BEST BETS
• Country keepers: West Palm Beach proves a hotbed for country music's biggest and brightest. On tap: Brad Paisley with popular newcomers Taylor Swift and Rodney Atkins Saturday at Sound Advice Amphitheater; Clint Black, who helped kick start the resurgence of country music in the late '80s with his classic Killin' Time, Oct. 17 at Kravis Center; and Alan Jackson with Brooks & Dunn and newcomer Catherine Britt on Oct. 19 at Sound Advice.• New venue: Live pop music on South Beach? It could happen regularly if Live Nation has its way. The nation's largest concert promotions firm has spent $3.5 million revamping the fading Jackie Gleason Theater. The strategy? Tacking on the iconic Fillmore brand name to give Gleason a jolt of rock mystique. First up: a three-night stand from Ricky Martin Oct. 10-12.• College rock faves: The members of New York's Interpol, several of whom are New York University grads, have clearly been listening to their Doors, Joy Division and Cure records to arrive at the sound heard on their statospheric major-label debut, Our Love to Admire. Indie rock fans and those hot to catch a band on the rise are bound to descend on the University of Miami campus for Interpol's Wednesday concert at BankUnited Center.-- HOWARD COHEN
A world-recognized brand name is paramount in pop music.
Jennifer Lopez surely has that -- but despite scoring a number of pop hits, both in English and Spanish, she's never toured before. That will change Nov. 2 when Lopez, bringing touring veteran and hubby Marc Anthony along, performs at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
The first couple of Latin pop aren't the only ones trucking some name value to South Florida this pop music period. The 2007-2008 concert season promises to fill our growing number of venues with established acts like Maroon 5, Interpol, Brad Paisley, Andrea Bocelli and Alan Jackson. Velvet Revolver, Natalie Cole and Queen Latifah, too.
That's not to mention the prospect of the Genesis, Spice Girls, Van Halen and Eagles reunion tours happening in this period (none of which had South Florida dates scheduled at press time, but we can hope.)
All that, and this year South Florida hopes it will have a brand name venue to call its own, too, when the refurbished Jackie Gleason Theater reopens in October as The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, blending two iconic names, one renowned in rock music circles for decades.
A little rock history: The first Fillmore in San Francisco proved fertile territory for the launch of an entire musical movement. It's where acts like Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead developed followings.
Live Nation hopes that the Oct. 10-12 bow of our Fillmore, featuring Latin pop star Ricky Martin's three-night headlining gig of his Black & White Tour, will do for South Florida what the original Fillmore did for San Francisco.
''It's a great way to signal live music in Miami Beach,'' says Bruce Eskowitz, Live Nation's Chief Executive Officer of North American Music.
It's a start, anyway.
Fans of popular music will find more options this season than in years past. In addition to the major arenas and amphitheaters bringing A-list acts to town, a number of warehouse-sized clubs in Miami-Dade and Broward are luring talent. Megadeth scales down from its '80s and '90s arena roots to squeeze into Fort Lauderdale's Revolution on Oct. 3. Studio A in Miami had the clout to previously tap Maroon 5 and Mika for club shows earlier this year and have already booked B-Side Players (featuring Carlos Santana's son Salvador) on Oct. 20 and the return of South Florida shock act The Genitorturers on Oct. 31.
The team behind the 2,700-seat Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater bet that the $3.5 million worth of renovations make this a hot spot as well. Some of the changes include hardwood floors to allow for seated and standing configurations, a vintage poster gallery hung on red walls, new sound and lighting and traditional touches like apples in a barrel at the entrance. (If you're a Fillmore aficionado you'll get the significance.)
''We're trying to join the past and the present and teach a new generation of music fans,'' Eskowitz says, allowing that plans haven't been made as to whether the venue will host local indie music performances, a must for an area hoping to foster a scene.
''We're still exploring options,'' he says. ``We always believed it's an incredible location. What it needed was a modern touch.''
Name acts and name venues. Now that's a pop music season.
