Ultra Music Festival is 36 solid hours of EDM-themed overstimulation. Superfamous DJs! Pop-star cameos! Half-naked ladies! Oiled-up beefcakes! Dancing robots! Human tacos! Toothpaste Man! Pyrotechnics! Cryo cannons! Fireworks! Everything at Ultra deserves an exclamation point. Or maybe ten. And there’s never less than 120 decibels rumbling through your already stimuli-flooded…
This Saturday, at midnight, it will have been 21 years since Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home in Seattle, Washington. But if it still smells like teen spirit up in Palm Beach County, there’s a reason. West Palm Beach’s very own Smells Like Grunge, a Nirvana tribute…
Any veteran of Ultra Music Festival who attended this year’s three-day event was pleasantly surprised by the increased organization and overall maturity of the audience. Certain seemingly simple measures, like an 18-and-over age policy and significantly improved perimeter security, taken following 2014’s trampling of security guard Erica Mack and the…
Few bands in South Florida, or anywhere for that matter, have put in the hours of effort that the Heavy Pets have clocked in their nearly ten-year lifespan. And for the R&B, jazz-funk, reggae-fusion rock band, all of that work has really paid off. After traveling across the country, the…
Close your eyes for a moment and go back to the posthardcore days of 2002, when lyrics were screamed through greasy bangs and guitars were strummed with gusto by black-clad guitarists. These were the songs that got you through middle school or high school — maybe even college. These songs…
When you live in the party palace that is South Florida, any day is a good day for late-night shenanigans. Yes, even a Tuesday. While partying it up till 2 a.m. and still having to wake up at the crack of dawn for work the next morning is no easy…
The United Nations could learn a thing or two from Ultra. Imagine how much more effective Ban Ki-moon would be in bright pink booty shorts that said Slut across the butt. Hold up, Iran, before we drop these sanctions on your ass, allow me to drop the beat. The people…
Tomorrow, stand-up comedian and talk show host Jay Leno will be in — of all places — Boca Raton. The comedian is performing at Boca West Foundation’s “A Concert for The Children”. The charity event will raise money for over 15 local charities focused on helping at risk children. “We…
There have been a lot of changes at Ultra Music Festival. The audience is over 18 now. And many of rave culture’s familiar accoutrements — finger gloves, glow sticks, rage totems, etc. — have been banned under the fest’s new Prohibited Items policy. There are those of adult age who…
Downtown Miami’s 32-acre Bayfront Park is swarming with some 60,000 glistening, glittered bodies. The lights on Ultra Music Festival’s Main Stage make the Vegas strip look like the ass of a dying lightning bug. The minimally dressed millennials are dancing like they’re mad at the ground, and Snapchating every second…
It may sound a little mystical, but Jose Ferrer, the multi-instrumentalist, looping mastermind behind Boxwood credits his subconscious for inspiring his lyrics. The 34-year-old does not like the idea of confessional lyrics, which he calls “diary writing.” He prefers to find his lyrics in the layers of reverb-heavy music he…
Adam Foster is a South Florida-based DJ and producer, founder of twilightnotes.com, and entertainment director for the Restaurant People. He was named best DJ of 2014 by New Times Broward-Palm Beach. The first time Richard Fraioli played Vibe in Fort Lauderdale (where I am the music director) I was in…
Eddie Money isn’t shy about his resume. “I’ve been getting really great reviews,” he breathlessly proclaims moments into the interview. “The band is amazing. I had twelve songs in the top 100. That’s kind of like a Billy Joel or Bon Jovi. I got a nice shout out by Lady…
Before Papoose put his hater blockers on, and before Corey Hart wore sunglasses at night, Bob Dylan was wearing Wayfarers. These days, everyone is wearing them. Hipsters, Bros, grandmothers and Blues Brothers all rock Ray-Ban’s most famous frames. JFK introduced them to the White House. Audrey Hepburn wore similar shades…
When Jupiter native Julian Cires started Lavola in his bedroom as an avenue for musical experimentation, he always knew the band had to have a violin. But, as Cires explained to New Times, it never quite worked out. “At our very first live show we were supposed to play with…
We all remember when “Amber” came out. It was a tune so catchy, it stuck in your head after the very first guitar lick. Men, women, cats, squirrels — everyone was whistling along. But 311 has been plugging away for almost 25 years now, and that doesn’t happen because of…
The Journey is not just the name of the debut album by Boca Raton dream folk four-piece Sea and Space, it is also a description of how the quartet came together. Before rehearsals the four members spoke to New Times about their origins began. “There’s an age disparity between us,”…
Feel that rumble? That’s the roaring sound of tuneage sweeping its way through the city. And while it may only be Tuesday, us music junkies here in SoFla are gonna scream and rage for this week’s five best music events. From Ultra Music Festival at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami to…
There’s a point on Nickelback’s latest album, No Fixed Address, about five seconds into “She Keeps Me Up,” when you realize this is what it sounds like when Chad Kroeger attempts to write a song that deviates from the band’s longtime successful formula. As soon as that Franz Ferdinandesque beat…
Let us spare you the exciting events that took place from 10:30 p.m. until after 3 a.m. Lil Wayne wasn’t there. He was supposed to be there, but all the crowd got was an empty stage and DJs playing top 40 rap hits whilst letting fans know Lil Wayne is…
The crowd at Culture Room was young last Friday. They wore tattoos and t-shirts and darted in and out of the venue for quick cigarette breaks in between sets. Someone not familiar with the Black Lips might have assumed the band was some up-and-coming act after looking out at the…
“I’ve never lived outside Louisiana,” A flu ridden Maggie Koerner told New Times, “I was raised in that strong Southern way not to be afraid to say what you want to say. There’s a grittiness to my music from that.” Though she explains that her sound isn’t “Southern” or blues,…
