As Paul Revere once warned, “The British [divas] are coming.” Estelle, a 28-year-old West Londoner, joins a burgeoning trans-Atlantic hit-parade cabal (Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis), this one balancing expertly on the rapping-singing switchblade. Discovered by John Legend and crowned as the flagship artist on his fledgling Home School Records, Estelle…
The Sword and Clutch With Never Got Caught and Graveyard Friday, September 26 The Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale Better Than: Not discovering the awesomeness that was Graveyard. The Washington, D.C.-area quartet Clutch have been around since about 1991, and have seemingly been on the road ever since. That’s a long…
John Hood Henry Rollins speaks to a crowd gathered at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale Sunday night. Henry Rollins Sunday September 28th 2008 Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale Better Than: The same ol’ hipster shtick. Fitting that I’d have to drive through a torrential rain storm in order to catch the latest…
Sayre Berman Fergie performs as the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, as part of the Ambassadors of Rock Tour. Click here to view the full slideshow. Fergie Ambassadors of Rock Tour And VIP Party Friday, Sept. 26 Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, Hollywood Fergie’s The Duchess. Fergie’s a fashion…
Friday, September 26: *Smart-guy metal bands the Sword and Clutch play at Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale. Click here to read more about both. *The South Dakota-based, Nakota nation band Indigenous performs at the Seminole Hard Rock, blending classic rock riffage with Native American traditions. Click here to read more…
One of my favorite things about the Friday night party about the Vagabond is its mixture of just enough live music — one band on the patio a week — with the usual DJ fun. But beyond that, since the party is co-presented by Sweat Records, the live lineup is…
It all started out as a pleasant Sunday. Lauren Reskin, owner of Miami staple Sweat Records, was trying to relax two weeks ago and enjoy her lone day off. Unfortunately, the day’s tone changed dramatically when she swung by her business for a quick meeting and found out that her…
It’s possible the musicians of Washington, D.C.-area punky, metally, bluesy hard rock quintet Clutch do not know how to take a break. They blasted out of the gate in 1991 with a seven-inch single, “Passive Restraint”; snagged a deal with EastWest Records; and hit the road. Since then, across 12…
A break-in at Sweat Records during the wee hours of September 15 cleaned the place of its valuable electronics and trashed everything else. But Sweat is nothing if not resilient — this is, after all, the store that survived for months in an annex of Churchill’s after a hurricane destroyed…
What’s delectably greasy, crunchy, tasty, and from Belgium besides frites? Well, the Glimmers, for one, the electro-disco-punk duo of Mo and Benoelie, who hail from Ghent. The current crop of Internet wannabe electrohouse producers wishes it had such an instinctive understanding of the dance floor as these DJs, remixers, and…
Saturday’s multimedia, multigenre Collision Music and Art Festival is the sort of locals-only, wildly scattered affair that could only come from the bowels of infamous local promoter “Notorious Nastie” Shahoulian. Good thing, because although he’s been maintaining his weekly Switch event and designing a few one-off shows, it’s been a…
Kaskade arrives at Set’s weekly Sundance party when he comes to town to support Strobelite Seduction, his latest artist album, released this past May. The San Fran-based DJ/producer has the mystical ability to set the perfect mood and warm you from the inside out. In fact Kaskade is so powerful…
So today, new R&B sensation Jazmine Sullivan has her debut album, Fearless, available in stores worldwide. She’s got a voice that’s at times, reminds me of Lauryn Hill like on the song above, “Need You Bad,” and at other times, she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever heard. The Philadelphia-raised singer used…
Festival announcements are happening all over the place. Last week, while most local music lovers were caught up talking about Langerado’s surprising decision to host the 2009 edition of that concert at Miami’s Bicentennial Park, a lot of people missed that the on-again, off-again International Caribbean Music Fest had an…
Argentine rocker Fito Paez made a rare U.S. appearance at Miami’s Knight Concert Hall. Fito Paez Friday, September 19, 2008 Knight Concert Hall, Miami Better Than: Listening to one of those “Rock en Español” anthology CDs. This being my fifth time seeing Fito Paez live, my expectations were very high…
Friday, September 19: *Argentine rock en español legend Fito Páez performs a relatively intimate concert at the Arsht Center, hoping to gain more fans in the states. Read about his impressive musical track record here. *The album tribute act Classic Albums Live again performs at the Hard Rock, and this…
In many ways, you could consider this Madrid transplant a Latin pop pioneer. He was one of the first Spanish-language artists to play for arena-size audiences in the United States (a feat accomplished during his 1997 Vivir tour) without the support of a crossover hit. In addition, his 2002 video…
Any moment now, it will be termed prog-disco or sexy-cheese-disco or even chamber-disco. Whatever the case, the -disco must be appended and heeded, for it is back. Hercules & Love Affair’s version of disco can make you wish it had never gone away — really. A former Denver leather-bar DJ…
Candid post-gig photos of Los Angeles DJ Steve Aoki always seem to catch him making like the crazy-drunken Chinese kid from Pretty in Pink, the kind of stereotype that reportedly made his Newport Beach, California childhood a living hell. But the kids who made fun of him in grade school…
Just like last year, house DJ Cedric Gervais returns to the Space Terrace fresh from promoting a mix release on Yoshitoshi, the record label operated by Washington, D.C. super-DJ duo Deep Dish. In 2007, he spent the summer wandering the globe spreading the gospel of Yoshitoshi Miami, whose success led…
Finch Finch Sunday, September 14, 2008 Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale Better Than: having the biggest kid in the club stage dive into your face. They say all good things must come to an end. Well, that may be so, but perhaps good things can start up again, too. Take, for…
Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, the husband-and-wife duo better known as Mates of State. Mates of State Friday, September 12, 2008 Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale Better Than: Handsome Furs and Matt & Kim, I think. One of music’s greatest enigmas has to be the husband-wife duo. Sometimes an audience’s –…
