Last weekend film and visual arts ruled the scene. The fin de semaine of Sept. 17-19 is all about the concerts.
CL Music Editor Leilani Polk wrote about a slew of shows this weekend. Here’s a rundown my favorites among Ms. Polk’s must-attends:
* Friday, Sept. 17-Saturday, Sept. 18 Beanstalk BBQ Bash and Old School Reunion Concert This two-night Friday-Saturday stand at Dirty Shame features barbeque eats and live music treats by re-formed jazz, funk and jam rock trio Beanstalk. (The Dirty Shame, Ybor City)
* Saturday, Sept. 18 Kings of Leon w/The Black Keys/The Whigs Nashville arena rockers Kings of Leon make their fourth Bay area appearance a month before the release of their fifth album, Come Around Sundown. For more on the band, click here. (1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa) Note from JG: Arrive early for The Whigs from Athens, Ga. They’re a high-energy, driving, melodic and utterly captivating band.
* Saturday, Sept. 18 Dex Romweber Duo w/The Mojo Gurus Though he’s been active for more than 25 years, deep and gruff-drawling singer-songwriter Dex Romweber has only recently gotten the recognition he deserves. The purveyor of gothic, stripped-down, Delta blues-influenced roots and rockabilly has inspired anyone from Neko Case to Cat Power to the White Stripes’ Jack White. All three appear on 2009's Ruins of Berlin, Romweber's first release as a duo with skin-pounding sister, Sara. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
* Saturday, Sept. 18 Jazz at the Straz Opening Night: Jazz Cellar Underground Orchestra The local swinging jazz ensemble returns after a 10-year absence from the scene to perform this “Jazz at the Straz” opening night concert at the Teco Theater in support of the Patel Conservatory’s jazz education programs. Vocalist Fred Johnson and various other musical guests sit in throughout the evening. (Teco Theatre, Straz Center for the Performing Arts)
* Saturday, Sept. 18 PJ Bond / Koji w/Greenland Is Melting/The Darling Cavaliers Formerly of The Color Fred and Charlotte Sometimes, singer-songwriter PJ Bond hails from New Jersey and crafts grungy sensitive pop acoustic tunes with a sweet earnestness and pleasantly mild delivery. Pennsylvania-based Koji (real name Andrew Koji Shikari) brings a bit more kick and drive to his introspective sound, his vocals a high-pitched plea. The bill is rounded out by Gainesville alt-country punkgrass foursome Greenland is Melting and Orlando newcomers The Darling Cavaliers. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
* Saturday, Sept. 18 WMNF 31st Birthday Bash w/Paul Thorn Band/Suenalo/The Hip Abduction/Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of Apocalypso/Cadillac Bombers/Sleepy Vikings/Jim Morey Band/ Peace Mole and the Psychedelic Multi-Colored Litmus Test WMNF commemorates 31 years of listener-supported radio and commercial-free programming with its usual multi-stage birthday concert. ‘MNF favorite Paul Thorn returns to headline with his rambling narratives, bluesy roots rock and a new album, Pimps and Preachers. The bill is rounded out by a stellar lineup of Florida talent, from the colorful horn-heavy worldbeat, hip-hop and Latin jazz sounds of Miami nine-piece Suenalo, to the retro Creole stumble and swing jazz of Jim Morey Band. (The Ritz Theatre, Ybor City)
* Saturday, Sept. 18 Monster of Rock Tribute Show w/Dirty Deeds Project (AC/DC)/Van Horgan (Van Halen)/Live and Let Die (Guns & Roses) (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)
See my description below.
* Sunday, Sept. 19 Surfer Blood / The Drums Two smokin’ hot bands that have earned across-the-board high marks for their respective 2010 debut albums (Astro Coast and The Drums) share headlining duties on their current national tour. Florida’s own Surfer Blood hails from West Palm Beach and purveys a fuzzy, reverb-drenched brand of surf rock with surprisingly melodic moments and lyrics delivered in haunting howls that recall My Morning Jacket at their best. Brooklyn ensemble The Drums leans more towards post punk and electro pop with a definite retro ‘80s flavor to their bouncy numbers. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
* Sunday, Sept. 19 Kaleigh Baker The 23-year-old Orlando-based mistress of alt blues, jazz and soul possesses an amazing vocal range — from low and resounding to sky-touching high — and impressive lung power. She held audiences rapt earlier this summer at the AntiWarpt Fest with an acoustic set of originals, like her heavy blues lament, “Train Gone By,” and an impromptu cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” delivered with soulful ferocity that the pop star only wished she could match. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa)
Okay, so you’re set for rock, jazz and other music. Here are my picks from the weekly “Do This” column …
It’s a breezy-cool time at the next Art After Dark, Tampa Museum of Art’s after-party art party – one of those nights you can gussy up in your best duds and observe hipsters in their natural habitat. Most importantly, you’ll get in on some of the most imaginative sights and sounds happenings in Tampa Bay this Friday. Event organizers T. Hampton Dohrman and Shawn Kyle have assembled a unique soiree with music by DJ Brian Oblivion, a lighting-design installation created to cast shadows off Dominique Labauvie's sculptures, Dream Machine installations and a Joe Griffith collaboration involving industrial fans that make the museum's $15-million Alexander Calder mobile-like sculpture spin around. Art After Dark is Fri., Sept. 17, 8-11 p.m. at the Tampa Museum of Art in downtown Tampa. Free for members, $10 everyone else. www.tampamuseum.org.
What if Albert Einstein wrote the script for Inception? Not sure if this comes close but Jobsite Theater plants some interesting ideas in our heads with Einstein’s Dreams, a mentally stimulating play to kick off the company’s 2010-11 season this week. The play fictionalizes Albert Einstein as a young scientist working on his theory of relativity in 1905 and explores his dreams about time. Stars Patrick Bolger, Nic Carter, Katie Castonguay, Slake Counts, Tia Q. Jemison, Greg Milton, Nicole Jeannine Smith, Katrina Stevenson and Jessy Quinones, who perform the original stage adaptation of the 1992 novel by Alan Lightman and adapted for the stage by Ralf Remshardt and David Gardiner. Einstein’s Dreams, Sept. 15-Oct. 3. Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827. Tickets are $24.50 and are available at the Straz Center Ticket Office window, by calling 813-229-STAR (7827) or online at www.strazcenter.org.
Teacher Deb Kelley took to heart the complaints from her younger students about how there's nothing to do except go to the mall and movies. She decided to open the Whitzend KidZone, a Town N Country clubhouse of sorts for early adolescents – with supervision, of course. The space has a comfy seating area for board games and video gaming, Wi-Fi, foosball, mini arcade basketball, an 8-foot pool table that can be flipped over for air hockey (!), plus a music equipment and instruments area. Grand opening for this special spot happens 7 p.m. Sept. 17-18. Friday is for ages 10-13 and Saturday, 13-16. In addition, Whitzend will showcase preteen and teen DJs, singers and bands with their information on dedicated page on the Whitzend website at www.whitzend.com. Whitzend KidZone is open Fridays and Saturdays 7-11p.m. and is at 7530 W Waters Ave., Tampa. Registration is required and costs $20 for 4 hours. 813-416-2068
Can’t wait till the next Rib Fest to get your aging rocker fix? Can’t afford the reunion tours at the Ax-Gary Amp? Well, here’s an event that offers nostalgic catharsis and an opportunity to support some of our best local rockers. The Monsters of Rock Tribute Show Saturday night at the Local 662 gives us the Dirty Deeds Project (AC/DC), Van Horgan (Van Halen) and Live and Let Die (Guns and Roses). The Dirty Deeds Project’s backup band consists of members of the Pretty Voices, Rebel Pride, Car Bomb Driver and The Bad Touch, and frontmen from the Semis, Doll Parts, the Ditchflowers, Tailgunner Joe (A.T. Moore pictured here) and others switch off on the Brian Johnson/Bon Scott duties. Van Horgan is a St. Pete-based Van Halen tribute band fronted by Pat "David Lee" Horgan. Live and Let Die is an Orlando-based Guns and Roses tribute band making their first Tampa Bay area appearance. Monsters of Rock Tribute Show is at 9 p.m. Sat., Sept. 18, at 662 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Free. 727-258-4829.
You can’t help but envy the agile, gorgeous and skillfully expressive dancers of Tampa’s premier modern dance company, Moving Current. This weekend, see MC step to its first show of the season with guest artists Bill Doolin and Neta Pulvermacher. Doolin, director of the Florida Dance Association, will set the choreography for CAN’T, to be performed by MC’s Erin Cardinal, Katie Cole and Kristin O’Neal. Pulvermacher, founder and artistic director of Neta Dance Company (NY), will set an excerpt of her recent work 2280 Pints!, inspired by Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwander. Moving Current performs its first show of the season 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., Sept. 17-18, and at 2 p.m. Sun., Sept. 19. There’ll be a 15-minute “stage warmer” performance of the show and Q&A after. At the USF Theater 1, Tampa Campus. $15, $10 for students, senior citizens and USF faculty and staff with ID. www.ticketleap.com, www.movingcurrent.com. 813-974-2323.
Also …
Fri 17 Sondheim’s A Little Night Music presented by the St. Petersburg Opera Company. Tony Award-winning musical with songs about love and relationships set to memorable waltzes. 7:30 p.m. at the Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. $21.50-$61.50. 727-823-2040.
Sat 18 Sweet Dreamz Dessert Tasting and Art Auction The Zodiac Group presents the Dali Museum’s last big fundraising event at its current location; silent auction, decadent treats, martinis, cordials and jazz by Speak Easy. $35 for members, $50 for non-members in advance, $60 at the door. Call 727-823-3767, ext. 3013.
Sun 19 The Habit, play by Wilson Loria, directed by Ciara Carinci; provocative look at a religious woman facing the crossroads of her life. Silver Meteor Gallery, 4 p.m. $12 students, seniors and general public in advance; $14 at the door. 2213 E. Sixth Ave., Ybor City. Call 727-656-8053.
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2010.