Cog Nomen, Alien Vibes When Brave Ulysses, the drummer for the Miami avant-electro duo Cog Nomen, is performing live, he’s accomplishing a lot more than tinkling the cymbals and thwacking the snares and thumping the kick drums. He mans his drum kit while at the same time creating synthetic bass lines, looping samples and sequences, and singing into a vocoder, which makes him sound like Ned on South Park. It’s a good thing he’s a skilled multitasker. “It’s truly an act of choreography, physically almost like a dance,” he says. “It’s always a challenge to do all that activity at once Cog Nomen physically and keep focused mentally as well in the midst of something as primal as hitting drums. I’m not really sure how I do it other than persistence, will, and a drop of innocent pride.” It’s all in a gig’s worth for this duo, whose largely instrumental soundscapes— heavy on slow builds, repeated phrasing and mechanized rhythms—resemble nothing on today’s charts. A savvy promoter, though, would book them as Kraftwerk’s opening act when the Krautrock legends play the Olympia Theatre Sept. 29. “The early German electronic music groups like Kraftwerk and cats like Tangerine Dream, Cluster, and really the whole krautrock genre are a large influence, particularly the spirit of experimentation and the sounds they pioneered,” Ulysses says. “Some of it seems a little sterile to me at times—hey, I’m a drummer and I also like music that involves elements of sweating, making faces and hitting objects, beyond the pressing of buttons!” Ulysses formed Cog Nomen circa 2011 alongside the ubiquitous and impressively bearded guitarist Buffalo Brown, who runs his instrument through a loop pedal to create his own ethereal, otherworldly melodies. Even while watching perform, it’s hard to believe such a rich sound originates from just two players. Their songs capture nothing less than the enormity of outer space, occasionally sounding more like transmissions from SETI than rock songs—an observation that Ulysses appreciates. “It is in some part intentional, but there is a large part of that bubbling up from unconscious or sub-conscious influences, experiences, preferences,” he says. “I’ve been told that the large majority of the original music I’ve made or played on over the years has an ‘alien’ vibe, but really I’m as terrestrial as the next earthling. I don’t need to be dissected at Area 51!” Cog Nomen invades Respectable Street Sept 12 as part of PureHoney’s 4 Year Anniversary Jam. In the meantime, check out the duo’s Kickstarter campaign and help Buffalo and Ulysses press their forthcoming Twin Stars EP; the fundraising effort runs until Sept. 6. ~ John Thomason
Purity Ring, Another Eternity Good electronic music is hallmarked by the level of depth it can achieve. Good electronic music should have numerous layers worked laboriously so that a rich tapestry is created for enjoyment. This might sound like the ramblings of an old curmudgeon but good electronic music is oftentimes created by folks with a strong background in organic music. Canada’s Purity Ring is one such case. Purity Ring Credit: Landon Speers The duo hails from Edmonton, Alberta and in their short, two-album strong career, they’ve managed to raise eyebrows and popularize witch house and dream pop since forming in 2010. A stylistic cross somewhere between High Places and the ranging aesthetics of Mommy and Daddy and Mates of State, Purity Ring’s early salvo “Ungirthed” was an infectious, internet-breaking, impossible pop song crafted in such a stop-andgo manner that managed to symbiotically supplement a perfect and balanced platform for singer Megan James to mellifluously hook out of. Musician and producer and second half of this act Corin Roddick knows how to work with her and it is no coincidence that they both mastered piano and drums respectively before embarking on this jaunt. It is that background that is evident in their work and the aforementioned tapestries for enjoyment are aided by the economy of sound that a piano and drum duo bring to the table. Think jazzy experimentation with a mutual derivation for drive in a digital platform. Their debut album, Shrines was lauded by the media and made numerous “best of” lists in 2012; it is their newest offering Another Eternity that they are supporting out on the road now. While it hasn’t received an equal amount of praise like its predecessor, it is still a fully realized effort and a pretty solid sophomore album by a young outfit. If this duo continues to evolve at the pace that it has set for itself it will assuredly have a future filled with richly layered music that will challenge other electronic acts to reflect upon their craft. Catch them with LA’s HANA at 7:30 pm on Friday, September 11 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave, Miami Beach. ~ Abel Folgar
Jose Gonzalez, Free Show That the overcast port town of Gothenburg, Sweden — home to container ships and melodic death metal — also produced a musician like José González is proof that “heavy” comes in more shades than graphite and black.
Jose Gonzalez Credit: Malin_Johansson
This indie-folk troubadour can be as dark and forlorn, in his way, as any of Gothenburg’s grimmer musical exports. It’s just that González employs different elements: a quiet pop tenor, moody lyrics and a tactile, heart-tugging style of nylonstring guitar.
Combined, they create the emotional undertow of “Vestiges & Claws,” Gonzalez’s new album, and his first in eight years as a solo artist. After a long time out of the wilderness, so to speak, working with his band, Junip, and pitching in to a major movie soundtrack (2013’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”), González has returned to a kind of solitude. “Vestiges & Claws,” like its predecessors, derives power from the man-alone quality that makes González sound like a global itinerant — a busker you encounter on a train platform in any world capital, painting his surroundings to a standstill with hushed, observant songs. Even at his most crowd-pleasing, as an astute selector of covers, González picks and interprets with a feel for depth and weight: “Heartbeats,” the vibrant, desperate-sounding dance track by The Knife, also of Gothenburg; “Teardrop” by the total-immersion trip-hop artists Massive Attack; and the dire beauty of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The originals and covers don’t lose heft by being cast as voice-and-guitar pieces with minimal additional accompaniment. (Gonzalez is touring with a band that gives his live set more of the texture of his recordings.) The influences that bleed through also demonstrate how genre, today, is less a distinct product of place and time than a busy intersection of multiple currents. Indie folk, in González’s hands, draws together assorted people and aesthetics — Nick Drake, João Gilberto, post-punk, electronica — and yes, with a palette that varied, the effect isn’t entirely heavy-hearted. José González plays a free show at 7pm Monday, Sept. 28 at the Hollywood ArtsPark, Young Circle Park, in downtown Hollywood. Brooklyn-based duo Luluc (originally from Australia) opens. Visit rhythmfoundation.com or call (305) 672-5202 for information. ~ Sean Piccoli
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28 RESPECTABLE STREET: Rivers Album Release, Kids, Peyote Coyote
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
DADA: Comedy Open Mic
DADA: Madd Jazz KYI: Shameless Burlesque BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Jangle Leg
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SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 RESPECTABLE STREET: 28 Year Anniversary Party: The Misfits, Sweet Bronco, Ethan Parker Band, Astari Nite, Smells Like Grunge, Johnny Raincloud, Modernage, Boxwood, Break the Hero, Riot Agents, Chaucer, Hypoluxo, Golden Gun, Kill Mama, Deaf Poets, Nation of Decay, Shotgun Betty, The Alleys, The Muggles, The Drip Effect, Riot Act, Que Lastima, The Ruins, OSF, Howling Winds, Stratolites, Sur Back, Dirty Sonic. FREE, NO COVER! OPEN BAR 8-9pm! FREE PIZZA! DADA: Chasing Oceans
PROPAGANDA: Summer Daze Concert Series Day 2: Roots Shakedown, Arise Roots, The Expanders, The Resolvers, Tribal Seeds, Jacuzzi Fuzz, Lake Worth Long Shots, LFTD LVLS, Spred The Dub, Jahzilla, The Helmsmen, Fireside Prophets, DJ Fiyah Queen
VINTAGE TAP: Magic Hat presents Gator Wine, Guavatron
BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Jangle Leg SUNDAY, AUGUST 30
JAZID: InnaSense, Lance-O, Empress Chairmaine, Exit Sound
MONDAY, AUGUST 31
DADA: Basement Jams Open Mic KYI: Glitterbox BOSTONS: Rhythmation, LanceO
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
DADA: Duover PROPAGANDA: LFTD LVLS & Holidazed AMERICANAIRLINESARENA: Motley Crue, Alice Cooper
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
DADA: One Drop Rebellion
RESPECTABLE STREET: Montage, Milk Spot
LONGBOARDS: Brett Staska CHURCHILL’S PUB: Gymshorts, Tall Juan, Ben Katzman’s Degreaser, The Gun Hoes, Booty & The Browns, Milk Spot
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
DADA: Galllimimus FUNKY BUDDHA: The Coppertones, Mylo Ranger CHURCHILL’S PUB: 36 Years Day 1: 3 Stages, 15 Bands
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 RESPECTABLE STREET: Eons, Celebrator KISMET VINTAGE: Kremlin, Lindsey Mills, Muuny
PROPAGANDA: Web Three CHURCHILL’S PUB: 36 Years Day 2: Gruesome, 3 stages, 25 Bands + Houndstooth Cottage Lop-off Sessions and 36 Chambers of Wu afterparty BOHEMIA AG: Ænniversary II «[2 years ov Oblivion]»
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 RESPECTABLE STREET: Cheesy 90’s Homecoming
CHURCHILL’S PUB: 36 Years Day 3: 3 Stages, 15 Bands
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 DADA: Open Mic KYI: Glitterbox
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
DADA: Sarah Solstice PROPAGANDA: The Browning, Evacuate the City, Intervention, We Are Many, WAI2GON
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 GRAND CENTRAL: Best Coast, The Lovely Bad Things HAROLDS COFFEE: Livin the Rhythm Drum Circle
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RESPECTABLE STREET: Scarecrow Jenkins, Fill Ryot F DADA: Craft Bazaar PROPAGANDA: LFTD LVLS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 FILLMORE MIAMI BEACH: Purity Ring
CHURCHILL’S PUB: AJ Davila y Terror Amor, Booty & The Browns, Antifaces, Male Model DADA: Big Chief KYI: Purity Ring Afterparty w/ Eons TEQUESTA BREWING COMPANY: Brett Staska GUANABANAS: Roots Shakedown
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
PROPAGANDA: Reflections, Toothgrinder, Villains (Yüth
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Forever), Exalt, Business As Usual DADA: Mylo Ranger KYI: Keep It Deep VINTAGE TAP: Lavola, The Flyers, Scattered Light
DADA: Mark Telesca
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
RESPECTABLE STREET: PureHoney Magazine 4 Year Anniversary feat
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Y TERROR AMOR w guests:
COG NOMEN JOHN RALSTON CHAUCER KREMLIN MILK SPOT POCKET OF LOLLIPOPS SWEET BRONCO 8PM, 18+ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
CHURCHILL’S PUB: E Double F, Sleep Beggar, Satanic Turd Worship, Montage, Euro-Asia
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 DADA: Open Mic KYI: Glitterbox
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 PERFECT VODKA AMP: Van Halen WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 CHURCHILL’S PUB: Thee Oh Sees, Jacuzzi Boys, Wastelands & DJ Mr. Brown
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 DADA: Fireside Prophets
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Calm, Ratsmouth PROPAGANDA: LFTD LVLS CHURCHILL’S PUB: Yautja, Maruta, Gross
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
DADA: Tomcat Joe CHURCHILL’S PUB: Boy Prostitute, Dyslexic Postcards, Talking Dogs, The Can’t Stand Ya’s
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 DADA: 15 Year Anniv: Whiskey Wasps, Living Daylights LONGBOARDS: 4 Year Anniv Block Party
VINTAGE TAP: planetRAWK CHURCHILL’S PUB: Toxic Holocaust, Lord Dying, Shroud Eater, Nunhex
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
REVOLUTION LIVE: Blues Traveler
GRAND CENTRAL: Front 242
JAZID: Fyakin, Ras Kokay & Rythmadix, Lance-O, Exit Sound THE BACKYARD BOYNTON BEACH: LanceO
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
DADA: Open Mic KYI: Glitterbox CHURCHILL’S PUB: Miami Jazz Jam & Theatre De Underground BOSTONS ON THE BEACH: Rhythmation, LanceO
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
DADA: Comedy Open Mic CHURCHILL’S PUB: A Folk’d Up Evening w Ryan Carney
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
DADA: 33 years KYI: The Hoy Polloy APOTHECARY GELATO at BOHEMIA AG: Fall Equinox° Release the Pumpkins Soirée
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 DADA: The Holidazed
RESPECTABLE STREET: Bonnie Riot
PROPAGANDA: LFTD LVLS & Rude Hecklers
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Jangle Leg DADA: Moran Levi & the Head Band KYI: Shameless Burlesque
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
DADA: Great Aunts VINTAGE TAP: Fusik KILTED MERMAID: Jangle Leg CHURCHILL’S PUB: Deaf Poets, Heavy Drag, Suede Dudes, Tremends, Viceroi, Modernage, The Gun Hoes, The Goddamn Hustle, Axe & The Oak, Grey 8’s & Mr. Jolt
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 FILLMORE MIAMI BEACH: Nick Jonas
JAZID: InnaSense, Cassafaya, Lance-O, 50 Caliber
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 HOLLYWOOD ARTSPARK EXPERIENCE: Jose Gonzalez KYI: Glitterbox
PROPAGANDA: SHAM 69, The Attack, Die Trying & Menudo Death Squad DADA: Open Mic
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
DADA: Comedy Open Mic
HOWLEYS: Halloween Art Show
VINTAGE TAP: The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band CHURCHILL’S PUB: Music Non Stop. Kraftwerk Afterparty REVOLUTION LIVE: Digitour, Matthew Espinosa
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 DADA: Zack Jones
OCTOBER 1-4 O’CINEMA: Popcorn Frights Film Festival THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1 REVOLUTION LIVE: Collective Soul BAYFRONT PARK AMP: Alt-J, San Fermin
JAMCPHFRIDAY, OCTOBER 2 OLYMPIA THEATER: The Jesus and Mary Chain PERFECT VODKA AMP: Oddball Comedy Festival
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 OLD SCHOOL SQUARE DELRAY: 9th annual Stitch Rock, Indie Craft Fair RESPECTABLE STREET: Bombtoberfest
Stitch Rock 9, Delray The indie-handmade craft movement hasn’t always had a home in South Florida like in places such as Austin and Portland, Oregon. But with fine folks, such as the ambitious Amanda Linton, of Lake Worth, indie do-it-yourselfers not only have a burgeoning community to share tips and relish in support, these artisans have an outlet to sell their unique wares and mingle amid handmade fans. Case in point: October’s Ninth Annual Stitch Rock 9 Stitch Rock will host nearly 80 vendors peddling wares created from old-school and new-school crafting techniques. This craft fair and bazaar brings forth items made with extra love and care, never of the mass-produced variety, ahem China, that shoppers can know that they are supporting the local economy while snagging fun items such as kitschy home goods, DIY fashion, hot rod paintings, pin-up photography, funky jewelry and so on. Stitch Rock launched in 2007, when crafter Linton realized South Florida crafters and makers needed a local outlet outside of Etsy to sell what was dear to theirs hearts, making things by hand. Linton, a self-proclaimed third generation crafter, grew up in a family that she explains would, “If we wanted a cake we would bake it. And if we wanted a dress, we would sew one.” The 37-year-old can embroider can sew up a storm, but she says her favorite things to make are resin jewelry pieces for her line “Forever Sprinkles,” which incorporates legit cupcake sprinkles, sparkles and fun Japanese stickers. Her first Stitch Rock featured 40 vendors and drew nearly 800 hundred attendees. Those numbers have steadily increased making it the largest annual indie craft fair in South Florida. Due to its wild success, she has spawned off more inclusive annual artisan events that encompass different artistic styles and genres like Art Rock and Retro Indie Market. She also co-owns along with her husband JR, Ink & Pistons, Tattoos & Slushbox Art Gallery in West Palm Beach, where she curates art shows almost monthly. Notable vendors to check out at the show, among the many talented, are Elisa Gomez of Committed Jewelry; Justine’s The Monster Café; and Sara Leigh’s Stitch of Whimsey... her art appears on this years PureHoney poster:) “It feels better to buy from the person who made the pieces,” says Linton. Think of how eating foods tastes better when you know how it was and were it was grown, like eating a strawberry right out of the field... it just tastes better.” Stitch Rock will explode on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, from noon to 6pm at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Avenue, in Delray Beach. First 100 people get a free swag bag. Admission is $5; free for children 12 and younger. Visit rockthestitch.com. ~ Andrea Richard
Thee Oh Sees, Mutilator It’s frustrating as a creative individual to wonder about where compulsive artists like Thee Oh Sees’ figurehead and contemporary psych-rock icon, John Dwyer, get the seemingly endless inspiration and energy to create from. It’s not so much that Dwyer is simply prolific -any Thee Oh Sees Credit: Mini Van Photography jerkoff can release a ton of music these days -- it’s that it’s always so damn good! While Dwyer has created plenty of the most beloved albums in the Oh Sees’ massive canon in solitary, his most recent outing under the moniker -entitled Mutilator Defeated At Least -- features performances by a crack new squad of collaborators (save for the return of longtime and recently departed member, Brigid Dawson) brought in after the most stable lineup of the group’s career disintegrated amid announcements of an extended hiatus. However, the hiatus was thankfully short-lived, and new records -- including last year’s Drop and now, Mutilator...-- have proven to be a reminder of just how lethal the Oh Sees can be -- even this many albums deep -- as the album has met almost universal acclaim from fans and critics alike. Of the new conspirators present on Mutilator... drummer Nick Murray, of fellow Californian psych upstarts White Fence, is of special note, adding an exciting new layer of musical athleticism and tightness to the band’s sound without sacrificing the raucous (if controlled) sloppy bits that are so intrinsic to the band’s garage-rock charm. Unfortunately, Murray’s time as a touring member of the Oh Sees was brief, but Dwyer -- seemingly aware of how hard it is to replace a player of that caliber -- has since rounded out his touring band with two drummers, and when we took in the new group’s set at Levitation 2015 in Austin in May, we were absolutely floored by the power and energy the new lineup brought to old favorites and the new songs alike. Thee Oh Sees will be hitting the legendary Churchill’s Pub in Miami on Wednesday, September 16, and the bill undoubtedly holds the potential to be one of the most insane shows of the year as it includes Miami’s favorite up-andcoming rockers Wastelands, and favored sons, Jacuzzi Boys, who have started teasing new material in recent weeks. ~ Von Bader
Skate Culture, Craig Snyder Just as there are revolutions that fuel change in everything from music and to governments, there are revolutions in sports. They don’t call these moments “game-changers” for nothing. In A Secret History of the Ollie, Volume 1: the 1970s, author Craig Snyder has meticulously documented the birth of modern skateboarding in the 1970s, including the influence of technology, while putting an emphasis on the one aerial skateboard trick that helped define an era: the Ollie. When you see skaters somehow lift off the ground with the skateboard still stuck to the bottom of their shoes, that’s the Ollie. Snyder spent seven years working on a book on skateboard history and ended up with a single 912-page book on this era in skating that actually doesn’t just focus on the Ollie. Though the length of the book sounds daunting, it actually has over 1,200 pictures and illustrations, and it’s broken up into 75 compact chapters while having a kind of story arc. “There is a story there,” Snyder says, speaking via phone, “and there’s a layering of building blocks.” Snyder doesn’t want the title to confuse anyone, as the history of modern skateboarding is much more than that one trick that helped change the skate scene. “It is not just the Ollie,” he says. “This volume covers the birth and evolution of modern skating, which begins with the introduction of the technology that allowed skateboarding to progress and evolve beyond anything that happened before in the 1960s or earlier. This leads to new moves, and one of those is the Ollie, which later becomes the dominant the move in the street style of skateboarding.” And so his book is more than the myth-making of one skate trick. He also credits skateboard designers for helping usher in a new era of skating. “It was the creation of new technology that led to new ways of riding skateboards,” he says, “new equipment and allowing people to do things they never did before without knowing what you could not do, and what emerged out of that were the first aerials. Not just the ollie but every other kind of aerial that happened in the 1970s is covered in the book, including the first aerials on a surf board.” The book has gone on to win two awards. Most recently, in July, up in Buena Vista, Florida, Snyder won the Gold Medal for Best in Category for Sports and Recreation Books from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, which means his book will be on a list of books recommended for libraries across the state. In May, he won Best in Category for General Trade, Illustrated books at the 58th Annual New England Book Show. Snyder will be at the world premiere of his photo exhibit “Rebels, Riders, Rejects: Pioneers of Modern Skateboarding” at FATVillage Art Walk, 521 NW 1st Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 6pm – 11pm He will have copies of his book to sign, as well. http://www.olliebook.com/ ~ Hans Morgenstern | The Independent Ethos
Sham 69 - Tim V “You’re telling me to grow up, but Harry don’t you see? If I tried to act my age I wouldn’t be me” (“Hurry Up Harry” 1978). Formed in 1975 by singer Jimmy Pursey and guitarist Neil Harris in the Surrey village of Hersham in southeast England, Sham 69 has long been a polarizing figure in punk rock history for its influence, success, inner conflicts and its fanatical attraction to skinhead Sham 69 - Tim V culture regardless of political affiliation. Early pioneers of Oi!, Sham 69’s musical style has taken its cues from hard rock and pub rock built on a steady and well-gelled rhythm section punctuated early on by the guitars of Harris and Dave Parsons’ since ’77. “Now I’ve got the chance I don’t care about what I do, when I done them things I done them just for you and now I’m getting out coming back for you” (“Borstal Breakout” 1978). Noted for topical lyrics that often invited dialogue for unity within the scene and a sense of solidarity for the common man in the turbulent days of James Callaghan’s ministry which set up the better-known economic environment of Margaret Thatcher’s 80’s, Sham’s history would be shaped by the politics of their time. With the rise of the National Front in populist British politics in the 70’s, Sham 69 would inadvertently draw support from the skinhead and neo-Nazi ranks of the movement causing increasingly violent conflicts during their live performances. “But then somebody tells you that you’re owned by someone else, so what’s it all about? It’s money, work it out.” (“Money” 1979). As if this wasn’t enough to cause stress within the band, Sham 69 has suffered since inception from lineup changes though oftentimes the revolving door kept the changing within a finite number of players with Pursey, Parsons and drummer Ian Whitewood being the longest constants. This sets up an interesting quandary for longtime fans concerning Sham 69 in 2015, one akin to the recent troubles surrounding Black Flag with two squads actively performing under the moniker. “We’re the people you don’t wanna know, we come from places you don’t wanna go. Angels with dirty faces, angels from nowhere places… kids like me and you!” (“Angels with Dirty Faces” 1978). When Pursey was sacked in 2006, Parsons forged on as Sham 69 and released two albums. In 2011, Parsons disbanded his Sham and Harris took up the Sham mantle, not long after, Parsons and Pursey made nice and reconnected with Whitewood to tour as Sham 69 – The Original 1977 Lineup while Harris’ incarnation is known as Sham 69 – Tim V. “Now we see them talking about us, whispering lies all around us, not wanting us to know the truth.” (“Tell Us the Truth” 1978). It is the latter of these two versions that will be performing at Propaganda on September 28 alongside Die Trying, The Attack and Menudo Death Squad. Forty years later, the Hersham boys continue to polarize. ~ Abel Folgar
Front 242, Cult Heroes It’s damn near impossible to talk about electronic dance music in 2015 without evoking images of gluttonously overpaid DJs and neon-festooned millennials sweating away in bacchanalian party scenes, but the form was once (and remains, in some circles) so much more than the bloated, vapid beast it has devolved into in its most mainstream contemporary guises. Like any art, if you dig into the roots of it and seek something authentic, you generally find the gold, Front 242 and at the far roots of the embarrassing mutant mainstream electronic dance music has become, you’ll find the legendary Belgian-bred industrial cult heroes of Front 242. Without Front 242’s programmed, synthetic thump, martial vocals, and sampled sound manipulations, it’s safe to say the world of dark music and dance music would be a far less interesting place. The band represented the next logical step from early experimental artists like Throbbing Gristle and its music was truly ahead of its time, and while it certainly has an audience and was massively influential, we believe it still has not quite received the acclaim it truly deserves from the mainstream music media. Front 242’s sound, even amid the flood of electronica, remains fresh, visceral, and downright enthralling. The band is credited with forging the EBM or electronic body music genre in the early ‘80s and it’s work has since has been of inexplicably consistent quality over the years they’ve been a band. Though they have not released new music since 2008, Front 242 has remained a serious live act -- which works out well for the many fans most interested in experiencing the songs that made the band’s legacy what it is in the flesh. Front 242 will be bring its influential industrial stomp to Miami’s Grand Central on Sunday, September 20th. It will be the band’s only southeastern performance on this tour and if the setlist is anything like what the band has been using in recent years, it’s going to be an absolutely incredible night, if only for a opportunity to be pummeled in person by “Headhunter” or “U-Men”! Opening the night is South Florida-based electronic duo Les Anges De La Nuit, and DJ Mikey R of Radio-Active Records. Sunday, September 20 at Grand Central + Radio-Active Records + Poplife present: Front 242. 8pm, all ages. ~ Von Bader