In this week’s edition of the print version of Miami New Times, I wrote about legendary DJ/musician/label impresario King Britt’s gig this weekend at Shine. Because of pesky space limitations, I only got to use a few sentences from our near-half-hour conversation. So, for fans, I’m printing the whole transcript…
In today’s cyber-surfing era, the concept of “total isolation” is difficult for some people to grasp. Yet as little as 140 years ago, Japan had virtually no association with the world’s trends and developments. During and after World War II, cellist and conductor Hideo Saito was instrumental (pun intended) in…
Juliett Simms wants you to know that she’s damaged. Her band, Automatic Loveletter, just released a five-song EP full of loss, regret, pain, and feelings of inadequacy and now stands poised to capture the imaginations of sensitive, misunderstood 15-year-olds the world over. Automatic Loveletter seems almost purpose-built for this demographic,…
If you’re reading this hoping for some postmodern exegesis on early ’80s hard rock or some guilty-pleasure about “Sister Christian,” read no further. Night Ranger never pretended to be anything more than a melodic hard-rock band, so there’s no point in pretending otherwise. But, as San Francisco’s best practitioners of…
Check subtlety, pretense, and the last decade at the door; 3 Inches of Blood wants nothing to do with them. Eschewing fads and hipster cred in favor of staying true to its message of metal for its own ridiculous, epic sake, 3 Inches of Blood goes straight for the kill…
Long Island emo-prog-rockers Envy On the Coast are trying hard to stand out in a world of Saves the Day and Brand New wannabes. It’s no easy task, and on the band’s 2007 debut full-length Lucy Gray, this quintet reminds us just how hard it can be. With melodic choruses,…
Not just a cover band, the Machine is the Pink Floyd experience. Not content to adequately recreate a thin smattering of greatest hits, like a live classic rock station, this New York-based sonic Ouija board delves deep into the history and legacy of one of rock and roll’s greatest bands,…
So, in just a few hours I’m off to an opening party for Dr. Feelgood’s, a new bar in West Palm Beach co-owned by Vince Neil… Of course, of Motley Crue fame. I’m a big fan of debauchery on nights it shouldn’t technically happen — like Tuesday — so I’m…
Taj Mahal Let’s put aside the tried clichés that dictate steel drums, congas, and clanky Caribbean rhythms for this one. Oh yeah, let’s get down and dirty. Let’s run amok on a cruise with all the inflection and goodness only a rhythm and blues revue can bring. And don’t get…
I have to admit, a few times while sort of fuzzy-headed, possibly with a pounding headache, I’ve driven down Biscayne a few times on a Saturday afternoon and groggily wondered, “Hmmm, what’s all the fuss in front of the Carnival Center?” Well, my dumb ass completely forgot that, hello, the…
Hoodstock 2008 Saturday, January 3, 2008 James L. Knight Center Better Than: Watching Senator Clinton trying desperately to be funny during ABC’s Democratic Debate. While the Nation transfixed their eyes on their television screens, enraptured by both the Republican and Democrat Debates in New Hampshire over the weekend, it was…
The West Virginia-born saxophonist Marion Meadows first appeared locally at Arturo Sandoval’s Jazz Club last fall. For this time around, he plans to stick with what worked last time. “It will be the same formula, the same kind of thing that worked last time,” he says by phone. “Not many…
With In Rainbows the talk of the music industry, and the album’s official debut Tuesday at #1 on the charts, Thom Yorke and co. are ridin’ high. So, it’s time for another tour. And, lucky Miami, they’re gracing us with their presence. Of course, leave it to Radiohead to keep…
It may be more than a month before Mardi Gras, but South Florida-based Monkeykrewe has no problem scratching its New Orleans itch a little early. Centered around performances by the krewe’s favorite band — the Radiators — this three-day series of shows also brings the Wild Magnolias and an introductory…
Before assuming his frayed, pony-tailed persona and long before the superstardom he snared in the ’70s, Willie Nelson was just another strait-laced, short-haired Nashville tunesmith cranking out hits for others. His songs — “Crazy,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Hello Walls,” and “Night Life” among them — went on to…
Detroit DJ legend Kevin Saunderson knows how to keep a dance floor packed from the wee hours of the night until early morning. He’s been DJing all over the globe and pioneering various styles of techno for the past 25 years, and he specializes in producing a hard-edged form of…
Like his reportedly shady past, Los Angeles glam-rap sensation Mickey Avalon’s live shows are fast becoming legendary among jaded clubgoers. Live, he’s smashed a bottle over his head and engaged in not-so-simulated sex with a sultry backup dancer. At gigs on his home turf, there have been fights, a new…
JJ Grey & MOFRO Saturday, January 4th 2008 Bamboo Room, Lake Worth Better Than: Tearing up a hot bowl of grits on a cool winter morning in Florida. The Review: After just a few notes, anyone witnessing JJ Grey in action can’t help but notice how strong his stage presence…
Editors Louis XIV, Hot Hot Heat, and Editors Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Tuesday, January 8, 2008 Better Than: Seeing all three bands together at an even smaller venue The Review: Last night’s show at the Culture Room marked the first stop of a tour by rising indie-ish stars Louis XIV,…
I guess I’m in the mood for feathered hair and strange accents from the United Kingdom, so I will move from Birmingham, England’s E.L.O. on to Swansea, Wales’ Badfinger. Truly one of the great power pop acts of the Seventies, stateside they’ve been somewhat forgotten. Or, when they are remembered,…
Taking it back to the Seventies for this one, to the inimitable Electric Light Orchestra. Let’s try to ignore their bloated Eighties stuff like the Oliva Newton-John collabo “Xanadu” — does Seventies pop goodness get much better than, say, “Livin’ Thing?” I’m a particular fan of this strand of their…
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings January 3rd, 2008 Culture Room Better than: Watching the Dap-Kings back up Amy Winehouse. Last Thursday night, a soul music extravaganza took place inside of the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings played to a sold out crowd and let music…
