Band of Steel
Thanks to promoter Jack Spatafora of Aestheticized Presents, St. Louis power trio Riddle of Steel will have now played Tampa five times since the 2005 release of their breakthrough indie release Got This Feelin'. The band cites The Police and Led Zeppelin as influences and actually manages to create a sound that echoes both. Tricky time signatures are sold with big hooks, and the emotive vocal stylings of guitarist/singer Andrew Elstner complete the package. Live versions of fresh songs that will appear on an upcoming RoS album are posted at Aestheticized's new blog, essential-ish.blogspot.com. The tracks were recorded when the band played Crowbar in April. Check out the art-rock meets garage-punk of "I'm Not Sure What Your Problem Is." It's that rare tune that's both indie-rock interesting and hard-rock forceful. The actual performance is equal parts precision and passion. Headcases are a French power trio on the same label as RoS, Ascetic Records, and offer a distinct blend of punk, prog, grunge and twisted pop.
Riddle of Steel w/Headcases/Life of Pi/Palantine/Military Junior, Thurs., Sept. 13, 9 p.m., $8. —Wade Tatangelo
Masters of Metal
Don't know the band that has top billing over Alice Cooper at St. Pete Times Forum? That's OK. Neither did we at first. Heaven and Hell is kind of like the Velvet Revolver or Audioslave of the veteran metal set, featuring Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Butler (bass) along with former members Ronnie James Dio (vocals) and Vinny Appice (drums). Heaven and Hell is also the title track of the 1979 Sabbath album that marked Dio's debut. This is the first time Dio, Iommi, et al have toured in 15 years. Shock-rock king Cooper still brings the horror-show stage props and a back catalog of classic-rock staples — "Elected," "School's Out," "Billion Dollar Babies" — that make acolytes such as Marilyn Manson look silly in comparison. Paranoid art rockers Queensrÿche kick things off.
Heaven and Hell w/Alice Cooper/Queensrÿche, Fri., Sept. 14, 6:30 p.m., St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa. $59.75. —WT
Spreading Their Seed
Years after The Roots finally got some mainstream love, actual live hip-hop bands are still too much of a rarity. Fort Lauderdale's Seeds of Evolution are one of the exceptions, mining rap, soul, jazz and rock for inspiration. Singer/MC Jae Conway doesn't yet measure up as a mic controller in the classic hip-hop sense, but his relaxed, sing-song flow makes you not really care all that much. The Seeds' show tonight is also noteworthy because it (along with The Stick Martin Show gig a few weeks back) signals that the folks at Sarasota's Clubhouse are branching out from their traditional rock-only booking philosophy.
The Seeds of Evolution, Sat., Sept. 14, 10 p.m., The Clubhouse Tavern, Sarasota. $5. —Cooper Levey-Baker
This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2007.