THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
SUGARHILL GANG Not only did this group notch the first Top 40 hip-hop hit with "Rapper's Delight" (No. 36 in 1979), they were the first hip-hop boy band. North Jersey-based music producer Sylvia Robinson, alerted to the new musical fad via block parties around New York City, plucked three local kids from her home base of Englewood, N.J., paired them with a rhythm section, ripped off the bass line from Chic's mega-hit "Good Times," and foisted the fun, wordy rap tune on the world. Pure novelty. Hip-hop's early pioneers resented the flash-in-the-pan success, but the song did raise a whole lot of awareness. Sugarhill Gang's MySpace page doesn't name personnel, so it's difficult to determine how many original members are still on board. Maybe the bigger question is, "Does it matter?" Their MySpace site contains three songs — "8th Grove," "Apache" and "Rapper's Delight," the only ones that charted ('79-'82) — so it's a pretty safe bet that Sugarhill Gang is strictly working the nostalgia tip. Oh, and don't forget the Kaopectate. (Tamiami Bar, St. Pete) —Eric Snider
TAILGUNNER JOE & THE EARLS OF SLANDER w/THE LOVE AFFAIR/THE EMBASSY/VOX PALMA/BRER Offering greasy rock 'n' roll/cow punk with both brawn and brain, Tampa trio Tailgunner Joe & The Earls of Slander is one of most promising young bands to hit the scene of late. They played Crowbar a couple months back and won me over with their smart, visceral originals and a rousing cover of Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" which showcased the grungy ax chops of guitarist/vocalist Travis Moore. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10
THE SOULPHONICS w/BLIND WILLIE JAMES The Soulphonics' throwback rhythm-and-blues, replete with hot horn section and featuring two dynamic lead singers, proved to be quite the crowd pleaser when they played Creative Loafing's Sensory Overload celebration in Tampa earlier this year. Blues pianist/singer Blind Willie James is a former schoolmate of Ray Charles and winner of a Florida Folk Heritage award. He has performed with the Blind Boys of Alabama and Diamond Teeth Mary McClain. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
CHAMILLIONAIRE w/RED CARPET/ST. PETE MAFIA/STYLISH FAMILY/YOUNG MONEY Billed as a "back to school teen bash" and hosted by popular WILD 98.7 personality DJ Christion, show features Houston hardcore rapper Chamillionaire, the artist responsible for "Ridin,'" the huge smash from last year that inspired the hilarious Weird Al parody "White & Nerdy." (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
EVERGREEN TERRACE w/AUGUST BURNS RED/THE WARRIORS/CASEY JONES/HARLOE Joining Fall Out Boy in the category of band names inspired by The Simpsons (Good Lord, how many more will there be in the wake of the movie?), Evergreen Terrace is a melodic hardcore band with screamo tendencies from Jacksonville. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
TOBY KEITH w/MIRANDA LAMBERT/FLYNNVILLE TRAIN Love or loathe him, "outlaw" country star Toby Keith puts on a highly entertaining, full-fledged rock show featuring huge set pieces, pyro and loud guitars. The concert will likely be sold-out and find the beer-soaked crowd of about 20,000 singing along to saloon songs like "I Love This Bar." As for Miranda Lambert, don't let her blonde bombshell looks fool ya. She is one of the most talented young women in mainstream country these days. Like Keith, she's that rare country star who writes the majority of her own songs, including the poignant ballad "Desperation," off her new album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
DELTA MOON This commanding Georgia blues/rock/country band led by noted singer/songwriter and ace lap steel guitarist Tom Gray (formerly of The Brains) returns to the Skipperdome to celebrate the release of their new CD Clear Blue Flame. A strong disc throughout, it features the gravel-voiced Gray offering an impassioned, fiddle-laced rendition of "Money Changes Everything," the song he wrote and that Cyndi Lauper covered on her landmark album She's So Unusual. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SUBURBAN LEGENDS w/ZOLOFT THE ROCK & ROLL DESTROYER/PATENT PENDING/JET LAG GEMINI Third-wave ska-rockers (with a serious pop bent) Suburban Legends headline with help from female-fronted Pennsylvania power-poppers (with a serious synth-pop jones, they cover Human League's "Don't You Want Me") Zoloft the Rock & Roll Destroyer. Also on the lineup are ska-punks Patent Pending and newbies Jet Lag Gemini, a New Jersey quartet that plays pop punk juiced with guitar riffs that wouldn't sound out of place on classic-rock stations. JLG's debut full-length Fire the Cannons comes out on Doghouse Records Oct. 9. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
TIM WALKER This veteran Tampa singer/songwriter set out to record 365 songs in 2007. Sounds crazy but Walker is on pace, so far, according to his MySpace page. BUT … Are the songs any good? The ones he had posted online last week weren't bad. Walker has a deep, engaging voice, and songs like "Pictures August 1" are a lot more polished (he's a multi-instrumentalist and achieves a full rock sound) than one would expect from a man on such a hectic schedule. (Kelly's Pub, Tampa)
ROB WIESENHIEMER & THE PALMETTO REJECTS/XTIAN GOBLYN/WOLFY LONESOME If you're tired of the usual in Suncoast rock (you know — dudes trying to out-scream one another), hit up this night at Rasher's. Wiesenhiemer, his Rejects and Wolfy Lonesome work a hybrid of gritty folk, honky-tonk country and gnarly punk that I'd call "alt-country" if I had to pick a name. Xtian Goblyn actually uses drums and plugged-in instruments, but the sensibility is not far removed from their partners in rawk. (Rasher Tierney's, Bradenton) —Cooper Levey-Baker
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11
PROJEKT REVOLUTION TOUR w/ LINKIN PARK/MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE/HIM/JULIEN-K/MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE/TAKING BACK SUNDAY/PLACEBO/SAOSIN/STYLES OF BEYOND/THE BLED The fourth installment of this annual Linkin Park-headlined concert tour promises to showcase several standouts of the alt-music scene. In addition to Linkin Park's own fiery brand of rapcore, concert ragers will surely enjoy emo-punk-pop by the increasingly renowned My Chemical Romance; dark, new wave electronica by Julien-K, a side project of Orgy members Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck; heavy but melodic rock by MTV darlings Taking Back Sunday and super energetic, electronic-infused acid rock by Mindless Self Indulgence, a coed band of misfits known for putting on a flamboyantly provocative stage show. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —Leilani Polk
CELEBRATE THE SONGWRITER w/CAT CHESHIRE/SCOTT JOGWICK/DAWN WILLEY/CHUCKY LUV Cat Cheshire, probably the best known on this roster of local talents, offers jazzy folk indebted to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, while Chucky Luv offers his take on the Ben Harper/Jack Johnson thing. (Pro Star Sound Recording, St. Petersburg)
THE ABSENCE One of Tampa's most successful death metal bands plays a hometown gig to celebrate the release of its new album Riders of the Plague before embarking on a national tour with Black Dahlia Murder and The Red Chord. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
DAVE MATTHEWS TRIBUTE BAND Fifteen hundred people can't be wrong! Last month I posted an entry on my blog, TampaCalling.com, titled "Jannus Landing: Too good for tribute shows." DMTB member Ryan Clifford responded: "For every 1,500 people like you who don't like the idea of a tribute band in general, there are 1,500 who will pay the $15 to spend a night at Jannus. … Why submit a 'proposal' to rain on the parade of those 1,500 people who will have a really enjoyable night?" (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
SOULAR SYSTEM w/BIRD STREET PLAYERS Tallahassee funk band Soular System specialize in creating a collegiate-friendly party vibe. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
METRO STATION w/DANGER RADIO/WE THE KINGS Metro Station are a Hollywood-based band offering synthy disco-pop whose debut album comes out Sept. 18 on Red Ink/Columbia. Danger Radio splits the difference between Sublime-inspired funk and by-the-numbers emo. We The Kings are a promising power pop (with shades of emo) quartet from Bradenton whose self-titled debut CD comes out Oct. 2 on S-Curve Records. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
BENEFIT FOR MELISSA DUCASSE (CN STARZ) OF BRADENTUCKY BOMBERS/SPANKIN' FRESH W/THE DOWNSHIFTERS/BONEY FIEND/THE DIVE BAR STALKERS/THE IN-CROWD/SPANKIN' FRESH The Manatee-to-Tampa punk rock community gets all "Do They Know It's Christmas?" on us locals with this night of raw up-tempo garage rock for a good cause. Bradenton band Spankin' Fresh's Melissa DuCasse was in a horrific, near-fatal car wreck two months ago, and the bills are piling up, so her bandmates organized this benefit gig, calling in favors from their generous-minded friends in the other groups on the bill. (To read more about the story behind the even, check the music feature) Even the venue is getting altruistic on you, as Rasher's opens up its front room to the rock, which is normally relegated to the back bar. (Rasher Tierney's, Bradenton) —CLB
HELL WITHIN/STIGMATIC/338/SYFUR Boston's Hell Within hit up the Suncoast on their current tour up and down the eastern half of the States, packing a so-fast-you-can't-even-tap-your-foot-to-it metal assault. The kick drums pound like pistons, the riffs roar like a revving engine, and the singer growls like he's been locked up in Guantánamo. Hell Within also perform Sunday, Aug. 12, at Crowbar in Ybor City with Blood By Dawn, Limb From Limb and 90 Minute Reflex. (Gallery Billiards, Sarasota) —CLB
COPE w/BROTHER BEAN Dunedin Brewery hosts an evening of jams by bands from both sides of Florida. The Bay area's own COPE is a mostly family group that plays fun, danceable jam-rock marked by three-part harmonies, while Melbourne's Brother Bean bring funk-infused psychedelia to the table. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) —LP
SUNDAY, AUGUST 12
BILLY NORRIS PROJECT w/JULIE BLACK/AL "COFFEE" MCDANIEL Billy Norris: The kid and his band can cook, and they're at their best when the jazz-fusion has an edge to it. Cross your fingers and hope that Billy doesn't get trigger-happy on the effects pedal; one of these days he'll have to settle for being the searing blues revivalist we all know he is. Julie Black is an Illinois-born singer/songwriter/interpreter in the bluesy-jazzy vein, and McDaniel's a soul man with a penchant for pinstripe suits. (Come for Billy but get there early.) (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —Ted Scheinman
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14
DOWN TO EARTH APPROACH w/DAMEIRA/IVORY/TREATY OF PARIS Sunny Day Real Estate-channeling emo rockers Down to Earth Approach are touring in support of their freshly minted sophomore release Come Back to You. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
BLIND BUDDY MOODY Rescued from the local flea-market circuit, this spirited old-timer grabs folks' attention with his percussive guitar playing, harmonica skills and gruff, compelling voice. Set lists are heavy on honky-tonk classics by the likes of Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers. (Ringside Café, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
FAMILY VALUES TOUR w/KORN/EVANESCENCE/ATREYU/FLYLEAF/DROID/FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH/HELLYEAH/INVITRO/NEUROSONIC/TRIVIUM/TWIN METHOD Nu-metal forefathers Korn turned me on to heavy music. I thrashed my way through high school to their first two albums ("You can suck my dick and fucking like it!" is still one of my all-time favorite lyrics), avoided mosh pits at several spirited shows and generally fed my angst-ridden rage until I got older and became less jaded by life. Korn have managed to maintain their popularity over the years by catering to each new generation of tormented teens, their heavy, sinister, now mainstream-friendly music marked by lead singer Jonathan Davis' trademark chanting and screaming vocal style. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —LP
This article appears in Aug 8-14, 2007.