Crossfade - Broward

PRL Euro Cafe in Hollywood: Curious Beers and Curious-er Patrons

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:31 -0600

Night Watch is a regularly-occurring feature about bars and clubs, written by nightlife columnist Tara Nieuwesteeg.

This week, I bar-hopped in Hollywood and stumbled into the PRL Euro Caf� (1904 A Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood. Call 954-980-8945 or visit prlcafe.com). PRL is a narrow venue with a few chairs at the front and a long bar extending along the right wall. I had to tit-punch and bow just to get through the sardine-packed bohemian crowd clustered around the bar and leaning against the walls.

Speaking of which, the brightly colored walls--tangerine and red--were smattered with eclectic artwork. One wall featured brightly-colored photos of naked Barbie dolls arranged in highly artistic (read: sexually explicit) positions. The other was composed of spray-paint style portraits of sexy rock icons, including Jimi Hendrix.

Jay, the Polish owner, was tall, ultra-cool, and spoke with a thick accent. He explained to me that PRL is the "sexy Communist name for Poland," and that the bar boasts a shitload of tasty beers from all over the world (Scotland to Spain, Brazil to Bulgaria).

Q&A with Cassy, Playing at the Electric Pickle on Saturday

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0600

Despite the hordes of electronic dance music artists living and working out of Berlin -- natives and foreign transplants alike -- few embody the spirit and sound of Berlin's contemporary EDM scene as fully as DJ/producer Cassy. Born Catherine Britton in England to a Caribbean father and Austrian mother, Cassy got her start performing as a guest vocalist on Elin's "Music Takes Me Higher" on Sabotage Records in 1999. Soon after she got bit by the techno bug and began honing her skills behind the decks.

By 2003 she made the move to Berlin, where she's staked her reputation as one of the city's most formidable DJs and most forward-thinking producers, with releases on the Cocoon, Minus, Get Physical, and Perlon imprints. Blending elegant atmospheric textures with understated rhythms and a distinctive soulful vocal style, Cassy sounds something like a futuristic minimal techno Sade. Her residencies at the esteemed Berghain and Panorama Bar nightclubs have made her a staple of Berlin's late-night scene, and in 2006 she was invited to mix Panorama Bar's debut club offering. Fast-forward to 2009 and Cassy is once again spearheading a new compilation mix, In the Mix - Simply Devotion, this time for the prestigious Cocoon label, and supported by a North American tour that fortunately for us includes a stop by the Electric Pickle on Saturday. This one's an early bird special starting in the afternoon, so be sure you make it in time for Cassy's set!

Cassy at Electric Pickle, with Will Renuart, Alejandro Sab, Michael Christopher and Basti. Saturday, November 21. 4 p.m.-10:30 p.m. 2826 N. Miami Ave., Miami.

Check out Crossfade's brief Q&A with Cassy after the jump.

The Bacon Brothers Perform at the Lyric Theatre Sunday

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:56:23 -0600

If you thought that the fact he's only 6 phone calls away from everyone in the world made Kevin Bacon cool, prepare to be blown away. He sings. He and brother Michael (can someone start a 7 degrees of Michael Bacon meme, please) have been performing as The Bacon Brothers all of their lives, but professionally since 1995. While the folk country rock duo may not have crossed your radar yet, they're playing at the historic Lyric Theatre (59 SW Flagler Ave.) Sunday at 4 and 7 p.m. Click here to get acquainted with their sound and here to get reacquainted with Kevin dancing in skinny jeans.

Video: Pitbull Performs In Istanbul, Turkey

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:53:05 -0600

Here's video of Pitbull's recent performance in Istanbul, Turkey, where he's famous, and where he claims he had the album of the year for 2009, "Not 305. Not Miami. Not Dade County. Not none of that shit. Turkey. Pa que sepa. Internacional."

What to Hear in Broward and Palm Beach This Weekend

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:56:06 -0600

As usual, there's plenty of music to hear in Broward and Palm Beach this weekend. If you're in the mood for some indie rock AND comedy, you should head out to Propaganda to hear John Ralston, Sweet Bronco, and the Beards of Comedy. If you want your comedy more hard-edged, head out to see Doug Stanhope at Culture Room. Solid Sound Studios hosts their usual ultra-passionate local acts with clever names featuring The Perfect Defect. Finally, you can hear a little celtic rock with Uproot Hootenanny at Tim Finnegan's in Delray.

Saturday, Forever the Sickest Kids, Rocket Summer, Sing it Loud, My Favorite Highway, and Artist vs. Poet are flooding the Culture Room, First October are rocking out at Swampgrass Willys, and the Blues and Americana Showcase of Bands is going on at Pulp Live.

Finally, Sunday you can Jam in the Park at Secret Woods Nature Center, Jam Acoustically Downtown at the Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens, see Caribbean Element at Coyotes Bar in Hollywood, or catch the last day of the Blues and Americana Showcase of Bands at Pulp.

Concert Announcements: Brandi Carlile at Culture Room and Dropkick Murphys at Revolution Live

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:37:45 -0600

Hey look! It's a concert announcement that has nothing to do with jam bands, '80s hair metal, or sugary pop-punk acts! Don't worry, they'll be back next week. For today, let's focus on Brandi Carlile's announcement that she'll be coming to Culture Room on February 20. The folk-pop star released her third album, Give Up The Ghost, came out a couple months ago and shot up the Billboard charts. There's a reason: she's amazing. Her voice soars above sparce instrumentation. Oh and having Rick Rubin as your producer and Elton John as a collaborator doesn't hurt either. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

We're happy to announce a punk rock act that doesn't have pop or power in front of it. No, if Dropkick Murphys have to be pigeonholed, it would be as celtic-punk. This Boston (well Quincy technically, but it's close enough) based punk rock act has one of the most rabid followings in modern punk thanks to their non-stop touring, high energy shows, and love of the drinking song. Revolution Live will play host on March 6, close enough to St. Patty's Day to ensure a mini apocalypse will occur on the dancefloor. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster.

Ronnie Spector: Last of the Rock Stars, at Magic City Casino this Saturday

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:05:47 -0600

Unmitigated cool never goes outta style. Ever. Especially when said cool comes from one of the originators. See then it's something at once insidious and divine, a thing in and of itself, unexplainable, indefinable and blessed beyond belief.

That kinda cool also tends to be highly emulated. And no one was perhaps more emulated throughout the Swingin' '60s than a dame named Ronnie Spector, front chick of The Ronettes. The beehives, the tight skirts, the black slashes of heavy eyeliner, all spoke bad girl in a time when there really wasn't such a thing. And Ronnie's gang set the stage for all the good female trouble to come.

After Ronnie hooked up and marryied Phil Spector back in '63, she and the Ronettes had a run of Top 40 hits which included "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You," as well as a slate of Christmas classics that still get played to this day. But by the end of the decade their star had faded and Phil had pretty much lost his mind.

Ten Under $10 For the Weekend of November 20 - 22: 2 Live Crew, Tobacco Road's 97th, and More

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0600

Friday, November 20

*Everyone raised here likes 2 Live Crew, pretty much. So everyone we've mentioned this party to is excited about the fact that the group is playing for just $10 tonight at White Room in Miami. Click here for full details.

*Tonight is day one of the 97th birthday celebration for Tobacco Road in Miami! Lots of local favorites play, and admission is $10. Click here for full details.

*Lake Worth songwriter extraordinaire John Ralston plays at Lake Worth venue extraordinaire Propaganda; the special thing tonight is a between-bands appearance by the "Beards of Comedy," from Georgia. Admission is $8; click here to read more about them.

*Multi-instrument whiz Fernando Perdomo and songwriting chanteuse Sol Ruiz play together at Moonchine in Miami. Admission is free, but it's a restaurant -- luckily the food there is cheap (and tasty). Click here to visit Sol Ruiz's MySpace page.

Saturday, November 21

*The vaguely psychedelic new local acts Arboles Libres, Flower Flower Yes, and Ice Cream play a free in-store at Sweat Records in Miami. Click here for full show details, and click here for a free MP3 from Ice Cream.

*Get schooled in real hip-hop culture tonight at the Sixth Annual Organic Hip-Hop Artist Showcase. It's at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Miami, and admission is $7, or $5 with two cans of food. Click here for full details.

Celebrate ANR's Homecoming with an Art Show and Dance Party on Saturday in North Miami

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0600

Word is that Studio 1415 is an impressive new art/music space in North Miami. And it's been a while since Awesome New Republic have been home -- they recently did the whole CMJ thing in New York as part of a larger tour. (Click here to see some of our photos of ANR at CMJ).

So go check off these two items from your must-see list on Saturday, when the venue hosts an exhibition by its founder, Stian Roenning. His own web site bills him as an "Audio Visual Director," which sounds rather lofty and pretentious but is actually a good umbrella term for all the different multimedia works he creates. He's worked on those memorable videos for the old Black Sundays party at Bella Rose (R.I.P.), as well as created a number of other commercial and art video pieces. He's a talented, slick still photographer as well, and chances are there'll be a grab bag of everything on display.

But after the exhibition, which starts early -- 8 p.m. -- the night turns into a dance party to celebrate ANR's homecoming. The band doesn't need an introduction so we'll skip that; although you can click here for a roundup of the media mentions they garnered during CMJ.

Concert Review: The Ska Is Dead Tour at Culture Room, November 19

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0600

The Ska Is Dead Tour

With Deal's Gone Bad, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Mustard Plug, and the Toasters

Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Better Than: Remembering the misled late-'90s mainstream notion of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones supposedly epitomizing ska.

The Review:

In 2009, ska sure isn't the healthiest genre of underground music. But it sure ain't dead, either -- or if it is, the several hundred people packed into Culture Room last night missed the memo. It was the most crowded I've seen the venue in a while -- much more crowded than for most of the "hipper" indie rock and art-metal shows I've attended there recently. And a night I was worried would be bittersweet and slightly sad was the exact opposite: a boisterous, celebratory jam with a surprisingly wide age spread.

While there were plenty of us in our mid-'20s, we certainly weren't the majority; there were older people, too, as well as a ton of younger teenagers. Even a couple of children, literally -- a pair of boys about 10 and 12 in Aquabats shirts who may have been escorted, possibly, by older teens, but didn't have any hipster parents in sight. (Credit, maybe, Yo Gabba Gabba! for the influence)

The most interesting thing about this is, while the Internet makes music discovery easier, there's no live ska, really, to be had for local teens. There are pretty much no bands playing it in South Florida, and while the genre once comprised about half of the Warped Tour lineup, it's now represented by maybe one or two bands a year. In any event it was cheering to see a crowd so clearly respectful of, and enthusiastic to hear, material from across these long-running bands' careers.