Last Night: Ricky Martin at the Fillmore

Photo by Michelle F. Solomon Ricky Martin The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater October 10, 2007 The Review: The words Fillmore and Ricky Martin somehow just didn’t seem to go together. Ricky Martin opening the Fillmore Miami Beach, the namesake of the Fillmore San Francisco where Jerry…

Roger Sanchez

It’s going to be a long Saturday night for New York house DJ Roger Sanchez. First he hits Cameo and then the infamous Space terrace for afterhours, beginning at 4:00 Sunday morning. And, mind you, all of this is on his plate 24 hours after finishing up at Voodoo in…

Sander Kleinenberg

Time once again for Sander Kleinenberg to visit one of the burgs that helped put him on the map — or is it the other way around? Like a superelaborate GPS system, Sander Kleinenberg’s bloopy progressive-house megahit “This Is Miami” mysteriously becomes “This Is Ibiza” if you’re on a certain…

Ricky Martin

Boyish good looks, a charming personality, and a tender voice made the character of Miguel Morez an overwhelming favorite among female soap opera aficionados in the mid-Nineties. The charismatic and flirty Hispanic bartender developed quite a fan base among followers of General Hospital. It was the kind of role for…

Danilo Pérez Trio

A stylish and elegant pianist in any setting, Danilo Pérez possesses a musical ear that’s pure gold. As such, he tops the list when the finest players in Latin jazz need someone to tickle the ivories. This includes the host for his Miami dates, Arturo Sandoval. Along with the celebrated…

Concert Review: Rilo Kiley at Revolution

Jenny Lewis Photo by Jamie Puntumkhul Rilo Kiley Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale October 1, 2007 Better than: A three-way between a man, me, and Jim. The Review: The last time Rilo Kiley ventured down to South Florida it was roughly two years ago at the I/O Lounge. They performed for about…

Fight Klub at Buck 15

Fight Klub Buck 15 October 2, 2007 Better Than: Getting lost in Liberty City on your way to the beach. The Review: The first time I went to South Beach, I got attacked by a beautifull cross-dresser. So, I never know what to expect when I’m in the area. On…

Tokyo Diva–Rollerz Out

In the South we’re all about Soulja Boy, but up in New York City, a girl named Tokyo Diva and her crew are showing us how the ’80s babies do it on her block — in neon leggings, big-print t-shirts and thick, gold dookie rope chains. In part, the style…

Matt White

Matt White’s story is truly a grassroots one, in both the prehistoric analog and 21st-century digital senses. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin a couple of years ago, the Englewood, New Jersey native headed back to his teenage stomping grounds: New York City. But rather than immediately duke it…

Federico Britos 

The stars are aligning over Little Havana for a late entry in the running for best local live jazz show of the year. The stars, in this case, are the gifted violinist and composer Federico Britos, the young jazz-singing and double-bass-playing phenom Esperanza Spalding, and white-hot tenor saxophonist David Sánchez…

Freddy Cole Quartet

There’s a number in Fred Cole’s live set in which he addresses head-on the fact that he is Nat “King” Cole’s “baby” brother. It’s a midtempo blues song that encapsulates the challenges of such a distinction, and his performances of it practically overflow with dry wit and self-deprecating humor. Most…

The Vibrators

The legendary Vibrators may be getting long in the tooth, but they’re hardly short on energy and O.G. punk spirit. The quartet could school any spikey-haired-come-lately in true road warrior style and longevity: They got together in London in 1976, broke up for a minute around 1980, and reformed in…

Yellowjackets

“We enjoy each other as people; we get along and play music we love,” Yellowjackets bassist and cofounder Jimmy Haslip says about the band’s famous longevity. “We seem to have a common goal, and that makes it easy to travel and perform together.” Existing for more than 25 years since…

Pablo Ceballos

House DJ Pablo Ceballos is another wunderkind story: Kid falls in love with techno, meets mentor, explodes worldwide. During the early Nineties, bands like Depeche Mode and Massive Attack were among those that attracted the then-teenage Ceballos to synth-based music. Soon he began to gravitate more toward house sounds and…

Poison is Looking for Punanny

Not sure if this is true or not, but can’t help but post this link I found on Craigslist today. Someone from Poison is looking to get laid. If you need Craiglist to get the job done, that might be a sign that you’re washed up. –Jonathan Cunningham…

More on the Postmarks

Concert Review The Postmarks & Apples in Stereo The Culture Room 9/28/07 Better Than: Standing around with seven thousand of your closest “friends” at last week’s Interpol concert. As far as cool line-ups go, the Culture Room’s double bill featuring The Postmarks and Apples In Stereo was really a match…

Last Night: The Slackers at Studio A

The Slackers September 28, 2007 Studio A, Miami Better Than: That place with the good fried chicken with biscuits and gravy and all the fixin’s The Slackers are all about democracy. After a few wise cracks about President Bush and the state of the war, the band was feeling awfully…

Stomp beats the crap out of Mansion

The cast of Stomp, that international theater hit starring a motley gang of percussive dancers, performed at Mansion this past Friday as a special addition to the show’s week-long stint at the Carnival Center. The event, billed as “Stomp vs. DJ Ideal,” wasn’t so much a rivalry between a wax…

Last Night: Apples in Stereo at the Culture Room

Apples in Stereo September 28, 2007 The Culture Room Better Than: Eating a barrel of Count Chocula while in interstellar overdrive The Review: We dig The Culture Room, even if we’ve gotta drive about a million miles to get there. The joint’s dark, the sound’s swimming, and it’s run by…

Rilo Kiley Gets Deep… Sorta

I like Rilo Kiley. I can’t help but groove to their country-inspired brand of indie rock loosely influenced by Straight Outta Compton, De La Soul, and The Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique. I find vocalist Jenny Lewis’s quirky, choppy, and occasionally incomprehensible lyrics and pleasantly girlish voice refreshing. I like when…

Review: Blue Man Group at Universal Studios

BMG will get you gooey Michelle F. Solomon The Blue Man Group Saturday, September 15, 2007 Universal Studios Citywalk, Orlando Better Than: Late night TV’s stupid human tricks. The Blue Man Group has been a staple of Greenwich Village for almost two decades. I saw them a few years ago…