via Twitter

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Oh, Phil.

​With a career that boasted a slow ascent and then followed with a perilously rapid descent, Phil Collins became an example of an artist that displayed both the best and worst of what fame and fortune could bring. More >>

He's thinking, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

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Just last Thursday, County Grind attended a particularly wild concert which included some near nudity, stage diving, and lots of masturbation chatter. The show was that of Machine Gun Kelly, the Cleavland rapper whose gift is his ability to spit out lyrics as fast as, well, a machine gun.

After the rapper left Fort Lauderdale, he and his crew headed to Orlando, and then Saint Pete, where he ended up in a jail cell. According to MTV and Twitter, it was in the slammer that MGK uncovered that the inmates recognized him. That was probably pretty neat and fortuitous for an up-and-coming, strikingly skinny, white guy, rowdy rapper. Th was charged with disorderly conduct and released on bail.

Let's take a minute to watch a few MGK videos that foreshadow last night's events. They hint at a lifestyle that is, you know, criminal.

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Ian Witlen

​The Kills
with Jeff the Brotherhood and Hunters
Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale
Saturday, January 28

Better than: Seeing them in front of 15 people at Common Grounds in Gainesville circa early 2000-something.

To describe the Kills show in one word would be easy: intoxicating. However, I'm not sure my editor would approve of such a short review. Still, the undeniable sexual energy flowing within the four walls of Revolution on Saturday night was pumping through everyone's bodies.

Seeing the Kills live is more than just going to another concert; it's as though you're a voyeur being invited into the duo's secret world. You can feel the unspoken connection, both musically and emotionally, that Hince and Mosshart hold between each other. It's authentic. It's genuine. And not just a product of a brand the two are trying to sell to the masses.


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Nothing says sexy like a Confederate flag.

​If many of those in attendance at the 27th Annual 99.9 KISS Country Chili Cookoff were official representatives of the United States, they'd offer a sort of dim but realistic view of American history. More >>

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Photo by Bruce W. Bedford, courtesy of TomRush.com

​Tom Rush More >>

Steven Martinez

​Anthony Green
Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale
Saturday, January 28, 2012

Saturday night at the Culture Room, sleeve tattoos were displayed, vocal cords were pushed to their limit, and a few tears were probably shed as Circa Survive frontman Anthony Green, backed by Good Old War, lead what amounted to a highly emotional, group sing-along.

Green poured his heart out from start to finish, and the audience followed suit. As he stood, drenched in sweat, chest tattoo glistening in the bright lights, droplets of moisture flinging from his effortlessly coifed hair, the faces in the crowd became flushed along with his as they shared vocal duties. And they did so with such spirit, conviction, and surprising ability that he often stepped back from the mic and let his friends carry the tune.

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The next level seems forever

​These days, most gamer socializing happens through headsets and an internet connection. Back in the day, though, there were spots called arcades where peeps would hang out together, in the real world, and play videogames. 

Lately, there has been a resurgence of interest in the old, pixelated classics. South Florida got on that bandwagon with the newish monthly event that caters to the strained-eyed enthusiasts. 

Friday night, Steve Kleisath, of Further Seems Forever fame, cohosted the third Retro Arcade Night at Arcade Game Sales in Fort Lauderdale. 

For this gathering of gamers, the shop, which typically repairs and sells machines, takes on an arcade-like form. Players pay just ten bucks at the door and have unlimited access to the treasury of retro arcade games, from Ms. Pac-Man to Dig Dug, as well as pinball machines, foosball, and more. 

January's game night was a huge success with folks of all ages swept up in the captivating magic of the electronics and one another's company.

County Grind was on the scene to interrupt potential record-breaking plays for the sake of getting some silly questions answered. 

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​Miami fusion collective Palo! spells its band name just like that -- exclamation mark and all. But just like the completely musically unrelated Mayday! -- also from Miami, about whom we posted a little earlier -- that extra punctuation is well-deserved. The group calls itself an Afro-Cuban-funk act, and it harnesses all of the spirit that genre tag would imply.

Interestingly, though, the group is led by what we can call an "honorary" Cuban, Connecticut-born Miami transplant Steve Roitstein. He moved to then still-Southern Miami in the late '60s as a boy, but as the population changed, Roitstein got taken with the sounds of Latin beats. More >>

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