’s repertoire traverse R&B, funk, and beyond, while remaining smooth but down to earth. Her sultry, throaty vocal style easily navigates…
The very definition of modern country music, Mr. Alan Jackson, has announced an October 1 stop at Hard Rock Live. Jackson is touring in support of his latest album Good Time which unfortunately has nothing to do with the ’70s television show starring Esther Rolle. Instead, Good Time is a…
As anyone who has eaten Asian party mix will tell you, rice crackers are delicious, a condensed indulgence balancing salty, spicy, and sweet. But more than anything, the real pleasure of these treats is the texture — they are satisfyingly crunchy, whether shaped like spheres, crescents, or spirals. And if…
Gogol Bordello’s pulsing Mediterranean sound and sljivovica-drenched stage presence have found eager listeners from around the globe. Gogol centers around frontman Eugene Hütz, who first assembled a motley crew of Eastern European expats (himself a refugee from the Ukraine and the Chernobyl disaster) from various New York City bars and…
Bubbling up to the pop surface after the hits of ’70s and ’80s love walruses such as Barry White had all but dried up, Keith Sweat is a living, breathing link from those disco-era pioneers to the Autotune-addicted rappers of today. Sweat is one of the last kings of the…
As ASG pumps out stoner metal/hard rock, the Raleigh, North Carolina-rooted outfit’s album covers lay bare its interests. The 2002 self-titled effort features a woodcut of a topless woman. The Amplification of Self-Gratification, from 2003, spits at subtlety: A near-naked harlot, dressed in Old Glory, leans on an amp and…
How time flies. I first caught Bad Religion as a very young teenager at the 1998 edition of the Warped Tour, and they were a classic act then. The genres represented on this tour have widened a whooooole lot since then, and the face of punk and its offshoots has…
Say what you will about Kelly Clarkson, there’s little denying she’s got a set of pipes most singers would kill for. American Idol’s very first (and most successful) winner has announced a fall/winter tour with a stop at Hard Rock Live on December 13. Despite what the naysayers believed, Clarkson…
Miami’s very own Awesome New Republic continues on their steamroller release schedule with a follow up to this year’s Rational Geographic, Vol 1., the aptly named Vol. 2. This band is constantly on the move, despite a recent injury to B-Rob’s foot, with the help of the hustling fellows at…
A couple months ago, I would have called watching Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance a guilty pleasure. Now, after watching poetry in motion for more than half a season, the guilty part is gone and it’s exciting to see the top 12 contestants from this season will be…
Click here to view a full slideshow of photos from the event.JahfeThe Clevelander, Miami BeachSunday, July 19, 2009 Better Than: Actually being in Cleveland The Review: Miami’s hottest roots reggae/Haitian culture band Jahfe officially released (again) its long-awaited album, The Solution, Sunday night with an early evening poolside performance at the Clevelander…
Click here to view a full slideshow of photos from the event.Radio-Active Records’ Eighth Anniversary Party With Beings, Jose El Rey, and the ShakersRadio-Active Records, Fort LauderdaleJuly 18, 2009Better Than: Stumbling upon a rare 12″ original vinyl of the Stooge’s Fun House in mint condition at your neighbor’s garage sale.The…
The Offspring/Sum 41July 18, 2009Pompano Peach AmphitheatreBetter Than: Sha Na NaThe Review:When I was a wee, wee lad, there was a series on the boob tube called Sha Na Na. The show, which featured the singing and hijinks of the same-named group, was an exercise in rock and roll revivalism…
New Times’ winner for Best Music Venue, the Talent Farm, is hosting the X&Y Fest on September 26 and 27, and they’re looking to add some bands to the stage. There is no charge to submit your band (all genres, shapes, and sizes will be considered). The only catch is…
