For most of the 1970s, local concert promoting legend Leas Campbell hosted acts at Miami Jai Alai - which was also the after work hangout for many of the TK records staff. Everyone from Parliament-Funkadelic to KC & The Sunshine Band laid it down on the wooden fronton.
Now another western airport corridor gambling establishment, The Magic City Casino (nee Flagler dog Track),has thrown their hat in the entertainment ring. And instead of kicking off their outdoor concert season with regular casino fare like their January entries Air Suppy and America - they are hosting punk/glam queen Joan Jett and her "Bad Reputation."
Sure, Jett is best known for her cover of the Arrow's "I Love Rock & Roll," but her career is on an uptick these days, thanks to the self-titled biopic on her teenage punk band The Runaways. A holiday purchase of the DVD reveals that Jett has been ahead of her time since she turned stalking Suzi Quatro into a look and sound that girls weren't supposed take part in. It wasn't ladylike to throw a ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb into the face of the music establishment in the 1970s and early 1980s. But Jett did, and was rewarded handsomely when "I Love Rock & Roll" was #1 for eight straight weeks, after 23 major record labels passed on her. This allowed her to control her own masters, and put a lot more money in her leather-studded pockets. That was even more groundbreaking than her look and style.
Jett became both an inspiration and an impresario to the 90s riot grrl scene, and now revels in her role as the "Godmother of Punk." Pay tribute to her, by purchasing a ticket on Saturday. They range from $15 for the rear dog track bleachers to $100 to catch the "light of day" from Jett's axe.
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