It's 11 p.m. on a pleasant early May evening at Havana Hideout in downtown LDub and Tom Regis and his boys are hitting a slow, bluesy version of "Mercy Mercy Mercy," the Joe Zawinul tune made famous by Cannonball Adderley. Jon Zeeman's guitar is easing away for some sly, muted trumpet work by Steve Ahern. Tom's shimmering at the keyboard on clouds of Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis, then everyone's down in N'awlins, drummer Gary Berman and bassist Ilkin Deniz popping a groove, and finally all pick up and bounce through the home stretch, a nice gavotte between cubist wafts of sound and the funk.

Two more standards round out the evening -- Miles's moody, soulful "So What" and Thelonius Monk's sprightly "Straight, No Chaser." The quintet dissolves, breaking down their gear and chatting with the crowd. In the space about the size of a public school classroom, walled off from the street by a long-ish tiki hut, with a scramble of tables and chairs on a sand floor under an open sky, the patrons have been right in the players' laps, practically. It's the way jazz should be -- a cozy, collective voyage.

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Kristian Andrew

Mark your calendars, microbrew devotees. The Funky Buddha Brewery is officially opening its Oakland Park doors on Saturday, June 1. The best thing to happen to Florida's craft beer scene, the Funky Buddha is slated to have SoFla's largest capacity craft brewery, with the goal of ultimately housing over 30 handcrafted brews on tap.

Heralded Boca Raton brewpub head brewer and founder Ryan Sentz is upping the ante here with a full-scale production brewery and taproom based out of Oakland Park.

This is not only a huge deal for us beer lovers, but also for the city of Oakland Park itself. The 18,000-square foot Funky Buddha Brewery is set to be the anchor the city's new Culinary Arts District. Located on a stretch of Dixie Highway, between Oakland and Commercial Boulevard, the district will change the face of the city. With independent restaurants, a culinary school, European-style marketplace, a hydroponic farm with horticultural classes, it gives the city the cultural center it's been lacking.

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A very cool venue on a very cool street is hosting the Christian faithful Saturday night, when local young believers are coming to Coastars Coffee Bar to make music and social justice. We'd go just to see how husband-and-wife team the Vegas and their flock blend in with the hipsters of Propaganda next door and the blues fans from the Bamboo Room down the street.

The show is in support of END IT, a coalition of organizations that work to disrupt and eradicate slavery in all its contemporary forms -- human trafficking, child labor, the global sex trade. Step one, and the purpose of the Coastars show, is to raise awareness, let people know that slavery still exists, with an estimated 27 million men, women and children in its grip worldwide.

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instagram.com/badgalriri

Witness Rihanna

Is anything sweeter than watching LeBron Fucking James and Ray Goddamn Allen metaphorically mash the collective face of the Milwaukee Bucks into a gravel pit of defeat? Sure, there are myriad victories to come. But this is the Miami Heat's first in a methodical Sherman's March decimation of the NBA and successful defense of the Throne.

The only thing that could seemingly make this scenario any better would be freakin' Rihanna sittin' front-row with some big-ass fly-girl hoop earrings and her weight in Heat bling. Well after last night, Heat fans might need to pause the perpetual group sing along of "We Are The Champions" for another Queen tune: "Bohemian Rhapsody," the classic glam-prog opus featuring the core existential ponderance, "Is this real life or is this just fantasy?"

See also
- Rihanna & A$AP Rocky - BB&T Center, Sunrise - April 20
- PHOTOS: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky at BB&T Center
- The Definitive Rihanna Guide to Smoking Reefer
- Rihanna's Hairstylist Yusef Williams Says She's "the One That Rocked My World"

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When you can woo an Indigo Girl over dinner one night with just your vocal talents, it's clear you've got it good. The Shadowboxers did just that and ended up the backing musicians for the "girls" on a handful of tours. But this trio isn't just a bunch of good pipes; this band is ready to show the world it has a bigger niche to carve and many more fans to win over. 
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Ian Witlen

When it comes to needs versus wants, we at New Times find it easy to draw the line in most places.  Shelter, clothing, cable -- these things are great, but stick a stack of records next to a cable box and watch us clutch that stack for life while we run naked to whatever couch it is we are crashing on that night. After all, home is where the needle hits the imprint.

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All photos by Travis Newbill

Attention: This blog is rated PG, SFW, etc. (sorry, horny folks)

A nice way to view St. Patrick's Day is to consider it a celebration of luck. Even those who treat it as a celebration of booze are still celebrating the former on some level. Because, if you're in a position to pound a green beer, you are living the good life.

This past weekend's St. Patrick's Day Festival in Fort Lauderdale was a wonderful luckstravaganza. A mass of people cheering their own good fortune -- some more loudly than others. There were even lucky animals, horses with four leaf clovers stenciled onto their haunches and sparkling, green hooves. We offer you some of the tastiest luck-nuggets of the sunny day.

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Nestled in an expanse of urban sprawl just north of the airport is Kreepy Tiki Tattoos, a high-end tattoo parlor that is reminiscent of a turn of the century swanky island paradise. It's decked from top to bottom with retro tiki mugs, candlelit shrines, and vintage furniture and the buzz of modern electric tattooing is heard over nostalgic bluesy jams. See also -Tattoo Tuesdays: "Kreepy Tiki" Jackson Valiente of Kreepy Tiki Tattoos and Boutique Kreepy Tiki is home to some of the most talented artists this side of the Mississippi, all of whom have helped build and expand owner and tattooer Jackson Valiente's empire. Amidst the BOGO tatties (and consequently gnarly strains of Hepatitis) and garage zappers that come a dime a dozen, Valiente and his gang of top notch artists have made quite a name for themselves.

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Free Buju!

Each year 'round the holidays, County Grind likes to "Pon de River," pound de Red Stripe, and puff a few Phillys in an effort to take reconnect with our Caribbean roots. And by Caribbean roots we mean the sweet Jamaican lady who lived across the street from us in Pembroke Pines and made the dankest jerk curry tofu on the block. She was rad as hell, the best damn neighbor anyone could ever ask for. Why'd we have to move, mom? Answer the question, dad! Why'd we have to always move?!? Damn memories! More »

Ian Witlen

Boxwood

Green Room in Downtown Fort Lauderdale had to deal with New Times shenanigans as we celebrated our first annual South Florida Web Awards Saturday night.

See also: New Times' South Florida Web Awards at Green Room slideshow

Nominees from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach gathered for drinks and performances by Boxwood and Panic Bomber. We've been building up the ante for the winners for the past week or so, but this morning we're officially announcing the winners to the public.

Without further ado, here are South Florida's Web Award winners:

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