Z... “NASHVILLE others” Frontman Zach Prosser of Z likens the coming together of his band to activation of the robot starship Voltron, a combined entity of equal, interdependent parts and powers. The former guitarist of Nashville punkers Mom and Dad makes no play for consideration alongside the more niche — and less distributive! — Japanese mech Mazinger Z. As his latest band’s charismatic leader, he is thankful of his musical co-pilots’ individual skills. “We’re all very active musicians and artists in our own right so writing something in Z goes down specific pathways of whomever Z is spearheading the song,” Prosser tells PureHoney. “We all have very different ways of creating so we try to use each person’s tactic as means to getting what we want out of a song.” The son of German immigrants who raised him on a farm, Prosser would eventually gravitate musically toward punk and hardcore in Nashville, becoming a deacon of the city’s DIY culture while cultivating his own take on it. The chemistry between himself, guitarist Steven Bauer and drummer Julian Ciany has been bolstered with the addition of bassist Annalyse Clark. As anchors of Nashville’s “other” music scene, Z are at the forefront of redefining, or rather, modernizing punk rock. A trio of digital singles, an EP and 2018’s debut LP “BarbedWire.org,” present a rollercoaster of sounds and influences that are executed honestly and with glee. Prosser boils it down to a collective worship of groove and heaviness, adding, “We seem to find those two within whatever genre we’re into and wanting to work with.” Their newest effort, “Trauma Center,” will be released by Cold Lunch Recordings this July, preceded already by an explosive single, “Breeding Time.” Z fluctuate from dreamy jangle pop to industrial metal with such cacophonous ease that it might be reminiscent of a mid-’90s Food Not Bombs show featuring an acoustic punk set, a power violence band and a noise act. It is an artful explosion that manages a narrative delivering catchy, danceable energy. For those who haven’t experienced it yet, Prosser warns they’re a band going “full steam at what they’re into regardless of who gets it and who doesn’t.” Z, Glass Body, The Welzeins and Real People perform 8pm Thursday July 11 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. zart.bandcamp.com ~ Abel Folgar
FillmoreMB
Fillmore MB
FillmoreMB
Purchase at FillmoreMB.com
BRASS LIGHTNING, new orleans If you’re looking to move full steam ahead with the authentic, thundering grit of bombastic Bayou brass, New Orleans’ own Brass Lightning are your kind of bag. With trombone, saxophone, trumpet, electric bass and a drum kit, Brass Lightning deliver that unmistakable Crescent City sound. They’ve been shaking rumps and moving souls since coming together in 2016 from various other projects. Their three song, self-titled EP takes you on an almost physical BRASS LIGHTNING journey through their Louisiana stomping grounds. “There’s always a story to every song,” saxophonist Ari Kohn tells PureHoney. “We write music inspired by our surroundings.” It’s nearly impossible to talk about a band from New Orleans without talking about the city itself, and frankly, why wouldn’t you? Kohn says the Crescent City “is constantly evolving, and this, in tandem with a deep respect for the musical traditions, creates a truly beautiful thing.” “The music is woven into the community,” Kohn says, “so much so that it is a central part of the cultural resilience responsible for New Orleans’ continued existence. Music like that, no matter what it’s called, is impossible to ignore when you hear it.” Whether kin from lives past, or simply connected through the brotherhood of their mystical town, Cyrus Nabipoor, Brendan Bull, Evan Oberla, Evan Paydon and Kohn are undoubtedly a family. Here’s the band’s own self-portrait, courtesy of Kohn: “Cyrus (Trumpet) is the angsty and mysterious teen, Brendan (Drums) is the son bouncing off the walls, Evan O (Trombone) is the boisterous uncle full of stories, Evan P (Bass) is the grounded mom who comes home from work and calms the house down, and Ari (Sax) is the spacey stay-at-home dad who somehow manages to organize things.” Brass Lightning will be performing with groovy, noodly, cosmic Chicago quartet Chachuba in a somehow perfectly complementary pairing, two very different bands united by their experimental streaks. One act traveling through time, the other transcending it. Both embodying a spirit of “laissez les bon temps rouler” that says let it rip in any language, in any music hotspot, be it the Big Easy, the City of Big Shoulders or your backyard. Brass Lightning perform with Chachuba 8pm Sunday June 30 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. www.brasslightning.bandcamp.com ~ Freddie Zandt
JULY 12
ABSOLUTE QUEEN A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN JULY 14
NEW FOUND GLORY WITH REAL FRIENDS, THE EARLY NOVEMBER & DOLL SKIN
JULY 31
AUGUST BURNS RED SILVERSTEIN & SILENT PLANET
WITH
AUGUST 3
TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE
A LIVE BAND EMO NIGHT
AUGUST 7
POUYA
WITH RAMIREZ & BOOBIE LOOTAVELI
AUGUST 10
THE U.S. STONES
A TRIBUTE TO ROLLING STONES
AUGUST 16
PEDRO THE LION WITH
MEWITHOUTYOU AUGUST 18
CROWN THE EMPIRE AUGUST 24
PAPADOSIO AUGUST 30
ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE
GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC, FISHBONE, THE MAIN SQUEEZE + MISS VELVET & THE BLUE WOLF!
FEATURING
SEPTEMBER 10
AUGUST 9
JENNY LEWIS
A TRIBUTE TO PRINCE
CAT POWER
THE PURPLE MADNESS
SEPTEMBER 12
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM 100 SW 3RD AVE. FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33312 WWW.JOINTHEREVOLUTION.NET
CHACHUBA! june 30 AT VOLTAIRE Palindromic prog rockers Dopapod have been inspiring musicians since forming over a decade ago in Boston. Perhaps their least symmetrical moment came when they somehow provided the nomenclature for Chachuba, a four-piece from Chicago that waltzes through electronic and improvisational compositions on a solid backbone of jazz fusion. Chachuba’s Sean DiCosola recounts to PureHoney how it all came to be while he was hanging CHACHUBA out at a summer music festival awhile back: “I was telling my buddy about [Dopapod]; he’d never heard of them. He was a little messed up that day and instead of asking when we were going to see Dopapod, he kept saying ‘When are we seeing Chachuba?’” The serendipitous mangling of the name was the spark that took DiCosola’s musical aspirations from idea to execution. As Chachuba’s producer and keys/ synths player, he’s joined by Jimmy Klimek on guitar, Nate Beitz on bass and Gary Goodheart on drums. The quad of self-taught players with disparate backgrounds has coalesced into a multi-genre experiential unit. “We take a lot of different genres and influences and mesh them all together as one wall of sound when we play,” says DiCosola. “With live looping and instrumental improvs, we cover so many different frequencies for a really ‘out there’ sound.” Their growing fanbase is just as eclectic. With electronic dance music as a faint metronome, Chachuba employs melodic guitars, different platforms of drumming and percussive applications, and loops as guiding Sherpas for dreamy trance excursions and dance club bass pulsations. Elements of DiCosola’s early days focusing on improvised electronica remain as shiny diamonds on the lush landscapes Chachuba create. Their latest full-length, “Lost the Mountain,” is as accurate a rendition of their live performance as one could hope for from a largely improvisational outfit. They’ll be “squaring off” in special edition of Ray’s Downtown presents at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. Their sparring partners are Brass Lightning, a horns, bass and drums quintet from New Orleans who mine funk and soul for booty-shaking gold. They, too, come to this sonic match with a jazzy pedigree and their own take on how to branch out for maximum, cross-genre effect. WHEN ARE WE SEEING CHACHUBA? Chachuba perform with Brass Lightning at 8pm Sunday June 30 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. chachuba.com ~ Abel Folgar
SUNDAY, JUNE 30
VOLTAIRE: Chachuba (Chicago), Brass Lightning (New Orleans)
KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Altered Roots Duo CWS: Shaun Rosario & Mike Hill / Basement Presents Funk Brunch
MONDAY, JULY 1
DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays
“Exotic Beats”
KILL YOUR IDOL: Chris Rod Trio
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents CHURCHILLS PUB: Prism#1, Antifaces, Real People
THURSDAY, JULY 11
VOLTAIRE: Z, Glass Body, The Welzeins, Real People, Midnight Karaoke FILLMORE MIAMI: Erika Moon’s Burlesque Magnifique: “Exotic Beats”
DADA: Spoken Word Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Latin Night CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Drew Dockerill CHURCHILLS PUB: Omnisisium, Illustrious
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3
FRIDAY, JULY 12
TUESDAY, JULY 2
DADA: The Wild Hunt & RAGA KILL YOUR IDOL: Xtatic
VOLTAIRE: Summer Beat Bash! ElementsTheBrand, WEX the Master, King Kaleeb, V.C DaMenace, Cole Rippe, ZEo, DJ BuddaWolf
MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Girlfriend Material CHURCHILLS PUB: American Subterranean Day 1
FILLMORE MIAMI: Erika Moon’s Burlesque Magnifique: “Exotic Beats”
VOLTAIRE: Hip Hop Renaissance RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents
THURSDAY, JULY 4
VOLTAIRE: Sunny Side Down Tour” Ft. James Begin, Blake Miami, TOBY, Space Coast Ghosts, Web Three, NEFF, Cameron’s Airborne
DADA: The Ex-Bombers & Matchstick Johnny KILL YOUR IDOL: Vicewave
RESPECTABLE STREET: Emo Night
MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Girlfriend Material
REVOLUTION LIVE: Absolute Queen – Queen Tribute
FRIDAY, JULY 5
CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Tasty Vibrations INCHOATE GALLERY: Punx n Pix w Bruvvy, The Polaroid Notebook, Vagnauts GREEN BAR & KITCHEN: Mac Coe ROBOT BREWING CO: The Broken Howl, Toledo, & Friends CRAZY UNCLE MIKES: Joint Operation
KILL YOUR IDOL: Erasure Afterparty
SATURDAY, JULY 13
DADA: The Wavelengths MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Shaw Davis & the Black Ties CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Bryce Allyn Band GREEN BAR & KITCHEN: Marcus Amaya ROBOT BREWING CO: Loyal to a Fault, An Abandoned Heart, Subject to Change, Makoto, & Flea Market Politic CHURCHILLS PUB: Mommy’s Little Monster, Que Asko CRAZY UNCLE MIKES: Mason Pace, Spred the Dub
DADA: The State Of HULLABALOO: Raised By Wolves KILL YOUR IDOL: Breaks Yo!
KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus
RESPECTABLE STREET: Make America Gay Again CHURCHILLS PUB: American Subterranean Day 2
VOLTAIRE: Guavatron, Public Sounds Collective RESPECTABLE STREET: Stranger Things 80’s Party
SATURDAY, JULY 6
VOLTAIRE: Underkut Guys
DADA: Red Light Motel HULLABALOO: The Leafy Greens KILL YOUR IDOL: Immersed Music MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Poor Lift Decisions CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Marcus Amaya NEXT DOOR at C&I: Bitter Blue Jays, Nervous Monks, Deep Web ROBOT BREWING CO: Nistar & The Dones Collective CHURCHILLS PUB: James Begin, Blake Miami, Toby
SUNDAY, JULY 7
VOLTAIRE: Sons of a Tradesman
DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays CWS: Nyne2Five (A.M.) / Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.) ROBOT BREWING CO: Poetry & Short Fiction Readings
MONDAY, JULY 8
DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays CHURCHILLS PUB: Miami Jazz Jam
TUESDAY, JULY 9
DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam KELSEY THEATER: Set It Off, Emarosa, Broadside
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10
VOLTAIRE: Ohverclock, Scratch-D of Dynamix II RESPECTABLE STREET: King Complex
CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Homegrown Sinners GREEN BAR & KITCHEN: Misty Grotto MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY & SCIENCE: Delou Africa MATHEWS BREWING CO.: The Big Skandal Band ROBOT BREWING CO: Comedy Night CHURCHILLS PUB: Jacuzzi Fuzz, Sensibles CRAZY UNCLE MIKES: The Ries Brothers
SUNDAY, JULY 14
DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays REVOLUTION LIVE: New Found Glory with Real Friends, The Early November & Doll Skin CWS: Guavatron (A.M.) / Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.) ROBOT BREWING CO: Storytelling Slam CHURCHILLS PUB: Barber Shawn Sundays with DJ John Vale
MONDAY, JULY 15
DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays CHURCHILLS PUB: Miami Jazz Jam
TUESDAY, JULY 16
CHURCHILLS PUB: Holly Hunt, Las Nubes, Praying, Life Pile DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
THE GROUND: The Get Up Kids, Great Grandpa
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17
VOLTAIRE: Malc Stewy Birthday DADA: JBay KILL YOUR IDOL: Sofilla
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents
VOLTAIRE: LIVE
MATHEWS BREWING CO.: David Matthews Tribute Band CHURCHILLS PUB: Rat Bastards Stumble & Fall
FILLMORE MIAMI: Erika Moon’s Burlesque Magnifique:
THURSDAY, JULY 18
DADA: Adonis Guavatron
VOLTAIRE: SWEET SWEET 12: Summer Gill EP Release ROBOT BREWING CO:Sick Puppies Improv Comedy w Caroline Schrope, Kaylah McKinney, Emily Smothers, CHURCHILLS PUB: Mana 777 Jesse Lee Davis, Zack Jones, Danny Brunjes followed MONDAY, JULY 22 by Midnight Karaoke DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Shaun Rosario & Mike Hill MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Almonte Solo
FRIDAY, JULY 19
VOLTAIRE: The Kimberlys, Elevator Fight Club, The Treetops, Citizen Badger, The Helmsmen
KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays CHURCHILLS PUB: Miami Jazz Jam
TUESDAY, JULY 23
DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
DADA: Moon Kaboom KILL YOUR IDOL: American Grime
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24
O’MALLEY’S: Oh Sleeper, Famous Last Words, Convictions
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents
RESPECTABLE STREET: Jessica Morales
DADA: Soul Particles KILL YOUR IDOL: Electric Supply Company CHURCHILLS PUB: Trans-blues night
THURSDAY, JULY 25
VOLTAIRE: Calentura
DADA: Subculture Arts Collective KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke Circus CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Mitch Herrick MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Summer Gill Solo CHURCHILLS PUB: All Folk’d Up
FRIDAY, JULY 26
VOLTAIRE: Unwed Sailor, Glass Body, Whisperwind, InMotion DADA: Matchstick Johnny
FILLMORE MIAMI: Carly Rae Jepsen KILL YOUR IDOL: Shameless Burlesque
RESPECTABLE STREET: Mass
CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Spider Cherry MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Klik ROBOT BREWING CO: BRUH Collective’s Cypher Night CHURCHILLS PUB: Glass Body CRAZY UNCLE MIKES: Tantric
SATURDAY, JULY 27
VOLTAIRE: WPB Record Show 12-5pm, Cartel Collective presents PUSH DADA: Triptofam
FILLMORE MIAMI: Blueface HULLABALOO: The Cravens
RESPECTABLE STREET: Ordinary Boys
CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Nyne2Five GREEN BAR & KITCHEN: Bonn E Maiy MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Sons of a Trademan ROBOT BREWING CO: Pocket Full of Lollipops, Koffin Varnish, Observatory CHURCHILLS PUB: Skold, Optic Oppression, Echo Black
SATURDAY, JULY 20
VOLTAIRE: Eclectica
DADA: SloFunkPump HULLABALOO: Holy Dances KILL YOUR IDOL: Keep It Deep CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Spred The Dub GREEN BAR & KITCHEN: Mona Lisa Tribe MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Crazy Fingers ROBOT BREWING CO: Artikal Sound System CHURCHILLS PUB: Yardij, The Forum, Glass Orange, Supergold
SUNDAY, JULY 21
VOLTAIRE: Spred the Dub
3RD & 3RD: Surfer Blood (after party w Spred the Dub at Voltaire) DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays TARPON RIVER BREWING: Flamingo Flea w. The Helmsmen CWS: Marcus Amaya / Basement Presents Funk Brunch MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY & SCIENCE: South Florida Symphony MATHEWS BREWING CO.: 33 Years Duo
KILL YOUR IDOL: The Wire CWS BAR + KITCHEN: Poor Life Decisions MATHEWS BREWING CO.: The Flyers GREEN BAR & KITCHEN: Bonn E Maiy ROBOT BREWING CO: Comedy Night CHURCHILLS PUB: PBR Bike Ride
SUNDAY, JULY 28
VOLTAIRE: JM & the Sweets
DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays CWS: Guavatron (A.M.) / Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.) MATHEWS BREWING CO.: Beautiful Disaster
MONDAY, JULY 29
DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays CHURCHILLS PUB: Miami Jazz Jam
TUESDAY, JULY 30
DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 VOLTAIRE: RAW
DADA: Matt Brown KILL YOUR IDOL: Tete-a-Tete
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents
REVOLUTION LIVE: August Burns Red, Silverstein & Silent Planet MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY & SCIENCE: Milly Marzipan
HOLLY HUNT Nicole Kibert
South Florida is no stranger to doom and sludge (metal). However, where many groups in those fields may lean heavy on crunch, fuzz and perhaps screeched or howled vocals, Holly Hunt have a more syncopated, almost antiseptic sound. Sure, many of those elements are there, minus vocals, but they’re clear and concise; the elements of a well-oiled machine.
Everyone knows that with great tones comes the responsibility to let that tone breathe, and Gavin Perry, the band’s guitarist, does just that while drummer Beatriz Monteavaro covers the gaps with adroitly placed fills. The two complement each other’s playing in a way that most bands could only dream of; which makes sense for a duo who are a couple on and off stage. HOLLY HUNT
Holly Hunt are joined for a heavy evening in July at Churchill’s Pub in Miami by Praying, Life Pile and Las Nubes. Praying are an Oakland, California band calling themselves “experimental doom.” With interesting start-stop rhythms, distant vocals and fuzzed-out guitars, they could go one of two ways: bad day at the beach or hard night out with bikers from hell. Either way, someone is having a good time. The band has an ear for adding distorted squeaks and shrieks when necessary, and is reminiscent of a noisier Tweak Bird. Life Pile are also from Oakland, and if the rest of their set sounds like their single “Nerve Enders,” the live experience will be something like Nirvana and Unsane together on a joyride with a worn out Beach Boys tape blasting through broken speakers. In a word: cool. Finally, the local favorites: Las Nubes, the newly christened “Best Band” of 2019 by Miami New Times and hailed by Iggy Pop himself. Originally, these powerpop garage rockers were an army of one, as the solo project of Ale Campos of Wastelands fame, among other projects. Now Las Nubes consists of Ale, Emile Milgrim and Nina Carolina, a powerhouse trio that can shake like a funny car engine or mesmerize like a hypnotic wheel. It’ll be one for the books: Bring earplugs, and whatever devil intoxicant vice you fancy, and brace for a night of loud. Holly Hunt, Praying, Life Pile and Las Nubes play 9pm Tuesday July 16 at Churchill’s Pub in Miami. hollyhunt.bandcamp.com ~ Tim Moffatt
.
ABSOLUTE QUEEN Once upon a time, in a land far, far away called the 1970s, lived a breed of human-alien hybrids known as “rock stars,” who refused to submit to the rules of Earthly existence. There was Ziggy Stardust and his Spiders from Mars, Elton “Rocket man” John, Lou Reed, the Stooges and a collection of kings called Queen.
The last of this oddball menagerie saw their frontman shuffle off the mortal coil way too early, ABSOLUTE QUEEN but their legend has grown in his absence. Hollywood celebrated the late Freddie Mercury last year with a movie that is 60 percent fabrication and false memories. No matter — what made these beings above it all is that were glittery, fabulous incarnations of what life could be, should be, but not, ultimately, what it is. This abdication of normality lends itself to flights of fancy and gives credence to the existence of a tribute band like Absolute Queen. Tribute bands are not cover bands; tribute bands do justice to the majesty of a beloved group’s material by fully looking, sounding and acting the part. This mirage must be good enough to charm even the staunchest fans, and being in a tribute band is no joke. Absolute Queen’s talent and booking agency, Maximum Bands, boasts of “the largest roster of Tribute Bands on the planet.” Because emulating the greatness of others is a full-time job, especially when some of those greats are still alive. So the aim is to recreate the past in as spectacular a fashion as possible. Is it the reality of the past? Probably not, but neither is “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the movie. The fact is that John Deacon hasn’t played bass with Queen since 1997, and guitarist Brian May is busier today being an astrophysicist. Reed and Bowie are gone. Sir Elton has followed in Queen’s cinematic path with a biopic that also looks like the sum of all the lawyering, dealing and industry pilot-fish positioning that got it made. None of that sounds fun, and facts get in the way of a good story. What is fun is experiencing history whether it’s real or not, yours or someone else’s. Now’s your chance! Absolute Queen play an all ages show 7pm Friday July 12 at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale. facebook.com/absolutequeenrocks ~ Tim Moffatt
NIGHTLIFE
OPEN THURS / FRI / SAT 9PM-2AM 16 E ATLANTIC AVE / DELRAY / HONEYDELRAY.COM
CARLY RAE JEPSEN @AlexKanePerkins
Canadian songstress Carly Rae Jepsen is coming to the tropics in July, and it’s been a long trek to this point from her 2012 megahit “Call Me Maybe.” The relentlessly catchy track became that year’s best-selling single, reaching No. 1 in 18 countries and selling 12 million copies. Even critics fell in line behind what industry publication Billboard dubbed “the greatest chorus of the 21st century.”
But was the singer the star of the show, or was the song? Jepsen’s visibility ebbed a little after the release of the runaway single’s companion album, “Kiss.” But a close-knit following has developed around her with each subsequent album — “Emotion” in 2015, and “Dedicated,” newly released. CARLY RAE JEPSEN
A musical theater trainee in her native British Columbia, Jepsen, 33, has evolved into a pop phenomenon who can also wow indie tastemakers at events such as the Pitchfork Music Festival. A former candidate for the one hit wonder arcade, Jepsen exudes a poise that comes with having survived and thrived in a fickle realm. “I feel more confident in my age and my weirdness now,” she said in a recent interview with The Guardian. Jepsen told Vice that she prepared for “Dedicated” by penning and recording more than 200 songs, because she has to “write and write” to finally get to something she likes. “I’m like the Goldilocks of pop,” she said. The album’s heartfelt lyrics expose her as a hopeless romantic, starting with the opening track, “Julien,” about longing for an absent love: “I’ve been all alone, all on my own / Every single night I pray / When you coming home? Coming home? / ’Cause I’ve been living for that day.” These sentiments could be mistaken for early Britney Spears, but Jepsen has set the words to expertly crafted synth melodies and in the process made perfect, updated pop for 2019. Critics may go on about greater artistry residing in lyrics that are cryptic and double-edged. But c’mon — it’s refreshing to hear direct, relatable songs about broken hearts and long-distance love. Music aficionados can and should feel guiltlessly good listening to a refined pop album like “Dedicated,” and being excited to see Jepsen in concert. Carly Rae Jepsen performs 8pm July 26 at the Fillmore Miami Beach. carlyraemusic.com ~ Olivia Feldman
Shawn Brackbill
THE GET UP KIDS The Midwest is to 1990’s emo bands what the East and West coasts were to 1980’s hardcore: Mecca. And by the time the hardcore bands started to charge their lyrics with actual emotions (other than anger) and play with tone and tuning, the tide was turning: The ’80s had ended, and Reagan was out of office, and what was a hardcore record back then without Ronald Reagan on it?!
KILL YOUR IDOL
THE GET UP KIDS The nihilism that preceded emo had sort of fizzled out and it was time to change up the tune and tenor of disenchantment. Enter The Get-Up Kids, from Kansas City, Missouri, part of a wave of midwesterners — including The Promise Ring, Ultimate Fakebook and Bright Eyes — who grew up punk and hardcore but wanted to communicate something else entirely. Clearly, they hit a nerve with their predilections for harmonies, unrequited love and reverence for the music that came before them while eschewing its aesthetics. The emo bands embraced hyperbole and a sense of poetic license that had been mostly underrepresented in punk and hardcore.
The Get Up Kids’ success came rather quickly and soon the band was struggling to disassociate itself from the burgeoning emo scene and backlash. The urge to quantify art into dollars had bred pretenders over-emoting the already emotional. This in turn led The Get Up Kids to try to change their style in subtle ways without losing their identity. It worked for a while, but internal conflict pulled he band apart in 2005. Never let it be said that a good break doesn’t mend wounds. The band returned three years later to mark the ten-year anniversary of their record, “Something to Write Home About.” They’ve yet to retire. Their first new album in eight years, “Problems,” arrived in May. Despite the over-indulgence of third wave emo mall rats combining the worst parts of goth culture, emo and hardcore, The Get Up Kids represent the genre at its best, before it was a meme: Too pop to be hardcore, too hardcore for the goths and seen as too sensitive for the punks. Long live soft-hearted rockers! Just watch your girlfriend around them … The Get Up Kids with Great Grandpa play 7pm Tuesday July 16 at The Ground in Miami. thegetupkids.com ~ Tim Moffatt
RAD SHOWS, ALCOHOL, ETC. OPEN TIL 5AM DAILY 222 ESPANOLA WAY MIAMI BEACH SUB-CULTURE.ORG/KILL-YOUR-IDOL
PUNX N PIX at inchoate The portfolio of local photographer Roberto Badillo has the desolate landscapes and interesting juxtapositions you want from a documentarian with an artist’s eye. But when it comes to shooting bands live, he’s one of the best working in South Florida today. Badillo’s first group exhibition, “Punx N Pix,” is proof. “It’s hard to say it’s art but I guess it is,” he tells PureHoney while reflecting on a childhood immersed in Circus and Creem magazines. “I think it appeals because I see things in an old school way and that classic concert shot never really gets old. I just see it through my eyes.” Badillo’s been taking photos since his high school days and it has been his daily passion since he turned 20. Those hours spent flipping through music magazines and cutting out images to form everevolving collages on his walls became his education and training to capture bands in action. He is influenced by the punk rock freedom of “Fuck You Heroes” anthologist Glen E. Friedman and other music photogs like Neal Preston, Danny Clinch, Neil Zlozower and Lynn Goldsmith — a niche group of artists who in their ancillary roles are as important to music culture as the musicians. At “Punx N Pix” he’s joined by Jesse Samuel and Matthew Faciana for a proper showing of rock photography, art and the collective record they’ve created of South Florida’s music scene over the last few years. “No one sees photos on a wall anymore,” As Badillio says. “Everything is on their phone. This gives us an opportunity to show these images and bands as they deserve to be seen.” Badillo, who longs to travel and document a band a la Annie Leibovitz and the Rolling Stones in 1975, has the one impetus all photographers are fueled by: to capture the moment as it happens. While there’s no second shot at Led Zeppelin’s fateful ’77 tour or Bad Brains at CBGB in 1982, Badillo is capturing lightning in a bottle right here and it is pure visual poetry. Punx N Pix is 7pm Friday July 12 at Inchoate Art Gallery in Oakland Park with visuals by Jesse Samuel, Roberto Badillo and Matthew Faciana, and live music by The Polaroid Notebook, the Vagnauts and Bruvvy. robertobadillo.com ~ Abel Folgar
JULY 5
JULY 19
JULY 6
JULY 20
JULY 7
JULY 21
THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
BRYCE ALLYN BAND MARCUS AMAYA NYNE2FIVE (A.M.) /
FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)
NYNE2FIVE SPRED THE DUB MARCUS AMAYA (A.M.) / FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)
JULY 11
JULY 25
JULY 12
JULY 26
JULY 13
JULY 27
JULY 14
JULY 28
THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
DREW DOCKERILL TASTY VIBRATIONS HOMEGROWN SINNERS GUAVATRON (A.M.) /
FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.) JULY 18
SHAUN ROSARIO & MIKE HILL
MITCH HERRICK SPIDER CHERRY POOR LIFE DECISIONS GUAVATRON (A.M.) /
FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)