Kraftwerk Ultra Music Festival March 23 Better than: An egg cream.Two people said to me this week, “I never would have believed it if you’d told me five years ago that so many people would be this excited to see Kraftwerk.” One was a music writer and the other my roommate, both fans…
New OrderUltra Music FestivalMarch 23Better than: The ’80s reincarnated. Manchester U.K.’s New Order played a seminal role in bridging the gap between dance and rock music. Thusly, its selection to be part of the 14th-annual mega-sold-out 2012 Ultra Music Festival made perfect sense to us. “Now here is a group…
Tiësto is a classic. That is, if an electronic musician can be a classic in 2012. If you grew up listening to EDM or even if you just went clubbing on Miami Beach as a teenager, you know his name and you’ve heard his sound.Tiësto was giving interviews at the…
Andy and Edwin White are musically inclined brothers from Orlando known together as Tonstartssbandht. Currently, they’re nearby at what Andy describes as “our old homebase,” just days away from two shows in South Florida this weekend. Though they’ve been making music together for some time now, Andy lives in Montreal, and…
Let’s suspend belief for a second now and imagine a world in which Will Ferrell, Christopher Walken, and SNL support cast in stitches and the dreaded cowbell does not exist. Chances are that in such a scenario, many folks would lead lives unaware of Blue Öyster Cult and the impact…
Fernando Perdomo is a familiar name in South Florida music. Recently, New Times’ Lee Zimmerman wrote about the musician’s desire to alter the perception of music in South Florida. Perdomo has come up with an idea to do just that. He’s working on creating a South by Southeast, an idea taken from…
Whether you spend this weekend losing your mind at Ultra down in Miami or partying elsewhere, by the time Sunday evening rolls around, you just might find yourself in need of some nourishment. If so, you may find what you’re longing for up at the Hurricane Bar and Lounge in…
Think we can all agree that as far as boy bands go, Black Lips are the cutest. It sounds and feels creepy to write this, not just because we’ve seen the band live probably ten times, and because when they play Grand Central on Sunday, they might even recognize this…
South Florida, it’s about that time. It’s time for Ultra Music Festival! Put on your furry boots and get out your map of music, then try to see as many acts as you possibly can. As a dance music DJ, I have to say that I have a love/hate relationship with Ultra…
Canadian act Comeback Kid has stuck around so long — marking a full decade this year — that it’s managed to last until a renewed scene interest in more pure hardcore sounds came about. The quartet, despite forming at a time when posthardcore was in its trendy infancy, was never…
With Winter Music Conference and the madness around Ultra in full swing, it seems that almost all of Miami-Dade County is currently pulsing to a four-four beat. This show at Bardot both fits in with the overall electronic Zeitgeist of the week and subverts it. Four Tet is the alias…
The members of Nashville foursome Hot Chelle Rae all boast parents and various other family members from high up in the Music City industry echelons. (Two, Ryan and Jamie Follesé, are brothers.) As such, though they play their own instruments and appear to write their own material — and flirt…
Clearly, we here at County Grind are psyched about the upcoming Ultra Music Festival. We’ve been thinking about it, writing about it, and talking to performers who’ll bring the beats and, let’s call it, personality to the stage at Bayfront Park for three days this weekend. We’re not gonna lie. We’re…
Dance music fans likely know Gary Richards for Hard. That rapidly exploding brand of parties and shows includes local events like Holy Ship, the all-electronic music cruise that departs again from Fort Lauderdale next January, as well as a two-night stand at Grand Central in Miami that starts tonight. But…
While the reggae scenes in surrounding areas like Boca and Miami have been maturing like young dreadlocks, with lots of shows from up-and-coming local bands at spots like the Funky Buddha, the scene in Fort Lauderdale has been less natty. The beloved Fourth Dimension rocks Fat Cat’s downtown once a…
The new film documenting the experience of Ultra Music Festival called Can U Feel It takes on a hardy task. Describing what it’s like to be at Ultra is like trying to explain the joys and trials of one’s birthing experience. In a little way, at least. It’s filled with…
“The momentum has not ceased since Ultra two years ago,” says Lorin Ashton, better-known as freeform electronic bass artist Bassnectar. “At that point, I couldn’t really have asked for more. I was at a point in my music career that was already so intoxicating and exciting, and now it has proceeded to…
Tonight’s Moombahton Massive party at Grand Central marks the first of two back-to-back, Hard-sponsored nights at the venue. As that name indicates, the entire late-night party is devoted to the breezy, 110-ish-bpm bass sound that’s currently burning up the underground the way dubstep did a few years back before it…
Caribbean lifestyle blog LargeUp, founded by DJ Gravy, is bringing a big voice in dancehall to one of South Florida’s biggest electronic music festivals. You might think Mr. Vegas and Winter Music Conference are an unlikely pairing, but the similarities are clear: It’s all dance music and all kinds of…
Just steps south is a new neat bar that keeps the gays in mind. Stache, located on Normandy Isle, is an oasis of fun on a quiet strip of street. Recently, Hialeah’s finest, as it is known, started a new monthly night there called Made in Dade Mondays. The finest…
SlaughterhouseRevolution Live, Fort LauderdaleMonday, March 29, 2011Better than: A 112 reunion concert Joell Ortiz was the first to step out from backstage to recite his share of “The Illest,” a song that samples fellow Brooklyn native Biggie. The song served as the introduction to Ortiz’s and fellow members Crooked I and…
Steve Aoki uses the word experiential liberally when discussing music. His engagement with the philosophy of the experience of existence is apparent from his crazed wild-eyed live shows, which feature regular stage-diving and crowd interaction. Live music as a medium is clearly a visceral force that should catalyze something transformative, or…
