october 9
Celluloid Vampires: This lecture sucks -- blood, that is. With Halloween just around the corner, the Wolfsonian (1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) has gotten a bit ghoulish and invited a professor (no, not Van Helsing, Dracula's nemesis) to talk about vampire films tonight at 6:30. Bill Rothman, a professor in the University of Miami's film program and author of Hitchcock:The Murderous Gaze and The "I" of the Camera, will screen clips from various vampire flicks, beginning with F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent horror classic Nosferatu and ending with movies of the present day. He will elaborate on their historical context and discuss their role in the development of film and cinematography. Expect to see all your favorite immortals -- Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Gary Oldman. Admission is free. Call 531-1001. (NK)
Face: Ah, Lincoln Road -- no noisy cars, nicely paved sidewalks, cute shops, quaint cafes, and funky galleries. Usually the only annoying things are speeding cyclists and daredevil Rollerbladers. Well, get ready for this: A leisurely evening stroll on the Road becomes a challenging experience when a huge projection of a face in the window at ArtCenter South Florida (800 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) talks to you, maybe even taunts you. Huh? It's Face, a project conceived by local artist/filmmaker Charles Recher that allows artists, dancers, filmmakers, comedians, and photographers to explore public interaction. Using a multimedia cockpit hidden behind a window, these wags can communicate with unsuspecting pedestrians. Sort of a harassing Wizard of Oz! Among the many artists who will participate are Antonia, Shareyar Ataie, Edward Bobb, Mary Luft, Gustavo Matamoros, and Ursula 1000. A reception with the artists starts at 8:00 p.m. Face will be on view from dusk to midnight through November 1. For a voice, call 534-3339. (NK)
friday
october 10
Susana Baca: Peruvian soul queen Susana Baca and her four-piece band take their African-rooted rhythms to the river tonight and tomorrow when they perform at Big Fish Mayaimi restaurant (53 SW Miami Avenue Rd., on the Miami River). Baca's liquid voice moves smoothly through tribal-rooted chants, sensual dance grooves, and poetic ballads with shiver-inducing passion. (See "Music," page 89). The show starts at 10:00 p.m. Tickets range from eight to twelve dollars. For information call 672-5202. (JC)
Miami Carnival/Caribbean Mardi Gras: It's still a long time till Lent, but the local Trinidadian community parties with pagan passion when Miami Carnival/Caribbean Mardi Gras (a joint effort of three different organizations that in the past have mounted their own carnivals) throws this bash to end all bashes. Tonight and tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. at the Coconut Grove Exhibition Center (2700 S. Bayshore Dr.) Soca Fest '97 holds sway; it's a marathon of international musical acts, featuring Atlantik, Massive Chandelier, Ninja Band, Rootsman, and many more. At Hialeah Park Grandstand and Race Course (2200 E. Fourth Ave., Hialeah) this evening, also at 9:00, a battle of the bands known as the Chutney Soca Monarch Competition rages. Tickets for each of the musical events range from $20 to $27. The party continues tomorrow at the Hialeah Park Grandstand with Celebration '97. Costumed bands in satin and sequins, sashaying carnival kings and queens in towering headdresses, and calypso singers and brass bands parade through the grounds starting at 10:00 a.m.; a masquerade party kicks off at 10:00 p.m. Then catch the Superstars Concert Sunday at 11:00 p.m., with Super Blue, Ajala, Ronnie McIntosh, and Traffik. Dance until dawn with the hardiest revelers as hundreds of steel pan players lead an early-morning procession. Tickets for Celebration '97 cost five dollars Saturday; ten dollars Sunday. Call 653-1877 for more details. (JC)
Face: See Thursday.
saturday
october 11
Private Lives: Noë#l Coward. Sophisticated, spicy, stylish. Controversial for the blithe treatment of sex in his plays, Coward wrote several clever comedies dealing with relationships -- heterosexual relationships. But that's no deterrent for the unstoppable People with Aids Coalition, a nonprofit group devoted to helping people living with HIV and AIDS. They've formed a theater company -- the Ramsay-Hutchison Players -- and tonight at 8:00 are putting on a production of Coward's 1930 play Private Lives, starring an all-male cast. The plot involves a divorced couple now married to others. Neither the text nor characters' names will be altered, so don't be shocked when Amanda has a deep voice and sports a goatee. Tickets for tonight's gala opening and reception cost $50. Other performances (which run Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. through November 9) will set you back $15. The action takes place in the auditorium at PWAC headquarters (3890 Biscayne Blvd.). Call 573-9717 for details. (NK)
Zero: After Jerry Garcia died in 1995 and the Grateful Dead broke up, Deadheads everywhere were scratching their dreadlocks wondering who was going to carry the Sixties freedom torch and keep the Summer of Love vibes rolling. The situation also left Grateful Dead personnel, some with the band since 1965, in flux. Now the Dead's long-time lyricist Robert Hunter has a steady gig writing for the veteran San Francisco band Zero. Hunter penned such classic Dead tunes as "Dark Star," "Uncle John's Band," and about a bazillion others. Zero is not going to give huge concerts and lead legions of hippies across the country every summer, but tonight the guys will be at Stella Blue (1661 Meridian Ave, Miami Beach), a South Beach bar named after another Dead tune that Hunter wrote. So far nobody's been able to take up the torch, but Zero does have a bit of the fire burning through its jazzy trip-rock sounds. Cover is $15. Showtime is 11:00 p.m. Call 532-4788. (LB)
Face: See Thursday.
Susana Baca: See Friday.
Miami Carnival/Caribbean Mardi Gras: See Friday.
sunday
october 12
Judith Rossner: Tabloid television shows and scandal sheets know the value of using sensational true-crime stories to titillate their audiences. Author Judith Rossner knows too. In 1975, when she wrote Looking for Mr. Goodbar, every woman's guide on how not to pick up a guy in a bar, she was inspired by a real-life murder case. Her latest book, Perfidia, the story of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship and the violent turn it takes, is also based on fact. Rossner reads from her book tonight at 8:00 at Books & Books (296 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables). Admission is free. Call 442-4408 for details. (NK)
Discovery of America Day: Pssst! Don't say it too loud, but this Monday is Columbus Day, perhaps the most politically incorrect holiday ever. Okay, so Columbus wasn't such a nice guy. But face it, when you were forced to memorize all those dates in history class, 1492 is the only one that really stuck. So why not celebrate? October is also Hispanic Heritage Month: another reason to have a party! Put them together and you get Discovery of America Day, taking place from noon to 10:00 p.m. at Bayfront Park (301 Biscayne Blvd.). This outdoor festival boasts two stages featuring continuous music provided by La Banda Gorda, La Gran Union, Emegidio Ortiz, David Oliva, Hector Tricoche, Maelo, and Joe Arroyo. Another stage will be crowded with international folkloric groups. The Marlins Road Show will bring briny mascot Billy to entertain the kiddies, and the event closes with fireworks and a laser show. But if you miss everything else, don't pass up the day's highlight at 2:30 when the tall ship Heritage of Miami pulls up to Miamarina and Miami City Commissioner J.L. Plummer, in full Columbus regalia, disembarks and presents the lands he has discovered to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Jeez, you think Joe Carollo will be playing Ferdinand? Admission is free. Call 541-5023 for more details. (NK)
Face: See Thursday.
Miami Carnival/Caribbean Mardi Gras: See Friday.
Private Lives: See Saturday.
monday
october 13
Philippe Halsman: While it has become fashionable these days to hate the paparazzi because they allegedly hounded Princess Diana to her death, some celebrity photographers are famous for more than just constantly snapping JFK, Jr., with his shirt off. Some are even sought out by megastars who actually want to have their picture taken. Philippe Halsman was one of those guys. The man behind the lens for 101 Life magazine covers, he produced stark, elegant portraits of stage and screen stars, images that are instantly recognizable. He also photographed that other woman Elton John sang about -- Marilyn Monroe. See the portfolio devoted to Monroe and more of Halsman's work at the Lowe Art Museum (1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables). The show runs through January 1998. The museum is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; noon to 7:00 p.m. Thursday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Admission costs five dollars. Call 284-3535. (NK)
Face: See Thursday.
tuesday
october 14
W. Deen Mohammed: If the name Louis Farrakhan is the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Islam, you should attend this seminar. Even if it isn't, you should attend just to hear the lively banter that is bound to ensue when W. Deen Mohammed speaks about "Islam's Place in America" and Bishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami and Rabbi Mitchell Chefitz, president of the Greater Miami Rabbinical Association, respond. Mohammed is the older son of Elijah Muhammad (you might ask why he spells his name differently), one of the founders of the Nation of Islam (NOI). He disbanded the NOI after his father died in 1975 and then led his followers to orthodox Islam. Three years later Louis Farrakhan revived the NOI and became the delight of evening news producers looking for a good lead. Ironically, the NOI's Miami branch is run by Mohammed's half-brother Rasul Muhammad. The story sounds positively byzantine (and was thoroughly detailed in the New Times cover story "Two Faces of Islam" on September 4), but the brothers -- religious opposites -- are not feuding; they're friends! Go figure. And go listen, tonight at 7:30 at Florida International University's North campus Kovens Conference Center (NE 151st Street and Biscayne Boulevard). Admission is free. Call 348-3909 for more details. (NK)
Face: See Thursday.
Philippe Halsman: See Monday.
wednesday
october 15
Dave Barry: Local favorite Dave Barry reads from Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus, his latest collection of syndicated columns, tonight at 8:00 at Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd.). Dave has a lot of fans. In addition to being printed in dozens of newspapers around the country, he has scads of Internet sites dedicated to him. Dave Barry Quote of the Day calendars quote him, and other paraphernalia hail his wit. He won the Pulitzer Prize back in 1988. He pops up on C-Span at the oddest times. And then there was Dave's World, that great sitcom based on his life. So what if he's gotten a little repetitious over the years, predictably falling back on flatulence, boogers, and exploding cow jokes. He still has moments of brilliance (or at least mild guffaws). Plus he's as goofy-looking as ever (if only he'd get a real haircut), he's funny in person, and it's free. If you want more information, call Books & Books at 442-4408. (JO)
Face: See Thursday.
Philippe Halsman: See Monday.
