Respectable Street Tonight — Forgot to Mention This, Sorry Sheila

So, the ball of cosmic energy that resides within a human form called Sheila Hafsadi invited me via Facebook chat to attend a rock show/burlesque show fundraiser for Dub City Derby Girls tonight at Respectable Street. I told her that I would be way too tired to attend this action-packed event on the northern regions of South Florida, but that I would mention it. So, now I’m mentioning it. Here’s the flyer.

I support roller derby and all things Hafsadi, and I’m happy to see that local bands Everymen, Angry Pudding and Bonnie Riot do too. The event starts at 9 p.m. Did I mention that the roller derby girls will wrestle in creamed corn? No. Well, that’s going to happen too. Burlesque by Modernesque Burlesque. Entrance costs $8, and you’d better be at least 21 to attend this one.

Last night I tucked myself in with Sagan’s Cosmos disc 5. Have you ever seen Cosmos? It’s amazing. I know I’ve talked about it before. It’s seriously the best. It’s nice to know something about our place in the universe and to know why we are star stuff. Plus, I love Sagan’s Kermit the Frog-style narration. Netflix it ASAP. So, we’re probably going to do something tonight. I’m thinking that we’ll either check out Garo’s line-up over at Poor House or go to Dada to see Blond Fuzz. Hope ya’ll have fun whatever you do.

Broward or Palm Beach? Bedtime or Party Time?

We’ve been so wiped out since last weekend when we headed up to Lake Worth to go to Little Munich (very cute venue with tons of seating in front of the stage, woohoo!), the German bar and restaurant that Rullman’s booking these days, on Friday night and then turned around and headed all the way down to Miami to go to Interpol and Grand Central on Saturday night (we never made it to the Holy Terrors/Tongues gig at Churchill’s).We might just — shocking! — stay in Broward this weekend. The Palm Beach band line-ups for the weekend make it very difficult to stick to a decision like that. It’s unlikely that I will. Take a look at these tambourine-shaking nutjobs that are going to play at (and most certainly fit right into the scene at) Little Munich tonight.

If you want to live a normal life in Broward, you have to try to ignore the fact that a touring San Fran band called Battlehooch is playing with the Clementines tonight at Little Munich or that Lil Daggers, Love Handles and Guy Harvey — bands that I really should see because I’ve seen them before but never given them my full attention and can’t quite seem to wrap my head around what they’re all about — will be playing at that venue tomorrow night. Then there’s Lavola tonight at Propaganda and I like Lavola and the Dewars are named on that bill too. I remember the good old days when there was maybe one cool thing happening over the course of the entire weekend. Life has become so demanding.

Blond Fuzz is playing at Dada tomorrow night (Saturday) at 10 p.m., which might be a nice compromise — not quite next door, but not quite Lake Worth. Hmmm… It’s been a while since I’ve seen those guys — their set in the rain at Lake Worth It doesn’t count in my mind. Methodaires will be at Poor House tonight, and they’re always fun in an easy kind of way. Garo is booking a night at P House tomorrow, but I’ve never heard of the music acts called Cognoscenti, 3 Ninos or Amy Shaw (although the name does sound familiar), but it’s probably that I’ve been spending too much time in other counties. There might be an event page for the night, but this flyer is the only thing I can find. Speaking of the FTL, there will be a straight-up dance party (no bands) tonight at 1921 to benefit a local battling cancer.

We love to watch surfing movies, so it’s not unlikely that we will hang around the Surf Fest over at Cinema Paradiso a bit this weekend. It’s the first year of what’s projected to be an annual surf film festival. Nice. Why is FLIFF so cool?

Ah, maybe I’ll just kick it on the couch with Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. Hmmm. Very tricky.

Shows Tomorrow — Check out this Flyer

I couldn’t stop laughing after seeing this Sh*t Ton of Funk flyer. I’ve seen this image once before, but it still gets me. I don’t think that there’s anything funny about obesity in general, but the way the giraffe wears it gives  me a giggle. ST of Funk is playing tonight at Prop w/ The Dewars.

Invisible Music and The Dewars (3 shows, one weekend!), along with two bands I don’t know called Alphabet Soup and The Band in Heaven, will “baptize” the stage at Little Munich in Lake Worth tomorrow (Friday) and make it officially rad. I’m so curious to see this happening little German bar/restaurant/venue in action. Not sure if we’ll be able to get up there on Friday (cause we’ll be in Palm Beach on Sat and Sun), but this looks like a most excellent show. I think I’m going to head over to Little Munich for a bit during the Lake Worth It festival afterparties.

Blond Fuzz , who will play the Lake Worth It fest and an afterpaty, is playing Miami’s Vagabond nightclub tomorrow night (3 shows, one weekend!). We won’t be there, but tons of fashionable people certainly will. On this Vagabond flyer, I see a band called The New. Never heard of them before, but they’re also listed on Zombies! Organize!! August 21 Dada show. Also, Lauderdale’s own Catalonia will play Dada in Delray tomorrow night. What in the heck is going on? This metropolitan area is ablaze with happenings. I need a nap just thinking about it!

Well, Hello There!

Back from Kentucky. Louisville is a number one town for sure. We went to the 1792 distillery (Barton in Bardstown), visited the Louisville Slugger factory and deepened our tans at an awesome lake called Rough River Lake.

Ready to get out and about a little bit this week. The Dooms De Pop/Boise Bob show at Monterey Club looks like a classic FTL good time. I’m sure you’ve all heard about the Lake Worth It festival on Saturday. We’ll be there from early in the day because Chris’ band Sweet Bronco has a super early time slot (noon). Of course, we’d be there anyway because Dan Bonebrake’s Grey & Orange is playing first (at 11 a.m.) and we have yet to have our doors blown off by that project. I’m also eager to see The Dewars again and Guy Harvey for the first time. If you think that “blow yours doors off” is a strange expression, you’d better get used to it cause it’s my new fave. On my first day in Kentucky, a waiter told my table that the restaurant’s spinach dip was going to blow our doors off to which my mom’s bf enthusiastically replied “We’ll take it. Go ahead, blow our doors off.” While we were munching on worse-than-mediocre spinach dip (I’m generous; it was bordering on inedible), my ma’s beau swore that he was certain that the waiter really did think that this pot of cheese-like goop was fantastic. Anything is possible, I guess. Did you like my awesome vacation story? Now, you can enjoy my vacation pic. Here’s a picture from the distillery I visited.

Anyway, I don’t mean to compare Grey & Orange to the spinach dip. I’m just saying that I think they’re going to blow our doors off in a good way. In case you haven’t noticed, checking out area bands has been a passion of mine for well over two years now — true, it’s been a slow summer for me. Attempting to see all that there is to be seen can require a good deal of effort and expense, so I, for one, am excited to pack in as much viewing/listening as I can at this weekend’s festivities. Having been out of town and involved in a million other things, I’ve been a little out of touch with the happs. Fort Lauderdale, particularly, has been off my radar. I missed both IWAN events last month. Boo. Heard the second Travulous affair (OMG) was off the chain. True?

Beautiful People, Adieu…And All of the Fun Stuff I’m Gonna Miss This Weekend

This weekend promises to be slamming. I won’t be able to confirm the radness of SoFla’s many events for myself because, God willing, I will be waterskiing in a lake somewhere in Kentucky. Yes, that is my idea of a good time. If you missed last Friday night’s Propaganda show (and I know that many of you did because I was there), then you most likely have missed your opportunity to see The Pretty Faces for a good long time. Gingerman 309 just texted me to let me know that the videos are up. Blond Fuzz also put on an excellent closing performance for the show. Bye bye Pretty Faces. We will miss you! Enjoy Cali!

The Laserwolf hunks will host a warehouse party called “Because we like to party” on Saturday night as a preview to their soon-to-be-extant bar in the warehouse area in northern downtown Fort Lauderdale and also because they are all-around rad dudes and those types of people throw parties. Here’s the flyer.

Also, IWAN will host a party at The Bubble on Friday night called The Itty Bitty Blazer Gala — with host Travis Travalonia. Could he be related to Travis  in the Universe? I’m really sad that I’m going to miss this one. Fashion and music and art and, most importantly, catty fashion show judges. Here’s the flyer.

Plus, I’m gonna miss  Tongues of the Heartworm at Propaganda on Saturday night. Heart break. Weak.

Tonight, We Go See Some Bands That Aren’t New!

A dizzying number of new band names are popping up on flyers and show listings. Presumably this means that even more new bands are emerging or that previously non-gigging bands are taking the stage or that we’re seeing more side projects from the already considerable number of musicians who are entertaining South Floridians week in and out. Exciting as that is, tonight it’s all about the tried-and-true South Florida bands that have been gigging the area for a few solid years. Propaganda’s got The Pretty Faces and Blond Fuzz (Stonefox),  who will share the club’s stage with newer acts The Clementines and Everymen, a pack of shirtless, suspendered madmen. This is a line-up that’s definitely worth checking out, even for Broward crews. Despite feeling exhausted, I will probably try to catch this show. It could be The Pretty Faces’ last South Florida gig, according the article I wrote for New Times BPB.

The Broward temptation that puts this plan into question is the show at The Monterey Club with the truly old school 954 rockers from Tongues of the Heartworm and Mr. Entertainment. Hmmm.

Mid-Week Shows and This Friday Night

What is with all of the mid-week shows lately? Goolsby will play tonight at Propaganda with Kill Now and A Hunter’s Pace, but we’ll try to catch them at Respectable Street on Thursday with Sleigh Bells.

Speaking of mid-week shows, I finally saw twin brother-fronted The Dewars perform last Wednesday night at the oil spill benefit show at Propaganda. They were nothing less than phenomenal. I’ve got to get deeper into their recordings. They’re going to play again this Friday night at Propaganda, but I need time to digest what I’ve already seen. The Jameses killed it too, but they always do. We picked up their single record, which I’ve had to flip back and forth and back and forth just to give both songs “Rat People” and “The Haunted Rider” a few listens. We’ll catch both of those bands on August 7 at the Lake Worth It festival. Surfer Blood was awesome too. The band’s live show didn’t always live up to the hype, in my opinion, which would have been hard to do because the hype around that band was pretty big. Now, Surfer Blood really sounds and performs like a national band.

Instead of heading up north this Friday, we’ll likely go to Monterey Club for TIMB‘s birthday party. It’s been a while since enjoyed the classic line-up of Zombies, Freakin’ Hott and TIMB in a Lauderdale club. You can’t go wrong wtih that. The following Friday, the 16th, at The Monterey club will be Tongues of the Heartworm, thank God. It’s been a while since we’ve seen these guys — heard somebody had a baby. They’ve even got a new logo that’s sure to make you barf if their name hasn’t already done the job. Wait! MJ designed it? That’s bass player Mike Johnson. What? Awesome!

Last Weekend Was Challenging…Tonight Will Be Rad

Wow, I almost kept up with New Times writer/coolest girl on Earth Erica Landau (funny) last weekend. Now, I suffer the consequences, but that’s not going to stop me from going to the Surfer Blood/The Jameses/The Dewars/Chill Pillars oil spill benefit show tonight at Propaganda! I have to see The Dewars.

We went to see Kill Miss Pretty‘s Twin Peaks tribute show last Friday night, which was well-attended and a lot sexier than I had anticipated. That Alicia chick gets pretty wild onstage. She gets so wild that a large crowd congregates around the stage, and it becomes difficult to see what’s going on. So, we moved to the back of the room to listen for a while and then spent the rest of the night hanging outside, where I ate Jeremiah’s BBQ for the second time in my life, which was as amazing as the first time. KMP will play Viper Room in LA on July 11. Pretty cool, dudes.

Then, we went to Poor House to catch some of Smokestack and the Foothill Fury show. It was pretty kickin’, but I still think this wandering musician is still not getting the attention that he deserves from local audiences. He’ll probably be back down here in October. If so, you’ll get a chance to check him out then. I like to follow him. It’s just my thing.

On Saturday night, my friend Inga (Inga!) and I hit up the Ketchy Shuby/Fusik show at Culture Room. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see the boys in Ketchy Shuby jam out, but I did get to witness an awesome break dancing battle that went down on the middle of the floor. The B Boys continued to dance throughout Fusik‘s very sick set, which created a little bit of competition between the show on the stage and the show on the floor. Then, Fusik’s percussionist — Felix, I believe — started breaking onstage and then jumped down into the middle of the circle on the floor and unleashed some outrageous moves, but there was so much talent in the room that it just blended. I’m hooked on the B Boys now. Can’t wait to see this again. Also, can’t wait to see more local shows at Culture Room. Love the venue, especially with the video screens above the stage and outside on the patio. You don’t have to miss everything if you need a little breathing room. Nice.

All members of Fusik were decked out in dark suits, which was hot and sexy. We decided that Sanchez was the funkiest frontman on the planet and that we both have crushes — as what girl would not? — on the band’s bass player Mack. The $10 cover charge included a copy of the band’s album Hot Skillet, which made me dance around my apartment today while cooking lunch and doing dishes. Then, we headed over to preview The Downtown Music Hall, Kilmo’s nascent venue in the downtown warehouse district at 1st Ave and Sistrunk. It’s lookin’ pretty interesting. Rat Bastard, Steve Bristol and others tested out the stage with some noise music. Should be open in the next couple of weeks.

On Sunday, we hit up the monthly acoustic show that Trav hosts at The Jib Room and saw him play as well as his brother Brady Newbill, Evan Rowe (Catalonia) and Mike Mineo. They were all off-the-wall and talented at the same time, which is something that these guys have in common. There was a small crowd this time. If you’re not going to this, why not? It’s such a mellow party and perfect for a Sunday night.

Also, Mikey Ramirez of Radioactive Records held his 30th birthday party at The Monterey Club last night, and it was the best dance party of 2010 and possibly 2009. That’s a big POSSIBLY cause my 30th was pretty killer. I just wanted to say that right here in case, for some reason, he doesn’t remember his party. Just about everyone who goes out in Broward was there…on a Tuesday night.

Bye bye. See you at Propaganda tonight, right?

Ahem, Hi There Everyone

Aghh! This feels good. It’s been a while, eh? I don’t have too long to blog now, but I just want to mention the rooftop party that’s going on tomorrow night at Nu River Landing. Twilight Notes, the DJ group that spins at downtown Brew and other local venues, is celebrating its two year anniversary. That’s a big deal, especially considering that their parties have kept getting bigger the entire time. But, what I think is going to be super radical about the whole thing, besides the music and the company and the fact that it benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is the whole rooftop angle. It’s running like charity events tend to with the steep cover price of $25 that’s not really that steep because it’s all inclusive. Good job, Adam. Good job, Eric. Good job all other TN-affiliated DJs. If we could all be as cool as you, we’d probably try and still eff it up.

Also, despite the distance I’ve been keeping from my internet, I have been going out and about for the last few weeks. There’s lots of new stuff to know (Stonefox changed its name to Blond Fuzz. Did you know that? If not, you’re further out of the loop these days than I am) and new people to meet (Have you seen the new local blog by the Fort Lauderdale Collective? They’ve got five bloggers and Mood Vane only has one. No Fair!!!! New Times Music Editor Reed Fischer already wrote about it at New Times recently-launched BPB-centric music blog County Grind. No Fair!!! Why’s everyone got to be so diligent all the time?). Also, there’s very likely going to be a not altogether new but very exciting venue opening in downtown right behind Maguire’s Hill 16 (Magoos!) in early July. Will discuss later.  Bye Bye! Miss you! Hi Shmee!

Tonight! Lake Worth or Bust!

We’re so excited to hit up Lake Worth tonight! Six great bands will be playing in that little Palm Beach town, and we’re gonna chill up there for my birthday. We even rented a hotel room so that we could party hard and not worry about driving home.  We’re gonna catch this show and see the incomparable John Ralston-fronted Invisible Music, the Dan Bonebrake-fronted Grey & Orange and see what the Northwood Social Club at South Shores Tavern. Northwood Social Club is pretty new, and I’m curious to see what it’s all about. Chris has heard a couple of the tunes before and he says that I, and anyone else who’s planning to attend, should expect good things.

Then, we’re going to head over to Propaganda to catch The Freakin’ Hott, Stonefox and Zombies! Organize!! live. Yes, that Stonefox. Yes, back together. Yes, you should probably already know that. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to miss the Florida Yeah Poor House show tonight with Kill Miss Pretty, Dooms De Pop and Murderous Rampage!

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