THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1
Rock the Park w/Set & Setting/Al Torchia & The Tattered Saints/Suns And Soul/Folly Dean The December installment of the outdoor music series features a four-prong attack of diverse local sounds: Set and Setting, a four-piece that features two drummers and two guitarists who build instrumental epics of post rock with hazy-psyche tendencies and propulsive rhythms; Springsteenian-style roots rockers Al Torchia and the Tattered Saints, who are currently recording their sophomore LP and will likely unveil some new material; blues rock outfit Suns and Soul (for fans of Black Crowes); and Folly Dean, a newbie soul and funk-fused alt-rock quartet led by velvety-sultry voiced singer Ashley Niven. (Curtis Hixon Park, downtown Tampa)
Microgroove Opening Night Block Party Seminole Heights businesses help celebrate the grand opening of the neighborhood's new indie record shop, which is co-owned by Carl Webb and Keith Ulrey, former employees of Vinyl Fever (RIP). The doors open at 5 p.m. with Cappy's pizza by-the-slice for sale and half-off drafts at the Independent (with Microgroove proof of purchase). Festivities continue through the weekend, including in-store performances by Jennifer O'Connor and Tracy Shedd (Friday), Sleepy Vikings and I Was Totally Destroying It (Saturday), and Rebekah Pulley and Will Quinlan (Sunday). (Microgroove, Tampa) —Julie Garisto
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2
Rene Marie While you may not be familiar with jazz songstress Rene Marie, you likely heard all about the controversy she stirred up in 2008 when she was asked to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a civic event in Denver, and substituted the song's lyrics with those from "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (aka "The Black National Anthem"). Marie's arrangement became part of an original suite on her 2011 album of American pop and patriotic standards, The Voice of My Beautiful Country. This year also saw the release of another LP by the songstress, Black Lace Freudian Slip, which is made up of all original material as delivered in Marie's smoky croon. Marie stops in town for performances on Friday and Saturday night. (Jaeb Theater at Straz Center for Performing Arts, Tampa)
The Men of Soul If you dig baby-making slow jams, then this bill's for you. Four soulful R&B crooners — Jeffrey Osborne ("On the Wings of Love"), Peabo Bryson ("If Ever You're in My Arms Again"), Freddie Jackson ("You are My Lady") and Howard Hewett ("This Is For The Lover In You") — come together for an evening of easy-going grooves. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
The Black Honkeys feat. Theo Valentine and David Muse Motown revival ensemble Black Honkeys — led by polyester-loving Brother Phil Esposito and the funky bass-and-drum assault of Wil "Da Thrill" Harris and Steve Tanner — bring their high octane ass-bumping grooves back to the Local 662 for their First Friday Soul Revue. This time around, the horn-fused outfit is joined by sultry vocalist Theo Valentin and sax whiz David Muse, who's best known for his tenure with Firefall. (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Tracy Shedd w/Rec Center/Jun Bustamente Born and raised in Jacksonville, now based in Tuscon, Az., indie rock singer-songwriter Tracy Shedd is a self-taught guitarist who played piano in her much younger years and returned to her key-playing roots with her 2010 release, EP88. Her silky, girlishly high-toned delivery and tender, forthcoming lyrics are set against piano-driven instrumentals that include the pretty balladry of "West Inn Love" ("If you ever need a friend, I'll be the one that you can come running to"), which was originally written as a wedding gift to two of her (newly-married) hometown friends. Shedd performs a live acoustic in-store at the newly-opened Microgroove, then hits New World for a plugged-in show later that night. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
The Devil Wears Prada w/Whitechapel/Enter Shikari/For Today Dead Throne, the 2011 fourth studio album by Christian metalcore sextet The Devil Wears Prada, is not only their highest charting to date — it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, No. 3 on the Rock Albums chart, and topped the Christian and Independent charts — but has also garnered wide-ranging critical acclaim. (The Ritz, Ybor City)
Skinny McGee & His Mayhem Makers An old timey rockabilly/Americana trio from Winter Haven led by Chattanooga-bred singer and acoustic bassist McGee, who re-located to the Bay area in the 1990s, played around here for more than 10 years with his Mayhem Makers, and put out a few well-regarded albums (Mint Julips & Sweet Magnolia in 2002, 99 Years in 2005) before a period of inactivity that seemed to start sometime in 2007 and ended a few months back. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
L.A. Guns / Dokken It's a showdown when two rival incarnations of LA Guns hit town on back to back nights. This lineup of the hard rock/metal group that spawned Guns n' Roses is led by Phil Lewis with Stacey Blades — who once played with the Bay area's own Mojo Gurus — on lead guitar. Co-headlining is heavy metal foursome Dokken ("Dream Warriors); their sole remaining original member is lead singer Don Dokken. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3
L.A. Guns feat. Tracii Guns & Dilana Who rocks LA Guns harder? Is it the one that actually includes namesake Tracii Guns? He's the only tenured member — all the rest of his current crew joined in 2011, and that includes femme vocalist and Rock Star: Supernova finalist Dilana Robichaux — but then again, the Phil Lewis incarnation (see above) features zero original members. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
97X Next Big Thing 11: Sublime with Rome/Bush/A Day to Remember/Foster the People/Cage the Elephant/Taking Back Sunday/Young the Giant/AWOLNATION/The Joy Formidable/Manchester Orchestra/more A wide-ranging bill hits all the bases for 97X's 11th annual NBT. Among the highlights are '90s-era reggae-punk rock as delivered by a vet band with a fresh young frontman and some modern material (Sublime with Rome); '90s-era Brit invasion alt-rock with 2011 reunion tweaks as led by singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale (Bush); pop punk-fused metalcore by Ocala favorites who've rocked their way up to the NBT main stage (A Day to Remember); rising pop-dance rock from indie-goes-mainstream darlings whose laid-back groovy breakthrough, "Pumped Up Kicks," earned them a major label deal (Foster the People); raucous garage/psyche rock by a three-time NBT returnee from Kentucky (Cage The Elephant); a newly reunited (original lineup) version of an influential pop punk/post-hardcore group (Taking Back Sunday); a female-fronted Welsh trio purveying noisy alt rock with melodic overtones (The Joy Formidable); and a couple of colorful pop explosions, one more hippie rock happy (Grouplove), the other with a stirring synth-dance slant (FUN.). (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, St. Petersburg)
Bonobo (DJ set) The UK DJ/producer otherwise known as Simon Green returns to town, this time digging into his record collection and offering up a DJ set of grooves made for the dance floor — jazz, trip hop, funk-soul, hip hop and world sounds added into the party vibin' mix. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Obscura w/Abysmal Dawn/Enfold Darkness/Alpha Decay/In Reference To A Sinking Ship Thrash-hammering machine gun rhythms race against shredding runs of guitar in Obscura's heavy-handed display of technical prowess, the lyrics of songs with titles like "Euclidean Elements" and "A Transcendental Serenade" vomited in monstrous roars over top. The German prog-death metal quartet hits town on a North American tour in support of Omnivium, their third studio album. (Brass Mug, Tampa)
Daryl Hall and John Oates Any self-respecting '80s party has a few Hall & Oates hits on its playlist; "Maneater" and "She's Gone" are good fallbacks, but you'll just as likely hear "Rich Girl," "Private Eyes," "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," "Out of Touch" … The blue-eyed soulful R&B pop duo have written hooks that have withstood the test of time, even while oozing the era that spawned them. Six consecutive multi-platinum albums have proved their worth, along with R.I.A.A. recognition as THE number one selling duo in music history, a record they've held since 1987. Both Daryl Hall and John Oates have enjoyed rewarding solo careers — Hall issued his sixth LP, Laughing Down Crying, in September while Oates celebrated his third, Mississippi Mile, in April — but the musicians still return to their partnership for occasional tours. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Morgan Page The LA-based progressive and electro house DJ tours behind a new six-song EP, In The Air (Nettwerk Records), the titular lead single a collaboration between Page, Sultan + Ned Shepard and BT, with Cali-by-way-of-Scotland singer Angela McCluskey bringing her bubble-gum raspy howls into the mix. Page performs "In the Air" on his current tour along with previewing other tracks from the album with guests from the album like McCluskey, Jonathan Mendlesohn and Greg Laswell; Bass Kleph opens. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
Suncoast Blues Society Holiday Party: Joe Louis Walker w/Selwyn Birchwood West Coast electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Joe Louis Walker is a much-heralded modern talent who kicked off his career in 1986 with his debut, Cold Is the Night, and has delivered a steady diet of modern blues with noted gospel, jazz, soul, funk and rock influences, and he's played on a few Grammy-winning albums — James Cotton's Deep in the Blues (1996 winner of "Best Traditional Blues Album") and B.B. King's Blues Summit (in 1993). (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
emma's revolution A CD release tour celebrating a new record by rootsy socially-aware acoustic guitar-playing duo emma's revolution (musician-activists Pat Humphries and Sandy O.) Revolutions Per Minute is described as "an electrifying soundscape of their characteristically rousing and soulful songs of social conscience, in settings from intimate acoustic to full-on funk." UU St. Pete is collecting new underwear and sock docnations for 700 children of migrant farm workers in Plant City; contributions are encouraged. (UU Church of St. Pete, St. Petersburg)
Charliepalooza w/Charlie Daniels Band/Little Texas/Confederate Railroad/T Graham Brown/Aaron Kelly/Suite Caroline Charlie Daniels presents his 21st annual fundraising concert to benefit the Angelus House — a home and outreach center for severely handicapped persons that's based out of Northern Pinellas County. The country vet's own band headlines as per usual, with warm-up sets by a solid lineup of other genre noteworthies. Daniels also appears with some of these same acts on a reduced bill to benefit Angelus at Hard Rock on Thursday. (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
Sleepy Vikings / I Was Totally Destroying It / Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun Tampa's own Sleepy Vikings have had a busy year, first releasing their debut They Will Find You Here, then hitting the road for a national tour and jumping on the festival circuit. The band churns out shoegazey indie rock with an underlying alt country vibe. Singer Tessa McKenna delivers spacey-weird stream-of-consciousness lyrics that are surprisingly catchy and sing-able. I Was Totally Destroying It plays upbeat, hipster-approved power pop. Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun offers up heavily layered electro-pop-rock. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —Christopher Spata
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4
2011 Play In The Snow Show w/The Fray/Scars on 45/Rachel Platten "Oh you got a fire and it's burning in the rain / Thought that it went out, but it's burning just the same," Isaac Slade sings in "Heartbeat," The Fray's first single off their forthcoming album, Scars & Stories (out Feb. 7 on Epic). The song is the byproduct of a scene Slade witnessed while visiting Rwanda — a fire burning relentlessly in a valley, even as harsh rains poured from above. Mother Nature couldn't keep her hands out of the music video, either. Any hopes director Justin Francis had of a sunny California beach shoot were destroyed by a, in his words, "mysterious Lord of the Rings fog." The Fray headlines Play 98.7 FM's holiday-themed concert. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) —Lindsay Collette
Andrea Bocelli The Italian tenor and crossover pop-classical superstar just issued Concerto, One Night in Central Park, a live CD/DVD release of his free September concert with the New York Philharmonic and ranging from operatic arias to vintage standards (including a duet of "New York, New York" with Tony Bennett) to modern sacred pop ("The Prayer" with guest/song collaborator Celine Dion) and more from his repertoire. PBS broadcasts the concert nationwide as Andrea Bocelli Live in Central Park, on Fri., Dec. 2 while the artist himself hits town on his current tour with a 71-piece orchestra accompanied by members of The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, and guests like world-renowned soprano Ana Maria Martinez and Tony Award-winning Heather Headley. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
Steve Forbert w/Dean Johanesen His poetic lyricism earned him the title of "the new Dylan" when he issued his folk-rock breakout in 1978, but singer-songwriter Steve Forbert never really flew out from under the radar following his one charting hit, "Romeo's Tune," despite releasing albums steadily since then. He's gearing up to release another, which includes social commentary along with upbeat tunes inspired by his 15-year-old daughter, winter weather, the day that John Lennon met Paul McCartney, and other random topics. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WALE: The Ambition Tour Wale (pronounced wah-lay, for the uninitiated) has long been the darling of the hip-hop blogosphere. They really seemed to fall in love with the "Maryland-D.C.-Virgina"-repping rapper's staccato style and penchant for incorporating his hometown's signature go-go music with the release of the Seinfeld-referencing The Mixtape About Nothing (2008). Earlier this month, he further cemented that status as a net titan when downloading site Hulkshare crashed within a minute of his latest mixtape being offered up. Regardless of what he's rapping about (usually women), Wale's flow stands out. He doesn't just ride a beat, it's his voice that drives the melody. His new studio album, Ambition, came out on Rick Ross' Maybach Music imprint on Nov. 1. (The Ritz, Ybor City) —CS
He's My Brother, She's My Sister w/ Geri X/The Florida Kilos Adding a gold-plated vintage appeal to their sound are the five musician-vagabonds of He's My Brother, She's My Sister, who brings a vaudeville-cabaret-gypsy flair to their vibrant kitchen sink mix of folk, barroom blues, roots and rockabilly. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Janet Jackson Miss Jackson ("if you're nasty") performs exclusively from herchart-topping hits catalog in a tour billed as "Number Ones: Up Close and Personal Tour." Jackson herself has said it's different from any tour she's done before, that it's "not about special effects," and instead, calls it an up close and personal "love affair" between her and the fans. Hopefully, that doesn't mean it will lack the essential elements of a Janet Jackson concert — wild costumes, elaborate sets and plenty of sexually-charged choreography. (Carol Morsani Hall at Straz Center for Performing Arts, Tampa) —CS
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5
Paul Simon In the classy intimate confines of Ruth Eckerd Hall, I believe Paul Simon's subdued style and song selection will translate better than it did on the Gulf Shores beach where I saw him close the first annual Hangout Fest with wonderfully blissful nostalgic odes interrupted by what felt like odd, plodding or ill-placed numbers. Expect to hear cuts off 2011's So Beautiful or So What and 2006's Surprise along with earlier selections ("Sounds of Silence"), mid-career cuts ("Kodachrome," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"), Afro-pop revival ("Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"), and songs he's covering lately (including the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun"). (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
WEDSNESDAY, DECEMBER 7
Dickey Betts and Great Southern w/Devon Allman's Honeytribe An axeman whose resume packs a mighty punch, former lead guitarist of Allman Brothers Band and original co-purveyor of the band's trademark dual guitar melodies, with the late Duane Allman, Dickey Betts helped pen numbers like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," "Ramblin' Man," and the Grammy-winning "Jessica," was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Allmans in 1995, and was ranked No. 58 among Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." He's fronted Great Southern since 1977. Devon Allman's Honeytribe opens and supports their most recent effort, Space Age Blues. (Ferguson Hall at Straz Center for Performing Arts, Tampa)
Born of Osiris w/Veil of Maya/Carnifex/Structures/Betraying The Martyrs Progressive metal/deathcore outfit Born of Osiris headlines this U.S. tour that follows the release of their sophomore full-length, The Discovery. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Dec 1-7, 2011.