County Grind Live
with Jacuzzi Boys, Lil Daggers, and The Gun Hoes
Green Room, Fort Lauderdale
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Better than: Getting laid. That's right, we said it.
County Grind has taken this blog to the stage twice now, both times at Fort Lauderdale's mid-sized musical venue Green Room. One might ask: What does it look like to move so many words used to create mental images off of the internet and configure their energy into live music, complete with dancing, sweating, drinking, and groping? Well, it's hard to explain, but something like that happened on Saturday night at this second installment of County Grind Live.
We like to think of ourselves as a fun, smart blog that knows a nice bit about music generally, and a whole-lot-a-bit about local music. For this showcase, we felt a tight little rock and roll showcase would do the trick, showing readers what we're made of. And it did. Both floors at Green Room were filled by midnight with folks from all three counties, all in the mood to party. Sometimes people only go to shows for the bands, but at County Grind Live, people went for the bands, and many stuck around till the early morning to dance and shoot the shit.
The night kicked off early with The Gun Hoes, whose catchy garage rock was made complete with Greg Alvarez of Jellyfish Brothers on bass, comments from singer "Dashing" Gabe Miranda like "this song is about masturbating," and a shirtless Anthony Hernandez on drums. On the sidelines, a detached, almost bored Drew Dakesian sat and tapped the tambourine. Call us dramatic, but there was a sort of Caravaggio-like juxtaposition to the visual aspect of the performance. We would definitely nominate them as best male end of the night dancers considering Greg Alvarez showed us a bachata-like move possibly called "the jellyfish."
Once Radio-Active Records' DJs Mikey and Mitzie hit the decks with music of the appropriate genres, there were a few lone dancers, brave soldiers, who started the process of warming the dance floor for many more feet to come. As happens sometimes at Green Room, the crowd leaves a half moon space around the stage for musical acts. Lil Daggers got the room bobbing their heads. Though they played a seriously tight set, the audience, though filling the room, kept a little distance from the band, not drunk enough to fill the gap. Getting all psych rock on the room, the place filled with musical tension. Lil Daggers continue to impress when onstage. They always sound great, and lead singer Johnny Saraiva is fun to watch get all into it.
More heavy drinking and, upstairs, light pole dancing helped get everyone in the mood for the Jacuzzi Boys. There was a County Grind plug made by a particularly awkward music editor who probably coulda worn a longer skirt and talked a little less, but whatever, forgive her her dorky ways. She means well and glad you all came out.
The JBs know the formula for a party-time atmosphere. It was no surprise then when the crowd formed a somewhat tame mosh pit in that little half moon area where people fear to tread. Beads of sweat flew from heads and booze fell from cups to sneakered and heeled feet. The boys played a sort of slow set in comparison to others we've seen, more chill songs for the slow dancing set, but still scattered with oldies but goodies like "Island Ave." and new dancies like "Glazin'."
About half the people in there had seen the Jacuzzi Boys many times before, and the other half had never seen them perform until Saturday night. We're glad to have introduced them. Some took to the rafters to avoid the pit, and others swayed and pushed their way into it with great big smiles. Either way, the party kept going after the pit dispersed. Mikey played some indie and Miami dance classics, and once the crowd died down, or we got kicked out or something, the drinking continued at Poorhouse. If there were a way to make a blog live, you can be certain County Grind did it on Saturday night. Thanks for coming!
Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: So much personal bias, hard to know where to begin.
Overheard in the Crowd: "You're my moon goddess." - You know who you are, and thank you.
Next Time: A metal showcase?
Jacuzzi Boys' Setlist
"Sweet Time to Roll"
"Dock"
"Cool Vapors"
"Ultra Gilde"
"Glazin'"
"Domino Moon"
"Planet of the Dreamers"
"Island Ave."
"Guillotine"
"Coral Girls"
"Oriental Rugs"
"Vizcaya"
"No Seasons"
"Blow Out Your Lights"
"Crush"
"Smells Dead"
"Libras and Zebras"
"Fruits"
"Bricks or Coconuts"
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