by Joanie Cox
The sure bet:
Friday 18-Saturday 19: Surfer Blood
It’s not too often that struggling rock bands from West Palm Beach get written up in The New York Times, but that was the case with Surfer Blood. The punky act that mixes surf-guitar riffs with strong yet soothing vocals was one of 1,300 bands that performed this past October at the CMJ Music Marathon in Brooklyn, N.Y. The conference, at which R.E.M. once played, offers bands a chance to be heard by record executives and agents. Tonight and tomorrow, Surfer Blood will perform tunes such as the sweet-and-low “Harmonix” before it heads off to play Orlando and Chicago.
Location: The Vagabond, 30 N.E. 14th St., Miami (Friday); and Propaganda, 6 S. J St., Lake Worth (Saturday)
Time: 8 p.m.
Cost: $10 Friday; $8 Saturday
Contact: 305-379-0508 or Thevagabondmiami.com; 561-547-7273 or Propagandalw.com
The cheap bet:
Sunday 20: Fliff 2009 Short Film Festival
Get ready for 374 minutes of quirky and heart-wrenching short films, balanced with a couple of cookie breaks, of course. Films will include Bathtub to Happiness, a German comedy about heartbreak and magical bathtubs; Still Life, an American film centering on a family-man-turned-junkie; and Hunger, a British movie about simply not caring anymore. Donations of two cans of food or one new, unwrapped toy are encouraged for Broward County Partnership for the Homeless and Kids in Distress.
Location: Cinema Paradiso, 503 S.E. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale
Time: 1 p.m.
Cost: $5
Contact: 954-525-3456 or Fliff.com
Friday 18-Saturday 19: WWE SmackDown
Nothing can get you in the mood for the holidays and a good-old-fashioned family get-together quite like a WWE SmackDown. Old-school fans will be psyched to see the Undertaker in the ring battling Batista. When these two went at it for a memorable match in 2007, there was plenty of hair-pulling, drop-kicking, body-slamming and head-ramming into the turnbuckle. Additional matches will include Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk, John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho and fights featuring Christian, Matt Hardy, Kane, Michelle McCool, R-Truth, Zack Ryder, Mickie James and Dolph Ziggler.
Location: American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami (Friday); and Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach (Saturday)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $23-$63 (Friday); $15-$60 (Saturday)
Contact: 786-777-1000 or Aaarena.com; 561-793-0333 or Southfloridafair.com
Saturday 19: Aventura
As the cliché goes, all good things must come to an end, and apparently that includes Dominican boy band Aventura. The quartet released its fifth album, The Last, this past June, and from the title and an intro on the CD, it may be the group’s final collaboration. Often compared to a Hispanic version of *NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys, the group has held firmly to its roots in bachata — a musical genre that’s like a Dominican version of acoustic emo. Nevertheless, the group crossed into hip-hop with the single “Obsesión” and rocks the mike in Spanish, English and Spanglish. This tour has seen sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Here in South Florida, it’ll probably be more of the same.
Location: American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
Time: 8 p.m.
Cost: $42-$253
Contact: 786-777-1000 or Aaarena.com
Saturday 19: Naughty by Nature
The ‘90s gave us The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, JNCO jeans and a hip-hop group from East Orange, N.J., called Naughty by Nature. Working with rap legends such as Tupac Shakur and Queen Latifah, Naughty by Nature developed an addictive and highly marketable hip-pop sound. “Hip Hop Hooray” has become a party classic along with “O.P.P.,” because if you’re not down with O.P.P., just keep it to your damn self. Prince Markie Dee will host the show, which will feature guest acts Butta Verses, DJ Klassic and DJ Keen One.
Location: Revolution Live, 200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $25
Contact: 954-727-0950 or Jointherevolution.net
