THURSDAY, MAY 17
Rusko There’s been such a massive upsurge of dubstep artists in the past several years that it's hard to tell the difference between the cream and the crap of the crop. For me, it's all about the placement of those thick and grimy sub-bass drops and blast-offs. Do they catch you by surprise in a good way or bad? Does the song depend so heavily on the drops that if you removed them, you wouldn’t have a real song at all, or do the drops just seem to naturally fall into place? Rusko is among the cream, a hip young British DJ/producer who earned street cred when he collabed with M.I.A. on 2010's Maya. He released a second full-length, Songs, this March. He also joined forces with Cypress Hill for last month’s Cypress X Rusko EP, an unexpectedly effective pairing as evidenced in tracks like “Lez Go,” which finds rappers B-Real and Sen Dog trading clever-flowing rhymes with vet's finesse over lengths of techno-sonics and fuzzy drops that are weaved throughout and augment the live beats by guest drummer Travis Barker. Did I mention that dubstep and hip hop go together like peanut butter and jelly? (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
Tribal Seeds w/Through the Roots/Sheffield Crew Tribal Seeds cite Steel Pulse and Bob Marley as influences, but the California roots reggae sextet infuses modern freshness with their interplay of fatty effects-laden basslines and fuzzy electro-trippy synthesizers, singer/guitarist Steven Rene Jacobo crooning, chanting and lightly toasting in smooth, higher-register vocal melodies to the band's dub-flecked island-swaying riddims. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Stan Hunter Sextet Musicians never really retire, especially the ones who practice jazz. Case in point: esteemed St. Pete-based keys master Stan Hunter, who remains active despite inching ever closer to octogenarian status. He appears for occasional sit-ins and performs headlining gigs like this intimate Side Door Jazz concert, where he's joined by guitarist LaRue Nicholson, bassist Billy Pulicheri, sax player Ernie Calhoun, trumpeter Bob Switzer, and drummer Henry Ettman. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
FRIDAY, MAY 18
Nessie "Undead" w/The Pretty Voices/The Burning Seeds Orchestra For the temporary resuscitation of their loud, old school emo-twang outfit, guitarist/singer Scott Harrell, bassist Joey Neill, and drummer Joe Going play all the old Nessie tunes, toast to old times in glasses filled with foaming on-tap craft brews from Crums' extensive menu, embrace righteous not-old-yet attitudes, and get all nostalgic about the good old days. (Crums Bar & Grill, St. Petersburg)
Leon Russell Long snowy haired-and-bearded soul-blues rocker Leon Russell partnered up with Elton John to produce 2010's The Union, a co-release by a seemingly mis-matched pair of piano players that turned out to be odd couple gold, earning them a Grammy nom and across-the-board accolades. This solo gig is only one of a handful he plays this month. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
Whole Wheat Bread w/DP/Neglected Superhero/Samurai Shotgun Jacksonville's Whole Wheat Bread is a punk band, but their aesthetic lies somewhere in hard-edged punk pop territory. The three-piece does like to mix it up; "Old Man Samson," with its boisterous shout-sung choruses, reveals a cheeky Celtic punk side while "Bombs Away" with guest singer Mike McColgan of Dropkick Murphys creeps into grungy alt-rock territory and "Stuck In Da Dark" featuring sometime collaborator, West Coast indie rapper Murs, has mild hip-hop tendencies. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
6 Volt Rodeo/Midnight Bowlers League A free double header of locally-brewed rockabilly: jump blues and Western Swing-infused 6 Volt Rodeo, their sound marked by the siren sultry vocals of Arianna Leigh Blackwell-Kelly; and the more twangy-traditional leaning Midnight Bowlers League. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
Reckless Kelly w/Gabriel Kelley On their current tour, Austin-based country roots quintet Reckless Kelly — led by Braun brothers Willy (vocals, guitar) and Cody (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica) — celebrates 15 years together and the release of a seventh full-length, 2011's Good Luck & True Love. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SATURDAY, MAY 19
Jane's Addiction w/The Duke Spirit Perry Ferrell, Dave Navarro and the rest of the alt-rock miscreants who make up Jane's Addiction are enjoying their third-times-a-charm reunion. They reconvened in their "classic" lineup in 2008 with original bassist Eric Avery, who backed out a few years later and was replaced by recurring stand-in Chris Chaney when they began working on their fourth album and first of original material since 2003's Strays. The Great Escape Artist (2011) was recorded in LA with producer Rich Costey (Muse, NIN) and several guest musicians and collaborators, including TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek and former GNR/current Velvet Revolver low-end maestro Duff McKagen. This stop is part of the band's "Theatre of the Escapists" tour, a carnival of music, art, and immersive theater that features local jugglers, poets, actors and other performers entertaining fans in the lobbies before each concert. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Spam Allstars w/Peter Baldwin Time to get your electro-Latino dance groove on when Spam Allstars bring their Miami party vibes to Ybor. Turntable and samples ace DJ Le Spam lays down the musical base and a multi-piece brass-and-percussion driven ensemble layer instrumentals over it, the result a vibrant mix of Afro-Latin funk, jazz and hip hop. Alt-soul crooner Peter Baldwin supports. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
97X Local Band Search: Glendale Lights/From This Fire The 97X battle of the bands competition for one of two local band slots at the station's Memorial Weekend Backyard BBQ closes with this final face-off between indie pop rock outfit Glendale Lights and harder metal-edged foursome From This Fire. If you're a fan of either band, make sure to come out and show your support — every vote at the live play-offs helps determine the winner. (Jonny Reno’s, downtown St. Petersburg)
Second Annual Beach Art Center Bluegrass Folk Festival The non-profit Beach Art Center stages a fundraising concert showcase of bluegrass-fused music. Headlining is The Wholetones, from Naples, a trio with a heavy jazz-metal drive. Also performing: swinging Seminole string band, Gypsy Wind, led by vocalist Kristin Holloway; Sarasota's harmonizing Spark Notes; and Dawg Peter Pat, which features the singing and songwriting skills of longtime Florida folkies Patrick Barmore and Peter Gallagher. (Kolb Park, Indian Rocks Beach)
SUNDAY, MAY 20
Uncle Kracker w/Sonia Leigh The drawling high-toned singer-songwriter got his start spinning turntables for Kid Rock and as a solo artist, has made his bread with his mix of twangy, hip-hop lite and AC pop rock hits like "Follow Me," "Smile," and a cover of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away." This tour finds Uncle Kracker previewing tracks from a forthcoming LP that he calls "greasier than anything I’ve ever done." Throaty drawling powerhouse vocalist Sonia Leigh supports with her soulful roots rock. (Hard Rock Cafe, Tampa)
Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash w/The Sara Rose Band Mark Stuart is the driving force behind San Diego-based Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, and before you get all up in arms about the name, you should know he got permission from the Man in Black himself to use it. As if that weren’t enough, Cash personally invited Stuart and Co. to record their 1999 debut in his Tennessee home studio. Since then, his band has shared the stage with the likes of Merle Haggard, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle, among so many others. Despite the name, Bastard Sons isn’t a tribute band, just one that honors their influences and adds a healthy dose of self-styled Texicali, honky-tonk, Western Swing, Tex Mex and rock. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
MONDAY, MAY 21
Scars On 45 w/WD-Han/G2P/Aairsickness Even though Scars On 45 just issued their eponymous debut this April via Chop Shop Records, the LP was pretty much completed two years ago and stuck in pre-release limbo while the young UK fivesome waited for a record deal to stick. The band's acoustic rock sound is somewhat pedestrian but brightened up by the pleasant vocal interplay of singer/guitarist Danny Bemrose and vocalist Aimee Driver. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Meek Mill w/Aych Rick Ross has signed several hot young rising rap artists under his Warner Bros.-distributed Maybach Music Group storage, and Meek Mill (real name Robert Williams) was scooped in 2011. He and Ross collaborated on some tracks for a Maybach comp later that year, Self Made Vol. 1, including lead single "Tupac Back," an homage to the rap icon that charted on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, MAY 22
Parallels w/Touch The Sky Parallels is both the name of the Toronto electro pop trio and the alias used by frontwoman Holly Dodson, though it was originally conceived as the solo project of former Crystal Castles drummer Cameron Findlay; he left Parallels to work on a new endeavor, Kontravoid, earlier this year. Dodson has carried on with keyboardist Artem Galperine and drummer Nick Dodson, her dulcet vocals curling sweetly amid luminous New Wave-flavored synth textures and urgent dance beats. This tour hypes a forthcoming Parallels LP, XII (out June 26 via Marigold). (Crowbar, Ybor City)
The Transilvanian Legacy Tour: Negura Bunget w/Eclipse Eternal/Din Brad A huge North American tour of underground black metal headed up by the progressive, cinematic sounds of Negura Bunget, a Romanian sextet that explores Transilvanian lore, mysticism and mythology in their compositions. Terrorizer Magazine called their most recent LP, 2010's Virstele Pamintului, "an album of breathtaking subtlety and grace that further positions its creators in the left-field of black metal, taking the oft-dogmatic genre through uncharted plains of spirituality, creativity and soul." (The Brass Mug, Tampa)
A Tribute to Chicago Blues w/Walker Smith Group/Jody Young and The Positive Solution/RJ Howson Chicago spawned a boatload of iconic blues artists whose style built upon the acoustic sounds of the Delta with electric amped-up instruments, horn players and harmonica wailers, and a generally louder, more aggressive sound with a broader sonic palette. Plugged in and turned up, Chicago blues artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley and Charlie Musselwhite made a powerful impact on the genre, and a trio of local performers pay tribute, with Walker Smith Group closing out the evening. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23
Julian Marley We saw Ziggy a few weeks back and now another of Bob's sons bring his reggae grooves to the Sunshine State — Julian "Ju Ju" Marley, a singer and self-taught multi-instrumentalist (bass, guitar, drums, keys) who was born and raised in the UK, though he made frequent visits to see his family in Jamaica and even settled there for a while. These days, he splits his time between bases in London and Miami, the latter home to Lion's Den studio, where he, Stephen and Damian produce their own records along with those of their brethren and other reggae makers, and also produce, collaborate and release albums under their officially incorporated Ghetto Youths International label. Julian's 2009 third full-length, Awake, was inspired by his life and Rastafarian spirituality, his roots reggae sound incorporating pop-melodic elements along with R&B, hip hop and dancehall flavors. (The Social, Orlando)
Sun Dried Vibes Studio@620's newish music series, The Studio Sessions, resumes with this groove and soul-fused reggae rock trio Sun Dried Vibes, from South Carolina. For fans of Rebelution and Pepper. (The Studio@620, St. Petersburg)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2012.