Happy New Year, ya’ll! It’s 2009 and with the economy going south, everyone seems to be looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle — and that means more parties! And January is already gearing up to be spectacular. But let us not get ahead of ourselves, because here…
Justin NamonOur cameras stopped by Off the Radar’s return last night at The Standard in Miami Beach. The off-beat party is looking once again to be the music aficionado’s sanctuary in an often stale South Florida nightlife scene.Click here to view the full slideshow…
Last night, Real World: Brooklyn made queer TV history, thanks to the first ever transgender cast member, a South Florida male-to-female named Katelyn Cusanelli. The introspective, self-proclaimed computer geek, who went to McPhatter Technical School in Davie and Palm Beach Community College talked to Riptide yesterday about hormone therapy, “escaping”…
Last time I saw The Juan MacLean, it was at Poplife when it still called The District home. I actually didn’t know who he was and had just sort of stumbled into the party. But soon after that, I was hooked. The Juan MacLean sound is so smooth and cool,…
A few years ago, if you asked me what my favorite night of the week to go out was I would have told you Wednesday night without any hesitation. Yes, Wednesday night. South of Fifth bar/lounge The Mark hosted a hump-day party called Damaged, which was the brainchild Revolver creator…
Seriously DJ Laz, are you that hard up for cash that you’re resorting to doing awful local commercials for personal injury lawyers based on popular courtroom shows and Jerry Springer? There is a reason radio personalities go into the unseen medium. “Pimp with the Limp,” stay off my TV screen…
Sayre BermanBilly JoelFriday, January 2, 2009 Hard Rock Live, HollywoodBeing a piano man in a rock ‘n’ roll world can be a precarious proposition. Unless you have the cool of, say Jerry Lee Lewis, with the attitude and swagger to match, it’s tough not to look like a dweeb sitting stationary…
Ian WitlenNew Year’s Eve Overthrow with DJ Tamara Sky Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Heathrow Lounge, South Beach Better than: Ringing in the New Year wearing the played out all-white uniform of post-Diddy South Beach parties. Way too many times South Beach club parties end up being more hype than substance…
The naked body of Amanda Lepore, the world’s self proclaimed #1 transsexual, is about as good of a metaphor for change as any so it was suiting that the first sight of 2009 that the crowd at The Raleigh’s Burlesque New Years saw was Ms. Lepore clad only in balloons…
Logan FazioSouth Floridians tend to complain that they are often overlooked by music tours, but 2008 was definitely a busy and surprising year for the area’s live music scene. Radiohead kicked off their world tour at Cruzan, while Madonna ended the U.S.-leg of Sticky & Sweet tour at Dolphin Stadium…
About a year ago, local DJ Induce and his West Coast buddy Sven Barth, under the name Casual Sax, made a funny little song called “Baby, I’m Black,” which was an ode to being blessed in the genital region. Well after Perez Hilton posted it up on his site it…
Get ready as Short Order takes you behind the line and into the kitchens of some of Miami’s top restaurants. Today we visit Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink in the Design District. Listen for the random quotes from the kitchen in this exclusive photodocumentary that gives you one hour glimpse…
Johnny LouisCheck it! 2008 was a busy year for clubland. We saw the departures of Pawn Shop Lounge, Studio A, Circa 28 and Suite, while we welcomed new venues like The Vagabond, Louis, Aero Bar, Bella Rose and Heathrow Lounge. And to our surprise, there was plenty of action beyond…
Back in my days over at Miami Nights, I liked to close out the year by looking back at all the music I discovered where I spend most of my time — in nightclubs. It’s always interesting to see what makes it big the following year, because downtown club in…
You don’t need a half-wit music critic to tell you it’s been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demolished by a Midwestern…
We aren’t kidding when we say times are tough. Money isn’t as disposable as it once was, and we’re all just praying that we’ll come out alive once the recession is over. So to make sure you still have one rockin’ New Year’s Eve we decide to do a little…
Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn’t nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn’t feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper’s fantastic Furr…
It’s time to rank the best of what went around and came around again. BILLY JOEL The Stranger (Columbia/Legacy) As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man’s deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell – and, occasionally, rock. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” and…
Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn’t caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously absurd record or two…
A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience–these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age…
And now it’s time for the “I love you like a fat kid loves cake” memorial Worst Lyrics of 2008, March Madness-style tournament, this year a terrifying mélange of appalling oral-sex requests, bargain-bin philosophies, grammatical atrocities, and cringe-inducing pillow talk. To elevate the drama, I provided a trusted colleague with…
In 2008, independent rock returned to the underground, where it belongs. Given the grand catastrophe that is today’s record industry, most major-label executives don’t have the time or energy to convince music fans they might like something a little out of the ordinary. They’re too busy recycling variations on what…
