Bret Michaels The Florida Marlins’ Super Saturdays series at Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens April 5, 2008 Better Than: Watching Rock of Love’s Daisy mangle the national anthem Saturday night, sometime during the seventh inning of the Florida Marlins — Pittsburgh Pirates game, the Fish were up 7-3, and the small…
Lucy Orozco Better Than: Being home alone drunk on a Saturday night, listening to Wu-Tang on your iPod. Cappadonna, a lesser known part of the Wu Tang Clan family, was supposed to perform Saturday at Studio A. Instead, club personnel posted a sign at the entrance asking anyone to call…
The Mars Volta April 2, 2008 The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theatre Better Than: Being cooked in a cauldron of chaos. If it is true, as some rabid fan boys might believe, that you haven’t lived till you’ve been nearly kicked in the kisser by Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s…
Brazil is known for many things — its cosmopolitan ambiance, a wealth of spectacular beaches, the wildest Carnival celebration in the civilized world, and hordes of beautiful babes decked out in skimpy bikinis. Those assets aside (did we mention the babes in bikinis?), it’s also worth noting the vibrant musical…
Not long into our conversation, Poppa E settles into his preferred intimacy zone by dubbing me “Brother Eric. ” So take it from a brother: The 60-year-old blues guitarist — and pretty much permanent Tobacco Road fixture — is on a roll these days. A tune of his, “Terraplane,” was…
As the irresistibly luminescent new CD Andorra demonstrates, Caribou’s Dan Snaith has come a long, long way since being legally stripped of his old Manitoba moniker. These days the same guy who once playfully goofed on post-rock’s fetid corpse (on albums such as Up in Flames and Start Breaking My…
A word of warning: Punk Bunny shows aren’t for the prude. In fact don’t even bother heading to this concert unless you’re superhorny and/or strong-stomached. The only thing you know for sure when you watch Punk Bunny perform is that you’re going to get figuratively — and maybe literally —…
Handsome Furs, Violens Thursday, March 27, 2008 PS14 Better Than: Fighting the WMC crowds for a taste of something electronic. While the majority of Miami pulsed to the sounds of big name DJs at Winter Music Conference, a select group of indie-minded hipsters enjoyed the electronic-infused rock show by Montreal…
Though an official label for only three years, dirtybird records and its quad crew of freq-y producer/DJs are no fledglings. San Francisco-based Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, Christian Martin, and Worthy have been flapping their wings since around 2000. They first built a Yay Area reputation pushing air as support DJs…
At a time when São Paulo, Brazil, gets a whole lot of ink in the hipster press for its street-hewn favela beats, city resident Guilherme Boratto is focused on an entirely different sound altogether. In fact it’s one that often has him mistaken for a native of a whole different…
The Dirty South has a fascinating new musical addition, with Londoner Daz-I-Kue now dividing his time between the UK and Atlanta. This should open up a world of possibilities for a fellow already known across the pond for creating complex yet insanely grooving records. They soar past other so-called black…
Before settling into his current and hopefully permanent role as a producer and DJ, Damian Lazarus wore a few different hats in the music and media businesses. In the early Nineties, he was an editor for London style mag Dazed and Confused, and followed that journey with a sidestep into…
Hailing from Detroit, this singer and keyboard player is more like a man with a mission. Amp Fiddler travels in a multitude of directions, challenging the listener as he switches among soul, funk, and dance, keeping a keen eye on the present and future of music while still paying homage…
Inspired by a subculture that has taken years to coalesce into a shared identity, the free monthly Night of the Weirds was first mounted at Churchill’s in August 2007. Planned for the first Tuesday of every month, the event was created by Jeff Rollason of www.nartworld.com and has since been…
The Moody Blues Tuesday, March 25 Hard Rock Live The Moody Blues created an indelible imprint in the annals of classic rock, having gained a generation’s eternal affection. After their initial incarnation as a blues band – and an early hit called “Go Now”– they morphed into the leading purveyors…
Macy Gray March 23, 2008 The Florida Room at the Delano, Miami Beach There are songs in the world; then there are songs – songs so unbelievably beautiful that they touch the whole wide world at large. Macy Gray’s “I Try” is such a song, and last night she sang…
Jay-Z, Mary J Blige and Crew March, 22, 2008 American Airlines Arena Better Than: All of his competitors, hands down. Hip-hop impresario Jay-Z spent his second night of performing in Miami in top form once again as the Heart of the City tour got it’s official start at the American…
Jay-Z at The Fillmore Miami Beach March 21, 2008 Better Than: You Even Know The Review: If somebody told me a week or so ago that I’d be spending this Good Friday at The Fillmore digging Jay-Z, I’d have told ‘em off. I mean, c’mon. Jay Z? At The Fillmore?…
Last Night: George Thorogood and the Destroyers at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater Friday, March 21, 2008 Better Than: A refreshing pinch between the cheek and gum. The Review: George Thorogood got Bad to the Bone on Good Friday at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater. It’s possible he knew of the day’s…
While this particular gig might have you thinking you’re seeing double, there’s no need to tally up the bar tab just yet. Fact is, it’s a special bill featuring the two bands helmed by the ever-so-prolific Jim Wurster, musical mainstay behind the seminal South Florida goth group Black Janet and…
Born Gloria Fowle in Newark, New Jersey, the original club diva we know as Gloria Gaynor scored her first big hit in 1974 with “Never Can Say Goodbye.” An upbeat dance ditty that showcased disco’s special blend of wistfully bittersweet lyrics, it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100…
With 30 million records sold, Kenny G is by far the most popular, and most hated, man in jazz, if you even grant him that categorization. His degree was in business, and his skill with contracts achieved coups such as his duet to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” —…
