Many of today’s hip-hop personalities and R&B royalty would have fans believe they’ve got the genuine Midas touch, but few in recent years can truly back that claim up. The Tallahassee-born T-Pain, however, is one of these chosen few. It’s no wonder Akon snatched him up for his own imprint,…
There are quite lofty aspirations apparent in naming a concert Bossa Nova: Celebrating the First 50 Years. Anyone other than sensitive, crafty guitarist/bandleader/host Oscar Castro-Neves would be hard-pressed to pull it off. Castro-Neves, the breeze in this concert’s sails, is the type of veteran acoustic guitarist who draws beautiful sounds…
Writing about Lil Wayne this late into 2008 is a difficult challenge — mainly because there’s almost nothing left to say. The popular 26-year-old rapper grabbed the hip-hop world by its balls roughly a year ago with a series of free mixtapes that kept the blogosphere on fire with commentary…
For the first time since the 1980 Drama tour, British supergroup Yes is touring without frontman Jon Anderson, who fell ill after an asthma attack a few months back. In fact, because of this incident, the band’s original plans for a 40th anniversary tour with the “classic” formation (Anderson, Chris…
A Chromeo DJ set, Crookers, MSTRKRFT, and now Switch? Whoever is responsible for the string of bookings at Heathrow Lounge deserves a gold star, because it’s getting ridiculous. Switch, born Dave Taylor, is the U.K.-based whiz responsible for producing dance-floor staples for artists such as M.I.A. (“Boyz,” “Jimmy,” and “20…
After much Internet gossip and rumor-mongering, the folks behind Langerado announced they would release the first phase of the festival’s 2009 lineup yesterday morning. That didn’t happen, with a delay as organizers “finalized last-minute details.” Still, this morning they’ve come forward with a few names, several of which will be…
As half of Skinny Puppy, Nivek Ogre (or just Ogre, or Kevin Ogilvie) created, in the Eighties, a much-imitated, arresting blend of industrial and hard rock, belched forth amid bewildering onstage theatrics. A showman from the beginning, Ogre quickly used his theater of the horrifically absurd as a platform to…
Miami’s favorite Latin – rock – cumbia – whatever mash-up band, Locos Por Juana, has finally got its due from the awards gods. The Locos have finally scored their first Grammy nomination, in the category of Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, for La Verdad. Note that this is in…
Hah! Ultra is sounding better and better! Looks like the organizers have also flip-flopped their booking M.O. this year. Since the festival’s expansion into a two-day affair, things have generally gone more experimental the first night, with the classic dance music titans taking over the second day and night. Not…
Prefuse 73 with Eliot Lipp and PG 13Sunday, December 7, 2008Heathrow Lounge, Miami BeachBetter Than: Any of the usual Sunday night mainstream hip-hop club nights. One of the many cool things about Art Basel is all the cool music acts that it brings down to our sandy shores. Case in…
MSTRKRFT with Pauly Crush and Jessica Who?Saturday, December 6, 2008Heathrow Lounge, Miami BeachBetter Than: Ninety percent of the other Basel parties during the week.Art Basel brought plenty of musical performances during the week. Unfortunately, most of them were invite-only or secret parties no one knew about. But Saturday night, Heathrow…
Art Damage with Panda Bear and No Age Friday, December 5Karu & Y, Downtown Miami Better Than: Everything happening that night on the planet Earth if you happen to take Pitchfork or College radio charts as the gospel. The Review: The rumors of a No Age/Panda Bear double bill during…
Billboard unveiled this morning the very first phase of the lineup for the 2009 Ultra Music Festival, and it’s actually time to get excited. As the festival has expanded in size, its organizers have made laudable stabs at taking the lineup into the new dance-music frontiers of the 21st century…
If you are into dazzling, disjointed hip-hop beats, then you have probably heard of a whiz kid and producer that goes by the name of Prefuse 73. Born in Miami, but raised in Atlanta, Prefuse 73 (born Scott Herren) also records under various monikers like Savath & Savalas and Delarosa…
This past spring’s Taste of Chaos tour arrived in South Florida smack in the middle of Winter Music Conference, on a weekday, and at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami, no less — awkward timing and location all around. (Not that the WMC/Taste of Chaos tours overlap, haha, just…
Matt & KimNodzz and Matt & KimThe Converse/Kill Your Idols space at the Marcy Building, the Design District, MiamiThe Gossip After DarkO.H.W.O.W., MiamiThursday, Dec. 4Better Than: Anything else you could have been doing for free, without a guest list hassle, last night.The Review:Well, as Basel’s getting on, and my brain…
Andy LaPlegua, the mastermind behind the twisted industrial / EBM / whatever juggernauts that are Combichrist and Icon of Coil, has a lot of pals in South Florida. So he seems to always be around, but not always in the way his most diehard fans would really like. A planned…
If it seems like Mötley Crüe was just here, well, it’s because they were, in July, headlining their Crüefest tour at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. They’re coming baaaaa-aaaaack, though, as part of their Saints of Los Angeles Tour, and diehard fans will be happy it’s a relatively…
YelleWednesday, December 3, 2008Art Loves Music, Miami BeachBetter Than: I’m going to skip this.Let me start out by saying: Worst. Crowd. Ever.I’m going to keep this short since we already reviewed Yelle not too long ago. Way to castrate an energetic performer and have her beg you to wake up…
To haters, this Mechanicsville, Virginia native is a purveyor of Top 40 schlock, just another pretty boy with a sincere face and a soul as deep as a wading pool. To fans, he is a pretty face, yes, but also endearingly vulnerable. Fans know Mraz is open about singing of…
The sky is the limit for this eclectic Dominican-born pianist. A member of his native country’s symphony orchestra while still in his teens, Michel Camilo made the decision to leave that position in 1979, when he went to New York to study at Juilliard. At the same time, he hit…
For 30 years the Misfits have been spreading their colloidal mix of punk, rockabilly, and horror-flick themes to ravenous “fiends” around the globe. Formed in 1977 by Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only in Lodi, New Jersey, the Misfits were punk rock’s answer to the B movie. With a DIY ethos…
