Ian Witlen

Ras Kass  

Green Room, Brown Bag Wednesdays 

May 24, 2012

Better than: The same old Wednesday night gatherings.

Posted up in the back of Green Room Wednesday with a bottle of Patron in hand, heralded West Coast lyricist Ras Kass sat on the edge of his seat waiting to take the stage.

"They told me the crowds here usually arrive late," Ras told County Grind in between swigs of silver tequila straight out of the bottle. "I'm ready to go."

Coming from California, where clubs close at an obnoxious 2 a.m., it may be hard to understand us South Floridians casually strolling in to a concert after midnight. In Los Angeles, we would be greeted with "last call," while bartender Johnny at Green Room instead greeted us with a tab-opening vodka and soda (only $4.75 -- nice). 

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The anticipated delivery of REBEL's new EP Locations was finally actualized at Green Room in Fort Lauderdale this past weekend. The band spent time out of the limelight since last November, but you wouldn't know it by their essentially flawless performance. When we talked with the trio last week, they told us how stoked they were about being able to present their newest venture to a club packed with fans, family, and friends -- the triple-threat of the music world. REBEL turned out a killer live show. The crowd was on their feet before you could say "Who wants another shot?!"More >>

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As the doors of the Culture Room opened for last night's Overkill show, throngs of men and women donning faded black band shirts and surplus camouflage jackets filed in, all ready to catch the South Florida stop of the Killfest tour. Upon entering the restroom, I was confronted with the sounds of a man struggling through what I'm assuming was the night's first alcohol-induced purge, and I have to say, hat's off to you, oh, winning loser of the pregame! You managed to come undone before even a single note was played. How very thrash of you. More >>

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Sayre Berman

Pitbull
SunFest, West Palm Beach
May 6, 2012

Better than: Not hearing Pitbull say dale.

Mr. 305 brought his notorious Miami flavor and fast-paced rhymes Sunday to the Bank of America stage at SunFest in West Palm Beach. Pitbull, who has been a staple in the South Florida hip-hop scene since 2004, took the stage promptly at 3 p.m. decked out in a tailored black suit, dress shoes, and sunglasses that we can only guess were exceptionally uncomfortable in the nearly 90-degree heat. But this is one of Pitbull's most endearing qualities. He shows up looking dapper for the crowd.

The temperature didn't appear to bother the thousands of eventgoers who flooded the lawn awaiting Pitbull's performance on Sunday, at least not at first. It was a sea of sweaty, sunburned, and scantily dressed fans, some holding signs that read "DALE!," the Spanish term of encouragement and flattery that is ever-present in many, if not all, of Pitbull's songs.

He opened the show with his hit featuring the God of Auto-Tune T-Pain's track "Hey Baby."  Then the cameraman panned to a young lady at the front of the audience whose sign read "Pitbull I want to lick your face." Uh, what? Gross!!! 
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