THURSDAY, JULY 19
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK Minnesota power poppers Motion City Soundtrack return to St. Pete to play quirky, catchy material like "Let's Get Fucked Up and Die" (the song's not as morbid as the title suggests) as well as material from their new Epitaph album Even if it Kills Me, due out Sept. 18. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
NATTY MOSS BOND This popular scenester and gifted singer leads one of the most fun, female-centric open-mic nights in town, with popular local performers like Rebekah Pulley often stopping in to show support. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
SAFETY w/RADIO RESET/THE UPSIDERS/THE FLAMING TSUNAMIS Upstart Tampa record label Copacetic has taken over Crowbar this weekend, starting tonight with a loud rock bash featuring one of its acts, Safety, a hardcore punk trio packing a taut sound full of piss and vinegar — and just a hint of pop polish. Fellow Bay area band Radio Reset brings the alternative rock sound with touches of emo and New Wave. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
DESTROYER DESTROYER w/ARCHITECT Get yer ya yas out, grindcore fans, with Destroyer, Destroyer, a band from Oklahoma City that's dead serious about annihilating every eardrum in attendance. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, JULY 20
RICHARD BUCKNER w/SIX PARTS SEVEN/ZILLIONAIRE/HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL A venerable member of the contemporary folk/alt-country scene, Richard Buckner's a whiskey-voiced singer with a sharp eye for poetic detail who alternates between introspective confession and rich narratives. In his songs, women shed "Tequila tears" under the "sleepy sun," and angry husbands argue with their downtrodden wives. Supporting Buckner is Ohio's Six Parts Seven, an instrumental shoegaze ensemble buoyed by organic instrumentation such as lap steel and trumpet. Bradenton's Have Gun, Will Travel is quickly establishing itself as the best alt-country outfit in the area and the most talented new band to emerge on the scene in recent years. Melodic Tampa indie band Zillionaire rounds out the bill (not, as incorrectly reported in a previous version of this column, the Rhode Island band of the same name). (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
PICKFORD SUNDRIES w/BLIND BUDDY MOODY/TOBY BONAR Brett Steele has spent the past couple of decades managing brother Kevin's bands Roxx Gang and Mojo Gurus, both of which landed national record deals. In recent months, Steele Management has turned its smart touch to booking local shows by a variety of artists including this commendable "Night of Blues & Bluegrass" featuring Tampa jamgrassers The Pickford Sundries with support from Toby Bonar, one of the Bay area's finest finger-style pickers and country blues vocalists. Blind Buddy Moody is an old-timer that the Steele brothers discovered working the flea-market circuit. Talk about magnetic: Moody sits up there with his acoustic guitar and harmonica and blows the crowd away with searing covers of country classics by the likes of Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. Not convinced? Go to MySpace.com/blindbuddymoody, and listen to his performance of "T for Texas," cut recently at Ringside Café when he opened for the Gurus. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
T-PAIN w/SEAN KINGSTON Tallahassee rapper/computer-enhanced crooner T-Pain first hit big in '05 when he was smitten by a certain exotic dancer ("I'm N Luv Wit a Stripper") and returned to the top of the charts again this year by delivering the timeless albeit grammatically challenged come-on "Can I Buy You a Drank." I saw T-Pain perform a few months back in Clearwater at Wild Splash, and I'm fairly certain he lip-synced the singing parts. I know, I know, big surprise. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
SEVEN MARY THREE Alternative-somethings Seven Mary Three — the name's apparently ripped from an episode of ChiPS, though they say it's also "biblical" — will be very loud at the State Theatre. Between hard-rocking songs that sound slightly less overblown than Creed, diehard fans will sit through acoustic clichés that, um, emote … something. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —Ted Scheinman
SIXX YEAR BENDER/CODE ZERO/SUNSET LILY The Friday night lineup at Rasher Tierney's in Bradenton is a tidy blast of pure punk. All three bands offer variations on the fast 'n' loud theme. The headliner, Sixx Year Bender, offers a faithful SoCal rendering, with smartass ruminations on drinking, getting drunk and drinking some mo'. Both Code Zero and Sunset Lily plow similar earth, albeit maybe with a touch more thematic reach. (Rasher Tierney's, Bradenton) —Cooper Levey-Baker
LUSH PROGRESS w/KELP/ERIC COLVILLE The second installment of the three-day Copacetic showcase at Crowbar features Tampa's Lush Progress, one of the more dynamic alt-rock bands in town, with keyboardist/cellist Tom Kersey adding textures that nicely complement the sensitive croon of lead vocalist Drew Cutler. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
DAMON FOWLER w/NERVOUS TURKEY Tampa's finest lap-steel/Dobro/Strat player, Damon Fowler and his power trio are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at the Skipperdome. Opener Nervous Turkey should go over nicely, too, thanks to the Howlin'-Wolf-channeling of frontman Ernie Locke. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
TORCHE w/KYLESSA/MADE OUT OF BABIES/MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT Four out-of-town bands signed to various boutique labels share a bill for a night of metal that, as one should expect from a Transitions show, will also include a healthy dose of the experimental. Headliner Torche are a quartet from Miami who deftly split the difference between aggro and melodic with subtle prog flourishes thrown in for good measure. (Transitions Art Gallery @ SkatePark of Tampa, Tampa)
CLASSIC SUMMER JAM w/EXPOSE, LISA LISA AND MANY OTHER ACTS Unless you're of a certain narrow demographic, the all-girl singing group Exposé seems lost to the '80s dustbin. Or maybe I just missed it. I listened to samples of their '80s hits — "Come Go With Me," "Point of No Return," "Seasons Change" (which reached No. 1) and "Let Me Be the One" — and the only song I recognized was the latter. At any rate, Exposé — Madonna wannabes with a touch of new-wave influence — headline the '80s Classic Summer Jam, which will include about a dozen acts pulled out of mothballs from the decade. The other "name" act is Lisa Lisa, who, along with her band Cult Jam, scored a number of hip-hop/dance/pop hits like "All Cried Out," "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion." (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —Eric Snider
SATURDAY, JULY 21
LUKAS ROSSI Remember that reality show Rock Star: Supernova? You know, the one where Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke piss on whatever hard-rock cred they have left and "audition" singers for their "super group?" Perhaps you recall the dude with the heavy eyeliner and blonde highlights who won? That's this dickweed. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
CANDLEBOX w/CINDER ROAD Candlebox hasn't released any new material since 1998, but the original lineup reunited last year for a three-month tour in support of a best-of album. I assume it went well; Candlebox are tentatively scheduled to release a new album in the fall and have assured fans that they will perform some new songs on this tour. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk
DRY COUNTY w/BRER/GERI X/SAM FRIEND/NATHALIA Copacetic's three-day showcase at Crowbar closes with performances by artists that the company promotes but aren't on its label, with headliner Dry County, of Tampa, offering busy indie guitar rock. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
EKOTREN/338/UNKEMPT/DOLT/DEATH MAKES A HOLIDAY Sarasota headbangers, unite! The Gallery invites Cape Coral's EkoTren to headline its weekly metal showcase this go-'round. The band, a regular Suncoast visitor, is still promoting its three-song EP, Destroying the American Dream, a bloody hacksaw of a record that nevertheless manages to lodge itself in your head more than most Florida metal releases out there. (Gallery Billiards, Sarasota) —CLB
SUNDAY, JULY 22
SCREAMING MECHANICAL BRAIN Imagine one of those screamo/grindcore barkers intoning over a really weak Nine Inch Nails track. That's Screaming Mechanical Brain. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
ELEVADO w/MORESIGHT/THE SEMIS Edgy art-rock tricked out with plenty of electronic bells and whistles. Atlanta's Elevado comes to pimp its new, self-released album This World is on Fire. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
CANDYE KANE Wherever she goes, Candye Kane is known for punchy horns and serious sass. The buxom blues diva swings through Skipper's peddling her gaudy brand of urban(e) blues. "200 Pounds of Fun" is how she describes herself on the album Swango, and that's just what she's promising concertgoers. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —TS
TUESDAY, JULY 24
TODD SNIDER w/CHRISTIE LENEE Country music's greatest smart-ass, WMNF fave Todd Snider is the loveable (or loathe-able, depending on who you ask) anti-Nashville singer/songwriter responsible for the hilarious almost-hits "Alright Guy" and the hidden track "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues," both of which appear on his near-classic 1994 debut album Songs For the Daily Planet. Having grappled with a much-publicized drug problem over the years, Snider is reportedly clean and sober, regularly releasing well-received albums such as last year's The Devil You Know and 2002's New Connection. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
REEL BIG FISH w/LESS THAN JAKE/STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO/AGAINST ALL AUTHORITY Southern Cali ska stars Reel Big Fish again join forces with Gainesville ska-mongers Less Than Jake for an evening, of, you guessed it, lots of ska. I last saw Less than Jake at the State Theatre a few months back, and the place was packed and hot as balls. Attendees should expect the same sweaty mess at this show. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 25
TIM MCGRAW w/FAITH HILL The King and Queen of Nashville return to town to remind me how much I hate the direction these two have taken country music — a genre I love, by the way — in recent years. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
MIXTAPE RELEASE PARTY FOR NEECE AND SUPA A bash in honor of two members of Tampa's estimable Umbrella Corporation, Neece is a hardcore rapper with a backpacker's heart. He nimbly — his flow recalls that of Jay Z — tells tales about hustling, with as much of his lyrical content devoted to introspection as it is to boasts. In addition to sets by Neece and Supa, attendees can also expect appearances from fellow Umbrella members Aych, Black Reign and Jersey, plus a guest spot from Orlando rapper Mad Illz. (Full Moon Saloon, Ybor City)
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2007.