The Double Down is considered a replacement to the defunct Common Grounds. The venue is located in the historic down town district, tucked away from the bustle you find on University Ave. The outdoor “smoking section” is enclosed by a wooden fence containing a bar, several picnic tables, and TVs. The interior area is a deep room with a large corner bar on one end and a 3’ high x 125’ wide stage at the far opposite end, with minimal seating along the walls and near the bar. Anticipating the main attraction, the majority of the audience was packed in front of that stage while others clung close to the bars.

Mason Jennings was flooded with cheers and applause when he reached the stage. His calm and friendly demeanor was evident as he commented on how it was nice to be in our warm Florida climate in contrast to wintry Minnesota. Jennings opened with The Flood from his recently released collection of acoustic songs from the 90’s with the same title. He referred to the first section of sad songs as “The part of the set that’s all about getting done wrong”. Crown was the last of these tunes, to which he utilized his harmonica to intensify the somber mood.

Jennings introduced the theme for the next batch of songs as “Totally Awesome Beginnings of Love” and joked about writing a song with that title. He played Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor followed by my current favorite, Hearts Stop Beating, both from his latest release – Minnesota. Performing at least one song from each album I was impressed with how the audience was in synch with him and provided backup vocals the whole night. Jennings played close to 20 songs before stepping off and returning for a 4 song encore. As he thanked the audience, he encouraged us to stick around to talk to him by the merchandise stand. Sticking to his story, Jennings appeared by the merch table, absolutely approachable and as relaxed as ever. His adoring fans gathered patiently as he obliged them one by one signing autographs, taking photos, and shaking hands. If you are not familiar with Mason Jennings’ music please do follow the link below and have a listen, you will not be disappointed.

LINKS:

Mason Jennings website

Double Down Live website

Saturday morning we got up early and headed right for the park, it was not busy at all so we had free reign of the place. I suppose it’s been seven years or so that we hadn’t been to the park together, but not much has changed, we had a blast reliving the feel for this dependable spot. Located at 3000 Jackson Bluff Road, the Mike Blankenship Skate Park is approximately 26,000 square feet of smooth concrete. The hours of operation are from sunrise to midnight, there is no fee and no supervision, but the rules do require you to wear a helmet. The park is equipped with a bi-level pool, flat-banks, wide fun box, rails, corner bowls, wide hump, and a number of quarter pipes. Cruising around the park and having fun prevented me from taking too many pictures but I see that as a good thing.

The park was designed by Team Pain and “is the result of the efforts by local skateboarders and members of the local Skaters’ Union led by chair Dave Wilcox who worked with Parks and Recreation Department staff to select the site at the James Messer Sports Complex. Sparked by the efforts of Mayor Scott Maddox, $100,000 was allocated for this facility and support was secured from a local builder, Blankenship Contracting, Inc., to assist in the development.“ I highly recommend you take the trip up to Tallahassee to enjoy this superb work of art.

LINKS:

Mike Blankenship Skate Park website

In the year and a half that Grand Central has been up and running, they have proven to be an asset to Downtown Miami, filling a void for events too small for the AA arena but too large for all other venues in the 305. Another special factor that sets the club apart is their ability to host local acts as well as national ones; they even bring the two together allowing for local bands to perform with major artists. This was the case last Wednesday when Plains, and Jacuzzi Boys warmed up the crowd for Sebadoh.

This show marked my first encounter with Plains, who are a fairly new band in the scene. I enjoyed their set, whose compositions and vocal hooks contained elements reminiscent of Paul Westerberg and the Pixies. I must admit that the live experience exceeded my impression of their studio release (which I obtained at the show); the drums hit harder, lead guitars more in your face, all complimenting the mellow mood of the vocal delivery.

Miami favorites, Jacuzzi Boys, played next causing the audience to crowd near the front of the stage. The Boys sound was grittier and looser than the previous act, as they played their set list in a quick succession in the vein of the Ramones. The music bounced along until guitarist/vocalist Gabriel Alcala dedicated a ballad to the mamitas, after which things picked up again and he continued to provide a countdown of how many songs remained thereafter.

I’ve been a long time fan of Lou Barlow’s projects from Sebadoh to Folk Implosion to Sentridoh, so when Sebadoh came onto the stage I was beyond ready. Barlow opened up to the audience with some friendly banter, a humble approach showing his sensitive side. He took us on a trip down memory lane, fondly remembering their last (and only) Miami performance in the longest operating record store- Yesterday and Today. Sebadoh eased right into the music and played a stellar set which must have run nearly 2 hours. They pulled the best tunes out of their repertoire, dating back from the 80’s Freed Weed album all the way to the final 90’s release The Sebadoh. Every 5 songs or so Barlow switched instruments and singing responsibilities with long time band mate, Jason Lowenstein. Historically Barlow’s songs have been softer/ gentler, while Lowenstein brings the rage and harsh edge; this back and forth was ever present in the live presentation. I can cross out a goal from my bucket list and say that it was truly an amazing experience to see my heroes perform right before my eyes, just a few feet away. It’s these up close and personal experiences that make Grand Central a special venue for live performances. I hope the rumors are true and Sebadoh continue to make new music and not wait too long to come back to South Florida.

LINKS:

Sebadoh website

Jacuzzi Boys website

Plains website

Grand Central website

When I got word that Brotherly Love Productions (BLP) was organizing this event featuring Skerik and friends, I did not want to miss it. Apparently the folks at BLP host a “Rock out with Your Cookout”- free BBQ and concert every Sunday evening at the Hurricane. The Hurricane is just outside of the downtown Delray district & consists of 2 rooms; the majority of the principle room is made up of a large bar, a few high top tables, and also equipped with a small stage. The second room is an open-air section that contains a second bar. The venue was pretty well filled up with around 100 people, all grooving to the unique sounds of the Dead Kenny G’s.

LINKS:

The Dead Kenny G’s website

Brotherly Love Productions website

The festival will be in the Palm Beach County Convention Center in downtown West Palm from January 20th- 23rd from 12pm-7pm. One day pass is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. A multi-day pass is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Children under twelve are free if accompanied by an adult.

I was able to attend last year and I particularly enjoyed the antiques and visual art that were on display. One piece that grabbed everyone’s attention was a sculpture that changed as you walked by it. Simplistic, perhaps, but still thoroughly enjoyable. This year I’m looking forward not only to the art, but also to the poets and writers that will also be attending. London based poet and translator Chris Beckett will be there on Friday and photographer Michael Eastman will be signing copies of his new book, Havana.

Everyone’s seen enough shows to know how things work with opening acts.  It’s usually the case that the warm-up acts can’t hold a flame to the main offering… but every once in a rare while you get surprised by the quality of the opening talent.  This was certainly the case this fine Saturday night.

Bobby Lee Rodgers and his rhythm section started things off with some jammin’ Delta blues.  I don’t know (nor do I understand) how the Black Keys are so hot right now and at the same time most people (including myself) have never even heard of Bobby Lee Rodgers’ band.  Here’s the REAL deal: a down-and-dirty, rollicking, white-boy blues band straight outta the swamp.  The finest complement I can give Mr. Rodgers’ set is to tell you that after they left the stage everyone on the floor in my general area prefaced their wide-eyed, shocked comments by asking, “WHO was that?”  Finally we all found someone who knew: THAT was Bobby Lee Rodgers!

Next up came Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.  Shorty (who really isn’t all that short) came out with a trumpet in one hand and a trombone in the other! Ha! He then proceeded to take us through a long, extremely high-energy set of Orleans funk stew, finely-peppered with a dose of jazz and R&B for flavor.  These guys blew their brass (including two saxophones) for over an hour and had EVERYONE in the house dancing.  They never let up! And after dancing for soooo long I was a little worried I wouldn’t have enough energy left for Galactic. (Time to fortify & re-up!)… Yeah, Shorty’s set was that good!  I wouldn’t have wanted to follow that act!

Of course, finally we got Galactic, who have been rounding out their sound lately with vocals from Corey Glover (of Living Color-fame) and trombone by Corey Henry of the Rebirth Brass Band.  Here we go again… the people were mad for these guys and ALL of Revolution was once more up and dancing!  By this point your reviewer’s recall of details becomes a little fuzzy, but the vibe coming off the stage was tangible… these guys were havin’ fun, and its that kinda boisterous on-stage interplay that most often effectively delivers the kind of music I wanna hear.  I do remember lots of lights flashin’, and as viewed from a privileged point above, saw a sea of happy people swellin’ and rollin’ and movin’ and shakin’ to the groove.  We were treated to a Led Zeppelin cover and a guest spot by Trombone Shorty (and perhaps others too… I don’t quite know.)  In apology to my readers, if you’re interested in more details you’ll have to ask someone else, as your author’s dedication to reviewer-responsibility by this point had failed.  Let’s just say, you shoulda been there!

In the end, this was a show for the ages… one for the books for most anyone in attendance and simply another in a long list of fine shows for Revolution, one of South Florida’s classic venues.  In fact, it’s too bad I don’t have the space here to let you in on some of the shenanigans that went on this night, but that’s another story, for another time!

LINKS:  Galactic,  Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue,  Bobby Lee Rodgers,  Revolution (Fort Lauderdale)

WORDS:  Yetti Bedwetter

PHOTOS:  Steven Imas

Website

Jennifer first came to my attention through a very short set I witnessed at last year’s Forward Motion Records showcase and through a series of coincidental acquaintances I was tipped off to her show this past Sunday.  Jennifer was accompanied by her long-time guitarist George Chavles in a single set of acoustic originals, most of which came from her latest album “Masquerade”.

Ricochet’s dark, artsy atmosphere was an excellent complement to Jennifer’s slightly dark songs of love lost, longing and soul-searching.  Mr. Chavles’ electric, lead accompaniment added a fine top-layer of definition to Ms. Kaiser’s somewhat sparse acoustic arrangements and no doubt allowed her to more fully concentrate on her vocals.  The whole set was very tastefully and professionally arranged and presented in a concise, hour-long set.

Acoustic arrangements are nearly always the most heartfelt rendering of one’s material, especially in the case of original compositions, and this presentation was no exception.  If this type of intimate musical communication suits your idea of righteous lounge entertainment, your author would invite you to check out both Jennifer Kaiser’s musical output as well as Ricochet Bar & Lounge’s new Sunday Night acoustic series.  Further details on both may be found on the websites listed below.

LINKS:

Jennifer Kaiser website

Forward Motion Records Site

Ricochet Bar & Lounge website

Words by Matt May/ Photos by Steve I.

On this night Mr. Pauer opened and closed the night by mixing catchy tunes- some Latin flavor and even new twists on old favorites like The Beatles Come Together and Nirvana‘s Come As You Are. He is hands down Miami’s most eclectic and talented DJ, always full of surprises and he compliments the Elastic Bond. As Mr. Pauer’s set ended Andres Ponce worked up some cool effects on his keyboards transitioning the music to the live band and one by one the other members of the Elastic Bond joined him to produce the infections retro pop sound their fans adore. Sofy Encanto came to the stage like a flower child, channeling wonderful energy from the 60′s and bringing her powerful voice and positive vibes for the new year. I have been lucky enough to see this band play a dozen times and they keep their performance fresh, adding new elements and new tunes which keeps me anticipating their next showcase. Check out all the links below to experience Mr. Pauer and Elastic Bond and to stay up to date with their next performances, I know I will!

LINKS:

Elastic Bond website

Facebook

Mr. Pauer website

Facebook

PAX website

Facebook

Steve: Hey Jill, didn’t you just recently move back to Miami?

Jill: I just got back a couple of weeks ago. I really wanted to form a trio or something along those lines and record the second album which is completely written, I just have to do my research. The track listing has been the hardest because I have way too much material, so I have to hone it down and figure out exactly what I want the main voice of the album to be, which is harder than you would think. There is always that one odd song that can make or break the album. So I’ve been agonizing over that as well as maybe throwing in a couple of covers like Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cindi Lauper or something like that.

S: That’s great, it’s better to have too much than not enough, right?

J: Exactly, because you end up with half an album of shit. Anybody who’s bought a album because they heard one single knows that there’s nothing more frustrating than buying an album and not having any more representation of that one single.

S: Can you tell me about this band you’re forming?

J: I was trying to get it together, it’s kind of up in the air right now, some things have recently shifted in my life. Some of my plans fell through on a personal level, which was closely tied to the music. But hopefully I will be forming some sort of band sooner than later.

S: What three pieces, bass and drums?

Jill at the Blue Piano in December

J: Maybe another guitar player/ back up singer and some percussion. I don’t necessarily need a bass player because I play a lot of the bass notes when I play guitar but it couldn’t hurt to have a bass player, I like a da bass.

S: Slap a da bass. That was an awesome version of Burning Down the House you played tonight.

J: I love to take songs that are really popular and everybody knows how they go and I like to change them up. This is something I do with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun because to me, the lyrics are very sad and so I like to mellow it out a little bit and most people don’t recognize it until I get to the chorus. Same thing with Burning Down the House, when I started learning how to play it, I couldn’t do it like David Byrne can do it ,so I thought, if you can’t do it as good as him then do it differently. So I kept wanting to sing it like a soul song so I said fuck it, I’m going to sing it like a soul song. I’m in love with the way that it came out, it totally changed the whole song, like I said if you can’t do it the same way then do it completely differently.

S: Is that a new cover for you?

J: It’s relatively new, I learned it when I was in Alabama. Sometimes I get really inspired when I learn someone else’s song. Oh, I never thought to put those chords together or I never thought about this rhythm before, to me that helps me grow as an artist so every once in a while I try to learn somebody else’s song. That was one of those instances where it came on my Ipod and I thought what a fucking great song, I’m going to go home and learn this song and I did and I completely ruined it in my own way.

S: I love what you did with it. You were talking about putting a cover on your album, how does that work as far as getting the rights and permission to do that?

J: I think it’s actually pretty simple, there is a website where you have to go and pay a royalty. Because most of those artists are affiliated with BMI or something like that and so they get the royalty repeated to them every time it’s used. So if my cover was to be used in a commercial then that would be a separate issue. I think you just pay $75 bucks and just put it on our album.

S: Dang, that’s easy. Have you got any ideas for videos for the new album?

J: I made an impromptu video in this bird sanctuary in Asheville, NC for this song called “Minutes on Mars”, which I wrote on the baritone ukulele. Omine and I because we were on tour, I was toting this thing around and I had my video camera; we came up to this clearing with this big beautiful tree and a pond with frogs in it with a bench in front of it. So I was like hey why don’t we record this off the cuff video and Omine the way she videoed it with this sweeping style, it came out brilliant. Then I did some tweaking to the video with some effects and it has this other worldly feel, which the song is a space-age love song. I happened to have my robot shoes on, which I drew these robots on them with a sharpie, it was amazing how it all came together. That will probably be one of the official videos because I love it. I’ll probably do one or two more, we’ll see, maybe another animation one like for the Sheppard.

S: O yeah, that sounds really cool. For the Sheperd did you help put that together?

J: That was completely me. I stayed up for 3 days straight, I drew all the figures, cut them all out. I have this crappy little camera

Jill plays a mean Uke!

and I crouched over all these scenes and took stills and strung them all together to make the video, it’s so crude but I honestly don’t want to change it because it’s so charming in it’s ridiculousness. You can tell I don’t know what I’m doing but I like it, it’s lighthearted and I don’t want to get too serious with it.

S: Haven’t you played here at the Blue Piano often? I’ve seen you listed as playing here in the past.

J: I played here once; way before I left and I just come here to support everybody and I always end up playing a couple of songs, or singing or something.

S: And where was it that you had moved to when you left Miami?

J: Alabama, right outside of Huntsville, a little place called Athens. It’s saving grace is that the Tennessee River runs right through the middle of it. Which is spectacularly gorgeous, the sun setting on it is just breathtaking. That was the perfect setting for me to go and recuperate from my 5 years spent in Miami and get back in touch with who I was and what I was trying to say as an artist. I would just sit on that dock and write songs every single day. I would either play something or write something, it was so inspiring to be out with nature and get away from the hustle and the bustle of Miami, you know.

S: I hear you. So is that where a lot of the new album was written?

J: Almost, yeah. When I left Miami in May, Omine Eager and I were on a double bill tour, which lasted a little over a month. A lot of that was experiencing the music scene in another city. Every place had it’s own distinctive mark, the people that came out were totally different from Miami; not always better and sometimes worse but it was just different and it was such an emotional roller coaster filtering through so many different scenes. That was the inspiration for a couple of the new songs, just being on the road. Some places I fell madly in love with and other places I couldn’t wait to get out of. But I guess that’s every tour. Other stuff is getting back to who I am and what I want out of life and some love songs of course, it is a wider range of topics from my first album.

S: What was your favorite city, out of all the ones you went to?

J: Cleveland, without a doubt I am madly in love with Cleveland. The people there are so nice, there’s so much art and music. That was where we made most of our money at this little hot dog joint called The Happy Dog, which is an amazing place if you’re ever in Cleveland. We charged at the door, had 4 musicians playing- 1 of them was my friend John Kalman who set up the whole thing. People didn’t know anything about us and they paid the cover to get in and sat through the whole show. We sold a couple of cds and people friended me on Facebook and were like you were great we really loved it. Everybody was so warm, which is not how you’d expect Cleveland to be because it’s kind of a decomposing city, kind of a used to was as a city. But there’s so much art and so much resurgence, you can feel it surging underground, it’s an amazing city. I love it, I would move there.

S: That’s Cleveland Ohio right?

J: Yeah. People don’t make money as artists there, which is a shame, but it breeds artists. There’s an exodus of the artists to make a living but there’s a lot of art.

S: Cool. Thank you for your time!

J: Thank you Steve.

LINKS:
Myspace

Reverbnation

Facebook

VIDEOS:
The Sheperd

Minutes On Mars