THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 08
Hawthorne Heights w/Glendale Lights/The August Name/Lion Faced Boy After many years of yielding to the demands of the record labels that repped them on their first four LPs, gold-selling Dayton, Ohio rock outfit Hawthorne Heights decided to go the independent route and assumed complete control of their creative output, parting ways with Wind-Up earlier this year, launching their own independent imprint, Cardboard Empire, and issuing a series of new EPs beginning with Hate in August. The aggressive nine-track record mixes elements of emo-punk, post-hardcore and alt rock, its lyrical themes of hate, anger and solitude delivered in pained outbursts by lead singer JT. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
The Independents w/Flat Stanley/Crash Mitchell Lace up your shit-kicking boots and prepare to get your pogo, slam, skank and mosh dance on for this high-octane bill of rock headed up by The Independents, a South Carolina horror punk-ska four-piece formed in 1992 by musicians Evil Presly and Willy B., and personally approved by Joey Ramone, who managed the band until his death in '01. (The Hub, downtown Tampa)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 09
Dustin Edge w/Lyndsay Wojcik "Calm, when you're all alone / warm, with a vinyl tone / safe, where the turf is known," Dustin Edge sings in the title track off his recent Calm EP, his gentle sighing murmur paired with mournful slide guitar and a slow-swaying beat. This folk-rootsy style is adopted all throughout the Boulder, Colo. artist's record, some songs marked by haunting-lovely vocal harmonies, others rocking wildly like a wagon with a loose wheel. Also on the bill is Asheville-based songstress Lyndsay Wojcik, who wields an acoustic guitar and has a cotton candy sweet-and-fluffy drawl. (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg)
Brad Paisley w/Blake Shelton/Jerrod Niemann/Sunny Sweeney The next giant country music tour to hit town comes courtesy of Brad Paisley, who supports his traditionalist-leaning ninth album, This Is Country Music, and is currently celebrating his 20th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Country charts, "Remind Me," a duet with fellow country superstar Carrie Underwood. He's joined on his current "H2O II Tour" by fellow Nashville-based country hunk Blake Shelton. While you likely know Shelton best as one of the coaches on NBC's The Voice, he's got his own rising number of chart-toppers, and three of his nine No. 1's were earned in the past year alone. (1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Dukes of Juke w/Late Night Brass Horns Bringing another round of rhythm and blues to the Skipperdome is Dukes of Juke in their umpteenth appearance at the Tampa venue since their first show there more than 25 years ago. For this set, the band is joined by special guest section, Late Night Brass Horns. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Excision w/Cookie Monsta/Baker/Mr. Saturn The dubstep craze is in full effect and the next artist to bring the dirty, fatty bass-and-synth slow-mo breakdown sounds to town is British Columbia DJ/producer Excision aka Jeff Abel. He's been credited with playing an important role in the genre's growth in popularity, though he takes a more aggressive approach to his production, incorporating the wom-wom-wom-wom throughout his song rather than employing the usual build-to-dubstep climax. Cookie Monsta is on-the-rise, and also rolls louder and more in-your-face with his dubstep stylings. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Woodsman w/Guiltmaker/Florida Night Heat The blogosphere hype is set to high right now for Denver's mostly instrumental psyche rock outfit Woodsman. Their music is dark, moodily hypnotic, slow-building propulsive, and rich with hazy walls of sound. The quartet — which released their second proper full-length, Rare Form, on Lefse this year — is most often compared to Animal Collective, likely for their percussive-tribal tendencies, but Woodsman is a bit more folk and drone-leaning. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Cute Lepers w/Something Fierce/Doll Parts Adopting a disgusting oxy moron of a name, and purveying a mix of power pop, mod, late-'80s New Wave and punk rock are Cute Lepers, from Seattle, formed in 2007 by Steve E. Nix (The Briefs) and featuring a couple of female back-up singers that give the songs a snotty cheeky vibe. (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Return to Forever IV w/Zappa Plays Zappa Return to Forever was among several bands in the 1970s that spearheaded the jazz-rock fusion movement while unwittingly raising the bar on musicianship and transforming the musical landscape forever via their experimentations in sound. RTF-IV (re-formed in 2010) features core members Chick Corea (keyboards), Stanley Clarke (bass) and Lenny White (drums), along with Frank Gambale (guitar) and Jean-Luc Ponty (violin). Read Ivan's Q&A with White on p. 47. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Hymn for Her Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing bring whole new meaning to the idea of "life on the road." The DIY husband-and-wife duo perform all necessary tasks from their 1961 vintage Bambi Airstream — raising their family (daughter and black lab Pokey); writing, recording and self-releasing albums of "stomp-grass punk folk with a hint of Americana" (their second and latest is 2010's Lucy & Wayne and the Amairican Stream); and criss-crossing the country on an everlasting tour, road-warriors to the core who make their home wherever they can park the Bambi and play a show. Lucy is known for her skills on cigar box guitar and she uses lots of pedals; Wayne is no slouch himself, jumping between acoustic guitar, banjo, dobro and harmonica all while keeping the beat on kick drum and hi-hat, and both share vocal duties, his a deep twang, hers a dulcet drawl. They've been known to scatter covers amidst their repertoire of originals, so don't be surprised to get a little "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" with your side of cornbread. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room w/John Gold/Dave Hause For his regular gig, Dan Andriano serves as bassist and co-singer of Alkaline Trio. As a solo artist, he explores his quirky poetic side, and has a warm, rusted tone and earnest delivery. On his just-released debut full-length, Hurricane Season, it's just him, an acoustic guitar, and verses like "I want to shake you down, and drag you like a cigarette / No I ain't smoked in years, but the thought still gets my lips wet" (from "Hollow Sounds") and "For all those nights I would drink until I found the guts to speak, and then threw them up all over the place" (from "Say Say Say"). (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Bart Walker Band feat. Reese Wynans A Sunday evening Southern-fried blues rock special headed up by gruff-voiced gunslinger Bart Walker, who wails soulful on guitar and has been tapped as the lead guitarist for B.B. King's All-Stars. His band also features Hammond B-3 extraordinaire Reese Wynans (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble), bassist Paul Ossola (G.E. Smith and the SNL Band), and drummer Jim Thistle. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Polar Bear Club w/Fireworks/Balance And Composure/Make Do And Mend A week packed with punk rock continues with Rochester, N.Y.'s buzzed-about Polar Bear Club. The driving melodic punk band arrives in town only a few days before dropping their soaring anthemic third full-length, Clash Battle Guilt Pride (Bridge Nine Records), which Alternative Press calls "a collection of moving songs unified by skillful, understated songwriting and a warmer, more organic tone." (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Bright Eyes Conor Oberst brings earnest, heartfelt feeling to rootsy upbeat indie electro-rock outfit, Bright Eyes, with Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott filling in the other two permanent spots, and a rotating cast of aux players rounding out their sound in both the studio and on tour. (House of Blues, Orlando)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Rust Belt Lights w/The Tired and True/Legend Has It A young hardcore punk act from Buffalo, N.Y., Rust Belt Light crafts fast and punchy songs like the anti-negativity anthem, "Haters Get Hated" (off their recent split 7" with I Call Fives), or longer more contemplative odes that wax nostalgic, as in "Sleep Tight" off their latest LP and debut on Paper + Plastick, 2010's These Are The Good Old Days. Vocalist Zach Dietsch sings in appropriately anguished wails or more aggressive gut-wrenching screams, with rah rah choruses backing him up. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Showcase Nite: Barely Metro / Unpainted Souls / Honey Miller Band / Troy Youngblood A regular showcase featuring bands that haven't yet played the Skipperdome stage. Among the performers this week are Barely Metro, a blues and country-folk rock outfit led by guitarist Chris Widner and percussionist Paul "Ribs" Johnson, who apparently has a rig that incorporates an electric kitchen sink and a washboard; and Honey Miller Band, a sextet that mixes elements of jazz, rock and blues that reminiscent of Santana. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Julie Dexter WMNF kicks off five day's worth of events celebrating its 32nd birthday on the actual date that the community radio station first hit local airwaves. The evening begins with a poetry open mike hosted by Kwabena Dinizulu. A concert of jazz and reggae-tinged neo-soul by Julie Dexter follows. The Atlanta-by-way-of-Birmingham, England vocalist has an expressive style and impressive range, and is a classically-trained musician who writes, arranges, composes and produces her music. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
Stryper w/Killinger/20 Shades For their ninth studio album, eminent Christian metal group Stryper — which includes distinctive-toned vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet, guitarist Oz Fox, bassist Tim Gaines and drummer Robert Sweet — tackled classic songs by bands that influenced and shaped their musical identity. The selections range from Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" to "Carry on My Wayward Son" by Kansas. To diffuse any potential backlash about the LP's non-Christian content, primary songwriter Sweet brewed up an all new Stryper tune, "God," and closed the album with it to drive home the band's dedication and seriousness when it comes to their faith. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
DJ Pauly D Just when you thought you were in a market small enough to avoid a brush with overtanned juice-headed nonsense of MTV's Jersey Shore, you get a club appearance by the record-spinning member of the bunch, who is milking his 15 minutes for all it's worth (and coming off as a charming rogue in the process). Love him or hate him, you have to admire his moxy; the dude's pretty self-confident for having such limited talents. (The Venue, Clearwater)
Atari Teenage Riot w/Otto von Schirach A hyper-political trio active from 1992 to 2000, Atari Teenage Riot officially disbanded after the psychosis-related drug overdose of founding member Carl Crack, and was revived in 2010 by one of two remaining members, Alec Empire (vocals, synths, drum machines), who brought on two new members and tackled issues like human trafficking and corporate green on ATI's 2011 record, Is This Hyperreal? (Firestone Live, Orlando)
This article appears in Sep 8-14, 2011.