As Tall as Lions

As Tall as Lions’ self-titled, 2006 sophomore album was one of that year’s most overlooked. That’s a shame, because the Long Island, New York,-based band’s disc was a surprisingly bittersweet, wistful work, full of soulful lullabies about the fleeting nature of life and love. Ghosts and faded lovers populated its…

Get Physical With Booka Shade

The international dance-floor domination of the German electro-house duo Booka Shade as well as that of the record label they cofounded, Get Physical, came serendipitously. “The plan was not to have a plan,” Arno Kammermeier, half of the twosome, says of Get Physical’s heady early days. It was around the…

WMC Preview: Remix Hotel Miami After Party Series at the Awarehouse

OrganicArmaOrganicArma’s ambitious, multipurpose venue, dubbed “the Awarehouse,” opened with a packed debut extravaganza a couple Saturdays ago — check out our photo slideshow of the event. Building on that party momentum, the folks behind the space are going for a bigger splash during WMC. The Awarehouse will host all of…

Digable Planets Shows Are Cancelled

via www.myspace.com/digableplanetsDigable Planets, those purveyors of feel-good, wordy Nineties-era hip-hop, were scheduled to play several dates around South Florida in April. The first gig was set for April 15 at City Limits, followed by one at the Vagabond the day after, and another at Crobar that Friday.We’ve just gotten word…

South Florida According to Brooklyn: To My Haters

Photo by Justin Namon, www.thepopnessparty.comTo read past installments of Miami According to Brooklyn, click here. This week is addressed to my haters. First off, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read my column. Second, the things that I write and talk about are just one man’s…

WMC Preview: Q&A With Booka Shade

The international dance floor domination of the German electro-house duo Booka Shade, as well as that of the record label they co-founded, Get Physical, came serendipitously. “The plan was not to have a plan,” says Arno Kammermeier, half of the twosome, of Get Physical’s heady early days. It was around…

The Original Wailers

With Bob Marley at the helm in the late 1970s, the Wailers reengineered the reggae blueprint on Exodus by embracing pop, funk, and R&B and by teasing out multiple layers of riffs, melodies, and harmonies on each song. But even following Marley’s death, the band continued in various forms over…

Old Wives’ Tale

The Weston-based indie up-and-comers Old Wives’ Tale are nothing if not professional — the band’s entire existence argues further for the end of record labels. Its website and debut disc are snappily designed and art-directed by the band itself, with a high-gloss, new wave style much like the band’s music…

WMC Preview: Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair

Andy Butler, the cunning mind behind Hercules and Love Affair, is a champion of saucy, sweaty disco and house, and his DJ sets reflect this focused style. The group’s self-titled record was easily one of the biggest exclamation points in dance music’s lexicon last year. Alongside singers Nomi and Kim…

WMC Preview: Q&A with Late of the Pier

The English quartet Late of the Pier are among their homeland’s best, brightest young hopes, with all the high cheekbones and music press praise that usually entails. But don’t mistake them for one of the dour, fedora-ed Brit indie groups of recent years. This band makes fun music for the…

South Florida According to Brooklyn: Spring Break Is Here

Photo by Justin Namon, thepopnessparty.comTo read past installments of South Florida According to Brooklyn, click here. Spring break is here, and the streets of South Beach are filled with jackasses. I’ve noticed more and more as I get older and wiser, that the people who come here from out of…

Fischerspooner

Dirty Hairy, the latest South Beach party promoted by a cohort of downtown kids, prides itself in being over-the-top. Its setting, LIV, is an almost ridiculously glam club in the revamped Fontaine­bleau, with one of the trippiest light shows around and a seemingly endless font of money to throw at…

Indie Invasion From Miami

With the exception of the always-awesome power poppers the Pretty Faces from Boca, Saturday’s show at Respectable Street is billed as an “indie invasion from Miami.” Among the highlights is Astari Nite, helmed by the enigmatic Michael Ghost. The group has crafted a cohesive, melancholic sound, dark without sliding into…

Mad Rockets and the Freakin Hott

Although based in sunny Fort Lauderdale, the foursome of the Mad Rockets channel the grit of Motor City in their dirt-under-the-fingernails brand of rock ‘n’ roll. It’s easy to tell where the band’s musical heart lies just by the players’ pseudonyms: frontman Jinx, guitarist/vocalist Sonic Jim, bassist Todd Damour, and…

Saturday Night: The Pogues at Pompano Beach Amphitheater

The PoguesWith Kiss KissPompano Beach AmphitheaterSunday, March 7, 2009Better Than: Having to hear about it after the factThe Review: Saturday night’s concert by the Pogues at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre marked the first-ever South Florida appearance by the band, since its inception in 1982. Judging by the audience’s gently boozy,…