THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL w/PANIC AT THE DISCO/PLAIN WHITE T'S/THE CAB The envy of nearly all emo purveyors, Dashboard Confessional's Christopher Carrabba has ruled the oh-so-earnest genre with a gentle hand since the early '00s. (USF Sun Dome, Tampa)
METRO STATION w/SHWAYZE/TYGA/CASH CASH Damn, that Cyrus clan knows how to work the music biz. Miley/Montana sibling Travis Cyrus fronts electro-rockers Metro Station, which had a recent Top 10 hit with the hilariously horny dance-floor number "Shake It." Like Jamie Kennedy in that mess of a flick, Malibu's Most Wanted, Shwayze is a rapper from the 'Bu. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
TH' LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS w/PINE HILL HAINTS Nashville nasties Th' Legendary Shack Shakers delight their rabid fan base — which includes golden god Robert Plant — with winningly perverted takes on trad Southern music. Singer J.D. Wilkes keeps things lively by bounding around the stage shirtless and throwing freshly yanked pubes at the audience. He also enjoys spitting on his fans. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
BOBAFLEX w/ HYDROVIBE/SISTER KILL CYCLE/The D.O.O.D./STUK/INYO Featuring descendants of the McCoy family (as in the forever feuding Hatfield-and-McCoys), West Virginia's Bobaflex are clinging to what remains of the nu-metal crowd. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
SIDE DOOR JAZZ: MICHAEL ROSS QUARTET Ace acoustic bass man Ross leads one of the more imaginative, improvisationally adroit jazz ensembles in the Bay area. (Palladium Theater, St. Pete) —Eric Snider
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7
COLDPLAY I'd rather learn how to play cricket from the world's snootiest Brit than attend a Coldplay show. But, y'know, that's just me. The OK Computer-era Radiohead revivalists are beloved by millions, many of whom are from Tampa Bay and will be making the terrible I-4 trek to hear Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow whine. (Amway Arena, Orlando)
.357 STRING BAND w/SKULL AND BONE BAND/BLIND BUDDY MOODY A high-powered Milwaukee bluegrass outfit, .357 String Band specialize in delectably decadent numbers like "Down on a Bender," "One More Round" and "Up Jump the Devil." (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
THE TOASTERS w/FLATFOOT 56/MAGADOG/HUB CITY STOMPERS Seminal third-wave ska band The Toasters drop by The State to show the kids who Less Than Jake learned from. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH w/IN THIS MOMENT/BURY YOUR DEAD/ANOTHER BLACK DAY Recently formed L.A. thrashers Five Finger Death Punch bring the brawn promised in its name — but also know how to groove. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
JOHN ANDERSON w/ADAM GREGORY Apopka's favorite son John Anderson has maintained a long, lucrative country music career by sticking to a solid neo-traditional style, regardless of what was topping the charts on any given year. His hits range from fun two-steppers like 1983's "Swingin'" to the stirring pro-Native American ballad "Seminole Wind," which was a smash in 1992. (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
BADFISH: A TRIBUTE TO SUBLIME Join the frat-bro set for sing-alongs of "What I Got," "Santeria" and "Smoke Two Joints." (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
STRANGE DESIGN w/CHRISTE LENNEE & THE FUNKGRASS GROOVE Phish has reformed, but that hasn't prevented the band from enjoying the tribute treatment. Strange Design promises to re-create Phish shows in their entirety. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
BASIC ROCK OUTFIT One of Tampa's top bar bands returns to familiar stomping grounds for evening of easy-on-the ears originals and crowd-pleasing covers. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
CHRIS CAGLE Central Florida resident Cagle is best known for the brain-dead 2004 smash "Chicks Dig It," but the title track to his '05 album, Anywhere But Here, ranks as one of the finest Nashville productions of recent memory. A terrific tearjerker, the song finds a recently dumped alcoholic drowning his sorrows at a bar. He's spotted by a friend of his ex and begs the person to lie to her about his whereabouts and wrecked condition. A sad yet understatedly hopeful song, it includes the hometown shout-out "Tell her I'm in Tampa, on the causeway, watching the waves roll in." (The Round-Up, Tampa)
MICHAEL W. SMITH w/STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN Hallelujah! It's a double dose of contemporary Christian music, a genre I loathe, ironically enough, just as much as death metal. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
GIDDY UP, HELICOPTER! w/NORTHVIA/SPRINGFIELD CUBS Oh, local shoegazers Giddy-Up, Helicopter! are still gigging. Good for them. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
MOJO GURUS w/DYSFUNKSHUNLBAND The 'Burg's best blooze-rockers dip south of the Skyway to rock Bradenton's Ace's Lounge, a rad, 2-story room with great sound and sight lines that's been around for years. (Ace's Lounge, Bradenton)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8
WILD 98.7'S LAST DAMN SHOW 10 Coke rapper Young Jeezy, who sucked ass at 98.7's Wild Splash last year, headlines. On a positive note, check out emo/rap/funk ensemble Gym Class Heroes. Those dudes totally won me over at Warped Tour this summer. For complete schedule, see wild987.fm. (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg)
THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA w/JEFFREY LEWIS While the rock scene sank in post-grunge gloom, POTUSA injected some much-needed humor with hits like "Kitty," "Lump" and "Peaches." (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
HATE ETERNAL w/ORDER OF ENNEAD/THE ABSENCE St. Pete's own Hate Eternal brings old-school, brutal death metal to the State Theatre for a one-off headlining gig before hitting the road to tour with Arizona's Job for a Cowboy. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —Brandon Hallifield
LEATHERFACE w/FORMER CELL MATES/TILTWHEEL/THE TIM VERSION/TOO MANY DAVES Underrated British punk revivalist Leatherface has been delivering melodic-yet-volatile stomps since the early 1990s. (Transitions Art Gallery at Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
BUFFALO STRANGE w/COPE A pair of Tampa Bay's most popular jam band's join forces, with Buffalo Strange bringing a more sunny vibe and Cope taking the rougher, more rocking route. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9
MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO'S w/WILD SWEET ORANGE Royal Tenenbaums-loving Margot and the Nuclear So and So's are a quirky chamber-pop collective from Indianapolis that has drawn comparisons to everyone from Arcade Fire to Bright Eyes to The Shins. But we're definitely not hearing the Arcade Fire. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
THE PINK SPIDERS w/CRUISERWEIGHT/MONDO PRIMO Punk-pop trio The Pink Spiders hit the airwaves a couple years back with cuts culled from their major-label debut, Teenage Graffiti, which was produced by power-pop master Ric Ocasek. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10
CELTIC THUNDER Irish music done with a Vegas flair. Celtic Thunder performs songs ranging from Emerald Isle folk to Eagles tripe like "Desperado." (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
SISTERS OF MERCY w/HYPERNOVA English goth granddaddies broke up in the early 1990s but have been revived by singer/songwriter/sole constant member Andrew Eldritch. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
UNWED SAILOR w/LOOK MEXICO/PETROGRAD IN TRANSIT Seattle's Unwed Sailor will attempt to outplay the bar din with its meticulously crafted instrumental post-rock. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11
HOOTS & HELLMOUTH w/HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL Hoots & Hellmouth, like Dr. Dog, is a Philly band that brilliantly updates late-1960s folk-rock. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
COBRA STARSHIP w/FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS, HIT THE LIGHTS, SING IT LOUD Cobra Starship has the distinction of having a hit with the catchy, highly annoying "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)." (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
BRING ME THE HORIZON w/MISERY SIGNALS/THE GHOST INSIDE/JOHNNY TRUANT English death-metallers Bring Me the Horizon distinguish themselves from the growl-and-pound pack thanks to a pinched-nuts-high-voiced singer. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
MAYLENE AND THE SONS OF DISASTER w/A STATIC LULLABY/SHOWBREAD/CONFIDE/ATTACK ATTACK Booted from locally formed Christian metalcore superstars Underoath, singer Dallas Taylor assembled the similar sounding Maylene And The Sons of Disaster. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
REHAB w/HEAVY MOJO Although the name suggests an Amy Winehouse tribute band, Rehab is actually a hip-hop duo that does its flow with helpings of Southern rock. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
This article appears in Nov 5-11, 2008.