Bank Atlantic Center, Sunrise, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

After Aerosmith canceled the last leg of their 2009 tour (including a date in South Florida) and Joe Perry mentioned finding a replacement for front man Steven Tyler earlier this year, it was unclear when and if the “bad boys from Boston” would ever take the stage in our area again. Last night, that question was answered in a big way as Tyler, Perry, and the rest of Aerosmith took the stage at the BankAtlantic Center to prove that after nearly 40 years of making music together they still know how to go out and bring the house down. As fans filtered into the arena, it was clear that no one seemed worried about Steven Tyler’s health, his status in the band, or his new gig judging a certain TV show. People were there for one reason and one reason only: to see the greatest American rock band of all time. Nothing else seemed to matter.

As the quintet exploded through their set, the chemistry between bandmates was undeniable. And when it came time for Steven to take a back seat while each of the guys took their turn in the spotlight, he seemed happy to do so; egging on the crowd as drummer Joey Kramer blistered through a mind-blowing solo, backing up Joe Perry on harmonica as he tore up a Guitar Hero-like duel with his animated self and as he slinked through the Jimi Hendrix tune “Red House”, and playfully referring to bassist Tom Hamilton as “Mr. Sweet Emotion”. And when it came time for the demonstrative vocalist to do his thing, he definitely did his thing. Each time he would sashay to the end of the stage, every person in the building seemed to inch forward just to get a little closer. The nearly two-hour set was made up of tracks spanning their career including: “Love In An Elevator”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Last Child”, “Pink”, “Livin’ On The Edge”, “Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, “Dream On”, “Walk This Way”, and the Beatles hit “Come Together”.

Before Aerosmith took the stage, Sammy Hagar and the Wabos got the party started. The 45-minute set was made up of tunes from all facets of his career and lots of plugs for his successful Cabo Wabo tequila brand, including shots for some lucky fans.
Hagar made it clear that his job was to warm the crowd up and it was a job well done. He even took the time to poke a little fun at local musician and Land Shark founder Jimmy Buffett when he was handed a bottle of the lager instead of his own Cabo brand.

Last night, South Florida fans were lucky enough to witness two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees on the same stage. From the party that Sammy Hagar and the Wabos threw to get things going to the last signature scream from Steven Tyler, concert goers witnessed something spectacular. With that amount of talent and history on one stage, South Floridians did not need to turn on a TV to find an American idol.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

Sammy Hagar & The Wabos

Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

“The blues is the basis for everything you hear today.”
– Cyndi Lauper, August 3, 2010

Riding high on the success of her 11th studio album, Memphis Blues, Cyndi Lauper brought her new, old, sound to Miami Tuesday night for an intimate evening of stories, history, and most of all, music. This was a blues show, but fans were not completely denied of the things that we all know and love her for. She still wore the off the wall outfit and she still showed off her rough around the edges personality that you can’t help but fall in love with. But when she unleashed her voice, what she was wearing became irrelevant.

As Lauper cruised through a good portion of the Memphis Blues track list, listeners seemed a bit surprised that she wasn’t pulling out her older material. But as the show progressed, she continuously emphasized how important this record is to her and how important the blues is to music, stating that, “We’ve had the dumbing down of America already, we don’t all wanna be idiots. You gotta know where you came from to know where you’re going.” How right she is.

Although the performance was full of songs many did not know, Lauper made sure to still have fun with the crowd. She wasted no time before she danced her way through the orchestra level, stopping only to stand on a seat or two so everyone could see her. She would tell funny stories about being in college or her family and would stop mid-sentence and say “there really is no point to this” and continue on in a completely different direction. Fans didn’t seem to mind. And why would they? They were getting a sneak peak into the mind of a music icon. She even took the time to poke a little fun at the Sunshine State; affectionately clumping Florida into the “tri-state area” with New York and New Jersey.

It wasn’t until the encore that she gave (some) of the fans what they came to hear. Included were: “Change of Heart”, “Who Let The Rain In”, “True Colors”, and (of course) “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”. Even though some may have been a bit disappointed that Cyndi Lauper’s performance was less “poppy” than they had hoped, the overall feeling from concert goers seemed to be anything but blue.

American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

Even though South Floridians have already gotten their annual taste of pop princess Rihanna (she played a free show on South Beach in February), Miami was more than happy to welcome her back with open arms Saturday night as her Last Girl On Earth Tour rolled into the American Airlines Arena.

Although the show wasn’t sold out, when the house lights finally went down the electricity in the building was undeniable. And when the woman of the hour finally emerged from behind a wall of video screens clad in a sort of space age evening gown (complete with LED lights attached), fans seemed to immediately forgive her for going on nearly 45 minutes late. As the music slowly began and the 22 year old Barbadian eased into “Russian Roulette”, the entire arena sat in the palm of her hand. But things did not stay slow for long as she plowed right on into “Hard”; complete with a hot pink tank, and yes, that signature Mickey Mouse style hat from the video. The more she straddled her gun, the more the guys fell in love with her and the more the girls wanted to be her. For one lucky fan, the performance of “Shut Up and Drive” was the opportunity of a lifetime. As a beat up car sat in the middle of the stage, the woman was picked by Rihanna herself to go up and release a bit of frustration. As the singer stood off to the side with the woman’s camera, she handed her a baseball bat and told to let loose. How’s that for anger management?

After blazing through “Disturbia”, “Rockstar 101”, and “Rude Boy”, things were slowed down as her backup singers and two guitarists joined her as she retreated to her tank for snippets of “Love The Way You Lie” (sorry, no Eminem) and the current B.o.B and Hayley Williams hit, “Airplanes”. Other set highlights included “Te Amo”, “Hate That I Love You”, “Unfaithful”, “Rehab”, “Don’t Stop The Music”, and the Sheila E hit “Glamorous Life”.

Party girl of the moment Ke$ha opened the show. Her set, which included her smash hits “Tik Tok” and “Your Love Is My Drug”, was 30 minutes of sheer entertainment and ridiculousness (but in a good way). Saturday night, Rihanna proved that she is the quintessential entertainer. Her show was over the top and exciting and everybody seemed to crave more and more. And the more fans wanted, the more she gave until we were sure that she couldn’t give anymore. It was clear that she loves Miami and that Miami loves her. And besides, if she were the last girl on earth, I’m sure there wouldn’t be very many complaints.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

KE$HA

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Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

For the second time this year, South Florida played host to a Beatle. On Thursday night, Ringo Starr brought his eleventh All Starr Band to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood. Accompanying Starr onstage was a group of musicians who had made their own marks on music history; Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Edgar Winter (White Trash), Rick Derringer (The McCoys), Wally Palmer (The Romantics), and Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth).

When the house lights went down and the music started, the reaction from the crowd was a bit underwhelming. That is, until the man of the hour joined the All Starrs onstage to kick things off with “It Don’t Come Easy” and the Carl Perkins tune “Honey Don’t”. The more he danced awkwardly around the stage the more the die hard fans in the crowd loved it. But it wasn’t until halfway through “Choose Love” that he retreated to what he knows best, his drum kit. Seated above the rest of the band, Ringo Starr took a back seat while his band mates took center stage. Up first was Rick Derringer to play the song (that for one week charted higher than the Beatles hit “Yesterday”) “Hang On Sloopy”. Following Derringer was Edgar Winter who blasted through the 1973 hit “Free Ride”. I know you know it “come on and take a free ride (free ride)”. No?

Up next was Wally Palmer who got folks on their feet with “an updated version of “Talking In Your Sleep”, Gary Wright who performed a song that he wrote while he was in India with George Harrison, “Dream Weaver”, and Richard Page with his hit “Kyrie”. As the music continued, each musician took their turn playing front man in a well orchestrated rotation. Every now and again, Starr would perform songs from his recent release Y Not (which he thanked “the nine of you who bought it.”) and classics that people wanted to hear. Other set highlights included “What I Like About You” (Palmer), “Frankenstein” (Winter), “Broken Wings” (Page), “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” (Derringer), “Peace Dream” (Starr), and “Back Off Boogaloo” (Starr). But it was when concert goers heard the famous first line of “Yellow Submarine” that the mostly contained crowd showed a bit of life. “In the town where I was born/lived a man who sailed the sea”.

Even though Ringo Starr is not the best vocalist (by a long shot), he was fun. Throughout the show, he continuously danced around, played air guitar next to Rick Derringer, and cracked jokes (often about himself). It was night of peace and love and music (well that’s what Ringo said anyways), and fans were taken on a mini tour of musical history spanning decades. And it just so happened that the professor of this lesson was a man who is best known for being an insect.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

The Fillmore Miami Beach, Miami, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

Over the past few years, Courtney Love has certainly had her fair share of public blunders, outbursts, and breakdowns. The most recent was the well-publicized train wreck of a performance Sunday night in Washington, D.C. That said, concertgoers weren’t really sure what to expect from Love as she and her band, Hole, stopped in Miami Friday night to play the Fillmore.
When Courtney Love took the stage, the crowd in Miami seemed ready for whatever the grunge goddess was going to throw at them. As she donned her Rickenbacker and stomped out her cigarette, three words escaped out her mouth: “So, shall we?”.
With one leg up (literally), Love and the re-invented Hole catapulted into “Pretty On The Inside”, The Rolling Stones 1968 tune, “Sympathy For The Devil”, and the current single “Skinny Little Bitch”.

The more the slick-tongued rocker teased the crowd with invites to her “real nice Miami Beach penthouse”, the more fans became wrapped around her finger. Although she would take time to make some off color comments or chat with lead guitarist Micko Larkin, the music never really seemed to stop (which seemed to be a characteristic of the D.C show).

Before surrendering her guitar to perform “Letter To God”, “Pacific Coast Highway”, and the Leonard Cohen song, (“not ‘Hallelujah’”) “Take This Longing”, Love and her guys plowed through one of Hole’s biggest hits, “Violet” off the platinum selling album, Live Through This. Other set highlights included, “Asking For It”, “Someone Else’s Bed”, “Celebrity Skin” and “Doll Parts”. The six song encore included “Malibu” and another Stones cover “Play With Fire”.
The show was closed with Love and Larkin and a couple of acoustic guitars for stripped down versions of “Thirteen”, originally by Big Star, and the painfully honest “Never Go Hungry”.

At 45, Courtney Love is still hanging on. She’s still going out every night and putting on shows. She seems to go out and do the best she can on any given day. Whether or not it ends in catastrophe or not is something completely separate. She’s certainly not a perfect musician (as was shown during Friday’s show when chords and lyrics were missed here and there) and she certainly has not been portrayed as a perfect human being. But she’s still going out there and fighting, and she’s going to fight until the end.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

The Fillmore Miami Beach, Miami, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

50 Cent has been around for a minute. And he’s been through hell (try being shot a few times) and back and has continued to tell his story along the way. But when all is said and done, he has always risen to the top and been a “motherf***in’ P.I.M.P”.

Tuesday night, 50 took over the Fillmore in Miami and proved that he’s not going anywhere. No matter how many bets he makes with Kanye.

After waiting what seemed to be an eternity, the house lights went down to reveal a silhouette. It was the man of the hour. As soon as the bass kicked in, the building immediately started to shake. Literally. And when the big white veil dropped, the hip hop joyride began with 50 doing the driving. Although fans needed no direction, each command to “put your hands up!” yielded swarms of hands reaching for a piece of the rapper. It didn’t take long before that piece was delivered to one lucky fan in the crowd in the form of the blue leather jacket the man himself was wearing during “So Disrespectful”.

He went on to spit and slur his way through the 8 Mile Soundtrack hit “Wanksta” and “I Get Money” before bringing out a band (yes, a band) for several hits including the smash “Ayo Technology” and the slow jam “Follow My Lead”.  When 50 Cent donned a signature “pimp” hat everyone knew what was coming next. As soon as the tell tale first few beats of “P.I.M.P” were heard, the eruption from the hundreds in the audience could be heard in 50’s hometown of South Jamaica, Queens.

Doesn’t it make you wanna start singing? “I don’t know what heard about me”. No? Anyway.

It wasn’t until well into the set that 50 Cent took a minute to gather himself.  As he slinked to the stairs onstage to take a seat he proclaimed, “I wanna take a minute to notify everyone that this is the motherf***in’ good part!”. And in an instant he was up as he plowed into “Hate It Or Love It”.

For me, there was a bit of an awkward moment when the rapper used a mic stand for “Ryder Music”. It seemed as though 50 felt a little forced in trying to find things to do with both hands. Well if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Keep that mic firmly planted in your left hand; it was fine there.

Other set highlights included “Magic Stick”, “Candy Shop”, “Hold Me Down”, “Disco Inferno” and his bang up club anthem “In Da Club”.

Before the show I had heard that tickets weren’t selling well. Was the show sold out? Absolutely not. Not even close. But the fans that did make their way to Miami Beach should not have left disappointed. 50 Cent is a damn fine showman. He gave listeners what they wanted to hear and seemed to appreciate everyone who bought a ticket to his show. When he wasn’t throwing random accessories into the crowd, he was wooing the screaming fans with his charismatic personality and his flawless smile.

Now c’mon everybody, “Go shorty/It’s your birthday”. Anybody?

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

The Fillmore Miami Beach, Miami, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

More and more, synthesizers and sampling are becoming more common in popular music. However, there are few acts that can stand on their own with these elements making up the majority of their sound. Over the past three years, Boston based Passion Pit has proven that their brand of electronic pop is just as infectious as the current wave of heartthrob-driven rock bands.

Gracing a South Florida stage for the second time in a matter of months (the first time being Ultra music festival), Passion Pit played to a sold-out crowd at the Fillmore Miami Beach and solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned with in this (sometimes) predictable musical age.

By the time the house lights went down and the quintet took the stage, fans were ready to sing and dance the night away with front man Michael Angelakos. With the stage looking more like a computer science lab, the set was kicked off with “I’ve Got Your Number” off the 2008 release Chunk of Change. The more Angelakos danced and ran around, the more the hundreds of fans moved with him. It was almost as if they were having a conversation with each other, and only they knew the language.

As they moved forward, Angelakos, Ian Hultquist, Ayad Al Adhamy, Jeff Apruzzese, and Nate Donmoyer continuously wowed listeners and gave Miami everything they had. Excitement was already high, but when Passion Pit plowed through crowd favorites “Better Things” and “The Reeling”, the crowd couldn’t help but scream the words along with the vocalist.

Other set highlights included “Make Light”, “Swimming In The Flood”, “To Kingdom Come”, and “Moth’s Wings”.
The night started off with sets from the New York City based electronic trio, Brahms, and the Toronto based indie-rock act Tokyo Police Club. Both acts brought the house down with their unique styles and made sure that everyone was pumped for Passion Pit.

The rise of Passion Pit over the last few years has resulted in a headlining tour with several sold out stops along the way. Their music is fun while their lyrics come from an honest and somewhat innocent place. While listening to them, one can’t help but move and vibe along as their electric sounds take your senses hostage. I wonder what the ultimate electro-pop icons, Depeche Mode, would think?

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

Toyko Police Club

Brahms

]]> http://www.rhythmscene.com/2010/06/passion-pit-tokyo-police-club-and-brahms/feed/ 0 http://www.rhythmscene.com/2010/06/imogen-heap/ http://www.rhythmscene.com/2010/06/imogen-heap/#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:27:18 +0000 admin http://www.rhythmscene.com/?p=2173 June 2, 2010

The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

Some would say that it has been entirely too long since London’s own Imogen Heap has graced a South Florida stage. Well, the wait was over for fans Wednesday night as Heap invaded the Fillmore in Miami for an unforgettable performance. From the moment she walked onstage, Imogen Heap did what she does best. She combined sounds from ordinary things and created extraordinary masterpieces that took listeners down the rabbit hole and into an electronic yet organic Wonderland.

Kicking off the set (which local fans voted for on her official website) was the heartbreaking tune “The Walk”. With opening act Ben Christophers, as well as several other musicians from the supporting acts joining her onstage, “Swoon” was introduced by the haunting sound of a saw being played that was eventually looped throughout the entire song. Before supporting act Geese joined the melting pot of musicians onstage, Heap and company brought the house down with “Between Sheets” and crowd favorite “Come Here Boy”.

The UK based duo, Geese, joined the fun onstage for tunes like “It’s A Bird”, and “Must Be Dreaming”. At one point, Boca Raton high school students (who had auditioned via video and were picked by Heap) joined the singer onstage to perform “Earth” acapella.

When Imogen Heap was left alone onstage, she explained that someone had once asked her to improvise and play whatever came to her mind. After adding the element of giving audiences the power to choose key, tempo, and time signature, she decided to make it a fixture on this tour and have some good come out of it too. In each city of her tour, she records her improv piece and sells it on her website. The proceeds then go to a local charity. The charity that the proceeds will go to for the Miami improv piece is Radio Lollipop, and the track can be purchased here http://www.imogenheap.com/charity/

Other set highlights included “Just For Now”, “Aha!”, “Goodnight And Go”, “Headlock”, and the hit from her side project, Frou Frou, “Let Go”. Watching Imogen Heap onstage was kind of like watching a mad scientist. We would all watch in awe as she bounced around the stage recording different sounds to loop together to make the electro-pop we all love her for. At times, it seemed as though she forgot she was standing in front of a room full of people as she rambled on to herself.

But in the end, she always regained focus on what was most important, the music. As we said goodbye to Imogen Heap Wednesday night, the thought running through my head was simple. Even though we are a ways South, don’t be a stranger, we’d love to have you back.

Photos by Christina Mendenhall

]]> http://www.rhythmscene.com/2010/06/imogen-heap/feed/ 0 http://www.rhythmscene.com/2010/05/joan-jett-and-the-blackhearts/ http://www.rhythmscene.com/2010/05/joan-jett-and-the-blackhearts/#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 22:46:52 +0000 admin http://www.rhythmscene.com/?p=1887 May 15, 2010

Coconut Creek Casino, Coconut Creek, FL

Written by Kate Dingle

Only a handful of musicians’ careers have had the staying power to last through multiple decades. With a career spanning over 30 years, Joan Jett has continued to kick ass and take names and Saturday’s performance at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino was one big ass whoopin’.

Well before showtime, fans lining up overflowed into the parking lot in hopes of getting in early to find the perfect spot to witness Joan Jett and The Blackhearts tear it up. The majority of the (mostly female) crowd was decked out in black and leather and there were even some vintage Jett concert T’s floating around.

When the woman (and men) of the hour took the stage, the crowd erupted into an all out frenzy. Without so much as a word from the front woman, the quintet burst into “Change The World” and a little ditty originally by the Runaways called “Cherry Bomb” (heard of it?). With each “Hello daddy, hello mom/I’m your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!” it seemed as though concertgoers would overpower the rockers. But the louder the crowd got, Jett and company made sure to get even louder. They went on to plow through tunes that spanned nearly the entirety of Jett’s career like, “Do You Wanna Touch Me”, “Bad Reputation”, “The French Song”, and “Fake Friends”.

Other set highlights included “Naked”, “Androgynous”, “You Drive Me Wild”, “School Days”, and “Fetish”.

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts emerged after a short break to end the show with the 2006 hit “A.C.D.C.” and the 1968 Sly And The Family Stone hit “Everyday People”.

Joan Jett has been a continuous driving force in the music industry for three decades and is showing no signs of slowing down. Whether she’s performing with The Blackhearts or fostering new talent at her own Blackheart Records, Jett will continue to be the ever fearless rock icon we have all come to love her for.

You know, growing up my mother always told me that I could be anything I wanted to be. She always told me that I could do all the same things the boys did, and that I could probably do it better. After seeing Joan Jett and The Blackhearts perform on Saturday night, I think I have finally decided on what it is I want to be. I wanna be a rock star. Just like Joan Jett.

Photos by Kate Dingle