THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21
Tracy Shedd w/Fistful/Mountain Holler Amid the modest number of artists New Granada Records has gathered in its label stable, the most recent acquisition is Florida-bred, N.C.-based songstress Tracy Shedd, whose thoughtful, pretty sadcore odes on fifth full-length Arizona are stripped back to the bare essentials: voice (Shedd’s gentle, dulcet pretty intones and light guest harmonies by The Rosebuds’ Ivan Howard and Howe Gelb among others), acoustic guitars (her own along with the plucked and strummed melodies of husband James Tritten), and occasional sonic embellishment (like the piano and Omnichord melodies in her re-imagining of Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot”). This is her free NG-hosted CD release celebration. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Yautja w/Super Mutant/Bad Human If you know what “Yautja” means, you’re probably a fan of the Predator films and all its book and video game spinoffs. (Yautja is the formal alien species name, in case you were wondering. It’s also the name of the Nashville deathcore trio that lands in Tampa on this night.) (Epic Problem, Tampa)
Brandon Santini Band Memphis-based bluesman Santini — who hits town with his band supporting 2013 sophomore full-length This Time Another Year — has a resonant drawling vocal and howling harmonica that he once blew for Delta Highway. His tube-amped style (influenced by the likes of Little Walter and James Cotton) is set against wailing guitar solos and shuffling rhythms that cycle through Chicago, Mississippi hill country and swamp blues territories. (Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg)
Saving Abel w/Eye Empire/Blacklite District Post-grungy hard rock outfit Saving Abel has managed to get five Top 10 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, with 2008 crossover hit “Addicted” certified platinum at No. 2 and 2010’s “The Sex Is Good” making less bread but peaking at No. 1. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Twenty One Pilots w/Robert DeLong Refrains that become radio hooks are sometimes rather surprising. Take “Holding Onto You,” the soaring keys-driven track by Twenty One Pilots in rotation on 97X (“You are surrounding all my surroundings / Sounding down the mountain range of my left-side brain / You are surrounding all my surroundings / Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes”). The Ohio two-piece — frontman/multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph (vocals, keys, synths, piano, ukulele) and drummer Josh Dun — blend alt-rock and hip-hop aesthetics. Joseph spits nasally-toned rhymes, but he also sings a mighty tuneful melody that feels tender and sweet in new uke-strummed single “House of Gold.” This is their third time hitting town this year backing third full-length Vessel, but they now enjoy headliner status. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Dirty Bourbon River Show w/Ori Naftaly Band Some of the most colorful music you’ll hear coming out of New Orleans, created with a kitchen’s sink worth of instruments (including trumpet, bari and tenor sax, clarinet, tuba, trombone, accordion and harmonica), comes from Dirty Bourbon River Show, which hits town backing latest release, Volume Four. Multiple vocalists (two leads, two back-ups) gruffly bark, energetically howl and soulfully croon while chortling gibberishness or bursting into robust, soaring arias. The clash of sounds — jazzy funky grooves carried on bass and accordion that speed up into sudden church revivals, circus carols, and the jaunty marches of a drunken NOLA stumble — all fall into place in an absurd yet appealing way. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Arkona w/Maverick Hunter/Faethom/Surrender Now If you didn’t know there was any such thing as pagan folk metal, you’re likely not alone. A quintet that hails from Russia, Arkona practices the craft, their name taken from the last pagan Slavic city-castle (obliterated in 1168). Arkona is fronted by a female vocalist who’s also a historian (Maria “Masha Scream” Arkhipova), produces epic tracks (some over 10 minutes long) with subject matter influenced by Slavic mythology and Russian folklore, and employs authentic wind and string instruments (flutes, bagpipes, gaita, balalaika, komuz, Jew’s harp) to infuse their heavy-riffing hard-pounding sounds with threads of exotic folk melody. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Harry Connick, Jr. The re-scheduled concert to make up for Connick’s previously postponed one; tickets for the original Nov. 5 date will be honored. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Murkfest 2 The second annual pre-Thanksgiving rock/hip-hop showcase and food drive features more than 15 local acts ranging from dramatic female-fronted alt rock outfit Virginia Rose Band, to aggro hip-hop slayers Samurai Shotgun to funkin’ and groovin’ Trigger City Trio. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
An Evening with Roger McGuinn If the name rings a bell, it’s likely because you’ve heard The Byrds; he was the lead voice, guitar player and songwriter of the pivotal multi-harmonizing psych-folk rock band through its tenure in the 1960s and ’70s and the few reunions in the decades that followed. He has several albums worth of solo material in addition to all the Byrds fare, and you’ll likely get a little of both during this concert, including the obligatory “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
Rick Ross Hyping a sixth studio album, Mastermind — which is due to drop Dec. 17 —tatted-up Buddha-big hip-hop industrialist Rock Ross slides through town on a very short (eight-city) tour. Ross has signed 14 artists to Maybach Music since launching the Def Jam label imprint in 2009 (including Wale, Meek Mill and French Montana), and he’s dropped verses in more than 25 tracks between 2012 and 2013, eight of those reaching the top 10 of both the R&B and Rap charts. So it’s a wonder the dude had any time at all to record a follow-up to last year’s God Forgives I Don’t. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
JD Wilkes and The Dirt Daubers w/Geri X The drawling and howling, harmonica wailing, banjo picking, plucking and strumming Kentucky Col. JD Wilkes of Legendary Shack Shakers fame has been playing more juke bluesy, vintage Southern gothic fare and trading vocals with his upright bass thumping, brassy piping wife Jessica as the Dirt Daubers. Third album Wild Moon finds the pair sliding from an acoustic to plugged-in format, and currently joined by electric guitarist Rod Hamdallah and drummer Preston Corn. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Little Manatee River Jam IV w/The Deadfields/Have Gun, Will Travel/Talk To Mark/Rebekah Pulley and the Reluctant Prophets/more WMNF presents a weekend of camping and live music that climaxes with a big and well-rounded Saturday bill set up along the Little Manatee River and headlined by The Deadfields, a high-octane Atlanta-based folk rock ensemble and new ‘MNF fave. (Canoe Outpost, Wimauma)
“Smokers Club Tour” w/Ab-Soul/Joey Bada$$/Pro Era/The Underachievers/Chevy Woods/many more A close-knit group of friends with a common love of hip-hop music and Mary Jane made an official club of it. The “Smokers Club Tour” features several of its hazy rhyming members together on one bill, bringing their “Smoke N’ Joke” mentality to stages across the country. Among the highlights, Ab-Soul, an active member of Black Hippy and frequently called upon guest emcee who’s appeared on more than 40 tracks in the last 18 months; and Brooklyn-bred Joey Bada$$, the 18-year-old rapper with the high-buzzing 1999 mixtape and conversational style. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
David Dondero w/Beartoe/Jeff Brawer A beloved favorite who rolls through town at least once a year, lovably eccentric acoustic-guitar wielding folk-rock troubadour David Dondero — who can be funny or poignant in his straightforward songwriting style — has a career spanning a few decades and nearly a dozen albums. His two most recent offerings were both completed and issued on 180gram vinyl with help from a fruitful Kickstarter campaign: an 11-song LP of all new original material with full band (Wurlitzer, upright bass, drums), This Guitar, and Golden Hits. Vol. 1, a double album retrospective of select Dondero tracks from 1998 to 2011 that he’s re-recorded onto two-inch tape, just vocals and guitar, using a 1960s-era Neumann microphone, his intention “to bring the songs back to the root” and use quality gear to give the songs a warm classic folk sound. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Rude Squad Reunion w/The Apes/Danfield/Resinated Members of the late St. Pete ska-punk staple Rude Squad have re-banded after a few years apart, with vocalist guitarist Eric Best, sax man Lee McElhaney, trumpeter Rusch Young, bassist Kyle Sokol and drummer Adrian Baptist returning to the stage to throw down a set of brass-powered force and hooky choruses. Some very fine like acts (a few with more reggae swaying tendencies) support. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis w/Talib Kweli/Big K.R.I.T. If you haven’t heard the anti-capitalist crossover hit “Thrift Shop,” the inspirational roof-raising club banger “Can’t Hold Us,” or the celebratory same-sex marriage anthem “Same Love,” you probably haven’t been listening to FM radio, because all three have made it onto Top 40, Urban and even alt-rock station formats, and the first two are No. 1 Billboard charters. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (the former a rapper, the latter his fine producer) have managed to get their 2012 self-released debut, The Heist, certified platinum in four countries (including the U.S.), which just goes to show you that there is a market for intelligent, socially conscious hip-hop. (USF Sun Dome, Tampa)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24
Hardbound: Rockers Celebrate the Great American Songbook w/The Ditchflowers/Skully feat. Natty Moss Bond/Bob Anthony/Dean Johanesen/Nathalia Estrada/No Milk A high quality and highly diverse bill of locals — from Brigid Ochshorn’s experimental shoegaze project No Milk to the pop rock melody makers of The Ditchflowers and twangy roots drive dished out by Dean Johanesen — hit the Side Door stage to present their own distinctive re-imaginings of select songs from the Great American Songbook by artists like Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin and others. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
Wooden Indian Burial Ground w/Alexander & the Grapes/Florida Kilos/Luxury Mane The latest band frothing up from Portland and earning positive buzz from the likes of the New York Times and NPR is Wooden Indian Burial Ground, their riffy, expansive, grungy sci-fidelic garage rock sound marked by the haunting crowing Jack Black-eqsue vocal quality of bandleader/guitarist Justin Fowler. Wooden Indian Burial Ground also plays New World in Ybor on Wed., Nov. 27. (Venture Compound, St. Petersburg)
Ol’ Dirty Sundays: Dynamix w/DJ Lokash Whether or not he deserves bragging rights for DJ-ing Nicole Richie’s wedding (we have to hear what he played at that thing!), LA-bred Dynamix can at least say he’s the two-time regional champion of the Red Bull Thre3style (he won in 2011 and 2012) and was tapped to appear in the recent third season of VH1’s reality DJ competition Master of the Mix (he made it to the top five before he was eliminated). He’s also one of the original instructors for the LA chapter of the Scratch DJ Academy and he brings his turntable skills to the decks along with his most dance-inducing mixes of funk, R&B, soul and hip-hop at the latest Ol’ Dirty Sundays party. He’s joined by bass-busting DJ Lokash, from NYC. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Tunes for Tots With holidays right around the corner, the spirit of charity has arrived in full force, which means fundraising, food drives, toy gathering, and various other altruistic activities have begun in earnest. This Skipperdome charity event supports Make-A-Wish Southern Florida and includes sets by Haley Faye, Zach Biss, 4AM, Morgan Bernard, Johnny D. Lewis and Zetha, and J-Audio. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25
USF Monday Night Jazz: Gil Evans Centennial Project Canadian jazz composer, arranger, producer and bandleader Gil Evans (known for his work with Miles Davis on Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain) left behind a tremendous legacy after his passing in 1988, not to mention heaps of scores that had never even been recorded. Composer Ryan Truesdell set out to change this, and after combing through numerous archives and charts of bandleaders Evans had worked with, he chose 10 scores, recruited more than 30 first-class instrumentalists to record it, jazz orchestra style, and issued Centennial: Newly Discovered Work of Gil Evans last year, on the 100th anniversary of Evans’ birth. The album made numerous Best Of lists in 2012, earned two Grammys, and is considered by some to be one of the decade’s most significant jazz ventures. Truesdell conducts the USF Jazz Ensemble through a Monday Night Jazz program featuring cuts off Centennial, among other Evans offerings. (USF School of Music, Tampa)
Greenstock St. Petersburg w/Green Sunshine/Freelow/Article 47/The John Clark Band/Sonic Graffiti/Ajeva/Just Satellites/The Lonely Drone/more Several green-minded student organizations at USF St. Pete (including the Student Green Energy Fund and Student Environmental Awareness Society) share sustainable initiatives and environmental innovations while hosting a day of live music and dance by nearly a dozen performers, right on campus. Among the local bands that have donated their time to the free event are the funkalicious soulful hip-hop ensemble otherwise known as Green Sunshine, and Ajeva, which doles out a heady, spirited mix of ska, dub, blues and aggro heavy funk rock. (USF St. Petersburg)
University of Tampa Jazz Ensemble feat. Dave Stamps UT’s big student band (featuring a rhythm section filled out by saxophones, trumpets and trombones) welcomes guest jazz composer and trombonist Dave Stamps. The program includes new arrangements of standards as well as the world premiere of a piece Stamps composed for the ensemble. (UT West Verandah, Tampa)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26
Black Tide w/Avacyn/Artificial Heart Beat/Not Tonight Josephine/Hang ’Em high Vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Garcia was 15 years old when the first Black Tide record dropped in 2008; even more remarkable, he and bro Raul started the band when they were only 11 and 13, respectively, though Raul dropped out rather early and the days of Gabe’s long luxurious hair and youthfully unblemished skin are over. Now, the 20-year-old Black Tide frontman sports a few full sleeves of tats and lobes stretched with plugs, while his music is more heavy-grinding ’core-minded than the straightforward metal of yesteryears. The Miami-based quartet — which has a whopping 300k Facebook likes — hits town on the heels of issuing a new EP, Bite the Bullet. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27
Brand New Opiates A pre-Turkey Day show with the Lou Collazo-led band that’s quickly gaining a reputation for making some damn fine sounds — a mix of twangy roots rock, swampy gumbo blues, Euro-gypsy swing and shades of psychobilly and punk. (The Hub, downtown Tampa)
Mayday Parade w/Cartel/Stages And Stereos Tallahassee’s own emotive pop-punk outfit Mayday Parade rides into town triumphant on their “Glamour Kills” tour; brand new fourth album Monsters In The Closet debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 (their highest charting album to date), one of their songs was tapped for upcoming Disney film Frozen, and the video for popular Queen-influenced first single “Ghosts” premiered on Entertainment Tonight, exposing them to a whole new audience of potential fans. (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 Nov 21-27, 2013.