Nine out of 10 thirtysomethings agree: Hip-hop was a lot more fun in the late '80s and early '90s. While gangsta rap had the hardcore edge covered, and Native Tongue crews like A Tribe Called Quest were pushing the alternative scene's envelope, the three acts on this particular nostalgia trip — Coolio, Digital Underground and Young MC — pretty much defined the pop-rap territory first claimed a few years earlier by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and Tone Loc. What's more, they didn't have to suck to be massive; sure, Digital Underground got goofy with "The Humpty Dance" and Coolio jumped the shark with "Gangsta's Paradise" (a hit so huge, Weird Al parodied it), but both camps had plenty of impressive shit in their catalogs as well. And as for recent Celebrity Fit Club participant Young MC, well, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea's groove in "Bust A Move" is still one of the best instrumental hooks in any hip-hop tune, ever. Quit standing around with your arms folded, and get out there and dance like a carefree moron. This is going to be a good time.
Coolio/Digital Underground/Young MC, 7 p.m. Fri., Dec. 15 @ Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg; $18 adv./$22 d.o.s. —Scott Harrell
Centro of Attention
Acclaimed Texas underground-rock/pop/alt-country outfit Centro-Matic loves the Tampa Bay indie scene — singer Will Johnson has repeatedly called New World Brewery one of his favorite places in America to play — and the Tampa Bay indie scene loves 'em right back. Maybe it's because the band is among a scant handful of current rock acts truly able to boast its own original, inimitable sound. Maybe it's because Johnson's voice is one of the most emotionally compelling in contemporary music. Hell, maybe it's just because they're really nice guys who play some great tunes. Whatever the reason, Centro-Matic's regular (at least once a year, sometimes twice) Ybor City stops have become, to the initiated, as anticipated as holidays.
This time 'round, the show is bolstered by a couple of absolutely wonderful support acts. The bay's own Sugar Oaks land a coveted slot on the bill with their equally rootsy and atmospheric eccentricity — yeah, that's kind of a cop-out, but what they do is really hard to describe — along with rising Athens pop act Modern Skirts, about whom you can read much more on page 41.
Centro-Matic w/The Sugar Oaks/Modern Skirts, 9 p.m. Sat., Dec. 16 @ New World Brewery, Ybor City; $8. —SH
Sing You Sinners
Of the multiple and wildly varying projects taken on by legendary X vocalist Exene Cervenka during that band's dormant periods, Original Sinners is the one most likely to satisfy fans of her most famous group. Original Sinners first got together early in the millennium to release '02's self-titled debut, but an X reunion kept them on the back burner until this year's sophomore release, Sev7en, which again showcases a blistering, reinvigorated mix of the roots, punk and blues elements that fuel both X and its alt-country-ish sibling The Knitters. Rounded out by alumni of other beloved Los Angeles acts like The Distillers and Mercy Killers, Original Sinners might well have been the real deal even without Cervenka. But then they don't have to worry about that, right?
Original Sinners w/Knuckel Drager, 7 p.m. Sun., Dec. 17 @ Orpheum, Ybor City; $12. —SH
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2006.
