Thursday, May 31
JON SECADA AND FLORIDA ORCHESTRA This is quite a high-profile gig for the Orchestra. Singing star Jon Secada joins the ensemble for a program of Latin, jazz and pop that will include such hits as "Angel," "Just Another Day," "Window to My Heart," "Same Dream" and "Do You Believe in Us." Secada and his family left Cuba and arrived in Miami when he was 9 years old. In the late '80s, he joined Gloria Estefan's band, and eventually wrote songs for her and earned solo vocal spots on tour. His own career skyrocketed in the early '90s. He's won two Grammys. Secada and the Orchestra should put out a big, lush, romantic sound in the open-air Ford Amp. The concert will be conducted by Gary Anderson. This show concludes the Florida Orchestra's Festival de Musica Latina. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —Eric Snider
MAXI PRIEST Reggae was never meant to be maudlin, but Britain's Maxi Priest (bunch of hits in the '90s) managed to meld the worst of slow-jam R&B with the sounds of Jamaica to create creepy make-out music that just strikes me as wrong. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
Friday, June 1
FERGIE I just can't find any love in my heart for Fergie. Yeah, she's a hottie, and I normally appreciate that in a pop star. But her songs — both with the Black Eyed Peas and her lamebrain solo work — annoy me. The woman has less talent than Britney Spears. And since when were "lady lumps" sexy? Sounds like something that needs a doctor's exam. Fergalicious? So delicious? No thanks. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
MITCH RYDER AND THE DETROIT WHEELS Ryder acted as a pivotal bridge between the pop soul of Motown and the rough-and-ready Detroit rock of the MC5, Stooges and Ted Nugent. In the '60s, his supercharged garage R&B produced major hits that became rock 'n' roll standards: "Jenny Take a Ride," "Devil with a Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Sock it to Me-Baby!" to name a few. The 62-year-old Ryder's frenetic sound, with its penchant for horns, was a major influence on one Bruce Springsteen. These nostalgia shows always carry a certain risk that the sound will be sloppy or tired or both, but the guess here is that Mitch Ryder and his band will bring it hard. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo) —ES
JONNY LANG w/JON MCLAUGHLIN Former teen prodigy Jonny Lang is now a seasoned blues guitar veteran with more than a decade of recording and performing experience behind him. He should have no problem wowing fans with his SRV-indebted solos and poppy melodies/arrangements. Jon McLaughlin (not to be confused with fusion guitarist John McLaughlin) is a piano-playing singer/songwriter. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
RANDALL BRAMBLETT w/ DAMON FOWLER GROUP/PETE GALAGHER/KELLY GREEN Randall Bramblett is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist with a classic Southern voice that recalls that of Gregg Allman, a man with whom Bramblett has recorded during his long, illustrious career. Bramblett was a member of Sea Level and Traffic, and kept busy with studio work before emerging on the Americana scene as a solo artist with his critically acclaimed 2001 New West records debut, No More Mr. Lucky. Bramblett has since released two more well-received albums on the label: Thin Places (2004) and Rich Someday (2006). (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SPAM ALLSTARS DJ Le Spam spins the funkiest of funk with improvisational electronic elements, while the Miami ensemble performs music that fuses Latin, funk, hip-hop and dub into a spicy stew of danceable grooves. Spam Allstars come to town several times a year, but it's always a worthy musical treat. (The Garage, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk
TASTE OF PINELLAS: PETER FRAMPTON w/THE GREG BILLINGS BAND/B.K. JACKSON As a know-it-all teen, I used to relentlessly tease my Pops about his beloved vinyl copy of Frampton Comes Alive! It got heavy airplay in the Tatangelo living room while I hunkered down in my bedroom with headphones blaring Nirvana and Radiohead. Back then, 14-minute feel-good jams like "Do You Feel Like We Do" just sounded corny. Fast forward a decade-plus: Last month someone at Team Frampton mails me a double-disc, fat-liner-notes reissue of, you guessed it, Frampton Comes Alive! I take it home and totally dig it. I attend a pool party with a bunch of people, who, like me, weren't even alive when Frampton's wildly popular (and highly overdubbed) concert document came out in '76. But they were pleased with my selection, which went perfectly with the multiple cases of beer we consumed. Can Frampton still bring it in concert? I might just have to give Pops a call, head out to Vinoy Park and find out. This show is free and Frampton is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg)
HOWARD HEWETT Smooth R&B specialist had a nice string of hits in the mid to late '80s that included "I'm For Real," "I Commit to Love" and "Show Me." (Centro Asturiano, Tampa)
TEN 13 CONCEPT/SELECT START/TEARS IN THE SAHARA Orlando's Ten 13 Concept takes standard pop-punk and salts it with ska horns and electronic atmospherics to create a distinct, high-energy presentation that should elicit serious head-bobbing and maybe even a little dancing. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
THE CHASE THEORY w/SOULFOUND/KILLROY Bradenton's nationally signed emo band The Chase Theory always comes through with memorable, high-energy performances when they play familiar venues like Rasher's, which will likely find the band performing in front of a crowd thick with family and friends. (Rasher Tierney's, Bradenton)
GIDDY-UP, HELICOPTER! CD RELEASE PARTY w/RED ROOM CINEMA/VIOLENCE OR VIOLINS With Giddy-Up, Helicopter!'s first CD release, I Am Secretary, you'll no longer have to hit MySpace to hear them on demand. They share their big night with other Tampa acts: the wistful Red Room Cinema and Violence Or Violins. Fear not, those who think the show might get too mopey: watching Giddy-Up, Helicopter! is like drinking a Red Bull through a Pixy Stix. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Dawn Morgan
Saturday, June 2
CASPER & THE COOKIES w/M. COAST/THE BEAUVILLES/THE UMS Athens, Ga.'s thriving indie scene is on display here with headliner Casper & The Cookies playing a sunny brand of power-pop featuring just enough weirdness to keep things interesting for the A.D.D. set. The four-piece performs songs that are sensitive and uplifting, even if the male lead vocals might be a tad too precious for some tastes. Fellow Athenians M.Coast are a neo-hippie (with an indie sense of detached cool) quintet featuring the lazy-afternoon vocals of Emily Growden and the folksy flute playing of Sara Kirkpatrick. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
B-52'S Speaking of Athens, one of the famed college town's biggest success stories should have no problem wooing visitors away from the zebras and crocs with '80s faves like "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack." (Busch Gardens, Tampa)
SLAUGHTER w/DIRTY BLACK HALO This pop-metal band had an impressive spurt of hits ("Fly to the Angels," "Spend My Life," "Up All Night") from 1990-'92, and then grunge happened, forcing the band into exile. Fortunately for Slaughter, there is nostalgia these days for the acts featured on old MTV late-night programs like Heavy Metal Mania and Headbangers Ball. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
KLIK w/MORRISON POE w/IRRATIONAL St. Pete's Klik make aggressive art-rock that is sold with aplomb by lead vocalist Stephanie Monty, who, with her red hair and similar vocal approach, could be a stand-in for Garbage's Shirley Manson. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
RED ELVISES w/DIVE BAR STALKERS Surf rock and rockabilly served up with plenty of panache and over-the-top showmanship. Fun times courtesy of Skipper's regulars the Red Elvises. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Sunday, June 3
TASTE OF PINELLAS: .38 SPECIAL/JULLIET/MOTEL FUNK/CORDER-ROYS Southern rock cropped up in the early '70s built around a jam-intensive blend of rock, blues, country and jazz. Each band in the genre — be it the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws or an array of others — carved out its own niche. .38 Special, fronted by Donnie Van Zant (younger brother of Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant) rode in late and scored a series of hits with a decidedly pop bent: "Hold on Loosely," "Caught up in You," "Back Where You Belong" and others. Those hits came in the '80s when Southern rock was effectively dead. One could ask: Did .38 Special have a hand in killing it? The band's set is at 5 p.m. Julliet, a longstanding Bay area pop-metal band, performs at 3:30. Another local, Motel Funk, which dubs its music "funk-pop-a-roll," goes on at 2:15, with The Corder-Roys at 1. This show is free. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg) —ES
XIOMARA ALFARO This actress and former back-up singer for Celia Cruz was born in Havana, Cuba, and has been entertaining in Las Vegas and beyond since the 1950s. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
EL-P w/HANGAR 18/YAK BALLZ/SLOW SUICIDE STIMULUS Brooklyn hip-hopper El-P is one of the leading artists in underground hip-hop. He's leading alt-hop label Definitive Jux, and he's bringing along some of his acts from the label. For more on El-P, see the music feature on p. 55. (Orpheum, Ybor City) —ES
SOUL 2 EARTH w/THOMAS WYNN & THE BELIEVERS Even a heathen could appreciate some sweet-sounding church music in the cozy confines of the Skipperdome. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Monday, June 4
DAN DEACON w/VIDEO HIPPOS/BONZ XYLOPHONE Dan Deacon makes whacked-out electronic compositions, his one-man live shows likened to performance art and modern-day vaudeville. He's among the surge of "future shock" musicians coming out of the underground Baltimore music scene. Deacon will be joined by fellow Baltimoreans and future-shockers Video Hippos, a duo that produces a "full-fledged ground assault of sound," with distorted bass, keyboard loops and plenty else. The music of Winter Park's Bonz Xylophone is bouncy, digital fun. For more about Deacon, see the music story on p. 59. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —LP
Tuesday, June 5
STATE RADIO The trio from Cambridge, Mass., creates a classic rock sound with hints of reggae and half spoken/half-sung vocals, often featuring socially conscious lyrics. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, June 6
CROSSFADE Purveyors of the highly processed neo metal favored by 98Rock, Crossfade hit big a couple years back with the single "Cold." (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 5, 2007.