At the height of the late ’90s so-called Third Wave ska craze, bands like the Aquabats could seem to represent the silliest of the crop. On one hand, more serious, soul- and reggae-inflected “traditional” ska acts like the Slackers and Hepcat were trying to emphasize their Jamaican musical roots. Then,…

One need only to look at the annual installments of Moonfest, or of its own rowdy anniversary parties, to know that Respectable Street knows block parties. The Clematis Street club’s been running longer than some of its legal patrons have been alive, and along the way, its party-throwing has been…

It’s a sign the South Florida bass scene has finally arrived (again!) that a once-fringe dubstep act now promises to fill Revolution on December 30 — and with only local supporting acts to boot. Frequent attendees of parties like Get Low in Miami will recognize recurring favorite Borgore. But this gig…

​The live-performance trend of artists playing their most popular albums start to finish continues to go strong. But is it a great thing? The earliest iterations of this made sense. Usually, it was a band or artist that had recently reunited, appearing on a festival stage to the largest audience it…

Dieselboy’s influence is hard to overstate. After years of making hard-core rave mixtapes — before drum ‘n’ bass even existed as a genre — as a 20-something in Philadelphia in the late ’90s, he started the pioneering weekly d’n’b night Platinum. From there quickly mushroomed an insane career that has…

​Nitzer EbbGrand Central, MiamiSaturday, November 13, 2010Better Than: The Miami Music Festival (at least on Saturday night, at which fans braving the Vivian Girls’ headlining show were tossed out for dress code non-compliance and price-gouged for $10 beers) The Review:Sometimes, when the live music stars align, a venue, audience, and band…

For a way-too-long moment in the mid-’00s, too many hardcore-offshoot bands boasted names about days/months/seasons or some form of the verb “to die.” The music too was a similarly broad, indistinguishable mishmash of screaming alternating with singing alternating with breakdowns and back again. Buffalo-based lifers Every Time I Die were…

Jacuzzi Boys are quickly gaining critical mass on the national circuit, yet they’ve cleverly avoided the hype overload of certain other South Florida breakout-acts-come-lately. The Boys attract only goodwill, no haterade, and for good reason. One, they’ve been playing together long enough to deserve success. Two, their sound is roughed…

Last year was especially good for classic metal in South Florida, as all of the big four — Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, and Metallica — made it to the area for headlining shows, and Slayer played a brain-blasting set at the Mayhem Festival. Now we get blasted again courtesy…

Music trends come and go, but Hawaiian trio Pepper keeps on trucking with a time-tested sound that’s mellower than its namesake spice. Whatever you think a band of surfer dudes from Hawaii would sound like, it’s likely right on point. Pepper’s flavor is based on a heavy blend of dub…

For a couple of unassuming, pixie-ish artsy girls, the sisters Casady have created one of the most divisive acts in indie-ish circles. As CocoRosie, Bianca and (“Coco”) and Sierra (“Rosie) have since 2003 been creating a peculiar — in every sense of the world –and otherworldy mish-mash of folk, downtempo,…

The Fillmore Miami Beach has been absolutely slaying lately with its indie-style bookings, but here’s a new announcement from the venue to make the thinking-man’s-metal fan weep tears of joy. Sacramento legends Deftones will headline Wednesday, when the band plays its first show in South Florida in a couple of…