There is only one word that could describe last weekend: Boring. It was so boring, personally I went to bed most nights by 1 a.m. Come on Miami! I know we are at the height of the low season, but that doesn't mean we have to get lazy. Unfortunately, things don't seem to be picking up this weekend either, except for a few gems here and there.

Last weekend was a rough one for The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami). After a ceiling tile fell and hit a patron, the fire department closed the venue for the weekend until repairs could be made and a building inspector could examine the work. But leave to the owners to make lemonade out of lemons. Its Thursday night party Money Shot will be happening tonight with special DJ Tommy Ryk (Rokbar). And to celebrate the reopening there will be a Skyy is Falling drink special (Get it? Got it? Good!), with free Skyy vodka from 10 to 11 p.m. In addition, last week's canceled Mid-Summer's Night Fairy Tale will happen this Saturday.

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There's nothing like a good mash-up video to leave a smile on your face.
My buddy, Francisco "Keep the Smirnoff Coming" Alvarado just sent me a link to a new video from popular Miami DJ/chef, Tom Laroc, who's been making a name for himself with his mash up parties at Love/Hate and Bella Rose on South Beach.

For this video, Laroc takes Barrington Levy's "Broader than Broadway" smushes up against Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" and actually makes it work. You have to watch it to appreciate it, and Barrington's smooth dancing techniques make the whole thing worthwhile.

--Jonathan Cunningham

It's no secret that Nas and Bill O'Reilly aren't exactly best friends. O'Reilly has been slamming rappers for as long as I can remember on his overly popular televison show, the O'Reilly Factor and Nas is one of his biggest targets. Of course, Nas has taken a few lyrical jabs at O'Reilly in return, perhaps the biggest coming on his latest single, "Sly Fox" where Nas calls the station exactly what it is, a propaganda machine.

Now that the lines have been drawn in the sand, check out this recent video clip of Nas at a recent Fox News protest calling for an end to the stations racist attacks on the Obama family. Hopefully, Nas will perform "Sly Fox" this weekend when he's in town with a slue of other rap heavyweights for the Rock the Bells concert on Saturday at Bayfront Park.

-Jonathan Cunningham

The week's basically in full swing with several national shows today and tonight, so get moving. -- Arielle Castillo

*If this is the first you're hearing about it, it may be too late for you to get to the Rockstar Mayhem Fest today at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach... But just in case, it's a star-studded (if subgenre-mixed-up) traveling circus of all things loud and able to be played on "active rock" radio. Headliners are Slipknot -- on a surprisingly acclaimed comeback -- and fellow nu-metallers Disturbed... But hey, there are a number of other diverse acts including the awesome Mastodon, Dragonforce, Underoath, and Miami's own Black Tide -- if you missed my recent cover story on these guys, click here to catch up.

*Return to Forever, the closest thing jazz ever had to a popular supergroup, plays at the Fillmore Miami Beach. Click here to read more about the trio.

*I guess you should.... ride your bicycle to the Flobots/Busdriver gig at Culture Room. They're against the whole SUV thing, right?

*Spam Allstars play at Purdy Lounge, and that's always a surefire bet.

*If you like gambling and country music, here's your dream evening: Earl Thomas Conley performs at the Miccosukee Casino (which seems to be hosting an awful lot of live music lately, for better or for worse).

Yelle

Just got the announcement that cutesy Gallic electro-pop chanteuse Yelle is launching a full-scale tour this fall, and heading down to these parts -- actually, Miami proper. (Good idea -- she's definitely got more of a fun-times Miami vibe than a Ft.Lauderdale-rock-venue vibe).

The show date is October 10. No surprise that it's a Poplife booking!

What's funny is the venue she's playing -- the Polish American Club. Remember that place? (Poplife famously put on Of Montreal there a couple years back). I guess it kind of fell by the wayside for a while when Studio A was going, but now with Studio A out of the picture, the PAC is the only possibility in Miami proper with that much general admission space. Too bad it's so far out of the way and has such a terrible parking setup (I have horrible memories of circling around all those West Miami-Dade apartment complexes and strip malls). But hey, at least you won't have to worry too much about getting held up on the way back to your car while wearing a silly neon outfit.

More info about ticket presales and so on when it becomes available. But for now, enjoy this video for "A Cause Des Garcons" after the jump.

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So with this upcoming Rock the Bells concert around the corner, perhaps the biggest, WTF act on the line-up this year is the Pharcyde.

It's been 11 years since the California-based group last performed together as a foursome. Lot's of personal issues (money, drugs, and internal fistfights) caused the group to disband in 1997 (along with the changing nature of hip-hop music at the time) so lot's of people could easily assume that the Pharcyde would never reunite. There's not really a market for their material commercial-wise, and they rarely seem like they're able to get on the same page.

But as of last week, they're officially criss-crossing the country in the name of unity, making some money (natch) and good hip-hop. It's hard to say how long the group will last beyond this tour, but hopefully they can get it together. For proof of how good they can be, check out one of my favorite hip-hop tracks of all time, "Runnin.'"

--Jonathan Cunningham

Contest closes tomorrow! Sign up now.

With Rock The Bells only a few weeks away happening Saturday, we here at the New Times are feeling a bit generous. We are giving away a pair (read 'em, two) of tickets to the show at Bicentennial Park, Saturday, August 2. Scheduled to perform are A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Method Man & Redman, Reakwon, Ghostface, De La Soul, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs, Wale, The Cool Kids, Santogold and more.

Click here to sign up for your chance to go to the festival on us! You must register as a New Times Insider to enter. Contest closes Wednesday, July 30.

- Jose D. Duran

So with the large scale hip-hop extravaganza, Rock the Bells, coming up this Saturday, it seems fitting to kick off this week's version of Throwback Tuesdays with an artist performing at the concert. But which one to choose? There's so many, and most of them have careers that run back to far, 90% of the line-up consists of certified legends.
A Tribe Called Quest
Method Man
Redman
De La Soul
Nas
Pharcyde!!??!!
It's enough to make a blogger go crazy.
So I jumped on YouTube and started surfing and Mos Def's "Umi Says" jumped out at me right away. It's definitely a hidden gem on Mos Def's stellar debut album, Black on Both Sides, and it has such a positive message and melodic beat that it's perfect for a chill Tuesday morning. Enjoy.
--Jonathan Cunningham

Just found the news deep in the archives of Brooklynvegan, where I apparently missed it when the tour dates were announced back in July but...

Rejoice! DANZIG IS COMING BACK TO SOUTH FLORIDA!

This is exciting because he hasn't been here in, like, forever, and when Glenn Danzig spoke to Jason Handelsman of the Miami New Times last year, it sure didn't seem like he was very enthusiastic about ever again doing a full-scale tour. Not sure what happened, but he's apparently done an about-face and launched his own sort of branded package tour, with the coolest name: Blackest of the Black.

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Tonight, lots of smoky stylings, and an open mike that is not for the faint of heart. -- Arielle Castillo

*The urbane crooner Brendan O'Hara returns to the bohemian environs of the Florida Room, at the always-chic Delano. Click here for more about this handsome cat.

*There's another installment of the weekly open mike night at the Chocolate Moose Cafe in Davie, featuring an actual gong -- step onstage if you dare! Click here to read more about it.

*As if you need an extra excuse to crack out the fancy shirt.... But if you do, head to Jazid for its weekly Guayabera Party Night, with live salsa featuring the percussion stylings of Tomas Diaz of the Spam Allstars.

*Local blues master Graham Drout of Iko Iko still reigns at Tobacco Road. And there's no cover!

*Listen, you will be so glad once you've dined at the surprisingly fabulous Magnum Lounge on NE 79th St. in Miami. Trust me, the outside environs are a little less than glam, but inside is a return to more gracious years. If you're like me and like living in your own pretend vintage la-la-land, order a martini and enjoy the excellent live piano-driven cabaret standards.

Every once in a while I lurk the Craigslist musician ads in search of some local music news (lineup changes, and so forth). Here are some of my favorite recent ones.

BTW, bands, if you're looking to round out a lineup and want an extra shout-out for your ad, let me know by sending me an e-mail and I'll post something on the blog. To keep things simple, no cover bands, and no single musicians looking for other people to jam. -- Arielle Castillo

*Established indie scene favs Dance Jenny are looking for a cellist and violinist for some studio recordings. I like Dance Jenny. Go listen to them here.

*Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I just don't think the world needs a band that sounds like "the Gym Class Heroes meets Miami." Instrument-backed hip-hop is cool -- we've already got a few local acts like ArtOfficial making moves in that realm -- but Gym Class Heroes is just weak rapping masked by watered-down rock made safe for white kids at the mall. Thank you, drive through.

*Metal singer needed in Delray Beach... Nothing really special about this ad EXCEPT that it's for a stoner/sludge metal band with influences listed including High on Fire, Neurosis, and Sleep. Hell yeah! Someone please go try out so we can have another local sludgy band to like.

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This just in: The Rock the Bells concert scheduled for this Saturday, August 2, has been moved from Bicentennial Park to Bayfront Park. They're basically right next to each other so logistically, it doesn't make much of a difference, but according to Angel Candelaria whose company, Contagious Musiq is one of the chief local organizers of the festival, most people are happy that Rock the Bells will be at Bayfront and not Bicentennial.

"Initially, everyone was upset that [Rock the Bells] wasn't at Bayfront this year," he says. "That's where it was last year but there was a hold up with Live Nation trying to purchase it, so we were told that the concert would have to be at Bicentennial this year. Now that that's done, we can do it at Bayfront again and we're all much happier about it."

And for good reason. Bicentennial is kind of an awkward place for a hip-hop festival. Plus it's flat and the auditorium style seating at Bayfront Park is much more conducive to enjoying a concert.

I specifically asked Angel if there were any line-up changes and he said no. Also, the timing of the event is not effected. Doors are at noon and it runs until midnight.

--Jonathan Cunningham

Miami, a city that has inspired numerous crime-driven TV shows, plenty of bad movies and countless rap videos. And why wouldn't it? It's sunny city laced with danger -- and plenty of coke. So it goes without saying, plenty of songs have been written about our fair city. I've narrowed down the choices to the top 5 songs that use Miami as its muse. The formula was something to the effect:

[(# of expensive cars mention + # of coke references) x # the word Latina(s) is said] / the vivid portrayal of Miami by the artist(s)

So feel free to argue, but the numbers don't lie:

5. Against Me! "Miami"
Album: Search for a Former Clarity
Choice Quote: "The talent is trite and exaggerated/The food is turning and the water's fucking poison/And it's rotting your teeth right out of your head/sight and hearing are quickly faded [...] Just like Miami!/Miami!/Fucking Miami!/Miami!"

Verdict: Naples via Gainesville band Against Me! has written the prefect song for those of us who have that love/hate relationship with the city. Then again, if I grew up in Naples, I'd be a little jealous about not living in Miami too.

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It's Monday, but there's still music to be found out there. -- Arielle Castillo

*There's no better way to ease into the week's grind than Purdy Lounge's weekly Monday reggae night. There's dancehall in the back, but the mainroom is pretty strictly roots. Jean P. Jam performs, alongside DJs Governor Lee and Junior Green.

*Alright, this isn't live music but would you really want to miss this week's installment of Sweat Records' Music Movie Mondays? Really, Purple Rain is this week's movie! Click here to read more about the event.

*Churchills' Monday Night Jazz Jam is always a well-attended, chilled-out, food-for-the-brain way to ease into the week. Click here if you need to read more (but really, under what rock have you been hiding?)

*Mondays must be the night for jazz, because up north, in Ft. Lauderdale, we've got The Sugar Daddy's playing at O'Hara's Jazz Cafe.

*Pat DeLeon plays, as he has done for the last few weeks, at Tobacco Road.