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Life is a fucked up game. You're winning Grammys, performing at sold -out arenas around the world, smoking blunts all day, wearing a million-dollar watch, and living on your own planet one minute. Next thing you know, you're arrested, then sentenced, and floating down shit's creek without a paddle. Weezy is going to spend some time on Rikers, before they send him upstate to prison for his eight-to-12 month sentence.

The whole Cash Money family is relocating to New York, because Birdman aka "Daddy" plans on visiting his "son" at least once a week. Miami will miss Cash Money. I am lucky to say that I spent some time in the studio with them, watching and learning. Whenever Wayne came in, I was asked to put my camera away, and I always respected that. Just watching him in the studio was incredible. Check out the above video, and see what his sound engineers do all night. We are lucky to be alive while an artist like Lil Wayne is here. I encourage everyone reading this to send Lil Wayne letters while he is locked up. Don't forget the best rapper alive. See ya.

While most of the city was freaking out over the Super Bowl, some other legends were in town on Friday night: Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, formerly of the Grateful Dead. In a pretty unusual booking for downtown Miami, the two touched down at the recently revamped Bayfront Park Amphitheater to kick off a tour by their band's current incarnation, Furthur. If you missed it, no worries -- this is a Dead-related band, after all, and taping has evolved into recording video for YouTube. Check out our review of the gig, which includes a full set list, and watch these fan snippets from the show.

From YouTube user RootsLvr, here's a bit of "Terrapin Station," with John Kadlecik of the famous Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra.

Out of all the big-name dubstep producers, Rusko is probably the one with the most obvious sense of humor. His tracks are bass-heavy, sure, but they're also full of quirky, high-end samples, and generally harbor less of that sense of impending doom that permeates the work of people like Skream.

As such, he's one of the dubstep golden boys poised best to go semi-mainstream. Just see his booking for a crowd of thousands at Ultra Music Festival, just three months after he played an intimate gig at White Room in Miami this past December. Doubtless his star will only rise further as he heads on a national outing with Major Lazer this year. (The Ultra gig is technically the tour's kickoff).

As a teaser, Mad Decent just release this podcast, a long conversation with Rusko taped in Los Angeles, where he boasts of "smoking the best Cali weed, and drinking Mountain Dew every day" (apparently it's a rare delicacy to the English). Bask in the mellifluous tones of his northern English accent, which, although Londoners will vehemently disagree, is actually often more charming than a southern one.

?After a seemingly endless heyday, rap-rock eventually became one of the most reviled musical artifacts of the end of the last millennium. But it's been more than a decade since then. Fred Durst has disappeared from everywhere except Twitter, and critical darlings like Cage are starting to rhyme over guitars again. So the timing of Miami band Alukard's debut full-length, One Shot, seems fortuitous. To lump it in with the crappy nu-metal-with-scratching of two decades ago, though, would be seriously wrong.

flickr.com

Tell us the best band in Broward and Palm Beach counties in the comments section below.

Need some suggestions? Click here for an archive of articles about South Florida bands.

And click here for a master list of all Readers' Poll items.

Photo by Manny Hernandez

Special guest Stephen Marley joins Nas onstage at the Arsht Center.

Mayday!, Goodie Mob, and Nas
The Arsht Center, Miami
Friday, February 5, 2010

Better Than: BET's SOS Haiti benefit concert that took place earlier the same night, right up the street at the American Airlines Arena.

The Review:

Sure, Super Bowl week was chock full of celeb-infested, high-profile events promising "special appearances" by everyone and their mothers. But no event besides Friday's show at the Arsht Center could claim a full-scale performance from such a powerhouse name in the world of hip-hopas Nasir Jones, a.k.a. God's Son, Nas.

And sure, Jay-Z is indeed playing two weeks later at the Bank Atlantic Center up north, and that's something to be excited about. But us die-hard hip-hop heads know that Nas, lyrically, can butcher the Jigga any given day. If you disagree, listen to Nas' controversial single "Ether" off his 2001 hit record Stillmatic and get back to me.

The Arsht Center was definitely up late that Friday evening as the show was pushed back to a start time of 10:30 p.m. to accommodate the heavy-loaded BET Haiti benefit concert at the nearby AAA. Nevertheless, the crowd quickly staggered in and filled up the center's Knight Concert Hall, where they were greeted with a 20-minute opening set by local hip-hop supergroup MayDay. With an actual band set-up, Mayday truly gave a stellar performance as Plex took his beat-making skills to the keyboards, and MC Wrekonize and Bernie rhymed and sang their hearts out.  

via furthur.net

Furthur
Bayfront Park Amphitheater, Miami
Friday, February 5, 2010

Better Than: [Insert clever Grateful Dead song title] cover band

The Review:

With weather on my mind and 50 miles of Super Bowl-enhanced traffic in front of me, I departed home this past Friday with anticipation of what the Grateful Dead's newest incarnation would have in store.

The circus was in town. In the crowd outside the venue there was decent amount of Saints' fleur-de-lis, and not so many Colts' horseshoes, but there certainly was a plethora of patchwork and tie-dye. With windows rolled down, I navigated the crowd of deadheads hocking their wares with their fingers in the air; and I caught my first whiff of sage and patchouli.

Slightly stressed and a little late, I was eager to park the car. Following the flags, we committed to the first lot we saw. With no exit route available, the $25 fee was inescapable, so we regrettably forked over the loot. A quick scenic lap through the lot is all we got before it was time to make our move. Just so you know, the Bayfront Park Amphitheatre box office is located behind the venue ... not my first guess. But with tickets finally in hand, it was time to check out the band.

Since opening its doors a year ago, the Electric Pickle has emerged as a bastion of quality underground music in a city otherwise tyrannized by commercialism and ostentatious nightlife. With weekly bookings showcasing some of the top contemporary EDM talent from around the world in a refreshingly inclusive and intimate setting, it's safe to say that the Pickle has become a second home to many locals who were in dire need of a no-bullshit come-as-you-are venue where to commune and get down to some sophisticated dance grooves every weekend (present company included.)

The Pickle's One Year Anniversary Block Party on Friday, February 26 will be nothing short of a musical extravaganza, with an eclectic all-star lineup offering a little something for everyone. The all-night soire will feature London's fidget-house trio Filthy Dukes -- of the esteemed Kill Em All club night at Fabric, a DJ set by Jeremy Greenspan from Get Physical darlings Junior Boys, Berlin techno veteran Marc Romboy, and Metro Area, the legendary electro-soul duo of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. With the diversity of sounds offered and heartfelt support from the core of die-hard Pickle regulars that have made this club such a special place in the last year, this anniversary party is guaranteed to be a memorable good time. Here's to another year of phenomenal music!

Click here to get your $20 pre-sale tickets while they last.

The Electric Pickle One Year Anniversary Party. Friday, January 29, 10 p.m.-5 a.m. 2826 N. Miami Ave., Miami.

Jacob Katel

Shot from October, 2009, when we caught Locos at the WDNA studio for Sound Theory Live.

Locos Por Juana are fuckin' awesome, and we've got the proof. Welcome to our first edition of Crossfade Live, where we bring you our original high definition concert recordings from bands and venues all over South Florida.

Today we bring you a full, live album we recorded Friday night at Jazid. If you've never seen or heard Locos Por Juana, they play a Miami-Latin blend of reggae, hip hop, rumba, cumbia, get down, soul force, radical shit.

Here's the link to the 13-track album we made from their show, after the jump.

via myspace.com/humbert

That Radioboxer and Humbert are playing a Valentine's-themed show this Friday at the Shack North in Hialeah is not, in itself, huge news. The former has played plenty of warehouse gigs in the City of Progress, and the latter are the town's patron saints (and owners of the place). What is news about the event: Not only has Humbert frontman Ferny not let his serious scooter accident last year slow him down, he's expanded his creative reach.