via www.myspace.com/311

311: still around, and playing SunFest!

SunFest, in West Palm Beach, has always impressed me, 1) for the expensive, marquee names it has attracted, but also 2) for the really strange ways it has often combined them. The festival, in its latter-day incarnation, now spans several days, with packed bills each night, including one "new music night" that features a host of up-and-coming local and national touring acts.

This year's lineup, similarly, features names that will appeal to a very broad spectrum of concertgoers, and again, often on the same day. Arguably, it's a strength of the thing -- exposing attendees to unlikely new favorites, etc. etc. Still, it leads to some funny combos. Here's the lineup so far after the jump. The festival takes place this year from April 29 through May 3.More >>

The new release from Miami psych/blues outfit the Psycho Daisies, Return from Blood Island, is a wash of feedback, distorted growls, bumps, grunts, reverb, and haunting vocals, courtesy of Johnny Salton and company.  Salton's roots are embedded in Miami musical history, from power-pop group the Reactions, through his extensive work with Charlie Pickett and co., to his current ongoing, multi-decade project.  Salton has been long identified as a true guitar genius; this album serves as further proof.More >>

Diagonal
Diagonal
(Candlelight)

One of the great things about the post-everything era, in which hyper-hyphenated, clash up genre bending is the norm, is that the concept of musical taboo is becoming increasingly passe.  No longer do you have to be concerned that your particular pet genre doesn't sit at the cool table; these days, the jocks mingle with the math club.

Sitting at the head of the class is Diagonal, seven British prog zealots unashamed of their technical virtuosity and tendency toward musical extravagance.  Without pretense or irony, Diagonal worships at the altar of everything that made prog great, managing to shrug off most of the bloat, and even imbue prog's trademark mechanical precision with a bit of anima.   More >>

Slayer in 2007

Last year marked the inauguration of the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour, a summer package from the creators of Warped Tour that featured heavier acts. There were some pretty surprising bands on the bill: besides Miami's Black Tide, performers included Mastodon, Underoath, and Of course, if you're a Slipknot fan, that band was the ultimate draw as it celebrated its high-profile return.

Besides some really gross on-and-off rain on that boiling July day, the place was packed -- so it's no surprise that a second Mayhem Festival has been announced this year. Dare I say the lineup is well, better. Say what you will about Marilyn Manson, but nobody can argue with Slayer!! (Actually, neither act can argue with the other -- they both played together in South Florida in 2007, when the Cruzan Amphitheatre was still the Sound Advice Amphitheatre).
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If there's such a thing as Miami royalty, Gloria Estefan is undoubtedly the queen.  Along with husband, producer, musician and impresario, Emilio Estefan, she's literally changed the landscape of the Magic City over the years, first putting the town on the map with Miami Sound Machine's run of rampant success through the 1980s, then with her own triumph as a solo artist, releasing such hits as "Coming Out of the Dark" and "Don't Wanna Lose You".  As if that weren't enough, the Estefan's own the Cardozo Hotel in South Beach, Bongos Cuban Café in the triple A, and Lario's, one of the city's best known chain of Cuban restaurants.  Not to mention their many benevolent contributions to local culture, which leads us to the topic at hand.

Gloria has joined forces with music gear powerhouse, Gibson, which has made a strong local presence since opening the Gibson Showroom in the design district and catering to countless local presentations by artists ranging from Julieta Venegas, who put on an unplugged performance in July of last year to piano great, Arthur Hanlon.  Gibson has named the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter as Celebrity Co-Chairperson for their Miami GuitarTown project. 
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...Um, the DJs. Or at least, we think that should be plural -- South Florida has been receiving a spate of solo spinners in place of advertised teams. At the recent (fun!) Scion House Party at the Vagabond, instead of both members of the DFA's Still Going, we got one guy, who was, hey, still going hard. Late last year, when LA Riots spun recently at Fridays at the Vagabond, instead we got, well, a Riot. Similarly, when Designer Drugs were supposed to play the Monday night Exposure party at White Room, there was a Drug. Well, the latter DJ duo is set to return to South Florida, this time to West Palm Beach. Although empirical evidence suggests it's unlikely, perhaps both will appear this time. Still, nobody complained about the jams the singular Drug threw down in Miami last time. So either way the dance floor at the Thursday party Flaunt, at Respectable Street Cafe, should stay packed.

Designer Drugs play the Flaunt party Thursday, February 5, at Respectable Street Cafe,  518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Residents JJ and Marvelous Kendall also play. Doors open at 10 p.m. Admission is free, PBRs are only $1, and Flaunt shots are $3! Ages 21+ with ID. 561-832-9999, respectablestreet.com

It's been 50 years since Castro took power, and still the stretches of ocean surrounding Cuba can't stop the flow of its people's creative juices. The second annual Global Cuba Fest pays homage to the continuity of this unique Caribbean culture by uniting artists who long ago spread to the far reaches of the planet. Emblematic of their exodus, these vanguardistas break all sorts of geographic and cultural boundaries without losing their island identities. More >>

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The folks from Gooshie House Promotions are now hosting the exciting new "House 101" night every Sunday at Black Sheep music lounge in Miami Beach. Each night features 3 select DJs from the South Florida house music scene, in an innovative format that encourages participating DJs and producers to collaborate on music selection, mixing techniques, promotional tactics, networking, and much more. Drop by the Black Sheep this Sunday, February 1 for exclusive DJ sets by locals Aladdin, Aaron Feld, and Dank. For more information or to get involved contact gooshiehouse@gmail.com.

Black Sheep Music Lounge. 721 N Lincoln Ln., Miami Beach, FL 33139. Show starts at 9 p.m. 305-531-7700

via www.myspace.com/badmannersofficial

Bad Manners' frontman, Buster Bloodvessel, in 1983

Bad Manners and the English Beat
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale

Better Than: Feeling sorry for yourself, anywhere

The Review:

When a portly, fiftysomething man in a floppy, sweaty, leopard print suit rubs his protruding belly and asks, in an impenetrable, working-class Brit accent, if there are any fat people in the house, you've got to laugh. And so there were goofy smiles aplenty last night at Culture Room, where the two-tone ska acts Bad Manners and the English Beat performed. While the Beat boast more commercial success, perhaps, with a string of minor hit singles in the Eighties, it was Bad Manners' first time performing in South Florida.

At least, I think that's what lovable, famously chubby frontman Buster Bloodvessel said -- it was really difficult to understand his between-song banter. And thus, he was the star of a show that was surprisingly crowded, with the audience representing a wide spectrum of age, race, and trans-Atlantic national origin.
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