Hot Band on Band Action!

Technically Labor Day Weekend kicks off tomorrow, but who has enough self-restraint to keep their party pants locked up till then? Nobody, that’s who. Lucky for us MOCA (770 NE 125th St., N. Miami) has been packing its schedule full of exciting events all summer long and one of its biggest and best activities, the Battle of the Bands, comes to a sweaty climax tonight.

Start your night off with the carefree sounds of powerpop quartet the Pots and Pans, a group that can always be counted on for mixing improv theater with hip-shaking tunes (8 p.m.). At 8:35 get sucked into the lead bass riffs of distortion-heavy, hippie punk group Sinister Smith. Then at 9:10 prepare to take a seductive slide across the extraterrestrial dance floor with Airship Rocketship. But do conserve some energy; you’ll want it for both the 9:45 set of everyone’s favorite lo-fi band of shocked cottontails, the Electric Bunnies, and for the 10:20 performance by Palm Beach’s pop-sensation, TV Club. Whichever group tickles the most people in their nethers takes home the nightly prize, a Gibson Epiphone Guitar and a recording session at JamRock Studios. Also, the chosen ones then compete against other winners, the Down Home Southernaires and the Hongs, for the big daddy of all prizes: a full day of recording at the Hit Factory Criteria Miami as well as basic bragging rights. DJ Lolo will shake things up on her turntables between sets, Grolsch and VitaminEnergy Drink will be handling refreshments, and hot dogs will be peddled by Dogma Grill. Best of all, if you haven’t yet had a chance to check out MOCA’s badass summer exhibit, "Sympathy for the Devil: The Art of Rock and Roll Since 1967," now’s your chance. So get an extra night out of this long weekend, your party pants will thank you. Doors at 7 p.m. Five bucks gets you both art and battle.
Thu., Aug. 28, 7 p.m., 2008