Brazilian singer-songwriter Djavan got his start in the late Seventies while playing modern sambas with a clear bossa nova vibe. Over the years, he has expanded his musical palette by incorporating sounds from jazz, blues, and the Brazilian northeast. His resulting unique style boasts a sophisticated sheen but also remains…
The San Francisco-based house DJ duo of Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden celebrated its “Best American DJ” award at this year’s Winter Music Conference in novel fashion: They broke up the act. They went out with a bang, too, slaying the Pawn Shop crowd with a five-hour set March 28…
It’s certainly impressive that Steely Dan masterminds Walter Becker and Donald Fagen have contributed such a staggering group of hit songs to the canon of modern music. One imagines that, even after civilization collapses, jazzy classics such as “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Bodhisattva,” “Any Major Dude,” and “Peg” will continue…
In case you haven’t heard, Camila is the Mexican rock act of the moment. The band’s 2006 single “Abrázame” — a catchy Spanish ballad reminiscent of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” — climbed to the top of the charts throughout Latin America. The group’s follow-up chart-topping debut album, Todo Cambio, brought the band…
John Hood Nada Surf Monday, June 2, 2008 Studio A, Miami Better Than: Letting Leonard Cohen’s bubblegum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight. I’m not supposed to dig Nada Surf. Their songs are sentimental, sometimes sappy even, drenched in despair, cuddled by consolation and stricken in all kinds of…
Justin Namon/thepopnessparty Modeselektor bringing the German groove to Studio A. Modeseleketor with Otto Von Schirach Saturday, May 31, 2008 Studio A, Miami Better than: When Dieter says, “Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve dance.” For a moment last night it felt like Studio A was back to buzzing…
Natalie O’Neill Alerta! Miami Indie Showcase Friday, May 30, 2008 White Room, Miami It’s not that indie rock kids can’t dance. It’s just that, at most shows, they spend more time leaning against a wall or sucking down a cigarette than moving to the beat. But not at Alterta Indie…
Long established as the most accessible act in contemporary prog-metal, New York’s Dream Theater is probably more accurately described as a hard rock band whose members just happen to know how to play the shit out of their instruments. Prog’s defining tendencies toward nutty arrangements, obscure classical influences, and multiple…
The apparent goal of this local-artist extravaganza, according to the tireless Oski Gonzalez and his cohort, the anonymous Queen of the Scene, is to present “culturally diverse artists.” Well, that’s sort of a given in Miami, no? In any event, Oski has again done what he does best — arranged…
This weekend, Down Home Southernaires hit NE 14th Street two nights in a row, to play two neighboring venues. The Vagabond and PS14 are nice venues for dancing and drinking. And though the stage areas at both clubs are small, it’s this kind of intimate setting where amazing local shows…
Beyond the crush of Winter Music Conference, the folks behind Soul Simple Entertainment have been keeping it real for lovers of house music on that, well, soulful tip. They’ve been sort of quietly running a weekly Friday jam in the bar attached to the restaurant Ouzo’s, with the soundtrack supplied…
After getting Richie Hawtin down here outside of Winter Music Conference for a packed-to-the-gills one-off last December, the local promoters of Future Mob have scored another seemingly impossible booking. The latest feather in their cap: an ultra-rare Miami appearance by the German duo Modeselektor, enticed to come down at the…
It’s been a while since we checked in on Can You Rock a Little Softer, the weekly Wednesday event that Miami New Times just named Best Open Mike night. If you don’t already know, the schedule is thus: From 9:30 to 10 p.m., there’s an acoustic open mike. Then, from…
Johnny Louis Barrington Levy performs at Best of the Best Sunday, May 25, 2008. Last Night: Best of the Best Concert 2008 featuring Super Cat, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Sizzla, Junior Reid, Barrington Levy, Tony Matterhorn, etc. Sunday, May 25, 2008 Bicentennial Park, Downtown Miami Better Than: Best of the…
Since it’s a very chill Thursday morning and we could all use a few laughs, CrossFade is glad to present 10 of the dorkiest and funniest moments in the history of melanin-challenged rap: 1. Here’s a dorky guy who can impersonate LL Cool J, Mystikal and Digital Underground:…
The Nylon Summer Tour With Switches, the Virgins, Be Your Own Pet, and She Wants Revenge Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Better Than: Seeing Switches, the Virgins, or Be Your Own Pet in the future at whatever bigger venues to which they will graduate. The Review: Everyone seems…
Sunday afternoon marks the latest installment in an informal series of in-store performances at Sweat Records. It’s a nice change of pace in (gasp) daytime activities. Taking the store’s cozy stage this time is brand-spanking-new local quartet Avondale, purveyor of sweater-warm and comfy, acoustic-guitar-driven pop. The backbone of the group…
In case you didn’t already know, the mayor of Miami is not always Manny Diaz. Although Diaz is a nice fellow and knows a lot about politics, he can handle only so much authority and essentially presides over the city from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. But as nighttime approaches,…
Let’s see … a show at Churchill’s, a MySpage page headline that reads, “Fuck it up for the kids!” and a band name involving the word destroy. It’s a safe bet that Tuesday’s extravaganza at the premier rock dive in Little Haiti should include plenty of true punk-rock rowdiness, some…
Not one to forget the eight years he lived in Miami, New York rapper Nickel is holding two CD-release parties, one here and one up there. The occasion is his debut LP, The Journey of Plato the Orphan, 65 minutes of head-jerking beats and nervously clever flows hammering out a…
Logan Fazio Erykah Badu and the Roots Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Better than: Listening to Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” on the radio for the umpteenth time. You never know what you’re going to get when you see the Roots concert. The band has roughly 14 years…
Sayre Berman Duran Duran Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton Monday, May 19, 2008 Better Than: Just about every other show in the last six months by a band existing for more than fifteen years. The Review:Last night Duran Duran, now at some 28 years and running, managed to achieve nearly…
