Suenalo
9:30 p.m. Friday, March 22, at the Funky Biscuit, 303 SE Mizner Blvd., Royal Palm Place, Boca Raton. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Call 561-395-2929, or visit funkybiscuit.com.
Throughout the history of international folklore, humankind has been obsessed with mythical monsters assembled from different parts of animals that actually exist. There was, of course, Cerberus, the one dog with the head of three that guarded the entrance to the ancient Greek afterlife, Hades. No matter how terrifying the hound was meant to be, it would likely be a little underwhelming if standing next to Medieval Europe's Calygreyhound, a schizophrenic beast composed of the head of a wildcat, body of a deer, forelegs of an eagle, and hind legs of an ox. Personally, we prefer our exotic lusus naturae to be mighty but classically simple, like the Japanese fish/snake/dragon Jiaolong.
Even though Miami, as we know it, hasn't been around as long as the aforementioned long-running civilizations, it's still got its own fanciful amalgamation brag about. The mightiest of them all is the hydra-headed Suenalo, a sonic being that brings a near-mythological blend of Latin funk, jazz fusion, and jam-oriented rock 'n' roll.
You may have to see it to believe it. But once you catch a glimpse, hear the sweet sounds, and feel the rhythm guiding your hips, you'll never deny the existence of paranormal entities again.
- Matt Preira
Vibe Music Week
Featuring German Garcia, Joe Maz, and DJ Scotty Boy. 10 p.m. Thursday, March 21 to 23, at Vibe Las Olas, 301 Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Entrance is free, except for Saturday, when it's $10. Call 954-713 7313, or visit vibelasolas.com.
German Garcia is trying to stage a takeover. The West Palm Beach producer has long established himself as a more-than-competent master of musical ceremonies and as a technician, hunkering down in the lab. He's DJ'ed every room in South Florida with every big name while also maintaining an impressively prolific release schedule that includes productions for Australia's Indigo Records, Greece's G2G Recordings, Denmark's Nervine Records, and the U.K.'s Undertechnical Records. But the tell-tale telegraph that this mover-and-shaker is uppin' his moving-and-shaking is the launch of his new record label, Xima, a collaborative effort with Miami nightlife mainstay DJ Patrick M.
This Thursday, as part of a special series of blowouts at Vibe Las Olas, Garcia will perform alongside some acts cherry-picked from his imprint's stable. Attendance is mandatory for those who will, later in life, find it absolutely essential to be able to honestly say that they were there when German Garcia became the new Emperor Palpatine of partying in South Florida. Not everyone can DJ well and write solid dance music themselves. But Garcia is all that and a bag of uhntz-uhtnz-uhntz.
- Matt Preira
Indigo Girls
With the Shadowboxers. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, at Culture Room. 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $30. Call 954-564-1074, or visit cultureroom.net.
Like any philosophy, political ideology, or school of thought, feminism isn't a single, stable concept but refers to a spectrum of ideas and beliefs about the role gender and sex play in human life, and if they even exist in the first place. If we were to further describe this spectrum but (for some reason) were allowed to speak only in terms of music from the 1960s forward, we might establish twin poles anchored by North American girl power appropriators the Spice Girls on one end and quintessential riot grrl progenitors Bikini Kill on the other. Somewhere in between Baby Spice's hypersexed doublespeak and Kathleen Hannah's poetry about armpit hair, just left of the Dixie Chicks, with a soulful smidgen of the South (verses the Chicks' Texan 'tude), lie the Indigo Girls.
While not quite Ani DiFranco, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have always leaned a little more to the left than other early-'90s coffee-shop staples like Suzanne Vega and 10,000 Maniacs. They did, of course, spend some time at the legendary Lilith Fair, AKA the Lesbian Lollapalooza. However, so did Sarah McLachlan. And nobody's conflating building a mystery with burning a brassiere. So the Girls aren't exactly preachy, but the lack of talking does nothing but amplify their walking. Ray and Saliers, as the Indigo Girls and in their private lives, have supported a number of progressive causes over the years, including the environment, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and gay rights. Even if your message is not 100 percent cause-oriented, actions have been known to speak louder than slogans.
- Matt Preira
Yes
7 p.m. Sunday, March 24, at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Call 954-797-5531, or visit hardrocklivehollywoodflcom. Tickets cost $44 to $74 plus fees.
If there exists one genre of popular music with the most cantankerous and anal fans and critics, progressive rock would take the prize. Some of rock's most talented musicians work in the genre. They often bring experience from classical music and a working knowledge of music theory. Some of the bravest musical experiments were pioneered within the genre, yet rule-breaking is received with much doubt. One long-suffering band of this aspect of prog rock is the U.K. act Yes, which made its recorded debut in 1969.
As much of a devoted following as Yes has, it has often been haunted by criticisms of its ever-shifting lineup. Then there's the arty ponderousness and its sellout for new-wave pop appeal in the early '80s. When Alan White first joined the band in 1972, replacing Bill Bruford, the first album he participated in was Tales From Topographic Oceans, a double LP of four songs that averaged 20 minutes. "A huge, long project," he recalls of the album, speaking over the phone during a tour stop in Aspen, Colorado. "It was about six to eight months until we finished the album, so we spent a long time doing that."
- Hans Morgenstern
Queen Latifah
8 p.m. Sunday, March 24, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Tickets start at $25. Call 561-832-7469, or visit kravis.org.
To put it simply, Queen Latifah is a goddess. This isn't like one of those compliments you give to your dudely pal 'cause she finally put on a dress. No, Latifah is divine in the way of Athena or Yemaya: a powerful natural force.
Though everyone knows Latifah as a rapper or actress, she also performs singing cover songs and jazz standards off her Trav'lin' Light album. But, she admits, rap isn't far from her heart. "There's things that only rap music can express," she says, "or poetry can express."
A recent conversation revealed Latifah's views on feminism, self-confidence, a Living Single reunion, and females in the rap game. And, for the record, as a former high school b-ball player, she came out in support of Miami: "I'm a fan of the Heat, for sure."
New Times: What do you think about the state of female rappers in hip-hop today?
Queen Latifah: The state of hip-hop for female rappers has been anemic for a while.
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