Last Night: Alerta! Miami Indie Showcase at White Room

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Natalie O'Neill

Alerta! Miami Indie Showcase

Friday, May 30, 2008

White Room, Miami

It’s not that indie rock kids can’t dance. It’s just that, at most shows, they spend more time leaning against a wall or sucking down a cigarette than moving to the beat.

But not at Alterta Indie Showcase. At the White Room last night, Latin indie bands of the rock persuasion had the crowd shaking their hips by the end of the night. Between sets, a DJ blasted salsa and skinny white kids here and there coupled off to prove even hipsters can cha-cha.

In the women’s bathroom, girls with beers chatted about the headlining band Soniko. Word spread they weren’t going to play and a girl with short hair made a “that-seriously-sucks” stink out of it. (Turns out, one of its members had a family emergency.)

The Kansas band Making Movies opened the free show with a tight, catchy rock set in Spanish as people filtered in around 9 p.m. Afterwards, they hung around for drinks. Nimencia, Afrobeta and Minimal followed and the show became increasingly more upbeat.

In Miami, there are Latin dance clubs. And then there are rock venues. This show was rad because it brought both cultures together - to tap a foot and twist a hip.

- Natalie O'Neill