THURSDAY, MAY 22
HATEBREED w/3 INCHES OF BLOOD/COLOSSICK/THE ABSENCE Metalcore mavens Hatebreed excel at brutal, brief (songs usually clock in under three minutes) sonic assaults marked by the rabid barking of lead vocalist Jamey Jasta. The New Haven band has been doing the same hardcore/metal routine for more than a decade — not that its loyal, testosterone-heavy fanbase is complaining. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
PEELANDER-Z w/MES/CAN'T DO IT/LOS DISICPULOS DE CHUGA The Japanese quintet Peelander-Z, which resides in New York City, delights a special kind of concertgoer with their comic-book costumes and a jarring brand of noise/punk that relies far more on twisted charisma than musicianship. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
CLIFF EBERHARDT The Philly-bred singer/songwriter has been an underground folk fave since the '90s. His song "Memphis" appeared on the self-titled 1998 album by folk "supergroup" Cry Cry Cry — Dar Williams, Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky. The disc features an array of covers and enjoyed heavy airplay on Triple A/community radio stations such as WMNF. (Craftsman House, St. Petersburg)
HARBOUR 81 Those itchin' for some Netherlands noise need look no further: Perry Seleski (formerly of Rotterdam's Second Chance) and his band of hardcore rockers trek across the pond in support of their debut disc, a tight, thrashing set worth checking out live. (Pastimes Pub, Sarasota) —Amanda Schurr
FRIDAY, MAY 23
PENNYWISE w/STRUNG OUT/GAUJIRO California's Pennywise started out as a speed-addicted punk revival outfit but gradually augmented its full-throttle approach with subtle funk rhythms and pop hooks. This year, the quartet left its longtime label Epitaph, which signed the band in '91, and issued Reason to Believe through MySpace, first as a free download and then as an actual CD that hit stores in March. The disc features the single "The Western World," a catchy slab of skate-punk that ridicules everyone from the paparazzi to "the steroid boys," "video girls" and "viral Internet stars." The song reached No. 22 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks survey, making it the biggest hit of Pennywise's nearly two-decade career. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
OBITUARY w/DENIAL FIEND/S.W.A.A.T.S./LEFT IN ASHES You could quibble with the "heaviest band in the world" boast that adorns Obituary's website. But there's no denying the Tampa outfit's place in death-metal history, a genre the quintet practically invented back in '85 when it first unleashed its demonic, musically superior assaults at local rock dens under the name Xecutioner. Obituary still features its three core founding members, and they acknowledge the old moniker with their latest album, Xecutioner's Return. Headbangers take note: Pre-show ticket sales have been high; get yours in advance. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
COREY SMITH Based in Athens, Ga., this former schoolteacher became an odd MySpace star a couple years back when he posted his strum-pop, ain't-high-school-grand tearjerker "I'm Not Gonna Cry" on the social networking site and it became a graduation ceremony favorite nationwide. The singer/songwriter has continued to milk the coming-of-age formula with sentimental titles like "If I Could Do it Again," "Twenty One" and the jingoistic "Stand Our Ground." (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
MICHAEL BURKS Arkansas-based bluesman returns to the Skipperdome for another offering of intense, SRV/B.B. King-style guitar exploits. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
DJ AM Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein owns the Hollywood hangout LAX, where he regularly spins for the celeb set. A former member of Crazy Town, the band responsible for that annoying 2001 smash "Butterfly," his credits also include scratching on tracks by Madonna and Will Smith. Goldstein's probably most famous, though, for having gastric bypass surgery, slimming down and being engaged to Nicole Richie a few years ago. And for all you TMZ'ers keeping tabs, the turntablist also reportedly dated Mandy Moore. (Floyd's at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tampa)
WATERDIGGER CD RELEASE w/SPANKIN' FRESH/SOME DANCING SKELETON Tampa alt trio Waterdigger drops Welcome to Seminole Heights, a grungy, lurid rock record that gives peculiar props to Bay area bars (New World Brewery, in "Destroy") and your grandma ("Granny is Better"). Rounding out the bill are Bradenton power-punkers Spankin' Fresh and the female-fronted garage pop of Some Dancing Skeleton. (Rasher Tierney's Backroom, Bradenton) —AS
SATURDAY, MAY 24
CREATIVE LOAFING IN CONCERT PRESENTS: MAGADOG w/THE SEMIS/DAYLIGHT DISTRICT/TAILGUNNER JOE AND THE EARLS OF SLANDER/MUPHIN CHUCKRS/INFINITE SKILLZ We feel it's our duty to both critique homegrown bands and spotlight the ones making the greatest contributions to the scene. This show marks the debut of a concert series promoted by Creative Loafing, smaflorida.com and Bud Select that will feature Tampa Bay acts repping various music styles. It kicks off proper with scheduled sets by nationally acclaimed ska-revival heroes Magadog, gritty power-pop quartet The Semis, eclectic rock 'n' rollers Tailgunner Joe & the Earls of Slander, indie hip-hop/funk/rock ensemble Daylight District and pop-punk trio Muphin Chuckrs. Infinite Skillz will emcee the event. For my interview with Tailgunner Joe and the Earls of Slander, go to p. 43.(State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
ARTURO SANDOVAL As a young musician in Cuba, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval idolized Dizzy Gillespie. When Arturo met Diz in '77, the elder bebop legend mentored the young Cuban. In 1990, Sandoval defected to the U.S. during, appropriately, a tour with Gillespie. Sandoval, now 58 and an established international artist, blends bebop and Afro-Cuban styles into a hot-blooded amalgam highlighted by his brassy, chopsy trumpet work. There is little that's subtle about Sandoval's music, but unlike a lot of jazz artists, he intuitively knows how to put on a show. Andy Garcia played Sandoval in the 2000 HBO movie For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa) —ES
NATASHA BEDINGFIELD w/THE VERONICAS/KATE VOEGELE British (by way of New Zealand) singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield's poppy, emotive R&B has landed her a string of hits in recent years, including "These Words," "Unwritten," "Love Like This" and "Pocketful of Sunshine." Bedingfield is joined by Aussie dance-pop sister duo The Veronicas and Ohio-raised singer/songwriter Kate Voegele, who had a Top 40 hit this year with the bouncy, string-laden single "Only Fooling Myself." (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
LADY GAGA Newly signed Interscope artist Lady GaGa is touring in support of her electro-pop, Madonna-esque club hit "Just Dance," which will be featured on her as-yet-unreleased debut full-length, The Fame. (G-Bar, Tampa)
GIN BLOSSOMS It's been a long while (and long fall) since this alternative pop-rock outfit's '90s hit making days, which produced forgettable radio faves like "Found Out About You," "Hey Jealousy" and "Follow You Down." (Shepherd 's, Clearwater)
THE DARK ROMANTICS w/CANDY BARS/MIKE DUNN & THE KINGS OF NEW ENGLAND Lakeland alterna-pop outfit the Dark Romantics celebrate the release of a freshly minted 7-inch — that's a vinyl single, kids — that will contain the new original "Lonely Alone" (listen at MySpace.com/thedarkromantics) and a cover of Portishead's "Roads" on the flipside. The disc is being issued by Tampa-based New Granada Records. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, MAY 25
STEVE MILLER BAND w/JOE COCKER Blues-guitar-great-turned-pop-star Steve Miller and histrionics-prone soul singer Joe Cocker were critically and commercially successful titans of the '70s that have sustained strong careers ever since — even though neither artist has had a legitimate hit in the past 15 years. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
THE SWORD w/TORCHE/STINKING LIZAVETA Based in Austin, Texas, The Sword trades in heavy riffs and paranoid vocals lifted straight from the Black Sabbath songbook. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
EVERYBODY OUT! w/PSEUDO HEROES/RUDE SQUAD Boston five-piece Everybody Out! offers a highly catchy blend of punk, classic rock and New Wave. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
DEBBIE DAVIES A 20-year road vet, Davies has played for John Mayall and Albert Collins (her makeshift mentor, thanks to a three-year tenure with his Icebreakers) and featured everyone from James Cotton to Tommy Shannon and Charlie Musselwhite on her own recordings. Her latest outing, Blues Blast, is more of the same simmering Delta and straight-up genre struttin' that's put her on par with her contemporaries, male and female. (Ace's Lounge, Bradenton) —AS
MONDAY, MAY 26
DESTROY EVERYTHING W/THE TRI-FIVES/THE IN-CROWD Chicago punkers Cheddar Nines, Stiff Mittens, Señor Citizen, Cocoa Hole and Hanover Fist — collectively known as Destroy Everything — claim to mash '80s stateside punk with the late-'70s London scene. Sounds like it — "Alter or Abolish," from its fourth release, Freedom of Speech Means Talk is Cheap, is straight outta the Sex Pistols handbook. (Pastimes Pub, Sarasota) —AS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28
THE COWSILLS The singing clan that inspired TV's The Partridge Family, The Cowsills are best known for their saccharine, late-'60s hits like "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," "Indian Lake" and "Hair." (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
MAY
29 Terrence Brewer Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
30 Adrian Belew w/Jerry Outlaw and Friends Skipper's Smokehouse
30 James Hall w/Spy for Hire/The 9-Volts Crowbar
30-1 A Taste of Pinellas: Rick Springfield (May 30)/Jonny Lang (May 31)/Eddie Money (June 1) Vinoy Park
31 Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Crowbar
31 This is Radio Clash: A Tribute to The Clash: Have Gun, Will Travel/Beauvilles/Tribal Style/Hat Trick Heroes/Christie Lenee/Gumbo Boogie/Johnny Zoom Chearleader Squad/Katherine Kelly/Male Order Brides/Next Exit/Midnight Bowlers League/Parson Brown/The Pants/Bunko Squad/Scone Train/Super Secret Best Friends/Urbane Cowboys Skipper's Smokehouse
31 Skafest 2008: The Long Johns/The Taj Motel Trio/Can't Do It/Rude Squad/The CV/Victims of Circumstance/Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse/Disregardables/That Band with the Fat Kids/Angry Banana/The Brentford Sound/Skuff'd Shoes/Paranoia Dance Party Transitions Arts Gallery at Skatepark of Tampa
This article appears in May 21-27, 2008.