Stephen C. Foster, composer of Florida’s current state song There’s been talk of getting rid of Florida’s state song for years. “The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)” by Stephen C. Foster was officially adopted in 1935 — less enlightened times, shall we say. At the end of 2007, it…
Jethro Tull at Hard Rock Live Thursday, December 13, 2007 They may belong to an elite group of Sixties survivors, but unlike others of that ilk, Jethro Tull have never attained the special stature accorded others of that ilk. Sure, “Aqualung” remains a perennial classic, and the band’s brainy synthesis…
Back in the mid-Nineties, the Miami-birthed noise act Kreamy ‘Lectric Santa was playing now-defunct Miami Beach venue Washington Square. Suddenly the club’s musical director, a guy named Doc Wiley, cut off the sound. “There’s nothing like tripping on acid and being drunk, and being told by the club’s sound guy:…
Photo by Jeffrey Delannoy Iggy Pop and the Stooges performed as part of the Art Basel kick-off. See a slideshow from the concert. “I AM YOU!!!” Stooges frontman Iggy Pop bellowed, extending a bony finger at the swirling mass of flesh bouncing up and down on the sand in Collins…
Last night’s opening fete for the Miami Beach Art Photo Expo: In Fashion ’07 was a mostly subdued affair, with a soigné crowd sipping free vodka tonics and lulled into quiet admiration by the burbling sounds of the Surfcomber hotel’s pool. Its long, blue expanse, capped by a waterfall, served…
Dance music’s squabbling factions should all join hands and sing “Kumbaya” this Saturday, when Layo and Bushwacka! storm the decks at Shine. Refreshingly the veteran English DJ duo brings it back to a time when genres didn’t matter. They revive what did matter — the imperative of a beat that…
The Italian-born Alex Gaudino had already enjoyed more than a decade and a half as a successful DJ, remixer, and A&R guy when, earlier this year, he concocted a little musical alchemy and struck real international gold. Deciding to revisit a 2003 track he wrote with Maurizio Nari, “Destination Unknown,”…
Youssou N’Dour Rokku Mi Rokka (Nonesuch) On his new disc, veteran Senegalese singer-songwriter Youssou N’Dour continues to contemplate issues of freedom and religious bliss over a musical template blending African and Western pop. Among Rokku Mi Rokka’s highlights is “4-44-44,” which celebrates the joys of everyday life, and such gifts…
Imitation, it is said, is the sincerest form of flattery. But what do you call an exact replication? A tribute, of course. It’s a musical one in the case of Australian Pink Floyd, the world’s finest tribute band to, well, Pink Floyd. Starting way back in ’88, five Aussie musicians…
A formerly unlikely block on the southeastern edge of Little Haiti is set to become a playground of sorts for Miami’s slowly expanding underground culture. Churchill’s has long been holding it down punk rock-style on the corner of NE Second Avenue and 55th Street. Next door a new turquoise-and-purple-stripe awning…
At times, the oeuvre of Coheed and Cambria can make classic rock works like The Wall or Tommy seem as though they were based on the flimsiest of gimmicky ideas. Really. The expansive rock quartet from upstate New York has, over the course of about a decade, created a fictional…
In case you missed Otto von Schirach’s awesome performance last week at Studio A, now you can at least check it out in shaky video. (And in case you missed the Miami New Times’ recent article on Otto, click here.) The other acts were Juan Montoya of Torche and Chris…
Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold In the past, Avenged Sevenfold’s meathead simplicity pretty much excused all its bad behavior and even worse musical choices. It was as if the five members picked up, pored over and appropriated the Metal Band Rulebook before ever learning a single guitar chord. But that’s what…
Earlier this year, Back Door Bamby took a vacation and forgot to come back. The 10-years-running Monday-night party was the last of its kind on South Beach, a holdout from the days when freaks of all stripe — gay, straight, and in between — still partied together. This past spring,…
Even if you don’t immediately recognize Erick Morillo by name, if you have ears and are over the age of, say, 16, you most certainly recognize his biggest hit. In the early Nineties, there were a few heady months when it looked like American-style hip-house might cross over into the…
People are still talking about David Guetta’s last Miami gig, at Cameo during this past spring’s Winter Music Conference. The mess at the door was nearly unparalleled, and the sardine-squished crowd thrashed to funky, dirty house beats until nearly dawn. The party, after all, was a special WMC edition of…
The sound of fire — it’s something humans almost primordially recognize, a steady crackle, a dull roar, a heady crash. Or water — a persistent trickle, perhaps, or maybe a steady, shallow slap. But how to translate that into music, especially with guitars? Well, fire becomes all down-tuned minor keys,…
Following recent under-the-radar performances by legendary (if slept-on) MCs like Jeru the Damaja, PS 14 continues to bring the realness for Miami hip-hop heads. This Sunday features a bill of rising and established stars: the North Carolina duo Little Brother, Philly’s former battle king Reef the Lost Cauze, and Cali…
Some people love DJ Khaled. The brash Palestinian-American DJ represents Miami to the fullest in whatever he does. He’s worked alongside some of our city’s grimiest, grittiest, most talented rappers to successfully put our city on the musical map with his all-star collaborations. Some people can’t stand DJ Khaled –…
Laurent Garnier is one of the world’s most celebrated house and techno DJs, but also one of the most elusive. French by birth, it was in late-Eighties Manchester, England that Garnier first heard Chicago house. Instantly hooked, he soon became a DJ at the legendary Hacienda club, owned by Factory…
I walked into the Miami Elks Lodge 948 (10301 SW 72nd St., Miami) ballroom last Saturday night, amidst a sea of silver hair, and the scent of ultra-sweet perfume. The song “Blue Velvet” blared as the 55-and-over crowd danced ever so slowly on the dance floor. “She wore bluuuuuuee…vellllvetttt….” I…
Here’s another local music mystery… A reader writes: “Hi, I’m trying to figure out the name of a local progressive band from the late 90s, (1997-2000). I know they were signed to a major label, and were influenced by bands that sounded like the Cure, and that the entire band…
