Can’t believe this was shot with an iPhone

This is by a Brooklyn singer-songwriter, Reyna Perez, and was shot on an iPhone 3GS. Think it was the first one — at least, that’s what BoingBoing says:

Live from SunFest, it’s… me…

Hey there. I’ve been helping the new site pbpulse.com cover SunFest this week. I don’t think I’ve covered a wider variety of music in my life, and it’s kind of exciting.

Pbpulse.com started out with a rough patch — slammed with server traffic — but they’ve at least got their SunFest coverage.

I’m hoping that they get back completely on their feet soon — but then, as I helped build it, I’m pretty biased.

Here are a few links to what I and Post writer Leslie Gray Streeter have covered so far:

Sly & Robbie, reggae pioneers

Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Pennywise, punk and more

Citizen Cope, soulful rocker

Collective Soul/Randy Bachman

James Taylor

Showtime: Unwed Sailor and Noble Rocket at Propaganda

Johnathan Ford of Unwed Sailor.

First off, as local bars go, Propaganda is actually quite a find. It’s laid back — couches in the back, good alcohol selection, friendly staff — but still has a fun motif. Faux Commie slogans line the walls and everything is red and black.

Nick Eberhardt of Noble Rocket

In addition, the sound quality is excellent — you could tell from the first note of local band Noble Rocket’s first song. It neither blew me out of the room nor got completely lost in the rafters.

OK, it’s no Bamboo Room, with its acoustic baffle system. Few bars in the US have that good a set-up, let alone South Florida. As your local pub goes, though, Propaganda’s got a good set-up.

And in a fairly competitive bar market in Lake Worth, that’s saying something. When you can very easily head right up the street to Little Munich or down to Brogues and Dave’s Last Resort (and its twin, Igoes), you have to have more than a little going for you.

Had the chance to listen to both Noble Rocket and Seattle’s Unwed Sailor, an instrumental combo who combined exploration with economy — a tight sound, but still interesting. Unwed Sailor’s Johnathan Ford has been to South Florida before: “I always get a little confused with all the beaches and lakes down here, but I’m sure we’re in Lake Worth tonight!”

Noble Rocket has a more direct knowledge of the area, of course, and these days seeing them is an inexpensive treat — Nick Eberhardt leads the sometimes trio, sometimes four piece with a tight, slightly country-based sound.

Ultra: Roni Size and Reprazent bring pure drum ‘n’ bass back

Singer Onallee with Roni Size in Reprazent's first US appearance in seven years.

Roni Size wanted Miami’s Ultra Music Festival to know what exactly it was listening to.

He pointed to the drum kit. “Just the drums! I just want the drums!

“You see, we don’t have no CDs, no backing tracks! This is real drum and bass!” Size said, drawing out the last three words that also define the kind of music that first made him and his group Reprazent stars during the 1990s.

Size reconvened Reprazent last year when he put out a deluxe edition of New Forms, the LP that won him the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Back in 1997, Size was a massive part of the drum ‘n’ bass scene that also featured Goldie (who was also in attendance at Ultra), Squarepusher and A Guy Called Gerald.

Drum ‘n’ bass is characterized by a bass-heavy, fast sound that got its start in the rave scene in the United Kingdom. Size came from one of the sound’s biggest Meccas — Bristol.

And he proved Friday, in the band’s first U.S. appearance in seven years, that he and Reprazent still had it. Many of the original members are still in the band, including vocalist Onallee and bass player Si John.

With Onallee bringing powerful hooks to life, Size got the crowd hopping in a hot, sweaty cauldron of dance.

They all knew exactly what they were listening to.

Black-Eyed Peas back together with a Boom, a Boom and a Pow

Finally, a great shot of the Peas... hey! Move that camera!

Finally, the Peas are back in the same pod.

Over the last two years, you’ve seen various members of the Black Eyed Peas all over the place. Fergie performed her solo album The Dutchess and appeared in movies; Will.i.am got out the vote for President Obama, released a solo album and produced.

But in returning to the fold, all of the Peas — which also include rappers Apl.de.ap and Taboo — began working their music and style in a different way.

The best example is the band’s brand new single, “Boom Boom Pow”, an extremely danceable song that is nowhere near out of place at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, where the band debuted the song on stage Friday.

“‘Boom Boom Pow’ is a part of experiments I’ve been doing,” Will.i.am said in a news conference before their performance. “I wanted to make a song that was basically one whole verse, and in mid-song pull in an whole new beat, inspiring DJs to play the song the full way.”

It was a highlight of the band’s brief but well-received performance at the festival, the centerpiece of the Winter Music Conference — a week-long electronic music celebration that brings together some of the top DJs in the world.

“The DJ is the most important thing in music today,” Will.i.am said. “When we released ‘Boom Boom Pow’, with the straight version, the a capella version and more, we wanted to give DJs the tools to help ‘Boom Boom Pow’ reach all different kinds of areas.”

“The song is based in the kind of clubs where we know it will live,” Fergie added. “People need something that makes them feel good right now.”

“Boom Boom Pow” is the first salvo of the upcoming The E.N.D. The band members say the new album’s sound is more along the lines of electro, a high-energy sound that also pulls them away from the poppier elements of the Peas’ last two LPs.

“The sound kind of reminds me of what hip-hop was like in 1980,” Will.i.am said. “It’s celebrating the kind of sound of what is happening in the world.”

Gettin’ all up in Ultra Music Festival

Finally, I get my festival on.

I missed out on my chance earlier this year when Langerado was called off for 2009 — and honestly, I’m kind of glad. The festival picked the wrong venue (Miami’s in-the-middle-of-the-city Bicentennial Park) and seemed to lose its way with its core audience a bit.

But the Ultra Music Festival seems to have a handle on what it provides. Unlike Langerado, Ultra’s choice of Bicentennial Park fits it to a tee. As the centerpiece of the World Music Conference, Ultra has its place in the city. Langerado’s more laid-back style has its place more in the country.

Friday, the first day, has more bands than the second day. Both days, however, are pretty much about the men and women on the decks — DJs. And some of the best DJs in the entire world: Carl Cox. The Prodigy. Paul Van Dyk. Tiesto. Roni Size with Reprazent. BT. Crystal Castles. Cut Copy. Mstrkrft. Hercules and Love Affair. Deadmau5. And on and on and on.

The music acts are excellent as well — Bloc Party, Santogold, Ting Tings, Shiny Toy Guns, even Black Eyed Peas.

Definitely worth a visit down south. I’ll be there…

Tinsley Ellis: Still at the blues

I’m not sure if I’ve followed Tinsley Ellis or if he’s following me.

A cool Southern blues guitarist, Ellis first came to my attention when he was starting out in Georgia and I was in school in Athens, Ga. He’d play a local club, and I’d hear about how he’d take his guitar outside and play for the guys who couldn’t get in.

Well, he’s still at it. He plays quite a bit down here, and people know him for his showmanship and his technical skill.

He’s playing Friday at the Back Room in Boca Raton.

Please to enjoy “To the Devil a Dime”:

Get spaced out with EOTO

Sometimes it’s good to just let the mind go.

To zone out at the planetarium light show as psychedelia plays. To find yourself in and out of the music with Thievery Corporation or Brother Bean (local band, worth a look.)

EOTO, the electronica duo formed by Micheal Travis and Jason Hann of the String Cheese Incident, takes you out to those outer reaches. Or at least the outer reaches of Miami’s Purdy Lounge on Wednesday, Delray’s City Limits on Friday and as part of Locofest at the Palm Beach International Raceway on Saturday.

EOTO’s peg is that everything is improvised. They just go off on a tangent and dare you to follow them. Worth the trip, it seems, every time.

Sublime returns with new vocalist?

So says Punknews.org.

Really? Sublime? Why?

The mighty Mozzer revisits Boca

NOTE: See update.

Morrissey is one of those artists that I personally have never warmed to. I’m just going to put that out there.

However…

I can’t deny the man has done what few others have been able to do — become one with a style, sound and attitude. When you think of that kind of music, there can’t be anyone else that comes to mind. And I respect the hell out of him for that.

He’s returning Saturday to the Center of the Arts in Boca Raton, where in 2007 he played an extremely well-received show.

For the uninitiated, the Morrissey experience is… well… how did The Times of London put it? “Dramatic…bleak, funny vignettes about doomed relationships, lonely nightclubs, the burden of the past and the prison of the home.” (Thanks to his Wikipedia entry for the help.)

He is literate, he is stylish and he is his own man. Worth a look.

UPDATE: Morrissey decided to cancel. He said it was due to “illness”, making it the second time he’s canceled due to illness since he played Boca in 2007.