Little Louie VegaThe Vagabond, MiamiNovember 28, 2009 Better Than: Any other house music night in South Florida. The Review: By now we all know the story: Louie Vega was born into a world of music. His uncle was the great salsa singer Héctor Lavoe, and his father was an in-demand jazz…
Emo, screamo, post-punk, pop punk, alt-rock, post-hardcore, call it whatever the hell you want–attempting to keep track of the subgenrefication of moody rock bands in eyeliner is practically impossible. But we can all still agree on good music versus bad music, and The Used most definitely falls under the former…
Roger DaltreyHard Rock Live, HollywoodSunday, November 29, 2009The Review:First the good news. Take half of the Who, after being ravaged by the demise of its mighty rhythm section, Keith Moon and John Entwitsle. Then divide the remaining Who two in half, leaving only singer Roger Daltrey, concluding his first solo…
The term “chillwave” might have been coined sarcastically by the parody blog Hipster Runoff, but the music blogosphere has taken it and run with it. A sort of 2k9 reiteration of the old “downtempo,” these producers are influenced more by Animal Collective than Massive Attack, and create tracks with a…
Million Dollar Mano was already a favorite on Chicago’s free-spirited house/hip-hop crossover scene. His new project, though, might get even wider attention, thanks to the addition of a little female energy in the form of frontwoman Drea Smith. Together they are He Say She Say, and over squelching electro-pop, Smith…
Now in its seventh installment, Aquabooty’s infamous Art Basel special, “Fuck Art Let’s Dance”, is going down at the Electric Pickle on Friday night and headlined this time by the legendary DJ/producer and self-anointed “high priest of spiritual house music” Osunlade. The religious title isn’t merely symbolic, as Osunlade is…
A couple recent concert announcements bring a little something for people on both your naughty and nice lists this Christmas. If you or someone you know happens to be on the nice list, consider celebrating Christmas (or at least the ghost of Christmas) a couple weeks early with local stars…
The long weekend may be over but the busy season is just getting started. With Art Basel Miami Beach starting this weekend, you’ll be lucky if you’re alive come Sunday. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — here is what you missed over the weekend: ’80s Prom at the…
Skinny Puppy Revolution, Fort LauderdaleFriday, November 27, 2009 Better Than: Hanging out at your local weekly industrial gathering The Review: One of the coolest things about Skinny Puppy is how the act has always been more than just a simple band. Since its inception in 1982, this Vancouver industrial juggernaut has turned out…
With a loud and raucous sound zigzagging over the lines of alt rock, rock n’ roll and punk like a driver 14 shots of Jack deep, Cage the Elephant have been rattling the bars of that pen plenty. The quintet out of Kentucky blurs the lines of what their sound…
Borrowing an opening bit from Coffee Talk with Linda Richman, Manchester Orchestra is neither from Manchester, nor a real orchestra. Okay, talk amongst yourselves. They’re actually a five-piece rock band from Atlanta, who just released their second album. And they kick serious ass. Their debut, I’m Like a Virgin Losing…
Who is Paul van Dyk, really? Obviously he’s one of the most famous figures in electronic dance music worldwide — and arguably the best-dressed. But why? Well his industry accolades speak for themselves. Paul van Dyk (born Matthias Paul in East Germany, 1971) is a Grammy Award-nominated artist, named “World’s…
You could make the argument that Canadian anarcho-industrial-rock pioneer Skinny Puppy has been at its most artistically potent (and successful) over the past 27-plus years when there’s a right-wing boogeyman at the helm of the free world to rail against. The group — long led by frontman Nivek Ogre and…
Few Hispanics have had electronic dance music careers as fruitful and influential as that of DJ/producer Erick Morillo. Born in Colombia and raised in Union City, New Jersey, the house music veteran began DJing in his teens. By the early ’90s, he was experimenting with provocative genre-bending fusions of house,…
After eluding the annals of popular dance music for practically forever, France finally got with the program in the late ’90s thanks to a quirky little duo named Daft Punk. It didn’t take long after that for France to grow its own crop of DJ superstars, whose prime example is…
Ali Shirazinia, AKA Dubfire, is half of the renowned duo Deep Dish, and is its decidedly more musically forward-thinking member. As a solo producer, though, he has garnered equally significant recognition. In 2007, he launched his own label and tastemaking music platform, Science + Technology Digital Audio, and has since…
It’s hard to believe 311 has been at it for 20-plus years, especially after listening to the band’s recently released 12th album, Uplifter. (Well, it’s actually the 15th, if you count three early indie records that were later compiled to form Omaha Sessions in 1998.) The new disc more than…
Kreamy ‘Lectric Santa bridged the awkward end of the ’80s and the massive untamed wilderness of the ’90s local music scene, especially helping to cement Churchill’s Pub as the musical hub of South Florida. But a spinal injury, relocation to Oakland, deaths, and dwindling finances have limited the band’s commercial…
If you missed Kid Sister’s performance not long ago at LIV, here’s an opportunity to check her out again in a slightly more relaxed setting. Giant Step always curates quality events, and for Art Basel the label is putting on Chicago’s favorite femme fatale electro-rapper at the Delano. She and…
Looking for things to do this holiday season? Here are a couple shows that can get you away from your family for at least a few hours. On December 26, after you’ve probably spent about 48 hours too long with people you’d rather never see again, get some of that…
Mike Bones and Brian DeGraw. Max Fish is the coolest no-bullshit bar on Manhattan’s L.E.S., and in celebration of its 20th birthday, the good folks at OHWOW have recreated the bar here in Miami, in its entirety. Bonus for those of us missing out on our own late beloved dive…
At one point, the California MC Ras Kass seemed poised for a real mainstream takeover. Known for killer freestyles and guest verses, he issued a pair of early albums, Soul on Ice and Rasassination, that were well-received. Things started to unravel, though, around the time of his third album, Van…
