\\
✔️ = critic's pick
✔️ Jack Johnson w/Bahamas Flip-flopped, shaka-throwing songwriter Jack Johnson is a big fan of Minor Threat and Fugazi, but a casual walk around a 16-year-old discography of dulcet-toned, saltwater-rinsed folk wouldn’t tell you that. To see it, you’d actually have to look a little deeper into the socially conscious, people-powered lyrics, or stay in tune with his non-musical endeavours, which lean heavily on environmental issues to catch those fuck-the-power vibes (Johnson, a 42-year-old former pro surfer turned filmmaker, was born on the North Shore of Oahu). He does, however, lay it out a little more obviously on “My Mind Is For Sale,” the lead single from a brand new album All the Light Above It Too (released earlier this month). The four-minute cut doesn’t even give listeners a sniff of tanning lotion, instead opting to use a bouncy melody and xylophone-driven arrangement in an assault on one certain leader’s lack of vocabulary and xenophobia. “I heard that six or seven words he likes to use are always in bad taste,” Johnson sings, “I don’t care for your paranoid us against them walls. I don’t care for your careless, me first, gimme-gimme appetite at all.” Damn, mellow sounded so mean, dude. We like where you’re going with this. (Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa) INFO
\\
✔️ Unwed Sailor w/Alexander & the Grapes/DieAlps! In our Best of the Bay issue (it's right here, friend), we lament the hiatus St. Pete rock outfit Alexander the Grapes went on. Well, it ends on Wednesday as they play support on another bill that probably would’ve landed at New World Brewery (a beloved Ybor City venue that ended its 23-year-run in the district last Saturday). Headlining the party? Unwed Sailor, an Oklahoma-based trio led by Johnathan Ford, which played New World (and even Fly bar in downtown Tampa) several times. Ford’s name should be familiar to indie-rock scene watchers as he’s played bass on records by Pedro the Lion (It’s Hard To Find A Friend), Broncho (Can’t Get Past the Lips) and Damien Jurado (Gathered In Song). Opening the show? Another BOTB-winning band, DieAlps! (Fubar, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
USF Jazz Ensemble 2 (Barness Recital Hall at University of South Florida, Tampa) INFO
TC Carr & Bolts of Blue (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) INFO
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 6, 2017.