SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
Stand Your Higher Ground: The WMNF Tribute to Stevie Wonder w/Vincent Sims and The Sidewinders with Scott Elliott/Gerry Williams Band/The Ditchflowers/Gwan Massive/Shaun Hopper/Betty Fox Band/Belinda Womack/Talk To Mark/Poetry n’ Lotion/The Mighty and Strong Band/6th Melody Now that Stevie Wonder is leading the boycott against our state due to the George Zimmerman trial verdict and has vowed not to perform in Florida until the “Stand Your Ground” law is abolished, there’s a chance we’ll never enjoy his soulful R&B serenades here again … not that he stopped in much before the trial, but still, the possibility existed. At least we can console ourselves with events like the latest tribute hosted by WMNF, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Stevie’s masterful album, Inner Visions. The fine lineup includes Orlando’s Gerry Williams Band, whose namesake takes a page from the Wonder groove playbook, pop rock melody makers The Ditchflowers, potent hip-hop ensemble Gwan Massive and finger-picking guitar wonder, Shaun Hopper. Closing the night with a full-album presentation of Inner Visions is Vincent Sims and The Sidewinder with guest Scott Elliott. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP
Fall Out Boy w/Panic! at the Disco/Twenty One Pilots Fall Out Boy has maintained a chart-topping, concert-drawing career built around tightly wound, anthemic pop-punk and the charisma of its most famous member, bassist Pete Wentz, who’s become a cult figure of his own. Las Vegas’ Panic! at the Disco made quite a splash with its big-gesture, fist-pumping rock in the mid-2000s, but their popularity has tapered off somewhat. (USF Sun Dome, Tampa) —ES
Michael Ross Quintet A bedrock of the jazz community, Ross is among a handful of truly great acoustic bassists to call Tampa Bay home. His performance in a relatively upscale setting comes on the heels of the release of his terrific new album, Ginger. The seven-track disc finds Ross the composer mining his most lyrically melodic side, but this concert will almost certainly include edgier material as well. The quintet includes guitarist LaRue Nickelson, saxophonist/flutist Danny Jordan, pianist Patrick Bettison and drummer Walt Hubbard. Ross sums up his philosophy of playing his instrument thusly: “Get a good sound, swing hard and play the bass like a bass.” He succeeds on all counts. (HCC/Ybor Mainstage Theatre, Ybor City) —ES
Ol’ Dirty Sundays w/KaoticBlaze For the last ODS of September, resident DJs Casper and LeSage welcome back Margie “KaoticBlaze” Nuñez, a NYC-bred DJ who mashes and spins modern and throwback hip hop, breaks, house, funk, reggae and Latin music. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP
Jeremy Gloff Album Release Party This year marks two decades of music-making for local Best of the Bay-winning singer-songwriter Jeremy Gloff. He’s observing the hallmark with an 18th album, Inside of Blue Buildings, funded by fans via a fruitful Kickstarter campaign, recorded over the summer, and officially unveiled at a Sunday evening soiree and show. The first few singles find Gloff slowing down the pace of his dance-leaning pop sounds and getting introspective on themes of home, poverty, and accepting and sorting out all the shit that hits the fan on any given day, like “My Life Is Perfect,” an ode of sardonic optimism that loses its sting by way of its delicate acoustic guitar-driven instrumentals and Gloff’s higher-register tenor intertwining with the pretty feminine calls of Danielle Merkle. (Mermaid Tavern, Tampa)—LP
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Young Roddy w/Corner Boy P/Fiend New Orleans rapper Young Roddy celebrates the joys of ’hood life, thug life, weed and … weed. His latest project is a collaborative mixtape with Curren$y called, appropriately, Bales. He’s joined by two other rhyme-slangers from Curren$y’s Jet-Life stable. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —ES
TUESDAY. OCTOBER 01
Greensky Bluegrass w/Fruition Greensky Bluegrass writes material that embraces the stylistic spirit of their namesake genre; drums-free odes built on strings (upright bass, banjo, dobro, guitar and mandolin) that could be hewn from the Appalachian Mountains (though the band is from Kalamazoo, Mich.), and are marked by poignant four-part harmonies with strong soaring leads. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 02
Michal Menert w/Odesza/Mikey Thunder Poland-born, Colorado-based producer Michael Menert has a fine ear for sample dropping, and slips obscure vintage clips from both Eastern European and Western vinyl all throughout his soulful, bass-bumpin’ mid-tempo dance grooves. his musical background on guitar and keys informs his style of using both organic and electronic textures in his fusion of space jazz, hip hop and funktronica. He co-produced 2006’s Taking Up Your Precious Time, the debut Pretty Lights album, and he was the first artist signed to the Pretty Lights label. Sophomore full-length Even If It Isn’t Right dropped last year. Warming the stage on Menert’s current tour is production duo Odesza (Catacombkid and BeachesBeaches), delivering trip-hoppin’ beat-tape style mixes. (Crowbar, Ybor City)—LP
Sick Puppies w/Redlight King/Charming Liars LA-by-way-of-Australia’s Sick Puppies hit fans with a fourth studio LP this summer, Connect, but to these ears, it fails to do just that. Granted, the chorus of first single “There’s No Going Back” is suitably anthemic, but the message is trite (“the past is in the past, thank god it doesn’t last forever”) and the radio-ready alt-rock sound not-at-all compelling. At least the trio has proven their live potency or else I’d have to write them off for good. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)—LP
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
