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This is it. Seven bands in about a minute. Two of them I didn't get the names of, so I just made something up. If you know who they are, tell us so we can tell the world. Tell your friends. Support the movement. Give the people with the money a reason to put me on the streets capturing all the awesome fucking moments this city is full of. Shit like that, that kind of shit, shit of that nature. Ride 'til I die. Make videos. Anybody can do it.

-- Jacob Katel

So if you didn't attend any of the art fairs this past weekend, you missed out on plenty of visual stimulation. This year, Scope definitely was my favorite fair, not only because the work for sale was superb, but their commitment to inviting local artists and musicians to take part in the festivities is pretty refreshing. Most fair tend to forget that for the other 360 days they aren't here, Miami still has a pretty vibrant artistic community.

In their continued commitment to the local community, Scope invited Miami artistic collective FriendsWithYou to set up a lounge, complete with inflatable bounce house, for attendees to enjoy. Well, apparently for the last night, FriendsWithYou got Otto Von Schirach and friends to close out the exhibit with a (impromptu?) performance. Check out the video above, courtesy of Aiden Dillard, of the show at Scope.

-- Jose D. Duran

Prefuse 73 with Eliot Lipp and PG 13
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Heathrow Lounge, Miami Beach

Better Than: Any of the usual Sunday night mainstream hip-hop club nights.

One of the many cool things about Art Basel is all the cool music acts that it brings down to our sandy shores. Case in point, last night the always-eclectic Prefuse 73 was in town--along with label mate Eliot Lip, local star producer PG 13 and other guests DJs.

The place for the venue was the (newish) Heathrow Lounge in South Beach -- one of the few places on the beach that sponsors leftfield music and, thankfully, provides comfy couches for people to sit, unlike those beach clubs that charge you for bottle service for the privilege of sitting down.

People started coming in around 11 p.m., at the time PG 13 was crafting some adventurous, yet melodic digital grooves. And in case you are wondering, last night's crowd consisted of a cool mix of cute art school students, neo b-boys, assorted free-spirits and bearded laptop-beat nerds.

MSTRKRFT with Pauly Crush and Jessica Who?
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Heathrow Lounge, Miami Beach

Better Than: Ninety percent of the other Basel parties during the week.

Art Basel brought plenty of musical performances during the week. Unfortunately, most of them were invite-only or secret parties no one knew about. But Saturday night, Heathrow Lounge had a come-one, come-all party (as long as you paid the $25 cover charge) with Canadian electro-house duo MSTRKRFT. They aren't exactly strangers to the city; I've personally heard them spin more times than I can remember, last time being at the Fool's Gold party at White Room the Friday night of Winter Music Conference. Unfortunately, White Room hadn't exactly upgraded its sound system during the week, like many other venues do, so the sound was muddled and completely off.

But that definitely wasn't a problem at Heathrow Lounge, where MSTRKRFT finally broke in the venue's speakers properly. Nope, sound wasn't an issue at all, but there were issues. To understand why there were issues, we have to look to MSTRKRFT. The duo is part of a new breed of DJs/producers that are idolized more like rockstars than your traditional DJ. People literally go to see MSTRKRFT as if it were a KISS concert and Jesse Keeler and Al-P are going to shoot fireworks from their fingers as they twist and turn knobs. People press against the DJ booth pumping their fist in the air and do the occasional headbang. Yes, seeing MSTRKRFT live is more of a rock concert experience than a traditional DJ set.

Art Damage with Panda Bear and No Age
Friday, December 5
Karu & Y, Downtown Miami

Better Than: Everything happening that night on the planet Earth if you happen to take Pitchfork or College radio charts as the gospel.

The Review: The rumors of a No Age/Panda Bear double bill during Basel begin about three weeks ago when opening band The Sads posted the event to their MySpace with few details. An Animal Collective (Panda's main band) obsessed friend gave me the heads up, and it was then that I knew, more than anything I've ever known before, that I must be there. Panda Bear's Person Pitch came in at number of my favorite album for 2007 -- which I keep because I am a nerd -- and I already saw the man responsible for number one, Johnny Jewel, at last year's fair. No Age, too, had put out two amazing LPs in as many year (they got an out of left field, but completely deserved, Grammy nom earlier in the week for best packaging for their Sub Pop debut Nouns, which, in a perfect world, should be competing for Rock Album of the Year, too).

Then last weekend the flyer hit the internet not only carrying the dreaded words "by invite only," but also revealing the show would be held at Karu & Y. Karu & Y? Really? The infamous downtown club more known for hiring reality television luminaries like Tila Tequila and Kendra Wilkinson for part appearances than awesome concerts? The fear of $20 drinks aside, I, like many, tried my luck RSVPing anyway, and got a quick confirmation. All was good in the world, until we posted it here on Crossfade. The organizers caught wind, and sent out word to anyone who had been confirmed reminding them that if you didn't get an invite, then sorry, you're not actually getting in. Which turned out to be, surprise, surprise, a bunch of bullshit. They let pretty much everyone 21 and over in, and I scoured the entrance for anything resembling a guest list. There wasn't one.

If you are into dazzling, disjointed hip-hop beats, then you have probably heard of a whiz kid and producer that goes by the name of Prefuse 73. Born in Miami, but raised in Atlanta, Prefuse 73 (born Scott Herren) also records under various monikers like Savath & Savalas and Delarosa & Asora. Still, he's best known and admired around the world for his flawless work as Prefuse 73.

After releasing his debut 2001 album, Vocal Studies + Up Rock Narratives, Herren earned the attention and respect of underground electronic music aficionados. And though his production technique is firmly rooted in hip-hop, Herren's work also delves deeply into the realm of electro and ambient, making Prefuse 73 a difficult artist to pigeonhole.  

So it's very fitting that the eclectic Prefuse, along with Elliot Lip and local hero PG 13, is performing this Sunday at Miami Beach's Heathrow Lounge for the last night of Art Basel. "I got a lot of friends in Miami," says Herren, speaking via phone from his Brooklyn home. "I also started doing a lot of stuff for [Miami-based label] Schematic. I have some close friends down in M.I.A., but I'm not very good at communicating with people when I'm not around, so I'll be cool to be visiting."

Matt & Kim

Nodzz and Matt & Kim
The Converse/Kill Your Idols space at the Marcy Building, the Design District, Miami

The Gossip After Dark
O.H.W.O.W., Miami
Thursday, Dec. 4

Better Than: Anything else you could have been doing for free, without a guest list hassle, last night.

The Review:

Well, as Basel's getting on, and my brain is scrambled thanks to Converse's free keg and O.H.W.O.W.'s Campari cocktails (oh, I drank them because the tips went to charity!), I'll try to keep this succinct. In a nutshell: Wednesday's free Yelle show demonstrated how an indifferent crowd can make an alright performance seem lackluster. But last night's Matt & Kim show demonstrated how a wildly enthusiastic crowd can turn a slightly above-average performance into a sweaty, ecstatic freak-out.

Fun to explore was the space itself, which features vintage punk rock concert photography  and portraits by Eileen Polk -- including large-scale photos of two of my favorites, Johnny Thunders and Wendy O. Williams in their relatively healthier phases.

Yelle
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Art Loves Music, Miami Beach

Better Than: I'm going to skip this.

Let me start out by saying: Worst. Crowd. Ever.

I'm going to keep this short since we already reviewed Yelle not too long ago. Way to castrate an energetic performer and have her beg you to wake up and ask you countless times, "Are you sleeping?" Yelle's (aka Julie Budet) shirt said "Let them eat gas!!!" and gas is what the crowd needed.

Do I know for a fact that Yelle can work a crowd? Hell-to-the-yes! Back in October, when the band visited the Polish American Club, the crowd nearly blew the top off the venue and was at least two-thirds of the size of the crowd that gathered on the beach last night.

And it wasn't necessarily set fatigue. Yelle changed it up this time around taking October's encore, a reprise of "À Cause des Garçons" mashed up with the Tepr remix, and performed it in the middle of the set. Instead, for last night's encore they took it up a notch and did an amazing redention of "Amour du Sol" with a electro/dub step-inspired break that had me not wanting it to end along with a hard rock mix of "Je Veux te Voir."

I must point out, last night was the only time I actually have ever seen a band have to ask the crowd of they wanted an encore. Yes, Basel crowd, you suck.

Critic's Notebook

Personal Bias: I have a thing for French girls.

Randon Detail: There is confusion as to whether Yelle is just Julie Budet or the name of the entire band. Live, Julie constantly says, "Hello! We are Yelle!"

By the Way: The Yelle booking by Art Basel was announced so late because it was done last minute. Rumor is that bands kept canceling on the organizers.

-- Jose D. Duran

Can't tell you how many times we've been specifically asked about hearsay that Animal Collective's Panda Bear was playing in Miami during Basel. Well we can fully confirm that the experimental musician, along with No Age and the Sads, will be playing a free show at Karu & Y Friday night. You have Nike, NADA Art Fair, and ANP Quarterly to thank (or not) for the show. All you have to do is RSVP to RSVP_artbasel@nike.com.

Art Damage with Panda Bear, No Age, the Sads and DJ Semen, Friday, December 5 at Karu & Y. Free with RSVP; 21+; doors open at 9:30 p.m.

UPDATE: We just received an e-mail from a Nike representative. Apparently, the show isn't that free after all: "This is a private event with a guest list driven by NADA, ANP and Nike, unfortunately, it is not open to the public. As a result we are cross referencing every name that RSVP's against our own list and will only be admitting people who have directly been invited by the three sponsoring parties."

Seriously?

-- Jose D. Duran