A Few Days in the Keys and the Keys to the Weekend…

Chris and I are going to be scooting on down to the Florida Keys for a couple of days, and we’re surely going to miss ya’ll. But, what can we do? We need a little sunshine and warm water! Seriously. Last weekend blew by in a showless blur of ham, furriness and resurrection. The shows are gonna be crazy this weekend though.

I’m not going to be able to do everything, but I am going to try my very darndest to make it out to see Fire Zuave, Goolsby, Black Finger, Noble Rocket, Cracker, Zombies Organize, and some other bands.
If we get back into town on Thursday night, I’m going to cruise up to Propaganda to check out Fire Zuave, The Dewars and Goolsby. If we don’t get back into town on Thurs, I am contemplating skipping Sweet Bronco’s Gainesville trip for a Friday night show with Ancient River (that’s drummer Chad Voight’s band — ya’ll remember him from The Outrights back in the day?), a psychedelic blues rock shoegaze band (bluesgaze is what Chris and I like to call it) that absolutely kills it, and going to check out Fire Zuave and Goolsby along with Tampa-based bluesgaze (aw yeah! anotha one) band Sleepy Vikings at Monterey Club on Friday night instead — it’s always cool when people take the time to come down to SoFla to play for us. Thanks, dudes. Chuck Andrews of Fire Zuave, a South Florida band that relocated to Athens, compares the college town’s music scene to a skate park, where everyone is pushing each other forward, and says Fire Zuave is sitting on two albums worth of material and rehearsing four hours a day to push it forward in a serious way. Darn, they must put on one hawt live show.

I’m gonna go to Propaganda for the 1-year anniversary on Saturday, so I’ll miss the metallic mastery of Murderous Rampage and Shroud Eater and Junior Bruce at Poor House. Who’s Junior Bruce? I get so behind on these things sometimes. At Propaganda on Saturday, The Broncincators are going to play with darling, sexy, smartypants rappers Zombies Organize, The James and Everyman. Everybody was cuckoo for The James last time we saw them.

OMG, there is waaay too much happening this weekend. Sunday, Cracker will play at Propaganda. If you can fill in this blank, you might be a top contender for attending the show. “I’ll be with you girl/Like being low/Hey, Hey, Hey like ___________”. Shh, don’t sing it out loud. They have other songs too. They’re playing with Noble Rocket and Black Finger. Have you ever seen Black Finger? It’s been a wicked long time since I’ve seen the group. I’ve caught Greg and Andy in action with John Ralston’s Invisible Music, but it’s been just about forevs since I’ve seen the dark digit as such.

Sheila Hafsadi, frontwoman for A Hunter’s Pace is pushing to promote the bejesus out of her April 17th Reckless Dames event with Viva Le Vox and Kill Now?! show. I mention this because I like to see people put in effort and also because I still haven’t seen the buzzed-about Viva Le Vox, one of many reasons that I’m thinking about going. I’m not going so that I can get spanked by an oversized lollipop. That’s next weekend.

Wow, this is one crazy week. I think I’m gonna need a nap.

Saturday: Saturday Is The Day That Parties the Hardest

SATURDAY

RAFFA & RAINER SHOW IS POSTPONED, BUT THE BUBBLE WILL STILL HAVE AN EVENT THIS SATURDAY. CHEAPER DOOR PRICE. DETAILS YET TO BE DETERMINED. I’LL POST THEM AS SOON AS I KNOW MORE, K? TENTATIVE RESCHEDULE DATE FOR RAFFA AND RAINER IS MARCH 20. POOR HOUSE WILL BE KICKING LATE NIGHT. SEE DETAILS OF POOR HOUSE SHOW BELOW.

Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Raffa & Rainer CD release party at The Bubble Miami trio Raffa & Rainer releases its newest album No Mercy to the Fort Lauderdale crowd this Saturday night. Opening for the group is fellow Miami act, Bridget & Luke, which produces remarkable female-fronted pop, and the boy-girl fronted Sweet Bronco. I am very excited that my schedule permits me to attend. It’s been months since I’ve been to The Bubble, which I love so well. This is a particularly righteous night for live music in Fort Lauderdale. Hopefully this event will leave time for me to scoot over to Poor House, where the Freakin’ Hott/TIMB/Zombies Organize hybrid band known as D*ck Knuckle will be playing. The show’s promo materials didn’t go up until just a couple of days ago, so you might not know that it’s happening. A little D-Knuckle is going to be a perfect follow-up to the Raffa & Rainer show — a fun, snarky, rocking contrast to the sincere content we’ll see at The Bubble — so make sure to check out the information about it below.

Saturday at 9 p.m. Three Imaginary Girls at Propaganda in Lake Worth

In fact, the show will feature three actual girls. I don’t know anything about them, but maybe you do. There’s also a show at Radioactive Records on Saturday night, two other bands that I don’t know anything about, but they do, as Mikey Ramirez commented, have a really cute show flyer.

D*ck Knuckle, Poor House, 11 p.m. D*ckknuckle will reunite for a Fort Lauderdale show this Saturday night at Poor House. That’s all of the members of The Freakin’ Hott, TIMB, and Zombies Organize playing together as one unit. Festivities are likely to begin around 11 p.m. First they will play individual sets, and then merge for the megaband that spits foul-language riddled witticisms that will make you laugh so hard your beer will shoot out through your nose. Plus, they rock. It’s a good time, really good. Saw them at Propaganda in December. You don’t have to take my suggestion that you see this show. Check out Maggie’s blog about why she dislikes Radiohead and Dancer in the Dark followed by the usual non sequitur show announcement. Why do I use an asterisk in the band’s name? No particular reason other than that I just don’t feel like writing curse words on my blog right now.

Haiti Relief Benefit Concert Tonight at Propaganda

Tonight’s Haiti Benefit show at Propaganda is gonna be huge. If you haven’t seen Surfer Blood in action, now is your chance. The band can be hard to pin down at a local venue these days. Whether he plays alone or brings along the other 23 members of Invisible Music, John Ralston‘s beautiful, thoughtful songs are sure to hit the spot. Sweet Bronco will be there too. Plus, a band I’ve never seen, Kill Now?!, will take the stage to help with the fundraising efforts. If you haven’t donated to a charity of your choice already, bring a couple of extra bucks. Proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders, and that’s a good one.

Greetings From D.C. And On To The Weekend

Halllloooo. Hope all enjoyed Thanksgiving and didn’t take too much abuse from family members. I’m in D.C. for the holiday, and, despite the miserable weather, I am having a good, chill weekend. I am a little disappointed because I just discovered that I don’t have my photos from last weekend’s Zombies Organize and Sweet Bronco show at Dada because I saved them to an external drive. Darn. I am so excited to finally have pictures of the fashionable, adorable members of ZO, but I will have to wait until next week to post them. I hope that I can stand the wait.

Tonight, the always magnificent The Freakin’ Hott and To Be Hated will usher Sweet Bronco into its very first Poor House show. That’s superduper cool of them. I can’t believe I’m not going to be there. At least I have the pleasure of reading Maggie’s blog about losers’ big ideas about eating crappy food the day before Thanksgiving. That’s a treat.

Tomorrow night, Fort Lauderdale’s annual Art Scavenger Hunt kicks off at Maguire’s Hill 16 at 8 p.m. If you’ve never done it before, here’s how it works: you get a map to find art works from several prominent local artists that are hidden all around town. At the end of the hunt, there will be an afterparty at IWAN’s The Bubble arts warehouse in the downtown warehouse district at 4th Avenue and 8th Street. Miami trio Raffa & Rainer, Scott Putesky, Mr. Entertainment and a top secret guest performer will play the afterparty. This year, the event will be dedicated to Peter Giovenco, the industrial metal sculptor and all-around stellar human being who passed away last summer.

Peter participated in several scavenger hunts in years past, and his work will be hidden again this year along with those of other prominent local artists. If you don’t know much about Peter Giovenco, check out Sun-Sentinel writer Sean Piccoli’s thorough article on his life and work.

By the way, go Pretty Faces. Look at this tour schedule! They’re taking over the country with this tour schedule. Pittsburgh, Toronto, Cambridge, Cleveland and so on! I knew they couldn’t be so adorable for our eyes only. Also, Ben Prestage is playing at Propaganda tomorrow night. Wish I could go. I’m dying to see that dude play.

This Weekend: John Ralston, Ketchy Shuby, Doug Stanhope, Zombies Organize and (OMG) Sweet Bronco

I can’t believe that I’m going to miss Doug Stanhope tomorrow night at Culture Room! I’ve only been anticipating his arrival for the last 6 months, but I’ve got to do the local thing for selfish reasons and go to Propaganda. If you’re going to hang out around Lauderdale tomorrow night, I can’t recommend this comedian any higher. I guess he was performing at Poor House for a while, but not this year.

So, I am personally very excited about this weekend because Sweet Bronco will play with John Ralston and the Invisible People at Propaganda with a comedy group out of Atlanta called The Beards of Comedy.

I love fat, smart guys with beards, which makes it kind of strange that I’m with a skinny guy with no beard — whatevs.

Sweet Bronco will play another show on Saturday night with the smart and sassy braineating braniacs of Zombies Organize at Dada in Delray Beach! Yay! I love it when I have an excuse to go to Dada.

Also, Miami band Ketchy Shuby will play with Fusik at Propaganda. That’s going to be a great party. Danny, the percussionist from Ketchy Shuby, showed me the video that they recently made, and I must say it’s pretty cool. Love the natural SoFla setting and the reggae hippie vibe.

I might drag my mom over to MOAFL to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit this weekend. Fort Lauderdale is officially kicking off its holiday season with the Get Lit party, part of the Light Up Lauderdale series of events, tonight, but I think that a little NR is just the thing to put us in the mood to kick off the tree buying, shopping and cooking this year.

Happy Halloween, Suckers!

The line-ups of local shows are going to be stacked with talent this weekend. IWAN’s The Bubble warehouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale celebrates the scariest of nights with performances by Rob Elba, Dooms de Pop, Alex Nelson, Doersam, Matilda Lights, Flees, Sweet Bronco, Trav and Fantastic Amazing. The indoor/outdoor gallery space and concert venue is going to be the place to see and be seen in your scariest Halloween costume this Saturday night.

Moving up the coast a few miles, Propaganda in Lake Worth will host “A Nightmare on J Street”, an all-night party featuring top local bands Zombies Organize, The Freakin’ Hott, Stonefox, TIMB and Bonnie Riot. The rock will be loud and the talent is sure to frighten you with its brilliance. Local music lovers, get ready to get rocked this Halloween!

I’m so curious about this Squeeze Halloween party at SeaMonster. Of course, that’s the same location as the original Squeeze nightclub. I never went there, so I definitely want to pop in to check it out after the IWAN event. We’ll see if Sweet Broncula will actually indulge me on this.

Also, on Friday night, IWAN is putting on its monthly show at Poor House. I’m not sure who’s playing, but I think that I’m going to go to check out the changes to the venue. I’ve heard that it’s unrecognizable. Also, on Friday, there’s a triple feature horror night at FLIFF — three horror movies, a hot dog, bottomless popcorn and 2 drinks for $25. Those flicks are The Seventh Moon, Audie and the Wolf and Paranormal Activity.

Keep your eyes open for Sweet Broncula and Moodvein. We will be the scary vampires with sharp teeth!

Last Weekend: Sugar ‘n’ Vice at The Bubble

I’ve never heard so many people complain as I did yesterday, and I understand why. The heat is unbearable and unseasonal. What am I supposed to do with the apple cider in my fridge if I can’t heat it up and enjoy it in the brisk 70 degree weather that I feel should accompany mid-October? There, I complained, and now I’m done. Last Saturday, I popped into the Sugar ‘n’ Vice event that Robert Rutherford put together at IWAN’s The Bubble warehouse.

Sweet Bronco played, which pretty much meant that I was gonna be there (but not necessarily because he just told me that he’s most likely playing a show on the same night that Doug Stanhope is coming to Culture Room), but the flipping event started so late, as pretty much all S.Fla shows do, that his set was the only one that I got to see. I chatted up Robot Swan for a few moments, and she informed me that the SnV show the first gig that she’s played in almost a year, but I couldn’t stick around to see her set because I had to be out west for a work event at 10 p.m. She was looking sexy, though. See!

Sweet Bronco’s set was a typical one for the honey-dripping, neigh-saying steed of folk and pop — originals and covers from Leonard Cohen and other such iconic figures. As you might guess, he was lookin’ hawt!

While I’m talking about all of this stuff, let us not forget that RR is, in my observation, the only constant video documentarian of all that’s happening in South Florida music. You can find his videos of just about every band that plays regularly on the peninsula’s tip on his YouTube page, Gingerman309.

Speaking of Leonard Cohen and difficult decisions and scheduling conflicts, this weekend is going to be a tough one. Friday evening’s Rocktoberfest conflicts with The Bravery at Culture Room, a show for which SB and I already have tickets. We’ve already seen The Pretty Faces and Stonefox and The Freakin’ Hott about ten times this year (which isn’t enough), so we might be excused from attending the outdoor festival at Riverfront, but that doesn’t mean the rest of you are. And then, the legend himself, Leonard Cohen, will be at BankAtlantic on Saturday. I’m so juiced about this weekend that you can drink my excitement! Maybe we will try to pop by Riverfront for a wee bit at 5:30. We’ll see. We are only human!

This Weekend: Some Shows, But Save Up Some NRG For Next Weekend

Tonight, sure will be a fun one at Propaganda! Ben Prestage will play his bluesy rock with two out of town rockabilly bands, Dex Romweber Duo from North Carolina and Izzy Coz from Austin. On the Crossfade blog by New Times there is a post on Dex Romweber that spells out his connections to and influence on some of today’s most prominent cool bands/acts like The White Stripes and Cat Power.

On Saturday evening, Robert Rutherford is putting on his mostly-female acoustic singer/songwriter night Sugar ‘n’ Vice at The Bubble. He lets Chris (AKA Sweet Bronco) play with the ladies. The gaggle of gals that will regal listeners with guitars this weekend includes Confused As Ever, Honey Henny Lime, Kristin Cappielo, Robot Swan and then there’s that one dude, Sweet Bronco. There may also be dudes playing with Confused As Ever and Honey Henny Lime. Oh My God, I can’t believe that Robert Rutherford has the LA-based fake country duo Claybo and Downs “7th Time” on his Sugar ‘n’ Vice MySpace page — haven’t seen that one in a while. The best line is “baby I know there’s things we do and other things we don’t/baby I know there’s things we should and little things we shon’t”.

Alligator Alley will have a cool show on Saturday too. The Notary, Summer Blanket and No Class Action will play in that little swampy Florida music hall. The music starts at 8 p.m. and the cover is $7.

It’s going to be a fairly hot weekend, but remember to save up some energy for next weekend because The Bravery is coming, Leonard Cohen is coming AND, of course, Rocktoberfest is happening at Riverfront!!!

Help! Big Plans Have Big Overhead – The Bubble

Erica Landau, Assistant Entertainment Editor of New Times BPP, wrote a calendar piece about this Saturday’s fundraiser for the IWAN The Bubble warehouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale (810 N.E. 4th Ave.) that alerted me to the fact that the local arts promotion group is struggling in its attempt to deal with a lot of overhead. The event is called Help! , and you should go. Seriously. If you haven’t been to an event at the warehouse space yet, then you just don’t know what a special gathering place The Bubble is for the local arts community. This is happening Saturday evening at 6 p.m.Sloane Peterson, Alex Nelson, Flees, (style mavericks) Lazer Beast, Dooms De Pop and — my boyfriend, your boyfriend, boyfriend to the world — Sweet Bronco will take the stage.

Modest Bombshell posted the promo pic for Rocktoberfest on her facebook page. This show isn’t happening until Friday, October 16th (at Riverfront), but I’m putting this shot up anyway cause it’s a great picture.

Recap Alligator Alley 7th Anniversary Party Saturday Night Rock Night

Man, am I ever worn out? It’s true. I think I need to wear ear plugs throughout my daily life to make up for the number of local concerts that I’ve listened to without them in the past 6 months. My darling one, Sweet Bronco, played at the Alligator Alley Anniversary Party on Saturday night, so we arrived at 6 p.m. — this was way too early. Starting at about 8 p.m., we watched lots of other bands that night, including one very awesome and new to my ears group called ElephantGun. Also, I caught up with Blackfinger, Robbie Hazen & The Riot and The Pretty Faces. Physical exhaustion forced me to go home before Stonefox played, which was a pity because I’ve been listening to the band’s first album Dead in the Sun constantly (they are releasing a second album On the Wire on July 30th at Propaganda in Lake Worth) and because they are such a fun live band, but necessary.

Melbourne-based group ElephantGun is sick in a good way. Their driving rhythms force you to dance.

Their show was a surprise and a pleasure.

Despite my personal bias, I must admit that Sweet Bronco was good too.

He played some of his new songs, including Out for Blood and Caveman, but his between-song chattering, stuttering and muttering drew comparisons to Pauly Bleeker, a character that we all know if just a ripoff of George Michael from Arrested Development (OMG! When is the movie coming out?)– ;(. Just wait, suckers, until he’s got his full band behind him; then we’ll see who spends the whole night crying into their pillows!

Blackfinger, who had another show that night at Dada, played a very, very long and loud set, or at least it seemed so to me because I’d already been there for 3 hours and had the beginning tingles of a headache before they began. They’re a fun, rockin’ blues band with a bit of Petty’s twang. It’s loud, original bar rock and they just released a new video for “Where’s My Parade” a coupla weeks ago at Propaganda, but since my eardrums are officially blown, I will include the video for the group’s quieter song “Sugar” below. I like the simple animation in the video. It makes me smile and want to take a nap.
Below is a random and gratuitous shot of your slave, Courtney, and Hannah from The Pretty Faces hanging out that night! You’re welcome.

Now, on to Robbie Hazen & The Riot, a trio led by recent Notre Dame graduate and singer/songwriter Robbie Hazen, who played a long set too. This band’s sound kind of came at me out of left field. It’s not something that I typically come across in my wanderings.

All three musicians in the band are talented, but this is the kind of hand-holding, let’s-get-together-for-the-first-time lyrical content that isn’t really my bag because I like to listen to songs that take me into more complicated recesses of the songwriter’s psyche (Brian Jonestown Massacre) or that forcefully thrust a party into my face (The Freakin’ Hott), which means that where this band is coming from and what I’m listening for do not agree. Mainstream audiences, however, love to eat up such sweet songs for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I think that’s good for this band. I am, however, very concerned about the incorporation of Montell Jordan lyrics, whether done ironically or not, into the set. All things MJ should be shunned not only by this band, but by all of humanity. Robbie is an inspiring young man, and I really like his enthusiasm and respect his drive, but I think that if, and only if, he wants to complicate his songs a bit, he should overlook Montell Jordan when he looks back to the mid-90s and spend some time listening to Pinkerton instead. Given Robbie Hazen & The Riot’s current sound, it is more likely to get sucked up into the sky for mainstream audiences to adore than it is to battle its way to some dark stage on the outskirts of Austin during South By Southwest. How do you feel about it? You can listen to Robbie Hazen’s songs on his website player

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It was well past midnight by the time The Pretty Faces went on, and I was able to stay for a few of their numbers. By that point, I was exhausted. I believe anything that you spend more than six consecutive hours doing is work and I don’t like to work on Saturday nights, so I hitched a ride home from a friend and left Sweet Bronco behind to party with two of our favorite bands on the planet, The Pretty Faces and Stonefox. We are your slaves, and we love you guys!

New Times Broward/Palm Beach Photographer Chris Bellus, whose snapping talent far exceeds mine, was there on Saturday night, and a slideshow of his photos is available on the weekly newspaper’s website.

My Photo Gallery Below:

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