Houston trio Khruangbin’s live performances have always been about setting a vibe. That’s not meant to be a backhanded compliment. Laura Lee, Mark Speer, and Donald “DJ” Johnson are experts at creating the right mood for their funk-laden brand of psychedelic rock.
On Sunday night, the band took the stage at the Fillmore Miami Beach for the second night in a row. Addressing the crowd, Speer acknowledged that anyone who’d attended Saturday’s show would be mildly disappointed that the setlist would be nearly the same, jokingly adding that “deviation is purely coincidental.”
What was not a joke was that opener Toro y Moi couldn’t make the second show, owing to a positive COVID-19 test. That was indeed a disappointment, considering that Chaz Bundick is a headliner in his own right. Taking his place was A Tribe Called Quest founding member Jarobi White who DJ’ed to an eager crowd for the better part of an hour.
Finally, around 9:15 p.m., Khruangbin appeared against a backdrop that resembled a 1970s sci-fi movie set — appropriate, considering this is the band’s Space Walk Tour.
The set opened with “First Class,” and the album opener from 2020’s Mordechai served as a proper introduction to the level of chill the show would come to encompass. You came to the wrong show if you entered the Fillmore expecting a high-energy performance. That’s not to say Khruangbin lacked oomph onstage. In fact, the band oozes stage presence. Lee slunk around, strumming her bass and teasing the crowd with her natural charisma (and a dress slit to the thigh). Perched high above his bandmates, Johnson exuded effortless cool behind the drums. Then there was Speer, who might have the best hair in music right now, and who oscillated between sex in a suit and handsomely humorous throughout the evening.
By the time the band worked through its smash hit “So We Won’t Forget,” Khruangbin had the crowd eating out of its hand. The track is tailor-made for communal singalongs: “Ooooooooooh/One to remember/Writing it down now/So we won’t forget.” It also was the moment it dawned on me that this was the first time Khruangbin had performed in Miami outside of a festival setting.
In many ways, the band is built for festival consumption: chill vibes, retro aesthetics, easy-to-digest melodies, all fit the festival bill. And indeed, the crowd at the Fillmore on Sunday felt like a microcosm of what you might find at a music festival: chill frat bros in baseball caps, Kylie Jenner clones who may have been there mostly to say they went, and a contingent that clearly wished they’d been conceived at Woodstock in ’69. Hell, even producer/DJ Diplo walked through the crowd to catch a few songs.
Guitarist Mark Speer at the Fillmore Miami Beach on Sunday, May 8.
Photo by Jose D. Duran
But even all these disparate demographics couldn’t help but be enraptured by the performance. During “Evan Finds the Third Room,” Lee — the trio’s most popular member by a long shot — declared “Yes!” in a way that sounded both matter-of-fact and orgasmic, as Speer and Johnson followed up with “This is the third room.”Other standouts included live interpretations of “Pelota,” “New Bill,” and “Maria También.” But the showstoppers at any Khruangbin show are the instrumental medleys. The first kicked off with David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” before working in Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets,” Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day,” Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Got Your Money,” Spandau Ballet’s “True,” and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”
At one point, I couldn’t help but feel that the whole show had a Tarantino soundtrack quality to it — and five minutes later, the trio launched into Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” (AKA the Pulp Fiction theme song).
The climax came with the band’s instrumental cover of the 1992 hit by Snap!, “Rhythm Is a Dancer.” It was the moment you could distinguish between the Gen X and Millennial attendees and the younger audience members, as a perplexed look fell on Gen Z attendees who appeared unaware that the song had lyrics. The 1990s dance-music tribute continued as the band blended in Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless),” turning the Fillmore into a massive dance club for the next ten minutes as the two giant disco balls reflected the light over the entire space.
Finally, after a break and a call for an encore, the band returned to perform “White Glove,” “Time (You and I),” and “People Everywhere (Still Alive).” Lee had changed into a glittery fringe dress that wouldn’t have been out of place at Studio 54 — naturally, the crowd went wild. Lee has become both a music and style icon to many, and the rapturous applause directed toward her all night made it clear who was the crowd favorite.
Yet Khruangbin has soared to popularity thanks to the strength of all of its members. It’s not blazing up the charts — Mordechai peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200 — but the band did manage to sell out back-to-back shows at the Fillmore Miami Beach, which is by no means a small venue.
If you’re looking for evidence that the charts aren’t an indication of success in 2022, it’s the nonstop adoration Khruangbin continues to enjoy — album sales be damned!
Setlist:
– “First Class” – “August 12” – “The Number 4” – “August 10″https://www.miaminewtimes.com/”Night Nurse” – ‘So We Won’t Forget” – “Lady and Man” – “Evan Finds the Third Room” – “New Bill” – “Pelota” – Medley #1 – Medley #2 – “María También” / “Misirlou” / “Apache”
For the first time in six years, the City of North Miami (NoMi) has reported a budget surplus, due in large part to City Manager, Theresa Therilus, who joined the City in 2020. Under Therilus’ guidance, NoMi has accelerated the turnaround of the General Fund deficit by making difficult decisions to reduce costs and expenditures, while maintaining a consistent level of service to the community.
To create radical financial transformation, Therilus established a balanced budget and successfully generated more revenue than expenditures, resulting in a positive year-end balance. Additionally, the fund balance was improved through preventative measures that successfully mitigated a larger deficit during the pandemic’s peak in addition to the receipt of American Rescue Plan Act funding to cover the prior year’s deficit resulting from loss of revenues.
In fiscal year 2020, NoMi’s budget expenditures were nearly $67 million. After Therilus implemented her budget reforms, the City’s budget came in at $57.6 million, an over 15% drop in expenditures.
“I am thankful for the support and focus of the Mayor and Council during this process,” said Therilus. “If it were not for them and the dedicated staff of the City of North Miami, the fiscal turnaround would not have been possible”, Therilus continued. “In July of 2020 when I arrived, the City was $14 million in the red. Now, I am proud to report we are in the black for the first time in six years, with almost $4 million in budget surplus.”
Correcting the City’s unsustainable budget required cutting over $9 million in expenditures, which Therilus accomplished while continuing to provide crucial social services to residents, such as mortgage and rental assistance and much needed financial support for NoMi’s small business during the devastating global pandemic. Despite these gains, the road forward will not be easy; in particular the challenge of dealing with expenses that have historically outpaced revenues.
“The City Manager has done a great job getting us out of this massive deficit,” said Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime. “We’ve been working hard to get on a path to fiscal stability, and now thanks to some difficult conversations and decisions, we are on the way there and the City can successfully move forward.”
POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies have responded to what could be a crime spree in Broward County that may possibly be connected to and involving children.
A shooting in Deerfield Beach took place following a crash at the corner of Powerline Road and Sample Road, Friday afternoon.
One person suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to the trauma center at Broward Health North.
The victim reportedly died at the trauma center.
The suspect later crashed along the 4300 block of Sample Road in Coconut Creek.
Two people in the vehicle he crashed into suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
The suspect then got out of his truck naked and robbed a woman in the parking lot of a Walgreens of her necklace.
After the robbery, he ran west on Sample Road, still naked, before he was apprehended by Coconut Creek Police at a Shell gas station at 4701 W. Sample Road.
He was then taken to Northwest Medical Center in Margate.
Coral Springs Police and Fire Rescue responded to the suspect’s home in Coral Springs on the 4100 block of Northwest 88th Avenue, where they located two juveniles with traumatic injuries.
One child was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center.
Police will not confirm what happened to the second child.
The nature of the children’s injuries has not been disclosed.
Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.
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LAKELAND, Fla. (WSVN) – Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives are searching for a 22-year-old woman who threw a tantrum at a McDonald’s.
The incident took place at 2606 US 92 East at around 5:34 p.m, Thursday.
Tianis Jones became enraged when her order at the drive-thru was taking too long. That’s when she stormed into the McDonald’s and started to complain at the front counter.
Jones became impatient and started to become violent by hitting a small plastic sign in the direction of the employees. She then started to throw several bottles, and at one point walked behind the counter to throw cups at the employees.
A relative tried to calm Jones down.
Employees at the eatery told Jones multiple times to leave.
Ignoring the commands of the employees, Jones then called 911 on her cell phone and told the operator, “I’m five-months pregnant, these people don’t know how to run a [expletive] McDonald’s!”
The entire incident lasted roughly 10 minutes before her relative and another woman convinced her to leave.
Before leaving the McDonald’s, Jones lifted up her shirt and exposed her belly at the employees and began twerking at them.
“I don’t know why this woman got as angry as she was, but as the saying goes, ‘She’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal,’” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “Her actions were outrageous, especially for a place where small children often visit, and she caused about $100 in damages since the items she threw on the floor can’t be used for customers. She better not complain about the food we serve her at the county jail.”
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Jones with charges for burglary with assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of Jones, you are urged to call the PCSO at 863-298-6200 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).
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