Ric's Reflections of REVMiami.com's Launch Party, Pt. II
Continuation of Ric's Reflections on REVMiami.com's Launch Party, Part I. All photos by Elizabeth Ferguson, unless otherwise noted.
I don't think I mentioned this, but it was freezing that night! A cold front passed through earlier in the day (which had me worried about rain), and it must have been in the 40's. A lot of people stayed inside, which is understandable, but I was more surprised by how many other people were outside to watch the bands and Christina DerHagopian's "Me As He".
Christina told me that a lot of people asked her about the film and the sub-culture of drag kings in general. I can't wait for her to start her next project. I'll make sure to keep everyone posted.
After The Still Voice I went back inside to watch Araka, a semi-spanish ska, rock band. Honestly, I didn't know these guys before the show - I didn't even write about them in the Meet The Bands post. The first thing I noticed when they hit the stage was girls and horns! These guys were incredibly energetic and the crowd was dancing to the familiar latin based beats. They were smooth. The crowd came to life, not in a mosh pit way, but in a grab the girl next to you and dance way.
I was really pleasantly surprised. It would be one thing that if the one band I didn't know really sucked but they really got everyone going. They ended up being a great addition.
After Araka finished up MadMartigan took the stage.
What? Talk about squeezing a ray of sunshine between two faces of death.
What more can I say about MadMartigan than I haven't already said. Have you seen the pictures? Have you seen Michael Vincent rolling around on the floor? Did you notice his "musketeer 'stach"? Even more than that, what kind of day job could he have? Could you imagine walking into an H&R Block to get your taxes done, only to have Michael Vincent sit you down with a 1040A Schedule C and explain the difference between Business Expenses and Personal Expenses?
Bands like MadMartigan make me an eternal fan of Rock n' Roll. You see, it's not just an artform. A lot of people claim that their music is a form of self-expression, and I believe that, but these guys live it. Music is so fundamentally important to them that it is a self-definition (or the music is defined by their 'self image' - I'm still not sure which is which, like chickens or eggs). It is so engrained in who they are it's in their DNA. It reminds me of that movie Joe Dirt when Joe (David Spade) is being interviewed by Dennis Miller's character and he asks him why he doesn't shave off his "white trash" facial hair and Joe responds, "what do you mean, man? This is just how it grows in." MadMartigan bleeds rock n' roll, the drops hit the floor and a cymbol crashes.
I have a really good feeling about these guys.
There were only three bands left to play. Dyslexic Postcards were scheduled to play inside later in the night, so I told them to set up outside so that they could get in an earlier play time - 130 as opposed to 230.
Courtesy of Dyslexic Postcards
I've debated a lot over how to write about the Dyslexic Postcard's set. I am really close to Josh Xmas, as can be seen by interviews I've had with him. This night was supposed to be the grand return of DP. Unfortunately, it ended being a much much more tragic event as Josh dedicated his set to his recently passed away brother Atom Xmas.
I'm having an internal debate because I hate to think that I am using Atom's death to promote anything in any way whatsoever. I really cared a lot about Atom; it's so tragic what happened. There was a really big crowd of people there to share in each other's grief and pain.
While DP was playing they showed a video montage of Atom, at times being his fun loving self, at other times playing guitar and music.
Atom loved playing with DP and loved playing with Josh. Showing the videos while playing their set was Josh's way of playing one last time with his brother. It was a really difficult night, it was a really difficult set of circumstances, and I really appreciate Josh and the guys holding together to play a set.
After playing 4 songs, DP stopped the set, got off the stage, and rolled a video of Atom playing one of his own songs. I'm really going to miss him.
After that I had to take a breather. I walked outside and paced around for a little bit and collected myself. It was really hard to get back into "show" mode. Thankfully the girls of AKA were there and we were able to offer some comfort to one another. When I walked back inside I went over to Scott Gabbey to see how he was doing and his awkward humor lifted my spirits, thankfully.
The Secondhand Outfit hit the stage, towing along MPC artist Name Brand. It was already 2:45 in the morning, but there was still a great crowd.
I don't really listen to Hip-Hop, so I don't have much of an ear for it. I can't tell you if in the world of Hip-Hop music these guys were really great or really bad. But it didn't matter because I liked their style anyway. I can tell you that I liked the fact that Jasper (emcee) brought the crowd into the show, passed around the mic, had a smile on his face, and kept sending positive waves into the crowd.
Name Brand...wow.
My jaw dropped from what he was doing with his MPC. I've actually seen him before in Jazid when he was played a set with !MAYDAY!, so I knew a little of what he did. Earlier in the night he told me that at times he feels disrespected because people say "you're just a DJ," but that doesn't even begin to explain what he does.
Name Brand is a true musician. He took a Led Zeppelin song and turned it on it's head - all live. He took little clips and samples pulled them together, turned them on their side, put them back together, and created an unbelieve MPC Solo. Stunning. His level of music IQ is outrageous.
At the very end of The Secondhand Outfit's set I was beginning to get a little worried. I knew that Tony Smurfio from Afrobeta had a live recording session with Suenalo over at Transit Lounge, and that he was going to finish that set, pack up, and run over to PS14 to play the Launch Party. Unfortunately I hadn't yet seen him or Cuci Amador and I would've hated for there to be a long pause between The Secondhand Outfit and their set; the majority of the crowd would have probably left before they could start.
But, like an angel bursting through the door came the lovely Cuci, dressed in a beautiful green gown, her hair flipped, and smiling from ear to ear. She looked totally adorable. They showed up at the exact moment that The Secondhand Outfit finished, it was perfect timing.
It was after 3 and the night was winding down, but for any lull of energy, Afrobeta completely picked it back up. I know personally I was running a little low on juice but as soon as the beat started and Cuci and Tony started bouncing I couldn't stand still.
The presence of these two is unbelievable, especially Cuci. I really believe it starts with their positive attitudes. Their absolute love of what they're doing and happiness and appreciation of it infects the crowd and is reflected in their music.
Not to mention that Tony had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face while he plays.
Because he knows.
And he knows you know.
And he knows you know he knows.
But the lovely Cuci. My god. I think of her that night with a big heart outlining my thoughts like a moment from Saved By The Bell with the audience whoo'ing in the background.
She flirts with the crowd and is loose and free. They played a cover of an 80's Freestyle song and she started doing the shuffle on stage.
I danced for the entire fourty-five minutes they played. And they could've played the whole night, fourty-five minutes passed so quickly that when they finished playing I thought they'd only played for twenty minutes.
It hit 4 o'clock and everyone was pooped. We're talking 6 solid hours of music, art, drinks, fun, friendships, makeouts, and who knows what else. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. Keeping any venue packed all night long is amazing by itself, but in Miami doing it on a night that featured live bands is fantastic.
How did it work out so well? I'm still asking myself. The heart of the show was such an odd mishmash of bands that flowed together so well. Hard rock band, spanish ska band, hard rock band, hip-hop artist, and Afrobeta. It doesn't seem logical it all, and yet it worked.
I have so much pride in the fact that so many of the musicians are telling me that they had a good time playing the show. I know that's a big key for why things went so well.
But now that the table is set after one show, the question is how far can it go? How far can REV Miami push forward? It's one thing to make the first show huge, it's almost expected, but can it be consistant? Everyone is excited when they start a new project. I know that I was so emotionally involved in the launch party that there was no way that I wasn't going to be exploding with excitement.
This is something I always ask musicians: What happens after you've played two hundred and fifty shows in twelve months? Can you drive show after show and continue your work ethic? Can you love the road, the show, the van, the music, and everything else that comes with being a full-time touring musician?
We're about to enter in that same role with REV Miami. In 6 months when it's our fifteenth show of the year, and the fifth post of the day, and whatever else is going to be encompassed by REV, are we going to be loving the grind?
At the very least I hope that anyone reading this will enjoy our journey. REV Miami is, and always will be, artists and fans coming together to express their love and appreciation of music, art, film, photography, events, and all things creative within our city - our Miami.
LINKS
MadMartigan: www.myspace.com/iammadmartigan
Dyslexic Postcards: www.myspace.com/dyslexicpostcards
The Secondhand Outfit: www.myspace.com/thesecondhandoutfit
Name Brand: www.myspace.com/namebrandsince1983
Afrobeta: www.myspace.com/afrobeta
If You Enjoyed This Post, You May Also Like:
- Liz's Photojournal of REVMiami's Launch Party
- Our Launch Party!
- A Smorgusboard of Music, Art, and Events
- Ric's Reflections of REVMiami.com's Launch Party, Pt I
- Judging Groove On (Miami New Times Battle of the Bands)
NOTE FOR COMMENTS: Do not flame or leave obnoxious comments, THEY WILL NOT BE APPROVED. Constructive criticism should always be welcomed by any artist, but don't be a d-bag, show some class. Thanks. - REVMiami Staff
