Happy Birthday, Jeff Lynne!

Born December 30, 1946, Jeff Lynne is many things – an award winning producer, singer and songwriter, the leader and prime mover of ELO, one of the lynchpins in the Traveling Wilburys, and an unabashed Beatles fan. While that fact is immediately evident in listening to any of ELO’s early…

Live: Matisyahu Evades Beard Questions at Kravis Center, December 29

Matisyahu With Adam Weinberg on acoustic guitar Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach Thursday, December 29, 2011 Check out the slideshow here. Better than: Hanging out at your university’s Hillel on a chilly Thursday evening. It’s easy to sum up last night’s intimate Matisyahu show at West…

Happy Birthday, Patti Smith!

Patti Smith, born Patricia Lee Smith on December 30, 1946, grew up as an all-American girl whose fascination with rock ‘n’ roll and early affair with artist Robert Mapplethorpe helped her assume the title of high priestess of punk in the mid-’70s. Her 1975 debut album, Horses, is still recognized…

Mike Posner: I Can Rap Better Than Ludacris Can Sing

Things are hopefully erring on the verbally vicious side of things for Ludacris and Mike Posner’s Red Bull Soundclash event happening New Year’s Eve at Bayfront Park in Miami.In a four-round musical battle royale, the two artists will each hustle hard to outdo each other. In general, it feels like…

Cobra Skulls and Dead to Me to Enter 2012 Fearlessly at Propaganda

“I don’t believe in the Mayan apocalypse,” says Devin Peralta, bassist and lead vocalist for anthemic pop-punk trio Cobra Skulls. “Although,” he adds, “I do fear the legitimacy of the Mayan calendar.” While many around the world will mark the transition from 2011 to 2012 by feeding into global paranoia…

Artist Sean Murdock Will Torch Every Piece He Can’t Sell at the Bubble

Sean Murdock’s most recent artwork is loud, flashy, fashionable, and in your face. He is not. On the contrary, the artist is soft-spoken, compassionate, and describes himself as introspective. The work features line art depictions of sexy fashion models he has photographed against bold, neon backgrounds — a reflection of…

Matisyahu at Kravis Center, December 29

If a bearded Hasidic Jewish hip-hop and reggae singer known for his Hasidic Jewishness and beardedness shaves off said beard and sheds the Hasidic part, is anything left? Such are the grammatically complex questions currently posed inwardly by fans of Matisyahu, who, until now, had probably the most unique brand…

Monterey Club’s New Year’s Eve Celebration

Yes, it’s sad but true: At least one local institution is meeting its own apocalypse in 2012. As of the new year, the Monterey Club will be no more. Blame a lack of hard liquor, the economy in general, or any number of other factors. But in its two-year existence,…

New Coke at Snooze Theatre, January 2

In its brief existence, Boynton Beach trio New Coke has gone down much better than the even more short-lived beverage from which it cribbed its name. Whereas New Coke, the drink, was maligned and rejected for screwing up a formula that worked, New Coke, the band, takes a different tack…

New Year’s Eve 2011: Bonerama at the Bamboo Room

New Orleans act Bonerama takes the brass-band tradition of its hometown and gives it a funky twist. Though the group is a full band complete with guitar and rhythm section, the focus is, as the name indicates, on trombones — usually at least three of ’em. The result is a…

New Year’s Eve 2011: Elephantgun at Swampgrass Willy’s

Remember before all the “Sex on Fire” stuff when Kings of Leon were a down-and-dirty, long-haired, rollicking rock band? Melbourne-based band Elephantgun may refresh your memory. With the same kind of charging, sing-along choruses and mush-mouthed, Southern-inflected vocals, the group picks up where the more famous act left off when…

New Year’s Eve 2011: Paul Anka at Hard Rock Live

Paul Anka may be far from the teen idol he was in the ’50s and ’60s, but the legendary crooner still knows how to stir up a romantic mood. Old hits like “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” are now timeless classics, and Anka, even at age 70, still boasts…

Backstage in South Florida: Robert Goodman’s Grab Bag

Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: Robert Goodman shares his personal top five. A few weeks ago, I found myself writing about a new album from a band I had never heard of, Everything Is Beautiful…

Happy Birthday — and RIP — Alex Chilton!

William Alexander Chilton, otherwise known simply as Alex Chilton, was born December 28, 1950, and died unexpectedly on March 17, 2010, only a few days prior to a scheduled appearance at SXSW. Although he wasn’t always appreciated or even recognized by the masses, he became one of the seminal figures…

How to Rage With Phish on New Year’s Eve, All From Your Couch

As we discussed in our previous blog, Phish is once again holding its New Year’s festivities in New York City. Of course, that’s many miles from South Florida, where the band historically rang in the millennium and a couple of New Year’s eves since. But subtropical Phishheads need not fret,…