We here at New Times are gonna be hosting a VIP party to help launch the 2010 edition of the Miami Music Festival. And yeah, we want all our friends to come, including you, J-Lo, and Jimmy Buffett.
The bad news: Part of the night (9 to 11 p.m.) will be invitation-only, which leaves us with the painful task of cutting our preliminary guestlist by 735 names. Sorry.
The good news: Everyone who shows up after 11 will get inside immediately.
See the cut for bands and other details.
Teepee 9:15 p.m.
Nope, we're not talking about conical tents made of animal skins. This particular Teepee is Eric Lopez-Zareno, a generally solo muzak guy of the "acoustic/shoegaze/experimental" variety, who also plays "w/ other musicians sometimes." And if you're among the minority who's never heard his noise, just interweb your way to Senzei Records and start stockpiling whatever Teepee stuff's not already out of print. You will thank us a million times.
The Heartstrings 9:55 p.m.
Now here's a band that you might not know. And this time we won't make fun of you for it. Why? Because the Heartstrings operate in a very secret space. Only those who haunt Sweat Records in-stores and other somewhat hush-hush happenings might have firsthand knowledge of this punky fuzz crew's sweet Ramones-meets-Phil-Spector-minus-the-gun sound. Another way you could've become acquainted with the Heartstrings: You're way cooler than us and you scored a very rare copy of the garage-y gang's demos.
Lil Daggers 10:35 p.m.
If you're into dangerously drunk rock 'n' roll, then meet the Dagger dudes. They'll do shots with you. They'll hunt mushrooms with you. They'll probably even dance with you. But beware ... Piss them off and they'll stab you. Just joking. Kinda. Not really. Typically, Lil Daggers are nice guys. And they've never actually gotten violent with us. But there's gotta be some reason why songs like "Outta Your Hair," "King Corpse," and "Dada Brown" are so superpacked with sinister ripples, right?
Jay's Blues 11:15 p.m.
Try to outwit our beefy, bumbling bouncers. But if you fail to sneak in early, you'll see Jay Blue's Band. The leader is Jay Blue and he plays blues. His self-professed influences are "Jonny Lang, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Luther Allison, Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, along with James Taylor, Vince Vaughn, Kirk Franklin, and Toby Keith." Bluesy blues blues. Plus some country comedy gospel.
The Miami New Times VIP Party with Teepee, Heartstrings, Lil Daggers, and Jays Blues. Thursday, November 11. The Stage, 170 NE 38th 39th St., Miami. The party will be invitation-only from 9 to 11 p.m., but open to everyone beginning at 11:01 p.m. and admission is free. Call Caterina Falcone at 305-571-7525 or visit miamimusicfestival.org.
