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There's absolutely no reason for Mindless Self Indulgence to be around in 2008. For starters, their aggressive, quasi-industrial sound – on paper, at least – is long past its sell-by date. Furthermore, they've been up and down the indie-major-indie label rollercoaster and should now be experiencing their inevitable decline into footnote-hood. Yet, here we are, more than a decade after the New York band started getting attention, and they're still "a band to watch" according to most metal 'zines. Why? Well, a cynical person would ascribe it to the fact that MSI's profile has been boosted by the fact that, last year, their bassist married the singer in My Chemical Romance. Anyone with half a brain, however, would recognize that the group has amassed a serious (and seriously intense) fanbase that flocks to see MSI's propulsive, overwhelming live shows. And with every one of those shows, the fanbase just keeps getting bigger. The band has completely captured the affections of British and European audiences, and with the release of their new album If – and, of course, its accompanying tour – MSI is quite likely to continue being the new band from the '90s that all the black-clad kids are telling their classmates about. -- Jason Ferguson

Mindless Self Indulgence plays with Combichrist and the Birthday Massacre at Revolution tonight, May 8, at 7: 30 p.m. Tickets were $19 in advance $24 at the door. For more info, call 954 727-0950 or visit www.jointherevolution.net.

They were hailed far and wide as digital visionaries last fall, when they offered up their newest album as a “pay as you like” download. But Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke says it’s not likely to happen again.

“It was a moment in time,” he tells the Hollywood Reporter.

In Rainbows made a myriad of Top Ten lists last year but was even better known for its unconventional marketing and distribution.

The New York Times lavished two articles and more than 3,000 words on the band last fall for its prophetic virtual vending strategy. In October Jon Pareles called its merchandising company, W.A.S.T.E. (named for Thomas Pynchon's underground postal system in The Crying of Lot 49, for all you non-postmodern lit geeks), “a cyber-cottage industry” with a business model that “recognizes the new digital facts of life.” The headline on Pareles’s December follow-up read, “Pay What You Want for This Article.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal saw “MORE THAN A MARKETING GIMMICK,” while the International Herald Tribune called 2007 “The Year of the Virtual Busking Gambit.”

Thing is, Radiohead always remained cagey about just how successful their brave new experiment was, never disclosing online sales figures. In Rainbows had a traditional brick-and-mortar release three months after its digital drop.

“I don't think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again,” Yorke says. Maybe not, but you’d think a band that’s racked up so much reverence over the years might be okay with doing something a little less, well, significant – but just as cool.

Kinda makes you wonder how many online “buyers” bought In Rainbows at all.

The band will be in South Florida, at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm on Monday, and according to Ticketmaster, there are still tickets available for the show. Judging from the quality of both the new album and their last local concert in 2003, miss Radiohead at your own peril.

But to answer your question, no, moochers, the show is not free. –Frank Houston

Warning: trying to follow Meshuggah's music can make your eyes cross.

Apparently, the appeal of Swedish death metal band Meshuggah extends beyond your typical metal fan base. So much so that awareness of the band has even reached classical conservatory culture. In Volume 29, Issue 2 of Music Theory Spectrum, an academic journal published by The Society for Music Theory and the University of California Press, composer and City College of New York music professor Jon Pieslak contributes a formal analysis on the band’s music entitled Re-casting Metal: Rhythm and Meter in the Music of Meshuggah.
The title of Pieslak’s article is fitting, as Meshuggah did indeed elevate the rhythmic sensibility of metal to a visionary new standard. Interestingly enough, though, in a phone call to New Times from Sweden, Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake practically shrugs in dismissal at the suggestion that what the band is doing is that complicated. Though he does recognize that Meshuggah has a unique approach, he offers little as to how they arrived at their writing style and, essentially, de-mystifies his own band’s work. Some highlights from that conversation:

New Times: What was your take on somebody doing a formal analysis of your music

Haake: It’s actually happened a bunch of times. We haven’t seen all of them, but the ones that have been transcribing our music in the past have actually not been correct. I know it’s really difficult to make out exactly what’s going on when you’re listening to an album.

What are some things that people haven’t been getting right?

First of all, it’s usually the time signature. People stating, like “this track starts in 23/16” or whatever. Our songs are actually written on a 4/4 platform -- even though you could analyze it and make it into something else. That still doesn’t make it right.

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Tomorrow night marks the three-year anniversary party forThe Rock, the weekly locals-only showcase at Tobacco Road run by the loveable Oski Gonzalez, guy about town and frontman of his own band, the Oski Foundation. Yes, The Rock usually happens on Thursdays, but it's been bumped forwards this week to Friday for an extra-large fete, with some 30 bands across 4 stages.

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Carmen Lundy Quartet
Unlike most vocalists in the jazz realm, this Miami-born diva doesn't always rely on material from The Great American Songbook during her sets. Instead, Carmen Lundy always includes as many of her own compositions as she can both when recording and playing live – something she has done consistently since the release of her 1985 début, Good Morning Kiss, released while she was making her name around the New York jazz scene. The CD was reissued in 2002 at fans' insistence, and featured her singing alongside the likes of late pianist John Hicks and Latin jazz percussionist Ray Barretto.
Lundy does not shy away from the works of the masters – she has included standards such as Cole Porter's “Night And Day” and Duke Ellington's “In A Sentimental Mood” on many of her recordings over the years (she has a new arrangement for “Nature Boy” on her latest CD, Come Home) but she definitely concentrates in her own material, which has been covered by colleagues such as Kenny Barron and Ernie Watts.
She also tends to innovate when on stage, often featuring two bass players (one on electric, another on acoustic) and Latin-tinged percussion that is adapted into a contemporary jazz format. As a vocalist, she seems unable to hit anything less than the perfect note, doing so in a seemingly effortless manner, to the delight of her fans, who have the very rare opportunity of hearing her come home where she rarely plays. Now this is a show that deserves to be supported and shouldn't be missed. --- Ernest Barteldes

The Carmen Lundy Quartet performs on Friday, April 18 at 8 PM at The Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale. Tickets are $ 30. For tickets, call 954-462-0222 or visit http://www.browardcenter.org

Tego Calderón with Locos por Juana, Circo, and Beto Cuevas
Friday, April 11
Studio A, 60 NE 11th St., Miami.
Show starts at 8 p.m.; free with registration on MySpace
Ages 18+ with ID
305-358-7625, www.studioamiami.com

The folks at Myspace are releasing a full bilingual version of their social networking site, dubbed Myspace Latino. To mark the occasion they are giving free concerts at various major cities around the country, beginning tonight at Studio A in Miami.

The lineup features reggaetón superstar Tego Calderón and the always-popular local favorites Locos Por Juana. As an added bonus, former La Ley frontman Beto Cuevas will be performing a “secret set” of his new solo material.

After 16 successful years with the megapopular rock en español band La Ley, Cuevas is taking a short break from the group to write songs for this ancitipated new project. In the meantime, he’s touring the states trying to fine-tune his new, solo style.

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Jay-Z, Mary J Blige and Crew
March, 22, 2008
American Airlines Arena

Better Than: All of his competitors, hands down.

Hip-hop impresario Jay-Z spent his second night of performing in Miami in top form once again as the Heart of the City tour got it's official start at the American Airlines Arena.
The night before, Jay-Z played a much more cozy gig at the Fillmore Miami Beach and it was interesting to see what type of vibe he'd be on when he played a large arena a day later.

The answer came in waves but where intimacy equaled Jay-Z and his nine person band rocking an hour long set by themselves on Friday, grandiose equaled the Dream, Mary J Blige, Kanye West, Timbaland, Young Jeezy and a basketball stadium full of fans screaming until their lungs went soft.

Here's the breakdown. Don't expect Jay-Z's concert to start late two nights in a row. Friday night he was scheduled to play at 10 p.m. and didn't get started until 11:40 p.m. But Saturday was an arena show and everything started on time. So I don't have much to say about the Dream, cause I missed him, which must be fate, because he's got a new album out and everybody's talking about his music yet I couldn't care less.

Sorry.

But Mary J. Blige went next and the queen of R&B definitely put on a good show. Dressed to the nines and sporting her trademark blond hair, Mary put on a solid hour long set and had die hard fans singing along to all of her hits. Jay-Z came out briefly and the two performed as a duo (which was a good teaser to all the folks in the house dying to see Jay-Z rap) but that part of the show was relatively short lived.

In typical Miami form, the venue didn't really fill-up until half way through Mary's set (which makes me feel better) but it was good to see that when she sang "Just Fine" and "Work That" from her latest album, the response for her new material was just as strong as it was for older songs like "Not Gon Cry" and "You Bring Me Joy." She definitely still looks sexy and at the age of 37, she must be doing something right as she easily looks 3-4 years younger than that.

By the time Jigga hit the stage, AAA was at capacity and full of New Yorkers that were representing like the show was at Madison Square Gardens. He started his set with "Say Hello" and then jumped into "Roc Boys" which was a nice way to keep things amped up. While Mary J Blige had an impressive band behind her that was somewhere between 15-20 strong, Hova's band was still a tight nine-piece that included two trumpets, a trombone, and sax man in the horn section, two guitarists, two percussionist, and a dj, all of which were brought their A-game. It was the type of show that makes you wonder why more rappers don't use full bands at their performances.

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Nile

As is so often the case with metal shows, there are too many bands on this bill. While there's a certain bang-for-the-buck factor, in all honesty – and with no offense to the other three bands – this show could easily be whittled down to Nile and Warbringer and it would be worth twice the price of admission. Were it to be just those two, it would be the equivalent of seeing a nascent Metallica opening for a height-of-their-powers Iron Maiden in 1983. Warbringer's aggressive, retro-minded thrash is all about classic-metal power, and Nile's expansive, imagery-heavy death metal is still managing to improve on the band's considerable past accomplishments. That's not to say that either of these bands sound like the aforementioned reference points, but they certainly evoke the same sort of emotions; Nile is all about rendering scribbled notes Bullfinch's Mythology into epic bludgeonings, while Warbringer is solely devoted to ensuring you have Headbanger's Neck the morning following the show. While neither of these bands is likely to fly their own tour jet or star in a therapy movie, they each stand as paragons for all that is right in metal today.
Nile plays the Culture Room on Sunday, March 9. Tickets are $20 the show starts at 7 p.m. For more info, check out the Culture Room website.
-- Jason Ferguson

Three weeks ago, I spoke on the phone with the two women who will be starring in Florida Grand Opera’s upcoming production of Tosca, Giacomo Puccini’s great opera about a brave, doomed painter, a jealous, doomed singer, and a very-mean (and very-doomed) police chief. One of these interviews was published in The Miami New Times, but we’re putting them both here to commemorate Tosca’s arrival last night at The Broward Performing Arts Center, where it will play through the weekend.

In the un-published interview, I spoke with soprano Angela Brown, whose debut at the Met caused The NY Times to shudder in uncommon ecstasy (“At last, an Aida!” they cried). Ms. Brown will be performing as Tosca on the 1st.

How many Toscas will this be for you?

This is my first staged version—I’ve only done it in concert, and one time semi-staged. This is my first full-blown one where I get to jump and all of that! (note: Tosca requires its soprano to leap from a window.) Oh, Lord. The first time I did it ever was in 2000, and that was in San Antonio. That was a semi-staged version. Or, no, in Brevard, North Carolina. That was the first one I did. That was a concert, in 1999 or something like that.

Had you been singing any of it privately long before that? In the shower?

No! ‘Cuz Tosca is something, I’d had the opportunity when I was at IU to do it, and it would have been my first opera ever. And my teachers and me didn’t think it was smart, at that time, to tackle an opera that can be a vocal ruiner, if you don’t have enough experience to handle the emotions that Tosca will bring out of you.

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The Gipsy Kings didn’t set out to redefine world music. They didn’t intend to scandalize the world of traditional Flamenco music through their inclusion of pop instrumentation and rock song structures. They just wanted to make pretty girls dance, and they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
The history of the Gipsy Kings is as epic and enthralling as the cante jondo Flamenco performed by Jose Reyes, father to one half of the Gipsy Kings, and an important figure in the history of Flamenco’s international popularity. His death marked the birth of the Gipsy Kings; it was while on a pilgrimage after their father’s passing that the Reyes brothers first joined their voices and guitars with Diego, Paco, and Tonino Baliardo.
Soon, the two bands of brothers were playing together around southern France, busking on the streets of Cannes and traveling the countryside, offering their joyous sound as entertainment at weddings and parties. Initially, the group’s sound was very traditional and, while performed passionately and with superb craftsmanship, didn’t promise to take them very far beyond the wandering minstrelsy of their Gypsy heritage.

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One of Central Florida's most popular jam bands, Shak Nasti, is in town and playing a couple of shows around the area. Langerado is just around the corner and if you want to get in an early jam fix, go check these guys out tonight and tomorrow night at a club near you.

From a Press Release

-- Born in 2004, Shak Nasti started synthesizing supple thumps and crystalline sheets of joy on top of snow peaked mountains. An aggregate of several genres, the Shak managed to coalesce the biproducts into one tantilizing thing. The band is about connecting to people, lyrically or musically, or sometimes physically. The music cannot be boxed into a specific movement or "club", so consider it a variety band, playing groove, drum'n'bass, reggae, Americana, and a little afro-beat.

Shak Nasti performs on Thursday, Feb 21 at 9 PM at the Dive Bar; 3233 N Ocean Blvd (A1A), Fort Lauderdale.They also perform on Friday, Feb 22 at 9 PM at the Titanic Brewery, 5813 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables. Both shows are free.

The versatile multilingual vocalist Elin was born in Sweden, but you would never know it by listening to her. Her style has a strong Brazilian influence even when she is belting out standards like Gershwin's “Fascinating Rhythm” or her own compositions, as heard on her début CD, Lazy Afternoon (Blue Toucan Music).

“It's pretty hard for me to categorize myself as a vocalist, as I think it's hard for many musicians to categorize their own sound,” she says by e-mail. “I'm very influenced by Brazilian music and singers, as well as jazz vocalists and pop vocalists. I guess I see myself as a vocalist who likes to sings beautiful songs in as many languages as possible.”

On her disc, Brazil indeed seems to have a special place in heart, as she takes on tunes like Ary Barroso's “Aquarela do Brasil” and Jobim's “Bonita.” “I was 15 on summer break from school in Sweden, so I started rummaging through my parents' record collection,” she recalls. “I'd been studying music and instruments since I was 7, and was getting ready to start a music high school that fall. I pulled out one LP only from the whole bunch and chose to play it for no particular reason whatsoever -- It was João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim. I assumed it was jazz, and although I'd never liked the sounds of jazz before, I decided right there and then that I was going to be a jazz singer.”

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When two-time Tony Award nominee Christine Andreas last came to Miami, it was to help christen the Carnival Center while taking a turn Margaret Johnson in a production of The Light in the Piazza. "Opening a venue is always exciting. Mine was the first foot or limb to step on that stage," Andreas says. "The audience was very receptive."

This time the acclaimed singer returns to the center, now renamed the Adrienne Arsht center, as herself. She'll perform a few nights of cabaret in a show titled Love is Good: An Evening With Christine Andreas. "Sometimes cabaret can be more challenging," she says. "There are no characters with lines to memorize. It's all you."

Andreas earned early praise as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th-Anniversary production of My Fair Lady. She also received two Tony nominations for her portrayal of Laurey in Oklahoma!, and as Frankie Frayne in On Your Toes in the Eighties.

For this outing, Andreas will be joined onstage by her husband, Grammy-nominated producer and accomplished arranger, Marty Silvestri, who will accompany her on piano. "When a couple works together it's different," she says. "We have the human energy that comes into the mix creating a rich and deep intimacy on stage. We trust each other."

The soprano promises a unique and romantic experience filled with some of her favorite songs. "Every night is different and magical. There are going to be songs that want me to sing them." -- Scott Fishman

Christine Andreas performs Friday, February 1 and Saturday, February 2 at the Adrienne Arsht Center (formerly the Carnival Center), 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. The show starts at 8 p.m. both nights, and tickets are $25. Visit www.carnivalcenter.org.

I don’t care about his feathered hair. I don’t care about his unfortunate fascination, in the Seventies and Eighties, with puff sleeves. Or his continuing fascination with white suits. Or the fact that, with some teenage parenting, he could technically be old enough to be my grandfather. I love Rod Stewart. Unironically. And dammit, I’m not the only one of my peer group to do so.

It’s easy to crack a joke at ol’ Rod the Mod’s expense – sure, sadly, the lingering image many casual music fans have of him is of his latter-day, slightly bloated, warbling version. But the man is a legend, a holdout from when frontmen were rock stars instead of disposable pop tarts. When men could dress prettier than their girlfriends, but still ooze an air of sexual menace and complete assurance. When they could get absolutely, sloppy drunk on a regular basis, sing as though they were crying, and come out of it fine on the other end.

Rod’s is the voice that’s launched a million soggy pub singalongs, a million sessions of sadly staring out the window while Every Picture Tells a Story self-indulgently wheels around the turntable yet again. He’s the man who backed up Jeff Beck, who gave us dirty rock and roll anthems from the Small Faces – and then the Faces, the guy who’s snagged model after model while seeming to just shrug and grin. Basically, he’s the man. So here, I offer a few rebuttals to some of the ignorant’s most common easy attacks.

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So if you've ever visited the ice-cold city of Toronto, you'll know that when it comes to music and culture, it's one of the biggest melting pots North America has to offer. With relaxed immigration and a stronger currency than the U.S. (ahem), Toronto isn't a bad city in which to be a musician, create a genre or two, or at least home in on the next mashup trends those gringos to the south haven't figured out yet.

Listen to the sounds coming from the city's adopted trio, Bedouin Soundclash, and you can hear different ethnic neighborhoods popping up in each song. Take their latest gem, Street Gospels, for instance. The album can have a cockney, rub-a-dub, polyphonic, two-tone, hippie-esque, or indie-rock feel, depending upon whatever song you're listening to. That's not to say the trio is all over the place or hard-to-follow. To the contrary, its blend has more to do with peering into music's future and putting the pieces together than becoming the next "it" band. It doesn't hurt that Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains fame is their main producer — a relationship Bedouin Soundclash seems to appreciate immensely.

"The thing with Darryl is he never makes you do anything," says Eon Sinclair, the group's bassist. "He always, like, offers you a bunch of different suggestions and we either try it or we can argue that we shouldn't. He's the first producer that we worked with that let us do that."

The songs that emerge on Street Gospels, like "Walls Fall Down" and "Midnight Rocker," are at times reflective of Bad Brains' ability to put the right spaces between notes, giving each instrument its own voice. This is especially important for a trio — Bedouin Soundclash is comprised of just bass, drums, and guitar — as each instrument must resonate, contributing to a whole. Jenifer's touch has been crucial in terms of bringing that sort of sound forward.

No Bedouin Soundclash/Bad Brains joint tour is in the works yet (which, even as a mere possibility, is exciting), but the two groups have graced the same stage before.

"It was for Roger's Picnic 2007 in Toronto... The lineup was actually Bedouin, Bad Brains, and then the Roots," says Sinclair, who thinks Bad Brains should have headlined. "I think the promoters were a little scared of [artistically deranged lead singer] H.R. and if he'd go crazy up on stage. But it was a great show."

Now that Bedouin Soundclash is getting its first opportunity to headline a U.S. tour, group members seem to be making a conscious decision about their supporting acts.

"We've got Westbound Train with us... They're a traditional ska band, and Beat Union from England is like the early Clash," Sinclair says. "We tried to get bands where the audience will be able to hear what our influences are."

-Jonathan Cunningham