THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18
Steve Vaclavik and The Woeful Ones CD Release Show w/Unpainted Souls Steve Vaclavik has been spreading his brand of twang around the Bay area for many years and this weekend finds the local troubadour releasing his first album with his full band, The Woeful Ones, which currently includes Mike Worrall (bass, guitar mandolin), Tom Stephens (guitar, harmonica), Chris Harmon (lead guitar, bass, mandolin), and Bill LaGrandier (drums, percs). Tattoos and Tattered Hearts was recorded at Pro Star Studio, and while the music is Americana at heart, the band draws heavily on the sounds and spirit of folk, rock, country and blues, bringing full-bodied warmth to Vaclavik’s songwriting. His lyrics ponder the good, bad and ugly moments of life via the perspective of working-class folks, underdogs, old souls, vagabonds and other downtrodden souls with a healthy dose of wisdom and humor. His deep drawling vocals are forlorn, wry or all-knowing, and he waxes on anything from the hardened gun-toting narrator in “Bury Me with My Boots On,” who declares, “There’ll be no need for handkerchiefs, ‘cause no one will be crying,” to a man who has a “Shamrock Tattoo” for luck (but doesn’t seem to have any), to the leftovers of a relationship that has ended, “Broken Heart and a Cat.” The fivesome also play the Barley Mow Brewing Company in Largo on Friday. (Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg)
Saliva Mainstream alt rock radio hits like “Your Disease,” “Always” and “Click Click Boom” established the rep of Saliva, a Memphis rap-metal outfit active since 1996. The foursome has released seven albums (the last was 2011’s Under Your Skin) and have experienced various lineup changes over the years. The most recent found singer-rhyme shouter Josey Scott leaving Saliva after 15 years to pursue a solo Christian music career. Jacksonville’s own Bobby Amaru has taken his place. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Assemblage 23 w/Espermachine As Assemblage 23, Seattle-based musician Tom Shear layers synth textures and industrial beats into an atmospheric mix of dark wave and industrial that the kids these days are calling “EBM” (Electronic Body Music); his low droning vocals and brooding lyrics are laid over top. Seventh album Bruise was issued this summer via Metropolis. For fans of Depeche Mode. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
The Florida Orchestra presents: The Sounds of Simon & Garfunkel The Florida Orchestra kicks off a three-concert symphonic rock series with a program of music by Simon & Garfunkel, the folk-rock twosome with stunning vocal harmonies who enjoyed their heydey in the 1960s. Warm baritone AJ Swearingen and robust tenor Jonathan Beedle have been presenting their own trademark Simon & Garfunkel tribute shows for more than a decade, and join TFO and guest symphonic pops conductor Michael Krajewski for this program that includes cuts like “America,” “Mrs. Robinson” and “Homeward Bound,” among many others. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
Zomboy A UK producer who’s charted on Beatport and adds a heavy dose of sonic drama to his dubstep-infused dance music; this tour supports his just-released EP, The Dead Symphonic. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
Blood on the Dance Floor w/Jeffree Star/New Years Day/Davey Suicide Phoenix-by-way-of-Orlando outfit Blood on the Dance Floor has a very specific sound that mashes together elements from two incongruent genres — electronica and crunkcore. Danceable beats and bright keyboard textures clash with skuzzier synth forays, distorted guitars riffs, static-fuzzed bass and vocals that mix clean singing with growls and screams. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
JJ Grey & Mofro w/Nic Cowen The swamp funky blues rocker with the gruff soulfully drawling vocals, howling harmonica, downhome Jacksonville swagger and straightforward songwriting chops makes his annual stop in town, this time serving greasy searing jams and hawking his newly-bottled trademark brand of barbeque sauce (JJ Grey’s Rasselin Sauce) along with copies of 2011’s Brighter Days, his band’s first-ever live DVD/CD release. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Dynasty/Mike Mass/?Nowledge/Geno Lexis/DJ Deacon A bill featuring four stellar local hip-hop acts with varying styles, among them, tough yet feminine Dynasty, an emcee with an unhurried yet tightly calculated rhyming style set against soulful R&B grooves and production by DJ Sandman; and ?nowledge, one-half of Tampa duo Indigenous Ways, his cerebral musings delivered in sleek flowing verses over jazz and rock-fused instrumentals, all on fine display in his recently-released solo debut, ?nowledge Is Infinite. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
GWAR w/DevilDriver/Cancer Bats/Legacy of Disorder What better way to get into the Halloween spirit than a GWAR show? Fans who ride the rails know what to expect when standing so close to the stage — a continuous and generous deluge of faux blood, guts and gore, the musicians performing as their alter personas (Oderus Urungus, Beefcake the Mighty, etc.) and delivering their relentlessly obscene heavy metal satire in monstrous, grotesque sci-fi/horror costumes. Prepare to get down and dirty. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Le Blorr w/Zulu Wave/Bard & Mustache High-quality bluesy, funky, psychedelic duo Le Blorr, from Miami, headlines after Reptar moves to Sunday, and is joined by Tampa prog-experimental rock outfit, Zulu Wave, and Sarasota baroque pop duo Bard & Mustache. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Mike Aiken Band Virginia-based singer-songwriter Mike Aiken is a USCG-licensed captain with more than 20 years of experience and 30,000 offshore miles under his keel, and his mix of Americana, country and roots rock is rife with stories about his wanderlusting adventures. (Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, Tarpon Springs)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
David Olney with Sergio Webb In 2011’s mini-album Film Noir, singer-songwriter David Olney was inspired by 1950s/’60s detective music, the shadowy characters of his songs ensconced in a smoky late-night jazz vibe. The second album in the vet’s thematic series, The Stone (out this April), is an acidic re-telling of the Easter story over bluesy harmonica-screaming sizzle. And the forthcoming third, Robbery & Murder (which drops Oct. 30), offers a roots rocking, sometimes rollicking and other times dark-tinged look at two convoluted love affairs suffering from what he calls “hardcore romantic negotiation.” Nashville’s crusty bearded psychobilly/Americana multi-instrumentalist Sergio Webb joins Olney on his current tour. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Red Elvises w/Music’s Milka Ramos Rockabilly gets a Russian patina in the music of the Red Elvises, which marry elements of old fashioned rock ’n’ roll, honky tonk, surf, rockabilly and lounge with traditional sounds of founding members Igor Yuzov and Oleg Bernov’s native country. Yuzov’s accented vocals are a whimsical lead against backing choruses in songs like “Drinking with Jesus,” or an echoing croon against marching brassy surf-grind of “Boogie on the Beach.” In sum, good time heel-kicking music. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Chris Robinson Brotherhood The Black Crowes enjoy a brief period of inactivity while crunchy Chris Robinson leaps full-throttle into his blues-psych rock Brotherhood project with fellow Crowesian Adam MacDougall on keys, drummer George Sluppick (a much-credited session artist), bassist Mark “Muddy” Dutton (of Burning Tree), and guitarist Neal Casal, a prolific singer-songwriter who also plays with Ryan Adams in The Cardinals. They issued full-length debut The Magic Door in June and companion follow-up Big Moon Ritual last month, both on Robinson’s own Silver Arrow Records imprint, and both featuring a mostly live-cut mix of originals along with covers by 1950’s greats like the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)
The Toasters An evening of upbeat third wave ska tunes as served up by the choppy vets of NYC-bred Toasters (est. 1981). (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Party in the Park w/The Hip Abduction/FunkN8/The Vodkanauts A kid- and dog-friendly benefit concert in support of Voices For Children, with a lineup of live music that includes the power-driving surf-lounge rock of The Vodkanauts, Afro-vibing reggae-jazz grooves of The Hip Abduction, and a full-on funk-fused stage show courtesy of FunkN8. (Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa)
Broncho w/Florida Kilos/Wolf Face/Article 54 Oklahoma City’s Broncho is rising amid the indie rock ranks with a sound firmly rooted in ‘70s post-punk and retro garage rock, punchy songwriting and pop-catchy choruses, and a rawness that lacks the usual painful low-fidelity production qualities. Though it began as an off-the-cuff recording session between Ryan Lindsey (of Starlight Mints), Ben King (Cheyenne) and Nathan Price (Native Lights), Broncho evolved into a more permanent project after Unwed Sailor’s Jonathon Ford joined the fold. Their 10-song debut full-length Can’t Get Past The Lips was issued last year. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21
Swamp Cabbage Low and raspy singer, songwriter and axeman Walter Parks spent 10 years touring with Richie Havens and puts his skills to good use in Swamp Cabbage, a trio of music vets that concoct a mud-slugging, funky bluesy mix of originals and re-interpreted covers; bassist Jim Devito (owner, engineer and producer at St. Augustine’s analog-only studio, Retrophonics), and loose-limbed beat-keeper Jagoda round out the lineup. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Reptar w/Eyes Lips Eyes/Fat Night It may be because the band shares a name with one of the greatest cartoon characters ever, or it may be because their debut EP — last summer’s Obangle Fizz Y’all — was one of the most-danceable releases of 2K11. Either way, I eagerly anticipated Reptar’s first-ever long-player, Body Faucet (out via Vagrant this past May). Lead single “Orifice Origami” and its talk-box intro promised more of Obangle’s loose, deep, convulsion-worthy grooves. The rest of Body Faucet delivers on all of those guarantees and then some. Album opener “Sebastian” is introduced with a Star Trek-meets-Miami Sound Machine instrumental passage before unfolding into a legitimate dance anthem, and equally body-shaking selections like “Houseboat Babies” and “Thank You Gliese 370 B” utilize cosmic synthesizers to paint the LP with more of Reptar’s seemingly boundless energy. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Ray Roa
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22
Xavier Rudd On his last tour around, sweet-singing Australian multi-instrumentalist songwriter Xavier Rudd was joined by African musicians Tio Moloantoa and Andile Nqubezelo as Izintaba, and backed 2010’s collaborative Koonyum Sun. He returned to his one-man band roots with 2012’s Spirit Bird. Rudd mixes elements of folk, blues and reggae, experiments with global rhythms and textures, and performs barefoot on a complicated array of percussive, wind and string instruments that includes (but isn’t limited to) three didgeridoos, a guitar, a stompbox, hand-drums, bells and harmonica. (The Beacham, Orlando)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23
The Temper Trap w/The Neighbourhood Another Aussie act, The Temper Trap, has managed to win international acclaim and a loyal following with emotive, soaring, artfully majestic indie rock, though they’ve only managed to carve out a niche of American fans with recent touring and a self-titled second album, out this June and actually charting on the Billboard 200 at No. 83. This is not to say their music hasn’t unknowingly soaked into your subconscious — take a listen to 2010 global smash single “Sweet Disposition” and tell me you don’t recognize it from somewhere; a Chrysler or Diet Coke commercial, perhaps, or some other rando ad you didn’t realize you were absorbing. Though their music is clearly influenced by U2, the wild, operatic-powerful vocals of frontman Dougy Mandagi bring a distinct originality and vigor to Temper Trap’s sound. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Die Antwoord Repping South Africa’s zef movement (the counterculture of South African working class whites, in particular those living in Cape Town) is Die Antwoord, a shock value-loving quasi-political alt hip hop/rave-rap outfit featuring bleach-blonde emcees Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er with production by enigmatic DJ Hi-Tek. English, Afrikaans and Xhosa-language lyrics are delivered in a cheeky-aggressive rhyming style, songs have titles like “U Make a Ninja Wanna Fuck” and “I Fink You Freeky,” and 2012 album TEN$ION has a seriously creepy cover that seems to gell with Die Antwoord’s overall bizarre freaky vibe: Yo-Landi propped against a stark white backdrop, bright snowy wings rising behind her, skin powdery pale, eyes bestial holes in her face and fully covered in black sclera contacts, a wet red heart gripped in her hands, its blood – which drips from her mouth as if she just took a bite – the only splash of color amid the harsh austerity. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Minus the Bear w/Cursive/Girl in a Coma Synths and guitars-wielding indie prog-pop quintet Minus the Bear brings their tour to Florida in support of Infinity Overhead — their fifth full-length, first on Dangerbird, and produced by former member and longtime collaborator Matt Bayles, who also manned the boards for Mastodon and tour opener Cursive. That particular Omaha propulsive-technical rock foursome led by Tim Kasher just issued their seventh album, I Am Gemini, a conceptual work that tells the story of estranged twins Cassius and Pollock in 13 rather appealing tracks. Femme-commanded Texas rockers Girl in a Coma complete the bill. (The Beacham, Orlando)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24
Lynyrd Skynyrd Original member Gary Rossington and vocalist Johnny Van Zant (younger brother to the late Ronnie) revived Lynyrd Skynyrd after their post-plane crash hiatus in 1987, and the current incarnation has issued nine albums in the 25 years since then; the latest is 2012’s Last of a Dyin’ Breed. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Aesop Rock w/Rob Sonic/DJ Big Wiz/Dark Time Sunshine San Francisco alt hip-hop artist and producer Aesop Rock (real name: Ian Matthias Bavitz) is currently celebrating the release of his lyrically dense 2012 album, Skelethon, which dropped in July via Rhymesayers and features guest spots by anti-folk songstress Kimya Dawson; the two are currently working on a full-length album together. He’s also a member of Hail Mary Mallon with rapper Rob Sonic and scratch-master DJ Big Wiz, so I imagine there’ll be some on-stage collabs and cuts off the trio’s well-regarded 2011 LP, Are You Gonna Eat That?. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Truth & Salvage Co. Chris Robinson signed Truth & Salvage Co. to his Silver Arrow Records label and brought the country rockin’ six-piece on tour with The Black Crowes in 2009. He also produced their eponymous 2010 debut, marked by easy swaying rhythms, slide guitar and lyrics supplied by four vocalists who take turns on twangy lead vocals and honeyed harmonies. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
AWOLNATION w/Imagine Dragons/Zeale On their current “Never Let Your Fear Decide Your Fate” U.S. tour, fuzzed-dance electro rockers AWOLNATION (fronted and managed by vocalist Aaron Bruno) continues building up a fanbase with 2011 first LP Megalithic Symphony while promoting a new fan-to-band-to-fan interactive community-driven networking site (The AWOL “NATION” Project). (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2012.
