Monkey business at Palm Beach Zoo, gypsy jazz at Arts Garage, and an Edgar Allan Poe speakeasy in Boca. Plus, blink-182 and more this Labor Day weekend.
THURSDAY
What: Opening day of new Sloth and Tamarin Habitat
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Palm Beach Zoo, 1301 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach
Cost: $39 adults, $37 seniors, $33 children for zoo admission
Contact: 561/547-9453, palmbeachzoo.org
Like Oscar and Felix back in the day, sloths and tamarins are an odd couple—the former iconically lethargic, the latter swift and full of spunk. But perhaps this is all the more reason that they, too, should share a living space together. Thursday marks the opening of Palm Beach Zoo’s latest specially designed habitat, a playground/exploration network of vines, ropes and tunnels engineered toward both animals’ daily habits and proclivities. Visitors will have an up-close, immersive view of sloths’ glacial movements—up to 15 feet per minute if they’re in an extreme rush—and, conversely, the fleet-footed athleticism of the squirrel-sized tamarin. As always, the habitat was designed with education in mind, and has been designated by the zoo as a “living classroom for conservation.”
What: blink-182
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood
Cost: $82.85 and up
Contact: 866/502-7529, casino.hardrock.com
During the early 2000s heyday of MTV’s “Total Request Live,” Blink-182 was virtually the only rock act seriously competing against hip-hop, boy bands and Britney Spears for the ears of the youth of America. Adapting the three-chord formula of ‘90s punk-rock forbears like Green Day and Rancid with a slicker sheen and a proudly puerile sense of humor, the variously pierced and tattooed trio inspired a generation of fans and bands, establishing pop-punk as a commercially viable genre through hits like “All the Small Things” and “What’s My Age Again?” In 2022, founding guitarist Tom DeLonge returned to Blink-182 for the first time since 2015, and the reunited trio continues to tour with the vigor and pep of their peak period. New hits and classic sing-alongs are likely to populate the set list, in what marks the band’s first concert since February. Arrive early for openers Alkaline Trio, the emo veterans featuring onetime blink-182 vocalist Matt Skiba.
THURSDAY TO SATURDAY
What: Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy
When: 6 and 8 p.m. Thursday; 6, 8 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Boca Black Box, 8221 Glades Road, Suite 10, Boca Raton
Cost: $55-$65
Contact: 561/483-9036, bocablackbox.com
It’s long been my belief that, like the plays of Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre tales are best appreciated when performed, not read. To that end, historians of the great writer will do just that at this unique evening of drinking and storytelling just in time for Halloween. At this “Speakeasy Cocktail Experience,” Poe experts will read and theatrically reimagine four of Poe’s stone-cold classics: “The Cask of Amontillado,” “Annabel Lee,” “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Each story will be paired with an exclusive themed cocktail concocted by a skilled mixologist: The “Swing of Fate,” “Montresor’s Revenge,” “Lovers Lament” and “Roderick’s Ruin.” Quoth Boca mag? You don’t want to miss this one.
FRIDAY
What: French Swing Collective
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: $50-$55
Contact: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org
Born in France but living in South Florida since 2007, multi-instrumentalist and composer Vincent Raffard has been blending both worlds into his globetrotting music for nearly two decades, crafting a sound that spans, in his own words, from “Paris streets to Miami beats.” For most of these years, Raffard has been leading a loose-knit group known as the French Horn Collective, and this latest iteration is a spinoff from his main venture, this one more geared toward the 1930s swing and gypsy jazz movements that percolated so strongly from the Old World. The multilingual collective sings in French and English, and performs originals, vintage chansons and reimagined jazz standards such as Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” with both authenticity and creative whimsy. Raffard will bring his 12-piece big band to this weekend’s Arts Garage performance; expect everything from violins, trumpets and upright bass to clarinets, saxophones, cajons and other unique percussion.
SATURDAY
What: “Harlem After Dark”
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Miniaci Center, 3051 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Davie
Cost: $41.30-$59
Contact: 954/462-0222, ticketmaster.com
The jazz we know and love today germinated in 1920s Harlem venues such as the Cotton Club, where revues celebrated both the groundbreaking sounds of early bebop as well as the blistering tap dance and other artistic forms emerging from this wellspring of African-American and Hispanic talent. “Harlem After Dark: An Uptown Jazz Party” celebrates this era with a concert that harkens to the neighborhood’s storied legacy. Blues guitarist Allan Harris, vocalist Maya Azucena, and tap dancer and singer A.C. Lincoln, backed by a swing quartet, will perform a lively set from the culture that spawned Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and other danceable jazz artists. But the program isn’t just a nostalgic ode to a formative era; it also acknowledges the innovative spins on tradition in modern-day Harlem.
For more of Boca magazine’s arts and entertainment coverage, click here.
