Last Night: The Moody Blues at Hard Rock Live

The Moody Blues Tuesday, March 25 Hard Rock Live The Moody Blues created an indelible imprint in the annals of classic rock, having gained a generation’s eternal affection. After their initial incarnation as a blues band – and an early hit called “Go Now”– they morphed into the leading purveyors…

Last Night: Macy Gray at the Florida Room

Macy Gray March 23, 2008 The Florida Room at the Delano, Miami Beach There are songs in the world; then there are songs – songs so unbelievably beautiful that they touch the whole wide world at large. Macy Gray’s “I Try” is such a song, and last night she sang…

Last Night: Jay-Z’s Intimate Gig at the Fillmore

Jay-Z at The Fillmore Miami Beach March 21, 2008 Better Than: You Even Know The Review: If somebody told me a week or so ago that I’d be spending this Good Friday at The Fillmore digging Jay-Z, I’d have told ‘em off. I mean, c’mon. Jay Z? At The Fillmore?…

Last Night: George Thorogood and the Destroyers

Last Night: George Thorogood and the Destroyers at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater Friday, March 21, 2008 Better Than: A refreshing pinch between the cheek and gum. The Review: George Thorogood got Bad to the Bone on Good Friday at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater. It’s possible he knew of the day’s…

Black Janet and the Atomic Cowboys

While this particular gig might have you thinking you’re seeing double, there’s no need to tally up the bar tab just yet. Fact is, it’s a special bill featuring the two bands helmed by the ever-so-prolific Jim Wurster, musical mainstay behind the seminal South Florida goth group Black Janet and…

Gloria Gaynor

Born Gloria Fowle in Newark, New Jersey, the original club diva we know as Gloria Gaynor scored her first big hit in 1974 with “Never Can Say Goodbye.” An upbeat dance ditty that showcased disco’s special blend of wistfully bittersweet lyrics, it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100…

Kenny Garrett

With 30 million records sold, Kenny G is by far the most popular, and most hated, man in jazz, if you even grant him that categorization. His degree was in business, and his skill with contracts achieved coups such as his duet to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” —…

DJ Spinna

Spinna is one of the busiest working producers and DJs on the planet. Not many can keep their hands on the pulse of the next shit when it comes to both hip-hop and dance music, but Spinna has stayed in the forefront of more genres than a United Nations summit…

DJ Theo

Long Island’s DJ Theo is one of the few in the trade with enough versatility to love the club and — gasp! — the radio. In fact he’s passionate about both. Fiery, even. “I always thought dance music didn’t get the kind of respect where people could talk about it…

Héctor Romero

Long before dance music was divided into a million subgenres, Héctor Romero was mixing things up at his legendary block parties in the Bronx. During those anything-goes days, Romero — then known as Baby Hec — developed a love for early house music through residencies at legendary NYC clubs such…

Nick Catchdubs

This DJ from New York has the talent to venture from rap to rock to house to electro to whatever without losing the audience or sounding strained. He was formerly an editor at knowledgeable and adventurous music mag Fader, where he was known as Nick Barat. Now he — along…

Satoshi Tomiie

Remember those strange techno-ambient sounds on the Wachowski brothers’ Matrix prequel, The Animatrix? They belong to Satoshi Tomiie, one of Japan’s most successful DJs. Tomiie should be a familiar name to anyone with the slightest interest in house music, for he’s marking almost two decades in the biz, after honing…

Colette

L.A. is full of starlets, celebutantes, and wannabe Playboy bunnies who are only too happy to besmirch the name and good reputation of female DJs such as Colette Marino, who actually knows what she’s doing. And don’t let the pretty looks fool you into thinking otherwise. She’s currently residing in…

Z-Trip

Los Angeles resident Zach Sciacca always remembers to take listeners on a true journey — a real Z-Trip. And since so many DJs have forgotten (or never learned) how to mix, Z’s local appearances should easily be highlights in a crowded party itinerary. As a teenager in Phoenix, he formed…

Chuck Love

As if it wasn’t apparent by his moniker, Chuck Love reveals himself as something of a smooth dude when he sings. The Minneapolis-based artist, who is also a DJ and producer, found a natural home at San Francisco’s Om Records for last year’s debut double-disc Bring Enough to Spill Some…

Ryan Morales

Starting out in New York as an intern for Wyclef, DJ Ryan Morales was originally known as Shockwave thanks to his All-State New Jersey reputation as a crushing linebacker. With almost 20 years of spinning under his belt, and now referring to himself as the new and improved RM2, he’s…

James Zabiela

James Zabiela’s story is as close to a fairy tale as it gets for a DJ. The Southampton, England native won a bedroom DJ competition from a now-defunct British dance music magazine eight years ago. Since then, he’s enjoyed a career with most of the UK superstar DJ highlights, from…

Jolly Badfellow and Hang Jowls

Fort Lauderdale’s Jolly Badfellow boasts an old-school punk style something like Jabbers duking it out with early Green Day. But there’s a real knuckle ball: the upright bass played by a dude who calls himself Elvis Munster. Never underestimate guys with silly-ass stage names lugging around unwieldy instruments. Munster keeps…

The Mood

Three-fourths of this high-energy quartet hail from South Florida, including its charming, boyish frontman Marco Argiro. All legs and arms, the natty 25-year-old doubtlessly inherited his impeccable style from his father, longtime proprietor of atelier Moda Mario, on Fort Lauderdale’s swanky strip of Las Olas Boulevard. And the entire band’s…

Astari Nite and Rimsky

Saturday night’s Eclectic Sounds Unite event at Studio A is something of a locals-only extravaganza, featuring an unlikely mishmash of Miami-bred acts playing everything from reggae-injected punk (Music Is a Weapon) to rock en español (Tereso). Among the up-and-coming standouts are Astari Nite and Rimsky. The former, helmed by the…

Badfish

The difference between a cover band and a tribute band is the difference between a slut and a prostitute: One plays with all sorts of people’s stuff simply because it’s fun; the other plays with particular people’s stuff simply because it’s a profession with a paradigm. But tribute bands can…