I got a late night text from my daughter informing me that Khruangbin would be performing soon in Miami and I quickly tried to get myself some comps as a well-respected, esteemed member of the press. Little did I know however, that iii Points would ignore my request and treat me like — well a member of the fake news set.
I first heard Khruangbin while searching through NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. Check it out and them, and I promise that you will get hours of great entertainment for very little pain. As for the upcoming iii Points in Miami, whether you know them or not, plenty of the names along with Khruangbin are both on the vanguard of all your ears can drink and a nod at those who have long blazed trails beneath music’s earthly surface.
Tyler, the Creator, SZA, A$AP Rocky, JPEG Mafia, and the Internet are among those representing the explicit set. Herbie Hancock, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Erykah Badu the throwbacks. Ty Segall’s got the neo-Neil Young sound. Joy Orbison, James Blake, James Murphy, and twenty others will handle the EDM. Khruangbin, Masego, and Blood Orange might be other best reasons to attend iii Points at Mana Wynwood on the weekend of February 15-17. In any case, there is something for everyone here, including Pussy Riot for the political rocking set.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and if you are young and rich, or young and impulsive, 100 bands will play for three days until the wee hours; sets will end just before the sun rises. The festival bends and showcases nearly every modern genre — this is a festival for the Spotify age. It may well be ahead of its time and competitors. Like Apple, like NETFLIX, like Amazon, and (regrettably) like Juul, it goes where others haven’t.
Generally, we’ve heard of the artists that headline Lollapalooza and come to ULTRA; they are up and coming or have arrived; iii points is more like SXSW or Coachella with fewer grand names.
Three days as a VIP will run $375, but no public outcry has yet to attack iii Points, which will include a $52.35 fee add-on which I suspect matters little if you are going to stay up to 5 and spend several hundred to begin with. General admission for three days costs around $250, and single day tix go for about $85, $150 for the VIP.
Should you enter the matrix and explore music’s deep state, expect to end up in a black hole listening intently to the hundred bands listed in the lineup. You can spend hours listening to Yaeji, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Dude Skywalker, Mall Grab, Paperwater, and scores more with great names and insightful windows into what the world’s musicians and engineers are producing as you simultaneously get educated into the Bluetooth world of your children’s time-wasting soundtrack.
