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Stopped by the Hill to celebrate bartender extraordinaire, Nicky Bowe’s, birthday…and lo and behold, stumbled upon Churchill’s newest night of fun.

Of course there’s always good jazz Mondays and accousticish/ curry Wednesdays but now at least one Tuesday per month, Churchill’s is sponsoring a “talent” show. Think David Lynch meets jagermeister meets the gong show – without the gong or the hook.

This hilarious show features people’s mothers singing, juggling, a strange zither-like electric instrument with a vhs accompaniment, unamusing comedians, beat box, a few decent performers, and many dubious ones, just when you thought it couldn’t get worse than the ukelele player…..wait a while, after the way too long poetry recitations, we came to appreciate the simplicity of the ukeThere’s a panel of judges who award real trophies.

The hip crowd cheers and jeers, and the undaunted put it out there. . Bravo.

And after you can ride home on your boombike:

Click here to see more.

Good times.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Q American Barbecue.

This new barbecue restaurant held a grand opening at 40th Street and Miami Avenue.

Q staff warm the crowd up with free flowing shots of Jack Daniel’s:

The solid Cat Daddies keep the crowd rocking to the oldies and end the night with an old favorite – Can’t You See:

The friendly Q staff, including Carl, hustle to keep everyone happy:

Joel, KC, and Chadder are all smiles as we leave Q:

Good to have a new neighbor.

Lucy and I have been entertaining and entertained by Fionn this weekend. I’ve mastered(ish) the art of walking two dogs a la fois. Here’s Fionn fresh and frisky after a bath:

and Lucy wondering where Greg is:

Finally, Fionn wishes Greg a speedy recovery as do we all:

Churchill’s sponsored an evening for Haitian Relief, music, and a blood drive Friday night:

Everyone does what he does best to help. Dancers dance and singers sing:

Awesome friends showed up. Impresario Tony, Sigi, and guitarist Birdman, who performed later:

Wonderful host and consummate bartender Nicky Bowe poses with Sigi:

The Haitian Sensation, DJ Haitian Hillbilly, (we just call him Big D), Alain Maximilien rouses the good crowd:

Hot Miami Nights always include random PDA:

There’s another concert relief effort for music lovers tonight at the Electric Pickle.

Press here to be serenaded by Sigi:

Safety first after reckless mornings:

Art Basel is my favorite time of year, when Miami stakes a claim in the art world and produces the evidence of engaged patrons, spectacular works of art, and the underlying vibe is hip with an edge… I cruised around Wynwood on this gorgeous Sunday and spotted some cool street art.

Can’t wait to feast my eyes on what’s what in the upcoming days.

There are some nights when everything comes together and Miami is the best town in the world to live in. Tonight, last night, whatever, was one of those nights. Tony hooked me up with some awesome tickets to Bayfront Park to see Counting Crows and Spearhead.

Now, I first heard of Spearhead at Mark Fisher fourth of July party in 1997 in the Design District. We played basketball that night and for some reason thought it would be a good idea to ignite the fireworks INSIDE the house. Remember? Remember? Mark was the DJ and the groove was awesome. The cow from the Butter Club watched over us  through the dense indoor smoke overhead. Remember? and the black velvet elvis, and the hookah…remember?  Anyway…Spearhead left an impression. Michael Franti has the sexiest voice and righteous lyrics….I digress.

So Spearhead was playing with Counting Crows at Bayfront on a school night, Tuesday night, in the hot summer, and the night couldn’t have been more perfect. What made it a small town Miami night is Jeanne, Natty, Mark, and  I kept running into people we knew and liked – Joshua, Sam, Sigi, Arelis, Yankel, Tony, Malisa, Yankel,Gerald et al….great people all hanging out with the same idea- Spearhead on a school night. The weather was perfect and the crowd was awesome and Adam Duritz and Michael Franti and their bands grooved Bayfront. They even played Cecilia.

Great music. Great night. Great crowd. Great friends.

Thanks, Tony.