The Cleveland Orchestra Miami has no pressing need to borrow cultural institutions from smaller cities. On the contrary, classical music fans in Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego can only dream of seeing an orchestra of New World Symphony’s caliber. But The Cleveland Orchestra happened to have some winter downtime, so…
Snow Patrol The boys from Snow Patrol have come a long way from the days when they posed as members of the band Belle & Sebastian to infiltrate the student union club at the Glasgow School of Art. In fact, the indie darlings (from Glasgow by way of Dundee) are…
Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour The Used, Senses Fail and 30 Seconds to Mars head up a marathon nu-metal/emo show this Friday, sponsored (somewhat insipidly) by Rockstar Energy Drink. Although headline act The Used has historically written hard rock songs with poppy elements, its new LP Berth leans toward an…
Mari Rosa There is something inherently retro about a bossa nova/jazz make-out album. Mari Rosa’s debut disc, Honeyspot, feels like the sonic progeny of Martin Denny’s Afro-Desia (1959) and Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz’s Getz Au Go-Go (1964). Like those two classics, songwriter/vocalist Rosa’s disc resists blushing at its own…
Plain Jane Automobile Major radio stations are not exactly a goldmine of local indie talent. Ruthlessly focused on the bottom line, most stick to Top 40 acts supported by major labels — as if Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake don’t get enough exposure already. It is a wonder, then, that…
Green Lemon Question: How many white-boy rastafarian jam band members does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Answer: six. One to screw in the lightbulb and five to apologize to the rest of humanity for all the racket. Kidding! Just a little harmless jam band humor in honor of…
Fabrika Music Showcase It helps to have friends in high places when you’re trying to put a local scene on the map. Miami’s Fabrika Music imprint, the brainchild of Soniko drummer Toto Gonzalez, has just that: a Sony distribution deal. Some of the area’s best and brightest alternative Latin bands…
The ReBirth Brass Band It’s less than a week before Fat Tuesday, and Phil Frazier finds himself in a good place: watching a parade in his beloved New Orleans. He can’t resist putting his phone on speaker and holding it toward the marchers’ music, so the guy interviewing him (me)…
A Night of Drum ‘n’ Bass at Laundry Bar The spazzy beats of drum ‘n’ bass are certainly an acquired taste, but since 1997, there’s been no other vibe on the planet for Will Miles, a DJ and producer based in Chapel Hill. An old-school fan of genre pioneers like…
Goldenfingers If the nickname smacks of Liberace, rest assured, Goldenfingers (a.k.a. Alexis Ortega) has no interest in tinkling out nauseating rococo and delivering up lisping patter by the light of a candelabra. A native of Santiago de Cuba, Ortega is a Latin jazz maestro who plays thirteen different instruments (though…
Justin Timberlake Young men fumbling to grasp the power of their hormones usually look to the brawny lead singers of hard rock bands to learn machismo and sexual confidence. Unfortunately, these same impressionable teens simultaneously lap up the music’s misogyny, and so they only develop into self-pitying sexist pigs with…
Ann Hampton Callaway Toward the end of Robert De Niro’s acclaimed 2006 spy thriller The Good Shepherd, the camera lands on a sultry singer in a yellow gown in front of a society band. The credits list the character as “1961 Deer Island Singer,” better known, in real life, as…
New World Symphony Michael Tilson Thomas directed the creation of the New World Symphony in 1987, and during its two decades the organization has earned a reputation for bold programming. From attracting guest artists such as cello superstar Yo-Yo Ma, to presenting progressive, twentieth-century works such as Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird…
Harry Connick, Jr. Connick is one of those guys you’d love to hate: a fantastically talented singer, composer, and actor who also happens to be rich, famous, and handsome. Problem is, Connick is also a mensch. When Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, Connick was one of the first celebs…
International Noise Conference From Thursday through Saturday, Churchill’s Pub hosts this year’s International Noise Conference, spotlighting bands that specialize in experimental musical forms. Beyond the cacophony of no wave is noise, a no man’s land of anything-goes art. To most ears it sounds like random, amateurish banging and clanging, but…
Allen Toussaint New Orleans-based singer/producer Allen Toussaint is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the Big Easy’s musical history. He’s worked as a session player with most of New Orleans’ major heavyweights (the Meters, Patti LaBelle, the Neville Brothers, and Dr. John) and got his start playing backup for…
Mr. Entertainment and the Pookiesmackers Those who can’t make the Toussaint gig should consider a jaunt north to catch the tenth appearance of Mr. Entertainment and the Pookiesmackers at the Tropicale. Only this year, the band would like fans to pay for what has always been a free show. No,…
Stevie B. The past is bound to repeat itself, and the return of signature Eighties trends means there may be hope yet for freestyle artist Stevie B. The South Floridian rose to fame in the late Eighties with local-turned-national hit “Party Your Body.” His song “Because I Love You (The…
Huey Lewis It’s hip to be square again. Or maybe it’s not. We have trouble keeping it straight. Either way, Huey Lewis and the News are very fucking rich. So rich, in fact, that we can’t quite figure out why they’re playing the casino circuit. But what the hell! Lewis…
Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra perform at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 9, at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. Tickets cost $15-$62. Call 786-468-2000 or visit www.carnivalcenter.org for more information.
Bobby McFerrin and Voicestra One-hit wonders, by definition, have a lyrical or instrumental gimmick, and one that won’t carry the artist any further than, well, one hit. Was it really possible for Hot Butter to top the electronic weirdness of its 1969 Moog-based hit, “Popcorn?” Or, in more recent times,…
Billy Joel After more than four years off the road — which included a rather ill-fated renouncing of pop music for classical — Billy Joel returns to (what else?) woo us with his legendary catalogue of songs. Aw, why not? Joel’s work came ready-made for nostalgia 30 years ago. The…
