Enjoying Live Music In South Miami

I'll admit it, I'm a classic rock fan and I am hooked on this band.  The talents of Mr. Nice Guy are rare to find anywhere, so when my wife "discovered" them about five years ago, I adopted them as my favorite local act.  I even went so far as to shoot their promos pictures a few years back (with their former and sometimes visiting lead singer).

Although primarily a classic and progressive rock cover band, they also did produce an original CD in 2007 entitled "Boys Will Be Boys".

It is influenced a lot by Steely Dan and isn't a bad pick up for your library, but the real way to hear these guys is live and loud!

The band has a loyal following of people with a wide variety of jobs and ethnicity, but the common bond is appreciation of great music and fun.  Showing up at a Mr. Nice Guy gig is like being Norm on Cheers.

They play some great venues in greater Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  The Joint (formerly Big Hoolie's), Little Hoolie's, and Black Point Ocean Grill are the places we catch them most.  I most appreciate when they play at Black Point on a cool or breezy evening.  This open air venue has great sound, food, drink and vibe (pictured above).

About six times a year, Mr. Nice Guy travels to Key Largo's Gilbert's Resort to play half-day outdoor gigs.

They often meet up with some illustrious special guests.  Slowride (former members of Foghat) are shown in this video at Gilbert's from 2010.

A recent treat was on June 9, 2011.  Two days earlier, I met up with lead guitarist Tom Hall (who moonlights as a pool cleaning service owner) at a job and he told me they were playing at the Hard Rock on Thursday.  This was nothing special because the venue often hires Mr. Nice Guy to play on Thursday nights at their outdoor stage to provide cover music for the area.  However, there was a twinkle in his eye...

I inquired further.  "We're the opening act for ZZ Top." he said calmly.

Here are a few shots I took of them that night:

So, if you're in South Florida and want to catch some great live music and perhaps even spot the incredibly elusive MiamiHal, head out to a gig with Mr. Nice Guy.