ProtomanThe Green Room, Fort LauderdaleSaturday, November 19, 2011For a slide show from the concert, click here.Better than: A serious rapper who is also funny is always better than a comedian who wants to be taken seriously as a rapper.Protoman’s been repping the 954 as a rapper for the past decade,…
Mayday ParadeWith The Make, There For Tomorrow, You Me At Six, and We Are The In CrowdRevolution Live, Fort LauderdaleFriday, November 18Where were all the underage hipster punks partying on Friday? Apparently at the local Mayday Parade show…
Sondre LercheWith Peter Wolf CrierCulture Room, Fort LauderdaleThursday, November 17, 2011Better than: Saving money by not coming at all.Sondre Lerche is the face of the economic woes befalling independent musicians everywhere. There was no hiding the minuscule turnout Thursday at Culture Room, but the showing onstage was just as small…
To be fair, the exact genre tag is Neue Deutsche Härte (“new German hardness”). Although the American counterpart was a distinct synthesis of hard, evil-sounding rock and beat-my-girlfriend rapping, the hard-ass Germans are a slightly more amorphous phenomenon, dating back to the late ’80s. The term more or less seems…
Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week: The former Goods guy shares the music that changed his life… One of South Florida’s most renowned and critically acclaimed singer-songwriters and multi-talented musicians, Jim can…
The Black Eyed Peas haven’t even begun their hiatus yet, but the ever-promotional mind of Will.i.am is still in overdrive. Does this guy sleep with a microphone taped to his face just in case he might snore something brilliant? The timing of his debut single from his Twitter-ready solo album,…
Before pop-punk entered its current incarnation, usually a radio-ready, overly compressed form of fast songs written by barely legals nostalgic for lives they never lived, there were the Queers. The Queers, of course, were often reminiscent for lives they never lived. During the band’s real peak in the early to…
Though he’s now 63 years old and an established legend in the jazz world, for much of his career, Paquito d’Rivera was known as a wünkerkind. As a child in Cuba, he picked up a love of wind instruments from his father, saxophonist and conductor Tito Rivera, and by 5…
Skip the misleading name: This group is neither from any Manchester (England, New Hampshire, or elsewhere) nor particularly large or orchestral. However, this Atlanta-based five-piece does manage to write songs that sound intimate and wide-sweeping. Led by 20-something Andy Hall, the group specializes in the kind of almost painfully earnest…
In the late ’90s, the long-brewing Boston “oi” band Dropkick Murphys finally broke into the nationally touring, Warped Tour-subsidized big-time punk “scene.” Onto that broader platform — which included more tour dates, better distribution, and higher stages in rooms that could hold more people — the Murphys broadcast the signature…
Sondre Lerche transitioned from his birthplace in Norway to his current home in Brooklyn a little more than a decade ago. Although he could have been content tagged as simply another effervescent balladeer, to his credit, he’s consistently resisted typecasting and dabbled in mainstream pop, edgier rock, Brazilian beats, and…
Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch the Throne” TourBankAtlantic Center, SunriseMonday, November 14, 2011For a slide show from the concert, click here.Better than: The “Best of Both Worlds” tour.Jay-Z got pulled over in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday night. Fortunately, the rap mogul and the eventual father of Beyoncé’s child kept a…
Orlando Calling, Day 2With Bob Seger, Brandi Carlile, Michelle Branch, Buddy Guy, Chris Isaak, Dwight Yoakam, Flatlanders, Justin Townes Earle and MoreCitrus Bowl Stadium, OrlandoSunday, November 13, 2011Better than: Being stuck in a mosh pit with no way out. Day 2 of Orlando Calling began much the same way as…
Look, dude. If you wanna show up to the second edition of the Snooze Theatre’s Magical Snoozie Mix Exchange with, like, a list (on your smartphone) of good blogs for downloading chillwave, that’s your prerogative. But everyone knows the unofficial award for Dankest Mix will go to the compiler with…
It’s a great pleasure to announce that the Bruise Cruise 2012 lineup continues to expand — much like your waistline will after six trips to the ice cream machine. But, with Fucked Up and King Khan & the Shrines at the top of the bill, you’re gonna have to consume…
Medeski, Martin & Wood Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale Sunday, November 13, 2011On Sunday night, Fort Lauderdale native John Medeski and his partners in fusion, Billy Martin and Chris Wood, played their “last 20th anniversary show” at the Culture Room. The trio had been touring in celebration of two decades of jazzy exploration…
Orlando Calling Day 1With the Killers, the Raconteurs, the Roots, the Pixies, the Avett Brothers, Kid Cudi, Iron & Wine, and more Citrus Bowl Stadium, OrlandoSaturday, November 12, 2011Check out a slideshow from the festival here. Read the Day 2 wrap here.Better than: A stadium experience at Penn State.The first…
from FacebookKreayshawn Opium Hard Rock, Hollywood Saturday, November 12, 2011 Better Than: Your little sister’s super sweet Kreayshawn themed Quinceañera. Last night’s Kreayshawn “performance” (appearance? bait-and-switch?) at Hollywood Hard Rock’s SoBe nightclub simulacrum, Opium Nightclub, was incredibly confusing — mostly due to the featured artist’s comically short set. Ninety-nine percent…
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit had to pull out of their Sunday gig as part of the Orlando Calling Festival after thieves stole their van and all of their equipment from a Dallas Holiday Inn Express. “Looks like we won’t be playing at Orlando Calling at noon tomorrow,” the…
Peter Murphy and She Wants Revenge With Hussle Club Revolution, Fort LauderdaleThursday, November 10, 2011For a slide show from the concert, click here.Better than: Any goth night anywhere.It’s interesting to watch bands play the same show as a legend whose style they clearly admire and imitate. Last night, Hussle Club and…
This Saturday, beacons of responsibility Missing People play their fourth show in two and a half years at Radio-Active Records’ new location with Pocket of Lollipops. Their last show was at Sweat Records just a week ago and the band is finally showing some signs of momentum. I played with…
Been a long time since you rock ‘n’ rolled? It has been 40 years since Led Zeppelin released its colossal fourth album in November 1971, birthing such epic classic rock paragons like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Rock and Roll” and “Misty Mountain Hop.” Now, 31 years have also passed since Led…
