Meet The Chefs - Now in St. Pete & Tampa - Save & Get Your Tickets Now!

Apr 9-15, 2008

Apr 9-15, 2008 / Vol. 21 / No. 4

Black Crowes to play Ruth Eckerd Hall

The Black Crowes just announced a 90-city North American tour that will come to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Nov. 10. That's good news considering the psychedelic soul-rockers will be supporting Warpaint, their best album in years (I four-starred it here). Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay gig is a long way off from the June…

by Wade Tatangelo

Five Things to Do Today

1. German heavy music vocalist Doro Pesch (pictured) brings her metal quintet to Jannus Landing. 2. Local indie filmmakers stage a fundraiser to support the completion of their comedy, Jules Dongu Saves the World. 3. The Disgruntled Clown stands up at Tampa Improv. 4. The current Rent tour makes a three-day stop in Clearwater. 5. The next…

by Leilani Polk

Why Cities Don’t Want You to Use Green Technology

Creative Loafing is about to come out with 100 green technologies you can use now to go green. However, while green technology may be all the rage, local governments don’t really want you using green technologies. The reason is simple: governments like to spend money, and one of the local government’s largest sources of income…

by Spencer Kass

Human rights, anti-bullying move forward in Legislature

The Florida Legislature might have a long way to go in protecting gay rights, but recent legislative decisions indicate that they might be taking a step in the right direction. Last Tuesday, the Florida Senate Commerce Committee approved a Civil Rights bill that would ban anti-gay discrimination in employment and housing statewide by 7-1. The…

by Franki Weddington

Iorio names Green Officer

The city of Tampa, which has a mixed record (at best) on going green, has named a "Green Officer" for the municipal government, according to a City Hall news release today: Mayor Pam Iorio has designated Thom Snelling, the current Deputy Director for Growth Management and Development Services, as the City's Green Officer.  Snelling will…

by Wayne Garcia

A stroll through downtown Tampa and what the …

On Saturday, while reporting on a future Urban Explorer column, I passed by ArtLOUD's colorful murals and wooden cut-outs on that desolate part of Franklin Street between the Tampa Theater and Fly Bar. It's not the first time I've seen the two-block display, but it is the first time one of the pedestrian cut-outs caught…

by Alex Pickett

Five Things to Do Today

1. (Pictured from left): David O'Hara, Justin Duggan and Chris Rutherford take on roles in the Job-Side Project, Short Comings. 2. The UT Writes Series welcomes CIA agent-turned-author Joe Navarro. 3. Pinchas Zukerman plays one last show with The Florida Orchestra tonight at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. 4. The Tampa Bay Rays play the New York…

by Leilani Polk

Going Green Expo 2008: Leading in a non-carbon world

Roberta Fernandez of Planet Partnership, an organization that works to mobilize communities to take action in reducing carbon footprints, spoke about methods both big and small to reduce our own impact on the environment.She began by saying that while natural variations in weather patterns have always been a part of the Earth's history, most scientific…

by Franki Weddington

Trombone Shorty blows away blues fest crowd

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, left. Photos by Chris Boulanger. The day couldn’t have started any better. Early this afternoon, genre-defying New Orleans music sensation Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews turned in what may have been the greatest opening slot performance in Tampa Bay Blues Festival history. The trombone-and-trumpet-virtuoso and his four outstanding backing players — guitar,…

by Wade Tatangelo

Going Green Expo 2008: Biodiesel & biofuel

Editor's note:  CL intern and USF journalism student Franki Weddington files from the USF Going Green Expo: My first seminar of the day is "Biodiesel and Biofuels," presented by Michael Lokey of Lokey Trucks. If you're surprised to hear that a lecture on environmentally-friendly fuels is being presented by someone who sells gas-guzzling trucks and…

by Franki Weddington

Last Night at the Tampa Bay Blues Fest

By and large, the Tampa Bay Blues Festival is not a place where you witness much weirdness. Smiling baby-boomers boppin’ to music under the sun and stars is pretty much the order of the day(s). But two instances last night — one good, one kinda creepy — showed a touch of the weird. The good:…

by Eric Snider

Having a Hispanic Vision

Two Tampa Bay latina public relations pros have formed a new outlet to discuss Hispanic political influence. The Hispanic Vision Forum is now up and running with discussion forums and a blog. One sample post: When we report "Hispanics" or "Latinos," who are we really talking about? Roberto Suro, for one, thinks journalists may not…

by Wayne Garcia

Female Version of “The Showoff”

This position is kind of a back handspring meets fellatio. It is known to demonstrate the athletic ability of a woman, while giving the man a very nice top down view. The position begins with the man and woman standing and facing in same direction with the woman four feet in front of man. The…

by Eric J. Leech

Five Things to Do This Weekend

An original work by Erica Ellis on display at West Tampa Center for the Arts. 1. More than a dozen graduating students of USF’s Fine Arts program are featured in a new exhibit at West Tampa Center for the Arts. 2. Going Green Tampa Bay Expo features eco-conscious presentations, demonstrations, film screenings and workshops at USF-Tampa.…

by Leilani Polk

Tampa Bay Blues Fest and more in new CL

Here's what we have running in the new Creative Loafing: Senior editor Eric Snider interviews British soul singer James Hunter, a highlight at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, which runs Friday through Sunday at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. All the blues that fits: Snider and I give you the skinny on who's playing when…

by Wade Tatangelo

Five Things to Do Today

Metamorphoses (photo by Jemaar Graham) 1. TheatreUSF stages Metamorphoses, Mary Zimmerman's contemporary take on Ovid’s classical tales of Greek mythology. 2. Wyoming’s Teenage Bottlerocket recreates Ramones-style punk rock at Crowbar. 3. Eckerd College welcomes guerilla journalist/filmmaker Mike Shiley, who talks about and presents a screening of his film, Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories. 4. Ronde and…

by Leilani Polk

Blair launches anti-gay attack

From Pushing Rope:  Hillsborough County commissioner Brian Blair has picked up Ronda Storm's gay-bashing mantle. The The Former Bubble Bee is venting mock outrage that Tampa high school students will protest violence against LGBT. The April 25th Day of Silence was started in tribute to Lawrence King, whom was gay and murdered at age 15.…

by Wayne Garcia

World Food Crisis: Biofuels Update

Anyone who's been following my frequent recent posts about the world-wide spike in food prices and the manifold problems associated with that will be familiar with some of this info. But in researching items for CL's Green Issue next week, I found that biofuels are a big part of the problem. Science Magazine recently calculated…

by Brian Ries

Coffee, Coffee, Everywhere, Let’s All Have A Drink

I'll a steaming hot cup of corrections, with a soy shout out and a side of apology: I mistakenly gave a wrong address for Kahwa Roaster's new shop in last week's paper. It's on 2nd AVE. N, not 2nd St. N. My specific apologies go out to an irate woman who spent some pedal power…

by Brian Ries

Blurbex’s first ever sports column

The press box was full for the Tampa Bay Rays home opener — full, I presume, of baseball scribes familiar with the micro-strategies that seem to happen in slow motion during a baseball game. And then there was me, sitting in the press box's back row. My knowledge is pretty shallow — I don’t, for…

by Eric Snider

FROM THE STREET (Waterboarding and Whiskey at Crowbar)

"Let the other side have the churches. We got the bars," said Curt Johnson, an organizer for the Young Democrats, who were looking for converts Friday night at Crowbar where Orlando’s The Oaks were releasing their new CD, Songs for Waiting.   Johnson argued for mixing politics with drinking just as the Right had married politics…

by Tampa Promotions

Five Things to Do Today

1. (Pictured from left): Zach Nadolski, Darrel Blackburn and Gina Varchetto star in a new American Stage in the Park production of The Pirates of Penzance, which kicks off tonight with a “Pay-what-you-can” preview. 2. Honey Pot presents Da’ House Party, a recruiting and networking event with food, giveaways, an art exhibit, and a performance…

by Leilani Polk

From the Street with Alfie: Waterboarding and Whiskey at Crowbar

"Let the other side have the churches. We got the bars," said Curt Johnson, an organizer for the Young Democrats, who were looking for converts Friday night at Crowbar where Orlando's The Oaks were releasing their new CD, Songs for Waiting. Johnson argued for mixing politics with drinking just as the Right had married politics with…

by Shawn Alff

The Country Slashers bring alt-country to New World Brewery

Orlando quartet The Country Slashers refuse to maintain one formula, surveying melodic punk, honky-tonk balladry and rockabilly with equal skill. On loud numbers like "Stone Fox," the rhythm section sprints forward, and we're faced with a torrent of guitar fury over which singer Jason Smith growls, "Too many drinks make me lose my head/ But…

by Wade Tatangelo

Wine List

Got an upcoming or ongoing wine event? Send information to: The Wine List, 810 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, FL 33606, fax 813-739-4801 or e-mail brian.ries@creativeloafing.com. Best Bets: UPPER TAMPA GETS DOWN Not sure is Upper Tampa is a legit region, but they have their own chamber of commerce and throw their own charity wine events.…

by CL Staff

Clint Black has a Wing Ding

Since his blockbuster 1989 debut Killin' Time put him on the map alongside crossover titans Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, Clint Black has forged a respectable, if comparatively unspectacular, career in country. Supporting the sometime actor (Vegas, Anger Management) and current reality TV performer (Secret Talents of the Stars) are fellow 10-gallon cowboys Chuck Wicks,…

by Amanda Schurr

The blogger blues

"In the last few months, two among their (bloggers) ranks have died suddenly. … Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet."—Author Matt Richtel in a recent article in…

by Franki Weddington

Hello, it’s Todd Rundgren

Pop genius Todd Rundgren — one of the few remaining greats still shut out from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — comes to town with no new album to promote. That should bode well for longtime enthusiasts eager to hear timeless hits like 1971's "We Gotta Get You a Woman," 1972's "I Saw…

by Wade Tatangelo

Recent

See all

Gift this article