When the Manor announced its first speed-dating event, I was ecstatic. As a gay man, I’ve always had an infatuation with speed dating, so the idea of having a homo-friendly version was instantly appealing. “Relay Dating” is a gentler name for speed-dating. It brings to mind a sense of camaraderie and…
You know you’re at a Star Trek party when the sign above the bathroom entrance reads “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” In case that’s not enough, the life-sized cardboard cutouts of the occupants of the USS Enterprise plastered on the walls or “Beam Me Up” shots…
Tech N9ne, the Kansas City native who heads up the Strange Music record label, and Cleveland wild boy Machine Gun Kelly joined forces to bring the “Hostile Takeover Tour 2012” around the country and also to Club Cinema on Tuesday, June 26.The notoriously out-of-control duo are attempting an aggressive touring schedule, performing over 90…
The West Coast is the homeland of gangsta rap. From cop killing to drug dealing, every horrifically real element of life in the hood has made it into song. Though the game hasn’t changed much since its earliest pioneers, the message and the messenger have. And at the center of…
More than one-third of American adults simply “pull up their pants” and go about life carrying an alarmingly high amount of excess body weight. Over the past 20 years, obesity in this country has risen steadily, costing more than $140 billion a year in medical expenses. “I think I weighed…
The dubstep scene is eerily reminiscent of the real estate bubble. The market was flooded by mainstream exposure, setting us up for an inevitable collapse. Except this demise will rival the 2008 housing market. Like “investors” who flipped houses for a quick profit, too many “DJs” are blindly diving into…
The first day of Summer is just around the corner, and West Palm Beach’s CityPlace is kicking things off with a free country music concert series. Partnering up with 103.1 WIRK, artists such as Jana Kramer and Craig Morgan will take the plaza stage in the upcoming months. Beginning tonight,…
Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares observations, insights, and updates relating to South Florida’s musical environs. This week, random thoughts about one of the greatest festivals ever. My first visit to Bonnaroo continues to resonate days after those final notes from Phish began fading away. The shows…
County Grind Live with Jacuzzi Boys, Lil Daggers, and The Gun HoesGreen Room, Fort LauderdaleSaturday, June 16, 2012Better than: Getting laid. That’s right, we said it. Check to see if you’re in the slideshow here.County Grind has taken this blog to the stage twice now, both times at Fort Lauderdale’s mid-sized musical…
The Bouncing Souls featuring Luther and The MenzingersRevolution Live, Fort LauderdaleSaturday, June 16, 2012Better than: Not listening to punk rock legends on a summer Saturday night.It’s been 23 years of touring, recording, and rocking out for punk rock revelers The Bouncing Souls, who were happy to be back in South Florida at Revolution…
Dead in the Dirt (Southern Lord) w/ Heartless, Centuries, Super Mutant, GritSunday, June 17, 2012Better than: Sitting at home, waiting for work, waiting to die. Squirreled away in a warehouse complex that borders the desolate Everglades highway that is State Road 27 lies the Talent Farm. The Talent Farm is an all…
Roger Waters – The Wall Bank Atlantic Center, Sunrise Friday, June 15, 2012 Better than: Watching a Pink Floyd tribute band.For the full slideshow, click here. Few concerts nowadays have a rhetorical agenda or offer a commentary on the way we live. Even when Roger Waters first wrote 99 percent…
One of the best moments in Little Jake Mitchell’s childhood singing career was, he says, “When I played with Sam Cooke, 1957 at the Palladium Ballroom in Tampa, Florida, King Curtis was the band that was playing, and the Skyliners.” He was 13 years old. The singer was discovered by…
When planning County Grind Live, we thought, there’s no way we can have a musical showcase here in Fort Lauderdale without Radio-Active Records being involved. So we were thrilled when owner Mikey Ramirez agreed to be one of, and bring, the DJs. Backing him up tomorrow is Mitzie Velez, whom…
To say that we here at New Times Broward/Palm Beach are huge Bon Jovi fans would be an understatement. We’re like those people who grew up with JBJ’s face and feathered hair plastered on our walls. We slept with his cassette tapes under our pillows. When word hit the office…
After a yearlong weekly gig at the Green Room Nightclub, the Reckless Dames have parted ways with their burlesque home-base venue. According to a Green Room rep, “We [Green Room] decided to stop doing the weekly burlesque because we want to stagger our entertainment.” The spokesperson continued by saying, “We…
Few punk rock bands have managed to achieve the longevity that the Bouncing Souls have. It just celebrated its 20th anniversary with 2010’s Ghosts on the Boardwalk — its eighth studio release — solidifying its place in punk history. The band released its latest album, Comet, through Rise Records and on…
Curren$y featuring Fiend, Cornerboy P, Young Roddy, Trademark, and Styles P Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Better than: Eating Breakfast while listening to elevator music.Click here for the full and fabulous slideshow. “Jet life! Jet life! Jet Life!”The crowd was feeling good enough to touch the ceiling as thin…
My first and most striking impression from Day Four at Bonnaroo involves Sarah Jarosz. She is impossibly young for someone who’s earned such acclaim. Playing fiddle at the helm of her ensemble, she dazzled the crowd in the Other Tent and happily returned their kudos. “This is one of the…
From Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi to Patti Smith, Asbury Park, New Jersey, is to rock ‘n’ roll what Salt Lake Valley is to Mormons. It is a promised land. Its history is rich in guitar riffs and circle pits. And few bands are as familiar with both as the…
The Sopranos was unquestionably one of the best — if not the best — television series in the history of the medium. But to think that a show about contemporary New Jersey mobster life would inspire one of operatic pop’s most successful quartets, that’s just nuts! Without it, however, Il…
In regard to metaphors, none sounds as good as The Wall, Pink Floyd’s legendary 1979 prog-rock opera about abandonment and isolation. Clocking in at just over an hour and 20 minutes, The Wall explores the story of its protagonist, Pink, building a metaphorical wall between himself and everyone else. Though…
