Fans of Los Straitjackets might have first come for the novelty, but they’ve stayed for the sound — a furious instrumental assault of twangy surf, hard rockabilly, and psychedelic garage. Oh, the Nashville band still sports the Mexican wrestler masks and Chuck Taylors, and it still knows a marketing angle…
Hippies of South Florida, unite! Grab that favorite tie-dyed T-shirt from the pile of clothes in the corner — you know, the heap of stuff too dirty for the closet but not quite ready for the wash. Slip on your Birkenstocks, break out your hacky sacks, and load up on…
Yesterday I posted an introduction to Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, and a link to a free Amazon download of the band’s excellent song “Sugarfoot.” Forgive me for waxing ecstatic, but this is one of my favorite new acts to come along in a while. In the music there’s…
Mark Pollack is expanding his involvement with Cinema Paradiso, at least for one night, bringing back memories of Sunday nights at Tavern 213. The record collector, promoter, personal trainer and walking musical encyclopedia is staging a record swap, punk show and movie screening at the awesome downtown Fort Lauderdale space…
View New Times’ full slideshow of the show here. Animal CollectiveWith Black DiceTuesday, June 9, 2009Culture Room, Ft. LauderdaleBetter Than: Eating Terry Riley’s leftover mushrooms and listening to a Diplo mashup of the Beach Boys.The Review:”Harry Belafonte! Harry Belafonte!” That’s what the girl next to me last night screamed in…
So you can’t afford $400 or so to see the Jonas Brothers on August 19, but you still have to get your fill of live manufactured boy band music on that very night. Sir or Madame, the gods are smiling upon you this day: Honor Society has announced an August…
The name kind of says it all. John McHale certainly isn’t getting rich on the backs of HC and punk bands that he brings to whatever venue will have him. He is known for being an honest, if occasionally zany, promoter of all-ages shows in South Florida. This time Breakeven…
No, they’re not playing together, but Animal Collective and Bon Iver are both playing tonight. Animal Collective and Black Keys Dice are set to play the Culture Room tonight starting at 8 p.m. If you don’t already have tickets, you’re in some trouble as the show is sold out. So…
The flyer for “The Bubble,” the grand opening of the IWAN Concept Production Facility located off Fourth Avenue and 8th Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale, promised a great show. But the event also marked the beginning of something that was seriously missing in Broward: a hub for local talent to…
At the entry of Kimbaracumbara, a small restaurant club hidden between an art gallery and a Chinese restaurant in Little Havana, there’s a painting of the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus and three angels holding her afloat. Celia Cruz’s song “Quimbara” plays in the background. A massive chandelier with…
Earlier this year, the publicity machine known as PETA decided they’d get their name in the papers again by requesting the Pet Shop Boys change their name to the Rescue Shelter Boys. No really, they did. The request was respectfully declined, which I’m sure was a crushing blow to animal…
The Sun Rises in the East is a classic hip-hop album from the early 1990s. It is chock full of great — really, really great — beats courtesy of DJ Premier and is almost flawless, other than the annoying and degrading track “Da Bichez.” Jeru takes aim at commercial rap…
The 26-year-old Fort Lauderdale singer-songwriter Travis Newbill writes tunes that are one part quirky acoustic, one part angst, and one part philosophy. With a weekly gig at the nautical pub the Jib Room, a bar off of Oakland Park Boulevard just west of Federal Highway, Newbill fuses pop hooks with…
Astari NiteFriday, June 5, 2009Flamingo Fridays at PS14, MiamiBetter Than: A pop goth cocktailAs my esteemed colleague (and de facto boss) Arielle Castillo so keenly wrote in these pages last September, Astari Nite singer Mychael Ghost is unquestionably “a proper frontman.” Which is to say (as she said), that he…
Sexist lyrics and heavy beats go together like pork and beans when it comes to dancehall. There is something so good about it though. If you can cast aside the bigotry, the misogyny, the rampant and sometimes violent homophobia, and the bizarre posturing, the beats are savage, the delivery is…
Country/Blues icon Bonnie Raitt has announced an October 23 date at Pompano Beach Amphitheater. She’s recently released her 18th album, and simply refuses to stop touring. Most of this tour is being performed with Taj Mahal, but they won’t be making the trip down to Pompano Beach. Instead, Bonnie will…
Are you sick of the old tried-and-true musical formula for your Friday night carousing? If you usually go out clubbing in South Beach and you still have any semblance of distinction and personal taste left after sustained Top 40 self-abuse, you’ve gotta be eager for a change of pace. Or…
Looking to see a good live show in Broward or Palm Beach this weekend? Well you’re in luck.One of our favorite bands, Ex Norwegian, is playing Propaganda tonight starting at 9 p.m. $5 gets you in the door.Looking to folk it up a bit instead? Try country-pop-folk duo Friction Farm…
Miami New Times, Churchill’s, and Epiphone are sponsoring a new series of acoustic performances on Wednesday nights at the sort-of-English pub. (Guess since Raffa and Rainer pioneered Can You Rock A Little Softer? (R.I.P.) there, Wednesday is now the official acoustic night!) The series starts on June 17 and runs…
Fiona Apple has an older sister, Maude Maggart. And she’s kind of a big deal on the cabaret circuit. Drawing praise from most major media outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR and Entertainment Weekly, Maggart has gained a following for her haunting and exquisite renditions…
The VirginsWith Lissy Trullie and Anya MarinaWednesday, June 2, 2009Culture Room, Ft. LauderdaleBetter Than: Reading a magazine.The Review:Much of the early hype — and there’s been a lot — about both the Virgins and Lissy Trullie has focused on the “scene” from which they come. Music media addicts know all…
One of the two bands currently touring under the L.A. Guns moniker is coming to Culture Room on September 12. Founding member Tracii Guns, Jeremy Guns, Marty Casey, Alec “Big Al” Bauer, and Chad Stewart make up this version of the Guns, while all Phil Lewis, Steve Riley, Stacey Blades,…
