David Byrne Saturday December 13, 2008 The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre Better Than: Just about any show you’ve ever been to. Really. I’ve gotta apologize to David Byrne, because every time his acrobatic sidekick Lily Baldwin took the stage during last night’s dynamite Fillmore Gleason show, I…
John Hood Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale Better Than: The Eagles after they slept with Leonard Cohen. This should really be called The Night Before Last Night seeing that ol’ Bright Eyes’ boy wonder played on Tuesday rather than Wednesday,…
STFU when LMFAO performs at Karu & Y. You’ve hear the track “I’m in Miami Bitch” more times than you care to count, but still it never fails to get you cracking a smile. And if the MySpace count is any indication, there’s almost 1.3 million people cracking smiles right…
Coldplay November 9, 2008 BankAtlantic Center Better Than: You’d Expect Say what you will about Coldplay (and most folks do), but unlike a lot of so-called arena acts – nevermind their smaller setting counterparts – they’ve at least got sense enough to make a spectacle of themselves when they come…
John Hood Rufus Wainwright November 8, 2008 The Jackie Gleason Theatre at the Fillmore Miami Beach Better Than: Crooning a Storybook They call it a Rubus. In theory, one suspects the thing is related to the centaur (half man/half horse), the mandrake (half man/half plant) and the Minotaur (half man/half…
When Rufus Wainwright hits South Florida this weekend for a two-night stint, prepare to swoon. This is one crooning troubadour who could probably turn a grocery list into a heartbreaking tale of terrible beauty. Not that Wainwright has to resort to grocery lists, mind you. With a song-soaked career that…
After sitting down with Deejay Smeejay, it’s not at all difficult to imagine his being a go-go boy despite the fact that he probably hasn’t, er, bar-topped for a decade or so. I mean, the cat literally dances in his seat. And in the rare instance when his body’s not…
Dolly Parton October 17, 2008 Mizner Park Amphitheatre, Boca Raton Better Than: Any faith healer I’ve ever met. There’s a very simple reason why Dolly Parton’s something of a phenomena, and that has to do with the fact that she’s absolutely phenomenal! Think about it. The great dame’s “highly extraordinary,…
Something About Dolly One Man’s Appreciation for All Things Parton –John Hood When I first got word that Dolly Parton would be coming to South Florida I got giddy; then I got on the phone. I called my editor. I called her publicist. I called my mom. If Dolly was…
There’s no need to go into detail about Dolly Parton’s four-decades-old career, the 26 number-one singles, the 42 Top Ten country albums, the Golden Globe nominations she received for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and 9 to 5, or the Oscar she got for the latter’s same-named title song…
If there were a DJ equivalent to late, great Cuban bandleader Mario Bauzá, it would have to be Miami’s DJ Le Spam. Like Bauzá, Le Spam is renowned for bringing the sound of Cuba to folks who might never have heard it before. In Bauzá’s case, it was in New…
John Hood Henry Rollins speaks to a crowd gathered at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale Sunday night. Henry Rollins Sunday September 28th 2008 Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale Better Than: The same ol’ hipster shtick. Fitting that I’d have to drive through a torrential rain storm in order to catch the latest…
It’s something of an understatement to say that Henry Rollins is one of the hardest-working men in show business. For the past quarter century, he’s averaged more than 100 shows a year in more countries than most people can identify on a map, and he’s covered more ground — politically,…
Lolo Reskin A gang of local thugs broke in, burgled and trashed our beloved Sweat Records over the weekend, stealing almost everything of value and destroying nearly everything else. According to Sweat’s site, gone are the “store computer, credit card terminal, video projector, entire DJ/sound setup, cash drawer and more.”…
Sayre Berman Chris Isaak Sunday, September 7, 2008 Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Better Than: Catching cool. When I first caught Chris Isaak, it was on the fourth floor of a legendary New York nightclub called Danceteria and the cat was still relatively unknown. But by the time he and his Silvertones…
It’s been almost 25 years since Chris Isaak slipped his debut album, Silvertone, on to the pop music scene, but it could just as easily have been yesterday — or a half century ago. Why? Because Isaak, 52, carries the torch of tradition — steady, ready, and steeped in the…
Sayre Berman Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland performs at the Seminole Hard Rock Live Wednesday night. Click here to view the full slideshow. Stone Temple Pilots Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Seminole Hard Rock Live, Hollywood Better Than: A Jukebox Filled with Hits of the ‘90s You want perspective?…
It’s doubtful that DJ Danny Daze loves the road above all else, but he sure seems to be on it a lot. Mondays at Tabu in Vegas, Saturdays at either Slide in San Francisco or Pittsburgh’s Privilege, the cat’s back and forth from the airport more times in a week…
John Hood Tom Waits performs before a sold-out crowd at the Times-Union Center in Jacksonville, Fla. Tom Waits July 1, 2008 The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, Jacksonville Better than: Having a hobo in your home for supper – and having him sing murder songs for it. (Dateline: Jacksonville)…
John Hood Nada Surf Monday, June 2, 2008 Studio A, Miami Better Than: Letting Leonard Cohen’s bubblegum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight. I’m not supposed to dig Nada Surf. Their songs are sentimental, sometimes sappy even, drenched in despair, cuddled by consolation and stricken in all kinds of…
Miami Symphony April 27, 2008 The Lincoln Theatre Better Than: 100 years of symphonic solitude sung by Marquez himself. It’s not every night that one gets to hear a hundred year span of classical music played live; then again, it’s not every night that The Miami Symphony Orchestra hits one…
Concert Review: B-Live at The Bayfront Park Amphitheatre B-Live April 19, 2008 The Bayfront Park Amphitheatre Better Than: The biggest block party you ever attended. See the slide show here Miami is mad about its music, not to mention its mojitos, so when the good folk at Bacardi took over…
