The week has ended. And as always, there's tons of solid live music goin' down.
For the first time in months, local indie outfit Plains and friends are crashing Churchill's Pub. Or if you'd rather "party," go meet quintessentially MIA dance-pop duo Afrobeta at The Stage.
Of course, that ain't it ... From music for slugs and indie-dance epics from outer space to "Afro-Latin-baby-makin'-descarga-funk," here are the five best local concerts this weekend.
Slug Fest 2013. With Dark Rift, Pockets of Lollipops, Sedgwick, and O'Grime's Nikolais Javan. 8:30 p.m. Friday, January 25, at Sweat Records, 5505 NE Second Ave., Miami; 786-693-9309; sweatrecordsmiami.com. No cover. All ages. If you ask local cosmic party rock weirdos Dark Rift, slugs live in the mud, hang out in pails, and occasionally relax in the shade of the ganja leaf. But this Saturday, Miami's slimiest will be slithering over to Little Haiti music shop and party spot Sweat Records for Slug Fest 2013, a one-night celebration of being "a snail without a shell," starring the Rift's Addison Rex Smith and Robert William Bare, post-rock twosome Pockets of Lollipops, and alt shredders Sedgwick, along with a DJ set by Nikolais Javan of O'Grime, AKA New Times' Best Band of 2012.
Plains. With Sound Sleeper, Ex Norwegian, and Leading the Heroes. Presented by Limited Fanfare. 9 p.m. Friday, January 25, at Churchill's Pub, 5501 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-757-1807; churchillspub.com. Admission costs $7. Ages 18 and up. "Plains is back!" exclaims the New Times-certified local supergroup. "After a relatively quiet end to 2012, the band will be dropping a series of singles leading up the summer release of the second full-length record." Go get a sneak preview of Michael McGinnis and crew's upcoming slab at Churchill's Pub tonight. It's the first time that the Plains dudes will be gigging 'round town "after months off the live stage." And guaranteed, they'll be ripping through a scorching set of "some new tunes as well as some old favorites like 'Judy' and 'Black Feeling.'"
Eons' Time and Space EP Release Party. With Hunters of the Alps. 10 p.m. Friday, January 25, at The Vagabond, 30 NE 14th St., Miami; 305-379-0508; thevagabondmiami.com. Zip through Time and Space when EONS, a Miami indie-dance trio (singer Johnny Deezal, bassist John Knight, and drummer Matthew Gossman) drops its debut EP at downtown hangout The Vagabond tonight. "We are Miami Vice's missing musical soundtrack, brought up to date in the EDM era," Deezal says in his Time and Space mission statement. "These songs are very much my story," says Deezal, "People in Miami live by their passions, and this is mine."
Afrobeta. 10 p.m. Friday, January 25, at The Stage, 170 NE 38th St., Miami; 305-576-9577; thestagemiami.com. No cover. Ages 21 and up. As Cuci Amador and Tony Smurphio's motto goes: "Afrobeta is Miami." And after taking it kinda easy following the release of their Wig Party EP in 2012, Cuci and Tony are back on that 305 grind, starting tonight at The Stage. Expect "super bounce balls, happy dogs, mammals with fur, making out, dancing, and good people." Oh, the MIA "romance/electro/funk" fans are sooo giddy.
Suénalo. 11 p.m. Saturday, January 26, at PAX, 337 SW Eighth St., Miami; 305-640-5847; paxmiami.com. Ages 21 and up. SoFla famous since 2003 for its signature local Latin big band Suénalo has been teaching native Miamians, transplants, and tourists to dance for almost an entire decade. In fact, the nine-piece hip-hop/R&B/rumba crew is so infectious that even kids can't help bumrushing the stage. Just ask MC Amin De Jesus about Devo, the little dancing kid who hopped on the stage and hijacked a recent Suénalo set by "breaking it down 305 style." No one can resist that "Afro-Latin-baby-makin'-descarga-funk."
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