The Wave PicturesThe Vagabond, MiamiFriday, March 12, 2010Photo by Michael MaryanoffThe Wave PicturesBetter Than: Having to hear about your own lost loves.The Review:When I heard word Sweat Records and the Vagabond were bringing the Wave Pictures to town, I must admit that I got a little giddy. Not fan-boy giddy,…
Anyone who has swung through Miami’s Design District on any given Tuesday over the past two years would have noticed a fair bit of bedlam. Not that there have been riots — but there has been the kind of heavy traffic that comes about when something successful is going down…
Anyone who has swung through Miami’s Design District on any given Tuesday over the last two years would have noticed a fair bit of bedlam. Not that there have been riots — but there has been the kind of heavy traffic that comes about when something successful is going down…
If the words of critics were any indication, Manchester Orchestra would be as ubiquitous as air itself. The Atlanta band’s 2009 LP, Mean Everything to Nothing, topped many of indie rock’s most cherished best-of lists for the year and seemed to spark a near-unanimous raised fist from anybody with a…
Photo by Ian WitlenTo view a slideshow of photos from the show, click here.Holly MirandaWith Tegan and SaraSunset Cove AmphitheaterFebruary 21, 2010Better Than: Having to brave a bunch of Brooklyn hipsters for some true New York cool The Review:Had Holly Miranda heard that I came to catch her Sunset Cove…
Back in 2007, when the Box officially opened in New York, the racket could be heard all the way down to Miami. “It’s a bawdy house,” said some. “A place soaked in sex,” said others. “Burlesque just got reborn,” said the rest. The Box was tops because it pulled out…
Photo by Sebastian MlynarskiHolly MirandaVocally, Detroit-born, Brooklyn-based neo-pop folk songstress Holly Miranda might bring to mind Chann Marshall. But mood-wise she’s got much more in common with, say, American dream pop duo Azure Ray. Both find solace in sleep, and the things that go bump in the night. And each…
Photo by Michael MaryanoffIt’s not surprising that Miami, “the city of Bass,” would so fondly embrace a form such as dubstep. A heavy mash of UK garage and grime, with roots tracing back to Jamaican dub, the genre is deep and low and perfect for the kinda nights where the…
Kill Miss Pretty recently teamed up with former Mansonoid Daisy Berkowitz for a new single called “Judy Garland.” To celebrate, South Florida’s preeminent glam band teams up this Saturday with Daisy for a performance at a night called “Squeeze at Sea Monster.” As the name implies, it’s a throwback night…
Back in 2005, I was at the tail end of what seemed to be an interminable exile just outside of Philadelphia. Although it was pretty much an unnerving ordeal, from sunup to sundown, I maintained my relative sanity by keeping my cracker-box radio tuned to WXPN-FM, one of the nation’s…
courtesy of Tara InkWho’da thunk they’d even heard about dubstep up in West Palm Beach, let alone been in on the action? But it’s true. The U.K.-birthed electronic music phenomenon is alive and kicking up in South Florida’s third county. That either means those folks are hipper than we think,…
The origin of the French group Nouvelle Vague’s name is three-pronged. First, of course, it references the famous French school of cinema. Then, the words themselves translate to “nova onda” in Portuguese, which is what Brazilians first called bossa nova. Finally, there’s the translation into English: new wave, the great…
Few DJs can boast a history of beat-dropping that dates back to the days of grade school. Then again, few DJs grew up in houses as heavy with sound as that of one DJ Oski. See Oski’s pops, Pepe Pothea, was a player — he handled percussion for some of…
For over 40 years now, clued-in and/or colleged-up Miami residents have tuned in to the now sound found down the FM dial at 90.5. Those, of course, are the coordinates of the University of Miami’s own WVUM, undoubtedly one of the most adventurous radio stations in the nation. Like the…
The last time Infected Mushroom stormed South Florida, it was at Miami’s Karu & Y, where the Israeli psy-trance superstars proved that hair metal is not the only music that can rock folks like a proverbial hurricane. The onslaught wasn’t completely unexpected. The group that had started as a duo…
If you’ve been out and about at any of the hipper venues that still allow live music, you’ve most likely seen Astari Nite swoop in and swoon through a few cool songs. You may have even wondered just what those songs were and where you might get your mitts on…
photo by kara StarzykIf it is true (as surely it must be) that in the world of pop music there is nothing truly new under the sun, then surely a budding pop star has no choice but to steal from the best of everything that’s come before. Okay, so stealing from…
Spearheading much of mainland Miami nightlife’s response to the tragedy in Haiti is a man known as the Haitian Hillbilly. Born Alain Maximilien, this hipster redneck (of sorts) not only spent many of his more formative years in the island nation; his father runs Maison des Anges, a 120-child orphanage…
Photo by Hannah PerssonCasiotone for the Painfully AloneBar, MiamiSaturday, January 23, 2010Better Than: Slitting your wristsThe Review:It’s hard to say whether or not it’s really a wise idea to catch Casiotone for the Painfully Alone while plunged into the proverbial depths of despair. On the one hand, it’s kinda heartening…
At Francesco LoCastro’s Pinkghost show opening Saturday night, the band Kill Miss Pretty was working the packed room with word of an upcoming gig at Squeeze, which, as far as we knew, had been closed for quite some time.So what’s that about? Well, while the venue is indeed now Sea…
Photo by Manny HernandezTony Bennett performing at the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center.Tony BennettFriday, January 8, 2010Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, MiamiBetter Than: The BestThe new songs are “lousy.” That’s what Tony Bennett said from the stage of the Arsht Center during his sold-out show last…
If the good life is “a life abounding in material comforts and luxuries,” then yes, Tony Bennett, with his Central Park South aerie and world tours, most certainly has lived it — and is living it still. If the good life is “a life marked by a high standard of…
