Can I Say Record Swap Event at Cinema Paradiso

Cinema Paradiso and FLIFF constantly surprise me with their range of event offerings. It’s like their arms are open wide to embrace the local arts community in a big, warm, sometimes drunken, hug. Yes, they always have a little bar going on the sideline of just about every event.

On Sunday night, I went to check out the new monthly record swap/film/live music event Can I Say at Cinema Paradiso to check out Band No. 12 and No Class Action. The crowd was big, tattooed (for the most part) and appreciative, and the bands were just pure loud,yelling screaming sonic good times. The in-between song banter was quite precious and amusing, but how else do you react to an audience almost entirely composed of amused hecklers, asking, without expectation, for new songs, making flatulent noises and whispering faint “I love yous” to crack everyone up? I couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off of my face the whole time. I wanted to hang around to watch The Shakers, but the dying of the night took me down with it. What? I had laundry to fold, which, as you may or may not know, has a talent for piling up, and there is nothing more depressing in life than a pile of laundry — clean, dirty or mixed.

Saturday: Poor House Show

It’s crazy, but Sweet Bronco is going to be out of town this weekend. Who am I without SB? I do not know, but that is a question I should probably ask myself in a less public forum. So, what am I going to be up to this scrumptious Saturday night? Hmmm. I hope that I can make it out to this event tonight after I do some reporting for an awesome and sexy Metromix feature that will appear later this summer.

Gosh, I am so lost in my own world right now. I guess that’s what happens when you put all of your fears of reading ineptitude behind you for a few months in order to muster the courage to plunge headfirst into the In Search of Lost Time experience. Have you done it yet? It’s kinda like Ulysses; you gotta give it a go at least once in your life. And if you (or I) fail, at least you can fudge your way through snooty cocktail parties.

Mid-Week Road Nods: Johnny Sketch at Alligator Alley Thurs. Also, Interesting Fashion on Wed.

Road Nods: Wednesday night at Culture Room two bands with names that lead me to believe I would not be a big fan of their music — Boys Like Girls and Never Shout Never — will play. I definitely will not be there, but I just have to say that this kid has awesome taste in hats.

Road Nods: Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes from New Orleans will play Alligator Alley on Thursday night. The group comes with a strong warning issued to Floridians via its website:

DRIVIN’ SOUTH…

June 9, 2009

“Florida, you had best be prepared, cuz it’s about that time again…You know, the time when Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes come through yer state like a strong hurricane”

Uh oh, sound like good times. A cursory glance of the band’s website leads me to the conclusion that the video, complete with the band getting hit on by a grizzly tattooed guy with cutoff sleves, is not embeddable, so I’m linking to the video page here if you want to check it out.

Saturday Night! This is a Tough One. Good Thing I’ll Be in Jacksonville…

…because there is no way that I would be able to make up my mind about what to do.

Rockabilly!! What is the deal with South Florida and this rockabilly stuff? I can’t wrap my head around the nuances of the subculture, but I like it generally.

Rockabiliciousness provided courtesy of Viva Le Vox and The Black Fairlanes at Propaganda in Lake Worth.

Also on Saturday, Bobby Load & the Little Bastards will play with Psycho Daisies, Vesper Sparrow and Boise Bob & His Backyard Band at Alligator Alley.

Sounds like superduper good times.

The monthly event Auter Explosion will go down this Saturday night at Cinema Paradiso. I went to the last one, and I feel obliged to put it out there that CP knows how to put on a pretty good party.

It’s all about beer and live music on the patio in the early evening, and then the event naturally progresses indoors, where the live performers put on a few intriguing shenanigans before CP screens local short films. Timb as the Craven (who will celebrate his birthday at Poor House on July 10th with The Freakin’ Hott, Zombies Organize and Thee Yadayadas), Astari Nite and The Seeds of Evolution (interesting!) will perform.

Also, I spoke with Yvonne from IWAN on the phone earlier today. She’s almost recovered from the massive event, The Bubble, that they threw at their new warehouse on June 6. I was not able to attend b/c I was in the Keys, but I sure was jealous when she told me all of the details about the mindblowing performances and exhibits. I’m certainly going to have to keep up with all of the other events that they’re doing this summer. She told me that there’s a show at Poor House tonight. Murderous Rampage will play with The Holy Terrors and The Clap.

So, it’s like I said before, good luck picking which of these awesome events to attend. I think that if I were going to be around tonight, I would have to at least start the night by checking out Bobby Load at Alligator Alley. Why? Because he’s Bobby Load, and I haven’t see him perform in a long, long time.

Tonight’s The Night…

…that I have almost no idea what the hell is going on. The Avett Brothers are playing at Parker Playhouse. I’m not a long-time fan or anything, but they sound all right. I’m saving up to go to Cat Power in July though. I grow weary of dropping $25 on freaking concerts down here, and I really, really want to see whether or not the talented Ms. Power will run off stage or hide behind her hair. I love her haunting madness, but when I saw her in New York City a few years back, it was the biggest waste of money ever. I’ll take a chance.

There’s some reggaeliciousness happening at Propaganda tonight. B-liminal and Fresh Catch will lead the headbobbing. They sound so fun and lighthearted and cool and jammy! There’s no way on Earth that I could drag Sweet Bronco 40 miles for reggae when I’m all grannied out and fatigued like this.

It is only 40 minutes until happy hour starts at Mai Kai…hmmm…and there’s always the awesomeness afforded daily and nightly by Manor Lanes.

What’s up with Quiet River? I wish that that band would play another show soon. I totally arrived late to the group’s Poor House show last month and did not get the opportunity to indulge in the sound. That was lame.  By the way, have you heard of Surfer Blood yet? I like the group’s sound, which is convenient for me because they will be playing with Stonefox at their CD release show for their second album Back On the Wire at Propaganda on July 30th. Um, nice picture, Stonefox. They are so hot. I wonder if they ever wonder what it’s like to be mortal. I doubt it. This picture is so cool that I have to repost it on my blog right now:

I love it when weekends line up like that, and I won’t even be out of town that weekend. Yay! I first heard of Surfer Blood a couple of weeks ago when I saw that it was playing Propaganda. When I looked at the bands MySpace page, I noticed there was a pretty extensive Florida-Georgia tour schedule up. One of my favorite things about Stonefox is that they do those east coast tours. I wonder what it’s like for them. It’s so rad when people make a massive effort.

So, Mai Kai it is, and the little one is going to be there and everything! Bye bye.

PS. I’m not going to be here tomorrow night, but I will put up some majorly cool happenings later tonight or tomorrow morning. I’m glad that I won’t be here because I won’t have to choose one of the many awesome events. I’m going to save SO many brain cells!

P.F. Chang’s, Being a Granny, Haterade, Moodvane Reflection and Other Things That Have Been On My Mind And In My Digestive System

Welcome to Grannyville, Moodvane! Thanks, it’s great to be here. What was up with me last night? After celebrating a friend’s birthday at Blue Martini (I know, right?) and then having dinner with my mom and her beau at P.F. Changs (again I know), I got home at 10 p.m. and dropped straight to sleep. So, I never made is over to Zoo Bar to check out Viva Le Vox. I guess it’ll have to wait for another time. I’ve been feeling pretty miserable about what I wrote earlier in the week about Robbie Hazen & the Riot. They’re talented and actually very, very good at doing something that, as I said before, doesn’t fall within my musical interests. I don’t even know how to mentally process certain types of music. so it makes little sense for me to discuss them, especially in reference to what does make sense to me. Musical preference is all a matter of opinion and determined by how much you connect to an artist’s material. I am always looking to be taken slightly beyond the peripheries of my normal experiences, and so that informs my tastes. Speaking of my tastes…

It’s true, I drank the pop music haterade in my early ’20s and I don’t listen to radio. I dislike a lot of popular bands and artists like Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon (poor Jess had to sit with me as I complained my way through this concert), Regina Spektor (vomit), MIA and on and on and on. Many many smart, in-the-know people disagree with me about this, but the only argument that I can make is that this stuff either annoys me or just plain old leaves me cold. The real issue is that… Read more

Tonight: Marc Solomon and Jungle Juice at Propaganda and Viva Le Vox at Zoo Bar

Tonight, Jungle Juice, which includes members of Spred the Dub will perform at Propaganda with Marc Solomon Band. Jungle Juice is feel good and Solomon is mellow guitar picking and his voice sounds as young as his face looks.

I think I’m going to head over to Chopper Zoo Bar to check out Viva Le Vox because I keep seeing them everywhere and I’m curious and I won’t be able to see the band play in Lake Worth on Saturday with The Black Fairlanes. I don’t think I’ll fit in all that well because it’s a rockabilly thing, but I’m going anyway. Woohoo!

So sorry about the crappy little pictures, but my media manager is acting all wonky. Maybe it’s Firefox. Dunno.

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:

Broward Nonmorons at Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins Concert at Revolution

Some people say that there are very few nonmorons in South Florida, but I have to say that my experience last Tuesday night at the Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins and Dearland concert at Revolution Live! seriously led me to doubt the validity of that statement.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of mellow people in the venue who were really into the concert and even, rare for Soflaudiences, showed enough love at the end of the show to enable the band to give an encore without seeming to feel like they were throwing it away on a bunch of ingrates. All in all, it appears that there are a lot of people in the Broward area who know good music when they hear it, despite the radio situation. Also the opening act, Elvis Perkins, whom we’d never heard of before the concert, was amazing!

I Wish That I Could Go Out Into the World Tonight, But…

fatigue and self-preservation prevent me. Instead, I’m undertaking a very risky Betty Crocker adventure. I bought cod at Publix the other day, and I’m attempting to cook it according to the very first recipe that came up on Google for the search term “cod recipe”. How creative, right? Well, it looks like a good one.

Since Sweet Bronco and I live right around the corner from Gateway movie theater, we are going to go and see The Hangover after dinner…even though I’m in a bad mood and feeling very tiffy toward the Sweet One, who ticked me off and then proceeded to wash the dishes in the close proximity to me while I cooked and then, even after I banged the silverware drawer to express my frustration, went to read on the couch while I slaved over a hot stove. Oh well, what can I do? Appealing to my nicer side when I’m in a bad mood is a pretty futile effort anyway. I just chalk it up to the gap of understanding that exists between all human beings, no matter how close. If he didn’t have the capacity to tick me off, I’d really be worried.

PS. Please don’t be jealous of my talent for resizing photos.

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