Ultra Music Festival Announces 2014 Dates

The uhntz-uhntz hasn’t even died down. But just minutes after wrapping its six-day 2013 edition with Swedish House Mafia’s last show ever, Ultra Music Festival has already announced a plan for next year’s insane EDM extravaganza. “See you all next year at Ultra Music Festival 2014!” the fest’s organizers tweeted,…

Daft Punk at Ultra 2013: Five Signs the Robots Are Coming to UMF!

Photo by S. PajotThere are robot masks in Miami’s streets. What are the odds of electro-mechanical machines (manufactured in France) descending upon Ultra Music Festival 2013 to enslave the EDM generation? We’d say the chances of a sudden and unsuspected robot invasion at UMF probably hover around 13 percent. Oh…

Swedish House Mafia Kicks Off Ultra 2013, “F#$%s Miami in the Pussy”

Photo by George Martinez What’s the most epic come-on in the history of Scandinavian EDM? Duh. “We’re gonna fuck this party in the pussy!,” as uttered by Swedish House Mafia, when Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, and Axwell were still young, up-and-coming electronic dance music studs. Today, though, the SHM dudes…

Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard at Hard Rock Live, February 7

Photo by Sayre Berman Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard Hard Rock Live, Hollywood Thursday, February 7, 2013 Better Than: A cold beer, a shot of whiskey, and a good cry. All the old outlaws are only getting older. Last night, though, the Red-Headed Stranger and the Okie From Muskogee proved…

Willie Nelson With Merle Haggard at Hard Rock Live February 7

Wiseman Willie, Padre Nelson, the potheaded stranger — he’s known by many names, but this country legend and social activist has remained steadfast in his singular devotion to Mary Jane for nearly 60 years. He’s been busted. He’s been badgered. But he’s never backed down. And by God, everyone’s favorite…

Thurston Moore and KURT During Art Basel Miami Beach 2012

Photo by Ian WitlenThurston Moore reading a poem “with Kurt in mind.”No one wrote “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the wall. Still, the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts reeked, ever-so-slightly and not-so-literally, of sweaty punk armpits, greasy faded flannel, and the sweet stink of…

Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars on Cock-Rocking Till 75 and “Sex”

Oh, no… They don’t need no lovin’, no respect. ‘Cause it’s all about the sex. Even though the dudes of Mötley Crüe have all reached that advanced age when it often becomes necessary to pop a little blue pill if you wanna rock a long, strong, and sustained erection, they’ve…

Elvis Costello and the Imposters at Hard Rock Live April 25

Last September, erudite Englishman, ex-punk, and eyewear enthusiast Elvis Costello was forced to postpone his globe-spanning “Spectacular Spinning Songbook” tour, including a South Florida show, “due to matters pertaining to the very serious illness of a close family member.” At the time, Costello’s camp was secretive about the identity of…

Steve Lawler at Wall Lounge, December 28

Dance music sucks. House music rules. Just ask British rave legend and Viva Music label boss Steve Lawler. “Dance music is not the same as house music,” Lawler told New Times in October. “Yes, it makes you dance — we all know that! But what I have seen happen in…

Max Vangeli at LIV, December 26

Totally contradicting Western civilization’s standard calendar, New Year’s Eve now lasts a lot longer than just one night. Especially on Miami Beach. Predictably, this totally irresponsible, extralong, end-of-year celebration will begin with Max Vangeli and AN21’s pre-2012 bash at the Fontainebleau’s glossiest nightclub, LIV. But not-so-predictably, your general-admission ticket’s only…

Ten Momentous Occurrences in U2’s Unforgettably Long Career

According to the Emerald Isle’s Central Statistics Office, the average Irish male can expect to prowl around planet Earth for about 76 years, 9 months, and 18 days. Do you know what that means? It means that U2, as a band, is totally middle-aged. (Formed in 1976, the bombastic arena-rock…

Girl Talk at the Fillmore Miami Beach, May 19 and 20

Have you ever slipped into a pair of wet jeans, popped a pill, shared drinks with a stranger, rubbed private parts with 4,000 people, and danced so hard that you blacked out before waking up for another night of the exact same thing? If not, get ready for your first…

Panic Bomber at Green Room 4/28

Hijacking his name from an old Nintendo videogame, local electronic-music producer Panic Bomber (AKA Richard Haig) exploded out of Miami’s underground in 2009 with a pair of EPs, Calling in Threats and Getting on My Mind. Full of furiously blenderized electro, tech-house, trance, punk, and pop, these early outbursts earned…

Interpol at the Fillmore Miami Beach, April 29

There was a certain millennial flash point when new wave-y New York City goth-pop quartet Interpol seemed as though it might play a major part in the cleanup of a half-decade’s crappy music. This was near the outset of the 21st Century, when the whole mall-crawling Western world and every…