THURS 18
John Emil The Jacksonville singer-songwriter is a seasoned slide guitarist who’s also skilled on dobro and acoustic Hawaiian lap steel, which lends his acoustic sound a folk-rootsy feel and languid island appeal while his twangy vocals ring Delta bluesy. Emil also plays the Ale and the Witch on Friday. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
The Dear Hunter w/Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground/O’Brother Casey Crescenzo is the multi-instrumentalist singer and visionary mind behind The Dear Hunter, a solo side project when he played in The Receiving End of Sirens, and his main creative outlet when that band dissolved. To flesh out his experimental-prog rock compositions, he recruited a miscellany of other musicians (including a few family members) and began an expansive undertaking: a conceptual story as told in six albums (Acts I-VI) about the birth, adolescence, and death of a boy known as “The Dear Hunter.” After releasing the first three, however, Crescenzo took a break and launched a new unrelated series in January that found him interpreting the colors of the visible spectrum via nine EPs, each reflecting an individual color (black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and white). A compilation of sorts, The Color Spectrum, was issued in June and goes from dark to light starting with the seething industrial grime of “Filth and Squalor” (black) to the sunshine cheerful pop of “She’s Always Singing” (yellow), to the hopefully ascending vocals and melodic heart-lifting instrumentals of the closer, “Fall and Flee” (white). Also on tour is Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, a multi-piece ensemble led by songwriting duo Kirk Huffman and Kyle O’Quin, who incorporate cello, violin, tuba, trumpet, flugelhorn and other orchestral elements in their lush Sepia-toned pop-retro sound. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Clearwater Jazz Holiday Lineup Party w/Sammy Figueroa/LaRue Nickelson/Valerie Gillespie/Juvenocracy To celebrate the forthcoming 32nd annual CJH and announce the acts that’ll be playing it, organizers present this courtyard show headed up by Miami-based Latin jazz percussion master Sammy Figueroa and his band. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Bob Anthony/Matt Grimshaw Bay area singer, songwriter and guitarist Anthony joins forces with drummer/percussionist Grimshaw (Car Bomb Driver, Pretty Voices) for two sets that will include tunes with and without vocals from Anthony’s catalog, random covers and whatever else sticks to the wall, improvisations included. (The Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg)
Tampa Bay Tech Jam 2011: A Decade of Rock If you want to rock like a technophile (and let’s face it: who doesn’t?), don’t miss the 10th annual Tech Jam, a party-with-a-purpose hosted each year by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum. Admission includes food, cocktails, performances by local acts in a good-natured “Battle of the Bands” contest, and the opportunity to bid on some pretty compelling silent auction items. Competing bands play for fan votes ($1 = 1 vote), and all money raised benefit the nonprofit TBTF Foundation, which supports kids in our own community pursuing careers in science and technology. Among the battle performers are Pitbull Toddler, which features Mike “Cowhead” Calta (of 102.5 FM’s “The Bone”) on bass, and Out By Nine, a trio of underage rockers (wunderkind guitarist/singer Zack Biss, age 14, bassist Angelo Lombardi, 15, and drummer Sidney Wright, 12) who are joined by some very special guests for their set. Find out more about Out By Nine and Tech Jam 2011 at cltampa.com/music. (The Ritz, Ybor City) —Cynthia Mulligan
FRI 19
Rascal Flatts w/Sara Evans/Easton Corbin/Justin Moore Since their musical debut in 2000, mega country trio Rascal Flatts has sold 20 million albums, produced a dozen chart-topping singles, and are currently one of only one of four country acts to have debuted six consecutive studio albums at No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, including their latest, 2010’s Nothing Like This. (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Chris McCarty w/Christie Lenée Project Gainesville acoustic guitar rocker and husky soulful singer-songwriter Chris McCarty brings a funky rhythmic drive to songs that tend to dwell on the joys and pains caused by the opposite sex, whether he’s waxing pragmatic to his lover in “The Last One” (“To me you are, the next one, the last one, just like the last one / Believe me, so far, you’re the best one, so was the last one”), or trying to break through the indifference of a potential lover by offering to be her “Calvary.” (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
F w/ Murder Suicide Pact/Feral Babies/Church Whip/Nazi Dust Florida punk rock fourpiece F (est. 1982, led by energetic jump-and-thrash frontman Flash) headlines this bill of hard and fast music that also features Murder-Suicide Pact (described as “Black Flag meets Black Sabbath with Florida’s sweatiest singer”), among several others. (Pegasus Lounge, Tampa)
Lauris Vidal w/ Damion Suomi & The Minor Prophets /Andy Zipf Effervescent, high-spirited soulfully singing anti-folk artist Lauris Vidal packed Fubar for his recent set at Antiwarpt, the roiling mass of sweat-drenched faces happy despite the bar’s dank heat, some even yelling and clapping along to his warm feel-good tunes. He was armed with only a drummer that night and he returns as part of the duo he’s unofficially dubbed “Thunderfists” on a mini-Southeast tour with another much talked-about stand-out from Antiwarpt, five-piece energetic roots-folk-soul outfit Damion Suomi & The Minor Prophets. DC-based Hopeless Records artist Andy Zipf rounds it out with his sweetly high-toned vocals and easy going indie folk rock. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SAT 20
Blessing And A Curse Folk Music Festival w/Have Gun, Will Travel/Ronny Elliott/Rebekah Pulley Three area acts specializing in different styles of modern folk music take the stage at the inaugural Blessing and a Curse Folk Music Festival. Have Gun, Will Travel’s sound is burnished with a coppery vintage/Old West Americana feel, vet singer-songwriter Ronny Elliott offers up droll folk blues twang, and Rebekah Pulley delivers amped-up roots rock marked by her gorgeous songbird vocals. (Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa)
Little Lo w/Christopher Noyes I was a little disheartened when I read that St. Pete folk-pop outfit The Sun Society had decided to go into “hibernation” until next year, but thankfully this Austin-based sextet came across my radar. Little Lo’s six-track extended-player, A Poison Tree, is one of those instantly likable albums that stay on repeat for a week. The songs recall The Sun Society, but are set apart by male and female vocal harmonies (“Roots, Trees, Wires”) and lush arrangements that have been pristinely recorded and meticulously put together. If Sun Society is a band in their infancy, then Little Lo possess the sound of a post-graduate blossoming into a being of his/her own. Plus, it’s streaming for free at their Bandcamp page. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —Ray Roa
Bobaflex w/Indorphine/Jimmies Chicken Shack West Virginia alt-metal/hard rock outfit Bobaflex celebrates the release of their 2011 album, Hell in My Heart, which features such tracks as the controversial take-no-prisoners anthem, “Bury Me With My Guns On” (“…so when I reach the other side / I can show him what it feels like to die / Bury me with my guns on so when I’m cast out of the sky / I can shoot the devil right between the eyes”). (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
SUN 21
Alison Krauss & Union Station w/Dawes Her vocals are delicate, angelic, sugar-coated loveliness, her skills on fiddle adding bright texture to a sound that draws on elements of country, bluegrass and pop. Alison Krauss first signed to Rounder Records at the tender age of 14 and over the course of more than 25 years, has collaborated with a diverse range of artists — Phish, Dolly Parton, and most recently, Robert Plant on 2007’s Raising Sand — while remaining a significant talent in her own right and earning the most Grammy awards of any female recording artist in Grammy history (26). Krauss and Union Station are currently touring in support of their first new album in seven years, Paper Airplane. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Patrick Stump w/Wynter Gordon/John West Fall Out Boy lead singer and songwriter Patrick Stump took a break from the band (now on hiatus indefinitely) and deviates from FOB’s driving punk-fused sound to explore his MJ R&B-fused synth-pop tendencies. His 2011 debut EP, Truant Wave, offers a sticky taste of what his forthcoming LP, Soul Punk (out Oct. 18 via Island) has to offer along with the album’s first dance-cheese single “This City” with guest Lupe Fiasco. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
WMNF PRESENTS Groovefest 2 w/3rd Stone/COPE/Rich Whiteley/The Groves/Funky Seeds/Bobby Lee Rodgers/Chris Sgamatto/Applebutter Express The Skipperdome erects a second acoustic stage for this day-long showcase of Florida jam-centric artists. Among them are guitarist and songwriter Rich Whitely, who plays in Uncle John’s Band as well as heading up various solo projects; jam rock mainstay COPE, led by the guitar-and-bass playing Stadelman brothers and featuring rock-solid rhythm-keeper Dave Gerulat, and keys-and-trombone extraordinaire, Juan Montero; Southern stomping rockers The Groves; make-your-ass-move funk and soul outfit 3rd Stone; and moody space-jam singer-songwriter and guitarist Bobby Lee Rodgers, who may or may not have re-located to Florida (his website still has him in Atlanta), but has been playing our state so often that he might as well live here, if he doesn’t in an official capacity. Groovefest 2 culminates in a show-closing superjam. Families welcome. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Woody Pines Frontman and band namesake Woody Pines (banjo, dobro, harmonica, kazoo) has the sort of brassy drawl you expect from a traveling snake oil salesman hawking magical “cure-all” tonics from the back of his wagon before disappearing into the dusty sunset. The music his quartet produces is a nice complement — a concoction of newgrass, ragtime, Delta country-blues, and vintage jazz. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
TUES 23
Georg Schroeter & Marc Breitfelder Band A duo direct from Germany (Schroeter on vocals and piano, Breitfelder on tube amp harmonica) who combine country swing and boogie blues to get to their honky tonk rocking sound. This U.S. tour follows their win of “Best Solo/Duo Act” at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis earlier this year. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Lionheart / I Declare War w/Molotov Solution/Armor For The Broken A lineup of heavy music presented as part of the inaugural “Shook Clothing Tour” and co-headlined by California hardcore/metal five-piece Lionheart (Mediaskare) and I Declare War (Artery Recordings), from Washington. (Transitions Art Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa)
Guster / Jack’s Mannequin w/Augustana Two fairly well-known bands that lean to the pop-AC side of alt rock co-headline on this national tour. Guster, from Boston, is supporting their sixth LP, 2010’s Easy Wonderful, which Allmusic.com called “big-hearted, easy-to-swallow guitar pop.” OC-based Jack’s Mannequin is the side project of Something Corporate frontman Andrew McMahon, their sound piano-driven fare with vague heartland rock appeal. The band is gearing up to release what McMahon calls a relationship record, People and Things, out Oct. 4 via Sire. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
WED 24
IDentity Fest w/Kaskade/Steve Aoki / DJ Shadow / The Crystal Method / Pretty Lights / Holy Ghost! / Hercules and Love Affair / Afrojack / Rusko / The Disco Biscuits / Booka Shade / many more Lauded as the first of its kind, the inaugural multi-stage IDentity Fest is a touring dance music extravaganza with a lineup that reads like a who’s who of electronic music — sort of like Ultra, if it was scaled back and taken on the road. ID Fest is headlined by house DJ/producer Kaskade, who enjoyed a fanbase boost when he was name-dropped on Jersey Shore (he’s a favorite of Snooki). Other highlights include British dubstep/skweee producer Rusko, German house duo Booka Shade, Midwest jamtronica foursome Disco Biscuits, super hip discofied electro-pop outfit Hercules & Love Affair, and wildly popular Pretty Lights, who combines trip hop, funk, soul and hip hop into his sound. (1-800-Ask-Gary-Amphitheatre, Tampa)
ALSO THIS WEEK
The Beauvilles Thurs., Aug. 18, The Hub, Tampa
Alkaline Trio Fri., Aug. 19, House of Blues, Orlando
Sound Spektrum Fri., Aug. 19, Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa
ULTIMATE 2011 Semi-Finals Fri., Aug. 19, The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City
Glendale Lights w/Oceana/Geri X/Surly/Ettison Fri., Aug. 19, The Orpheum, Ybor City
The Supervillains w/Mighty Mongo Sat., Aug. 20, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg
Damon Fowler Group w/The Gerry Williams Band Sat., Aug. 20, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa
The High Waters Sat., Aug. 20, Ringside Café, St. Petersburg
This article appears in Aug 18-24, 2011.
