​It's beyond exciting that the SW 3rd Ave Music Festival is this week! Friday, to be exact. We have just received finalized set-time information for all of the stages, including our own New Times-curated event at the Green Room.

One key bit of information: IT STARTS EARLY. Doors open at 5 p.m., and our first band takes the stage at 5:15 p.m. this Friday. County Grind will be there from the very beginning, and after the live music ends at about 11 p.m., Radio-Active Records' DJs Mikey Ramirez, Sensitive Side, and maybe some special guests will take over for the official after party. Peep the schedule for our FREE event below.

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What's on your soundtrack for defeating Osama bin Laden?

​Today, in the media blitz following reports that U.S. forces shot bin Laden dead while raiding a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, (also the same day Adolf Hitler's death was announced in 1945) there's a soundtrack developing to accompany the elation currently felt by many Americans. One unifying "song" in the traditional sense -- aside from the "U.S.A." chant that'll spring up in more spots than just Rascal Flatts shows -- is pretty much impossible at this stage of divided social consciousness. But many will try, and the existing patriotic songs will surely get a workout in the coming days.

Not to dismiss past jingoistic efforts of country musicians like Toby Keith and Darryl Worley (Lee Greenwood will make some money today too), but the R&B and hip-hop communities have been one of the most vocal in the ongoing lyrical battle against Osama bin Laden, al Queda, Saddam Hussein, and general terrorist nastiness -- if random people behind Geraldo Rivera, Luther Campbell and Twitter are to be believed. If Michael Jackson were alive, he'd probably take a stab at creating an anthem. Here's betting Akon will. But these efforts could take (gasp) days! What can we listen to now now now?

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​Tonight marks the local unveiling of Cop City/Chill Pillars' latest exploration into "the center of the center" and other unimaginable locales. Propaganda is hosting a release party for the Lake Worth psychedelic punk trio's latest, Held Hostage on Planet Chill, and it's likely that an assortment of area musicians will be close to/on the stage with them. Two Brooklyn acts, Unstoppable Death Machines and Bad Dream, as well as Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt from Tennessee are also on tap.

In honor of this occasion, "Egyptians" is a track showcasing the band's tempo shifts, twisted ambiance, and ways that a beach sound can shift into desert mode just as easily. With those ominous echoes and rumbles in the background, you can almost see those buzzards circling in the distance.
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​SunFest Day 5:
West Palm Beach Waterfront
Sunday, May 1, 2011

Better Than: Watching the Celtics lose to the Heat. OK, not entirely, but you catch my drift.

Sure, there was dank in the air, but Sunday was all about the dancing room as SunFest came to a blissful close.

As we all melted under Sunday's blue sky, New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band brought the classic NoLa jazz sensation front and center. Clad in three-piece suits underneath the devilish sun, the half-dozen band members were more interested in the flawless delivery of Dixeland to West Palm Beach, than they were about their air supply.
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Photo by Lauren Tobon

​The wedding guests are packed shoulder to shoulder waiting for the bride to appear. "Harry looks so cute!" one woman gushes over the best man, the groom's brother. She's fiddling with the large brim of her straw hat, trying to keep it from getting jostled off her head in the crowd.

"He could have used a haircut," says the woman next to her in a similarly impractical and unnecessary hat. "If his mother were alive, she'd have made him get a haircut."

"Too true," said the first woman, nodding her head knowingly.

On the television screen, it's a gusty day in London but the sun is holding out. Outside of the Kingshead Pub in south Florida, it's dark. Of course, it's not quite six in the morning.
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Photo by David Von Bader

​SunFest Day 4: MGMT and Styx
West Palm Beach Waterfront
Saturday, April 30, 2011

Better than: Your average Saturday in the park.
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​SunFest Day 3: Gregg Allman
West Palm Beach Waterfront
Friday, April 29, 2011

Friday at SunFest wrapped up with a mellow set from the legendary Allman Brothers frontman Gregg Allman. The weather was cloudy and rather cool compared to the heat of the day, and the music matched.

Allman seemed a bit tired, and his backing band was tepid in comparison to the current touring Allman Brothers Band. It is fair to compare the two groups, though, because the band he brought to SunFest wasn't much different from the Bros, just weaker.

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Photo by Christine Borges

​Interpol
With School of Seven Bells
The Fillmore Miami Beach
Friday, April 29, 2011

Better than: Taking a love potion.

The review:

Much like a first date, Paul Banks was shy early in Interpol's set Friday. He loosened up quite a bit after the first couple of songs were played. By midset, he was courting us. Then came the compliments: "You're a beautiful, beautiful audience" -- and he really meant that, he said. Then he got to the good stuff -- after looking into the audience, he smiled a couple of times.

While their drums thundered and guitars emitted forceful tones, Interpol remained still for almost the entire evening. With legs locked into place, they used only their arms to play the hell out of their instruments. It was stage minimalism. It was nonmovement. And it was intoxicating.

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My bottom-three predictions were way the hell off last night, because last night there was no bottom three. Apparently, when there are only six people left, dividing the contestants in half seems uncouth -- and makes it too, too easy to predict who's gonna be left standing in five weeks.

We know that anyway. Barring some bizarre twist of fate, it's gonna be James Durbin and Scotty McCreery. Which will be boring.

The show already took a turn for the boring last night with the dismissal of Casey Abrams. Which tells us two things. One: Even though American idols are very often idiosyncratic (Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain), American Idols cannot be. Two: American Idol isn't a singing competition but a voice competition.
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​The delightful music festival on the high seas that was the subject of a New Times cover story earlier this year has returned! The second Bruise Cruise Festival sails February 10-13 next year from the Port of Miami to the Bahamas and back, and this time 520 bruisers are invited for the voyage. No word if they've raised the railings on the Carnival Imagination to keep the instruments out of the water.

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Bye bye Livid!

​

In a surprising move, Lil Daggers have parted ways with our good friends over at Livid Records, America's friendliest indie label. Although some might argue that Livid does not have the means to support the Daggers to the next step of indie superstardom, some will say that they were a good, homegrown match for each other.

Here's a message from Livid Records' boss, Chuck Livid.

Me? I don't give three shits if the following occurs: a) Livid retains the rights to repress their debut 7" and b) whenever the Daggers make it big, they bring along some label-mates along for tour support. Got to make that sweet merch money!

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Lil Wayne is keen on Ms. Toi's flavor.

​It goes without saying that Nardwuar the Human Serviette is the best celebrity interviewer of all time. Drake knows this, so he decided to go long for a fellow Canadian and got this prime chat set up with Lil Wayne. As Passion of the Weiss points out, Weezy "may be the only rapper I prefer sober," and in that state, he is quite insightful about the history of hip-hop in his hometown of New Orleans and the various edible delights (pictured above) spun off from that culture.

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​County Grind readers  already know that Atlanta psyche-punk outfit Carnivores will perform tonight at Propaganda, but we'd like to offer up three compelling words why they should consider making the drive to Lake Worth's J Street a wee bit early this evening: Space Between Words. Made up of former high school buds, this four-piece's jangly Southern rock meets indie rock hybrid reminds us a bit of the soulful indie blues of the Cold War Kids. Lead singer Steven Weingarth's quivering vocals seriously conjure up CWKs' frontman, Nathan Willett.

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Mo Def Mouse

​Outkast's Big Boi and Andre 3000 haven't parted ways, but, as evidenced by Big Boi's solo album and their complete separation from each other on their own CDs, they don't want to spend too much time together. Plus, as Big Boi revealed on his Twitter, he has started seeing other people. He's rocking out with Modest Mouse. (And just in case you were hoping for some sick Daddy Fat Sax flow over "Float On," Lupe Fiasco already mucked that plan with "The Show Goes On.")

We're sure Outkast'll be fine. While we wonder what this team-up is going to sound like, let's remember and watch some classic hip-hop and rock collaborations. More >>

Photo by Ian Witlen

​SunFest Day 2
Cee Lo Green and Jason Mraz
West Palm Beach Waterfront
Thursday, April 28, 2011

View a slideshow from SunFest Day 2 here.

Better than: A grueling hourlong drive from Miami.

I popped my SunFest cherry with a power duo of headliners I've loved for a long time but never seen live. I'm an avid appreciator of Virginia crooner Jason Mraz's "older" material, and Cee Lo Green, is a voice that's been perking my ears since the good 'ol Goodie Mob days. More >>

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​Not owning the Carnivores' material is harder than owning it. The Atlanta quartet made it abundantly easy to stock up on its claustrophobic melodies by offering the four-song Chandelier EP via Bandcamp or a Mediafire link.

If the title track's speedy R&B bass line and guitar stabs are a little too disorienting (not to these ears), smooth out with "Darker Days." "Your hands are so cold, like Jack the Ripper," begins the refrain. That and other devilishly clever moments will surely dominate the pair of South Florida shows beginning this evening at Laser Wolf and moving up to Propaganda on Friday. We loved 'em back in January.

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Last night was a sad one on American Idol, not least of all because the Sun-Sentinel's television critic, Tom Jicha, was for once justified in his moony adoration of metalhead James Durbin.

It was Carole King night on Idol, which, perhaps counterintuitively, is an ideal night for a metalhead to show what he can do. Carole King songs can be effectively metalized, of course -- so can anything -- but probably not with just a few days' rehearsal time. So Durbin lent his outsized pipes to a pretty standard, subtly rocking version of King's very first hit, harking way the hell back to the days when the Brill Building dealt in angelic three-minute palliatives for flesh-rending teenybopper horniness. And he slew it. The dude is almost certain to be the next American Idol.

Others didn't do so well, and it's now very apparent that an early favorite will be sent home tonight. Here's a breakdown:
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​Dreams came true for boy-band fanatics at the 2010 American Music Awards when members of New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys joined forces onstage introducing themselves at NKOTBSB. Following their debut performance, the guys announced they'd be working on a collaborative album as well as heading out on tour come summertime.

Last night, the supergroup appeared on Dancing With the Stars to promote their joint single "Don't Turn Off the Lights." Although the song and performance was nothing to write home about, at least they kept it consistently cheesy. Despite the fact most of them are well into their mid- to late 30s, they still managed to generate wild screams from the audience. Now all the world needs is for 98 degrees and 'NSync to get back together.

NKOTBSB kicks off its summer tour on May 25.
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Photo by Betsey Denberg

​Ghostland Observatory More >>

​Los Canadians
The Kids Are Alroot
(Starcrunch Records)
myspace.com/loscanadians

Leave it to a bunch of snotty South Florida punk rockers to devise for themselves polite Canadian identities. Born out of the ashes of Chickenhead and the Tri-Rails, Los Canadians forged a pretty path of destruction in South Florida that revolved around train-hopping, Berkeley, broken bicycles, and free bagels. They were also famous squatters of Coconut Grove's the Mutiny Hotel during its decrepit, abandoned years.

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