New York City’s Josh Houtkin and Dave Pianka, a.k.a. JDH and Dave P, have been making the smarter cool kids dance for a few years now at their futuristic Fixed party. The sound heavily skews toward electro-house, but the two come from a punk rock background, so their musical policy…
It takes a true dancehall aficionado to appreciate the top-ranking ghetto sounds of Jamaica’s Ninja Man. This is only true because most novice listeners, if they could even understand a word he’s saying, would be scared to death of him. Dubbed as “the original front teet, gold teet, gun pon…
The Format July 24, 2007 Culture Room Better Than: Watching a clip of The Format on My Super Sweet Sixteen. After arriving at the show moments before the door opened, I surveyed my surroundings to see if it met my expectations. Pimped out tour bus, a symbol of budding rock…
Willy Chirino July 21, 2007 Dolphin Stadum A downpour and several rounds of lightning three hours before the first pitch did nothing to deter a large contingent of Willy Chirino’s most loyal fans from heading out to Dolphin Stadium. Whether they are Cuban exiles that arrived in Miami 40 years…
Photo by Santiago Felipe Beyonce July 22, 2007 BankAtlantic Center Better Than: Hating. You gotta love it. The Review: Blue-eyed soulster Robin Thicke was just finishing up his set when I walked into the BankAtlantic Center. So like any good girl on a Sunday night, I head straight to the…
Vans Warped Tour July 21st, 2007 Bicentennial Park 11:00 a.m. Warped Tour is celebrating its 13th birthday this year. The main stages have been appropriately renamed to “Lucky” and “13” for the occasion. South Florida did hit some bad luck, though, with bands such as Alkaline Trio, Mxpx, and Valencia…
Oski, frontman for the band the Oski Foundation and freestyling host of The Rock Thursdays at Tobacco Road, hates party promoters. “And band managers,” he adds bitterly as he shares what he claims is his most published quote. “I hate them because I’m not a promoter. I’m an artist.” In…
The thumping sound and poignant verses of “Pobre Diabla,” the ear-pleasing harmony of “Lloran las Rosas,” the lyrical poetry of “Mi Corazoncito”: Musically diverse though they may be, Don Omar, Christian Castro, and Aventura, the respective singers of those tunes, will find themselves under the same roof in Coral Gables…
The sounds that Miami’s Skymall, a.k.a. Ed Prence, makes are the musical equivalent of Tourette’s syndrome, and that’s meant as big praise. Frenetic beats, nasty bass, and offbeat sampling might be hallmarks of the area’s electronic underbelly, but Skymall’s volume goes to 11. His single and EP releases are scarce…
Death comes to Churchill’s this Saturday in the skinny form of South Florida’s hottest extreme/death/thrash-metal acts. Miami-based headliner Wykked Wytch has been making records for 10 years. Powered by the caterwauling vocals of Kittie-sound-alike Ipek, the band tempers its extreme metal sound with a fetish for theatrics that recalls King…
Aymee Nuviola will play Mystique on Saturday, July 14th. On more than one occasion Aymee Nuviola has emphasized her inability to socialize and vocal inclination as traumatic hurdles she encountered as an adolescent. “A raspy voice and lack of social skills will do that to you,” says Nuviola. “Let’s just…
As Tall as Lions July 11, 2007 Culture Room Better Than: Paying $200 for recycled nostalgia The Review: Coordinated in vests & dress pants like they were late to play a VH1 afterparty, As Tall As Lions’ hit the stage at freeway speeds, merging their sounds in and out of…
The first time Kristine Young, frontwoman for, um, Kristeenyoung, was summoned to meet Morrissey, she was summarily ejected from his Rome recording studio. “His producer for his last record videotaped one of our shows at the Delancey [in New York]. Over in Rome, where they were making the record, he…
Breakage and Mayhem don’t necessarily sound like things clubbers would submit themselves to willingly. But in this case they should, for this duo comprises notable evangelists for drum ‘n’ bass at a time when the form has pushed past its initial mass excitement in the States. The seven-year discography of…
First things first: Starlight Mints do not sound like the Flaming Lips. Yes, both bands beam an oddness only Norman, Oklahomans could conjure. Yes, SM’s “The Bandit” (from the 2000 album The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of) could have come from Wayne Coyne’s “Jelly”-era songbook. But there the comparisons…
Which would you rather see: a concert appearance with the septuagenarian rockers from Deep Purple, or a performance of the band’s legendary “Smoke on the Water” featuring 1683 guitarists (which happened in Kansas City last month)? At least one has a whiff of unpredictability to it. Like any good Seventies…
A gravitating presence, charismatic flair and enchanting voice. Those are just a few of the traits Rey Ruiz devotees will be treated to when the Cuban salsero takes the stage at Escape (inside the Howard Johnson, Hialeah) on Saturday night. Ruiz hits Miami on Saturday Fresh off making the rounds…
Photo by Jeffrey Delannoy Better Than: Every other large-scale concert of the year so far. The Review: Believe the hype. It’s not often I’ll say that. But last night’s Dolphin Stadium stop of the Police megatour revealed a band so technically assured and connected onstage, even after a 21-year break,…
Better than: Attending the mullet infested and fanny pack wearing Lilith Fair. The Review: Amendment XXI recently opened a weekly Friday night party for the “new progressive woman,” a.k.a., a lesbian free for all. The event was colorfully titled Heroine, as in a female hero, and featured a pool table,…
American Idols Live July 6, 2007 BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL Better than: Watching the show Photo by Lauren Papiernik Hours before the American Idols Live show at the BankAtlantic Center I was standing in the rain trying to find my way into the arena. At the last minute I found…
Looks like it’s time for more rock´n´roll from the swamp. Gainesville’s favorite homeboys, Sister Hazel are heading south on tour and hoping they can still cause a stir. They’ve got loads of talent in the alt-rock department, and, at least, used to sell out large venues and arenas in the…
Among all the music that resonates through the nighttime streets of Miami, little of it gets dubbed as “the sound of South Beach.” No we’re not talking about the vocal skills of the homeless people muttering to themselves, but rather the synthesized psychedelic noise candy that pumps through nightclub speakers…
