THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
Wayne “The Train” Hancock A traditionalist at heart whose sound has remained mostly unchanged since his fine 1995 debut recording, Wayne “The Train” Hancock draws on a range of throwback influences — country, jump blues, hillbilly boogie woogie, honky-tonk, western swing and Texas rockabilly — and his characteristic brassy vocals are burnished with a golden old time twang that wheels over bouncy acoustic bass grooves, watery steel guitar melodies and a straightforward backbeat. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)—Leilani Polk
Possessed by Paul James He comes up frequently on Ninebullets.net playlists and is a favorite of Bryan Childs aka Autopsy IV, who once wrote, “Possessed By Paul James was more an experience than a show … more like watching a person give birth to music than it was watching a person play music.” Jon Konrad Wert is the iconoclastic man behind the moniker, his lightly scuffed gospel-soulful vocals delivering outpourings of raw emotion over a gritty mix of alt country, folk and blues that he builds all by his lonesome on violin (both traditional and pizzicato style), electric and acoustic guitars, dobro, mandolin, banjo, stomp box, and even diddly boe. New album Feed the Family (Hillgrass/Bluebilly Records) dropped earlier this year and his latest support tour hits a St. Pete watering hole that’s fast becoming a hub for underground roots acts. (Crum’s, St. Petersburg)—LP
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10
Solillaquists of Sound w/Bukue One/Anonymous/sympL/DJ Coach K If you’ve never heard the music of Orlando hip-hop quartet Solillaquists of Sound, a good launchpoint is the title track off 2006 debut, As If We Existed. As if its title wasn’t trippy enough, the album’s politically charged lyrics mixed with the laid-back yet intricate beats will find a way to get you to hit repeat at least once, maybe out of curiosity more than anything else. If you want to lift off to another planet where freedom and love are overarching themes in everyday life, Crowbar might be your ticket on Friday night, when Solilla celebrates the self-release of a new album, The 4TH Wall (part 1). (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Miles Parks
Introduce: Yourself Fest: Abiotic/Ovid’s Withering/Miles From Alaska/BigRedRobot/Many more Introduce: Yourself Zine is an online resource for concert and album reviews, interviews and videos spotlighting a range of local bands working our town along with national acts that are just passing through. Heading up the ’zine’s first-ever Florida band fest is Miami’s Abiotic, a technically inclined prog/death metal fivesome that recently signed to Metal Blade Records. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)—LP
Dukes of Juke w/Late Night Brass Sometimes, don’t you just want to twist to a jivin’ keyboard solo? Well, Dukes of Juke (established in 1985) promise a good old fashioned rhythm and blues show with covers of rockin’ favorites by Southside Johnny, Al Green and Z.Z. Top, among others. Late Night Brass is a high energy 10-piece delivering their own repertoire of R&B, blues, swing, disco, funk, rock and Latin music. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —MP
Stokeswood w/The Aloha Model In the Field of the Vibrations, Stokeswood’s 2011 sophomore album, displays the Atlanta band’s indie rock-tronic tendencies with songs built on laser shooting synths, guitar and keyboard atmospherics, and deep bass grooves, upbeat dance pop moments brightening longer stretches of unz-exploration. Brian Larsen opens with a set of loops, beats, and guitar experiments in his axe-driven electro-prog solo project, The Aloha Model. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP
Jason Aldean w/Luke Bryan The 35-year-old country rocker from Georgia has charted seven No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts beginning with 2005’s “Why” and encompassing a diversity of Jason Aldean interests and distractions, from the rural woman appreciation of “She’s Country,” to the cheeky sexual innuendo of “Big Green Tractor” (can you guess what the tractor represents?), to the sweet balladry of “Don’t You Wanna Stay” (a duet with Kelly Clarkson), to the country rap pride of “Dirt Road Anthem.” (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheater, Tampa)—LP
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11
BT: Laptop Symphony Tour The EDM artist otherwise known as Brian Wayne Transeau made a name for himself as an electronic music producer, composer and instrumentalist (laptop, piano, bass, guitar) most frequently dabbling in trance but exploring ambient soundscapes, breakbeats, glitch and orchestral sonic terrains as evidenced in the two LPs he released concurrently in June: If The Stars Are Eternal So Are You And I (his seventh) and Morceau Subrosa (his eighth). (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)—LP
Stick Martin Show w/Green Sunshine Two local acts with sounds rooted in hip hop, funk and rock take the Skipperdome stage to deliver their respective jams amid the venue’s festive atmosphere. Madcap Clearwater-based singer, emcee and songwriter Chris “Stick” Martin leans more acoustic pop alternative with this trio. Green Sunshine’s heady reggae, jazz and soul-imbued sound jives with a female vocalist (Motown Tea), two emcees (Reason and Rhyme), and players on guitar, trumpet, bass and drums. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP
Gulfster 10 Year Anniversary Party w/Resinated/The Sheffield Crew/Kayavibe/Sidereal/The Crazy Carls Gulfster.com is the Florida Gulf Coast’s leading (only?) surf report website and has been offering daily updates on the waves since 2002. This party celebrates the site’s decade of existence as thrown by recently launched concert and event production partner, Gulfster Presents. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)—LP
The Eastern Sea w/Roadkill Ghost Choir/Empire Cinema Matthew Philip Hines is the visionary Austin singer-songwriter who began The Eastern Sea as a bedroom project in 2005 and eventually gathered some other musicians to record under the moniker, issuing debut full-length Plagues earlier this year. Band membership swells to as high as 11 and shrinks as low as seven, with string and horn players brought on to add nuanced texture along with synths, bass, Wurlizter, finger-picked guitar and layered percussion. The result is a mix of shimmery indie pop, soundscaping prog and lush folk rock. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12
Russian Circles w/Chelsea Wolfe/Marriages A bill of three bands repped by Sargent House as headlined by Chicago crunchy heavy instrumental post-rock/metal trio Russian Circles, which is touring behind 2011 fourth album, Empros. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP
Ol’ Dirty Sundays: Fela Kuti Tribute w/DJ ROD-1/BK Dusty Fingers The next installment of Ol’ Dirty Sundays features two sets by guests DJs from Orlando and Cocoa Beach, who pay tribute to Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti in two sets nestled amid the residents’ mix of old and new school hip hop, funk, reggae, psych soul and other bumpin’ dance party appropriate music. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP
Big K.R.I.T. w/Casey Veggies/Tito Lopez/Big Sant Big K.R.I.T. King Remembered In Time (real name Justin Scott) is a young and fast-rising Southern rapper-hip hop producer who has a long list of collaborations to his credit along with nine mixtapes, but only issued his debut full-length album, Live From The Underground, this summer via Def Jam. The album — which features a diverse guest list of performers like Melanie Fiona, Devin the Dude and B.B. King — has earned high marks across the board, and peaked at No. 1 on both the Billboard Rap and R&B charts. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)—LP
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14
Jason Mraz w/Christina Perri In the decade since his platinum-selling full-length debut, Jason Mraz has gone from breezy clean-cut pop rocker to shaggy-haired bohemian with a mellow alterna-pop rock sound, sincerity and warm lyricism intact all throughout but maturity reflected in tracks like “I Won’t Give Up” off 2012 fourth LP, Love Is a Four Letter Word, a love song about making it work (“Even if the skies get rough, I’m giving you all my love / I’m still looking up”). Piano rock songstress Christina Perri supports on his current “Tour Is a Four-Letter Word” run. (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, Tampa)—LP
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
Bad Veins w/Stagnant Pools/Alexander & The Grapes Purveyors of catchy groovin’ indie pop with bright bouncy synths and crunchy guitars, Ohio duo Bad Veins (singer, songwriter, guitarist and keys player Benjamin Davis and drummer Sebastien Schultz) issued their sophomore album, The Mess We’ve Made, in April. After supporting Two Door Cinema Club and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Ritz on their last stop in town, Bad Veins returns to headline a more intimate venue and promote the new LP. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP
Meat Loaf If you've never taken a moment to experience the music video for Meat Loaf’s 1990s classic, "I Would Do Anything For Love," then you need to hit up YouTube stat. Like, now. It’s just so bad that it’s good and it’s so good that it literally hurts to watch. The fact that this song is seven minutes long is nothing short of a travesty. But my point is, Meat Loaf is a blast. Sixty-four years young, still touring and still recording (12th album Hell in a Handbasket dropped this spring). You need to see this show just so you can tell your kids you saw Meat Loaf. When they ask you who Meat Loaf is/was? Well, then you have an excuse to watch the “I Would Do Anything For Love” video one more time. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —MP
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Aug 9-15, 2012.