It’s impossible to completely dislike Miami. It’s the yin to our yang. It completes us.Without the Magic City, we’d be one dimensional. I could continue to ramble on about how much I hate it when Ft. Lauderdalians say they hate Miami, when they really just dislike South Beach, but I won’t. I’m writing this post for a particular reason….
I can’t stand the Poorhouse jukebox.
Since the day they installed it not too long ago, I’ve hated it. In a bar that attracts local musicians, artists, and people who enjoy cutting edge music, why have a jukebox that has a catalog that consists of American Idol winners, cookie cutter contemporary rock, and your run-of-the-mill top 40. Look, I’m not trying to dictate what’s good music and what’s not; I’m just saying that the music on that jukebox is not catered to its audience. If you want to hear anything worthwhile, you have to do a Supersearch on the jukebox and pay $1 per song, versus the usual $.50 (which I still think is outrageous). If no one picks a song, it plays random songs — songs from such artists as David Allen Coe, Clay Aiken, and Eiffel 65. How does this tie into the intro?…..
A series of recent trips to some of downtown Miami’s popular hangouts Vagabond and Electric Pickle have made me realize that we don’t have a nightly bar or club that plays indie or non-mainstream alternative music over the house speakers. The few times I’ve been to some of these venues in Miami, I find myself frequently trying to Google on my phone the lyrics to songs that the DJ plays so that I can find the artist or name of the song to legally buy (always) on iTunes when I get home. It adds a whole other aspect to going out — hearing new music that can’t be found on a radio station that isn’t 88.5 . Even Palm Beach county has Respectable Street, which in my opinion is just as good, if not better than the above mentioned locales.
To the defense of Ft Lauderdale, there are some spots to hear a unique playlist: Monterey Club, sometimes Fat Cats, between sets at Revolution and Culture Room, Brew, the few nights that 1921 is having a party (stay tuned), Roxannes before it burned down, and the nights where the jukebox is turned off at Poorhouse. I’m probably forgetting a few, and feel free to leave them in the comments. Maybe the new Laser Wolf bar that’s opening soon (so I’ve been told) can help fill this musical void (crossing fingers)….
So my message to Poorhouse and other bars in Ft Lauderdale that might want to cater to a grungier crowd: junk the jukebox, plug in an iPod or computer with hipper tunes. Heck, hire DJ Mig or any other hypem junkie to mix some music. I’m not saying it has to be strictly indie either; I’d settle for punk, hardcore, metal, underground hip hop, or any variation of those genres. Just give us a place where we can listen to something different during dead time when the live band isn’t performing. PS: Poorhouse and Monterey Club do a stellar job of booking solid local acts. Keep that up guys.
Here’s a little something I put together for this post. It’s a medley of 4 remixed songs from a band I’m completely with obsessed with these days, Two Door Cinema Club from Northern Ireland.
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB BANGER MEDLEY! by DJ MIG
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/5844231?secret_token=s-Pbv4a”]
Some indie dance parties that have caught my attention:
– Noir Wednesdays at Club Cinema in Pompano Beach w/ Marvelous Kendall
– Thursdays at Monterey Club with DJ Sweetswirl (is this still going on?)
– Revel Party at Sea Monster w/ Marvelous Kendall and ??? (is this still going on?)
If you’ve gone to any of the above mentioned indie dance parties, let us know what you thought by commenting below. Maybe you can write a review for us (hint hint).
