Apart from being an original/longtime Grateful Dead drummer, Mickey Hart was exploring multicultural cross-pollinations long before the term world music got so popular. Tabla drum master Zakir Hussain, a frequent collaborator with Hart, has a lengthy résumé in jazz, Indian raga, and world fusion. With fellow percussionists Sikiru Adepoju and…
Jesse’s Xtreme Sports Bar 5442 W. Atlantic Blvd. Margate 954-917-2855 Week 16 marked an extremely depressing end to an abysmal Dolphins season. Realizing the severity of the situation, I found it fitting to absorb the season finale at Jesse’s Xtreme Sports Bar; you’ll recognize the sign by the little cartoon…
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…
Various Artists Well Deep: 10 Years of Big Dada (Big Dada) Longevity in hip-hop is increasingly rare, so milestones should be memorialized. Enter Well Deep, two CDs (31 tracks total) marking the first decade of U.K.-based indie label Big Dada. An offshoot of the quick-cut quarry known as Ninja Tune…
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…
The King is Dead, Long Live the King Louis XIV, no longer royally blue BY JONATHAN GARRETT Jason Hill, frontman for the San Diego-based band Louis XIV, knows what it’s like to be hated. On March 30, 2005, a none-too-complimentary review of his band’s major label debut appeared on Pitchforkmedia.com…
Rihanna’s new boss? Now that Jay-Z has stepped down from the Def Jam presidency, the label might need a new president, but could that position end up going to Chuck D? It’s hard to say. If the label ends up hiring a new figurehead, it’ll probably be Jermaine Dupri or…
Via Miami Nights… Here’s the first part of the lineup for this year’s Ultra Music Festival, which is celebrating its tenth birthday, and is repeating this year as a two-day event. No surprises on the names here, except acts like Justice get moved to headlining slots. Part of me, however,…
Four years ago today RJ Lockwood, a Miami DJ, was found dead in his Overtown apartment at the age of 27. The Miami DJ was described as not “malicious enough to have enemies” by one of his old friends. Police initially dismissed the case as just another drug overdose by…
Better Than: Medieval heat torture. The Review: Candyland, the hyped-up party of the year, was NOT what I expected. In previewing the party, the New Times was told that the party was to be, “the best of the best.” Therefore, I was anticipating Disneyland fireworks. I have seen Culture Productions…
Sharon Jones doesn’t sugarcoat her words. “I’ve been to six funerals [recently]. I’ve sang at four,” she says. The 51-year-old soul singer has seen tough times lately, from her brother’s death and her mother’s stroke to the loss of many close friends, but she’s as resilient a survivor as you’re…
Some Florida lawmakers think it’s finally time to jump into the 21st Century and get a new state song. The old state song, “Old Folks at Home,” also known as “Swanee River,” beloved by some and detested by others, is on its way out. We need a new ditty to…
The holidays are a time of family and of schmaltzy Christmas commercials that somehow make you cry. If you’re a music journalist, they’re also the time for making lists — lots and lots of lists. Over the past few years, the availability of year-end critics’ lists has grown faster than…
A1A Dive Bar 3233 N. Ocean Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 954-565-9264 Navigate up A1A — past all the cars with Canadian plates, past all the tiny resorts and minihotels, past the part of Fort Lauderdale most of us townies don’t usually see — and discover the Dive Bar. By the name…
Goldie at Laundry Bar If there’s a face – okay, a set of grills – most closely associated with drum ‘n’ bass, it’s Goldie’s. The founder of Metalheadz, a label at the forefront of the genre’s development, Goldie — a.k.a. Clifford Joseph Price — stands as a monument to the…
Well 2007 is over, done and almost forgotten. So stop looking back on the year that’s past and take a look at what you have to look forward to from the music world in just the first couple months of 2008. Here’s a look at some of the first albums…
ZZ Top December 28, 2007 Hard Rock Live Better Than: Not having dared at all. The Review: “ZZ Top at the Hard Rock?!?!” “That’s what I said.” “Wow! You know that’s one of the few bands I’ve never seen?” “Really? So you’ll go, then?” “No, sorry. I’ve got other plans.”…
Ah, the New Year. Time of transformation, time of bubbly-spawned magic, time of awkward passes and resolutions you mean at the time. While you’re preparing for the long sled ride down Hangover Hill, here’s some topical listening material. — Jeff Shaw 5. Death Cab for Cutie, “The New Year” “So…
Go figure. But you gotta give credit where its due and as of today, Miami’s own Flo Rida has bumped Alicia Keys out of the number one spot on the Billboard charts and his song, “Low” has ascended in its place. It’s a proud day for South Florida music fans…
