If you've never experienced an evening of solo fingerpicked guitar, put it on your to-do list. You could even check it off soon if you head on out to see Jack Rose, a former member of the drone-rock ensemble Pelt. He's carved a cult niche as an acoustic guitarist who can turn his axe into an orchestra. The Philly-based Rose incorporates an eclectic set of influences into his playing: blues, English and Appalachian folk, John Fahey, avant-rock, flamenco. He can play lush chordal workouts or spare pieces on lap steel and a lot of sounds in between. There's a very good chance you'll be mesmerized. After Rose's set, the drone music collective PoOg will perform.
The EMIT series presents Jack Rose w/PoOg, 9 p.m. Fri., April 6, The Garage, 662 Central Ave., St. Pete. $10 at the door. —Eric Snider
Riddle Us This
A couple of years ago, Jack Spatafora of Aestheticized Productions pushed the St. Louis trio Riddle of Steel like a True Believer. His zealous promotion of the band's early local shows — his one-on-one proselytizing on the band's behalf — was not motivated by selling a few extra ducats for the show; it was about passion. And it was infectious. Turns out Riddle of Steel deserved every bit of Jack's backing. The band has since played Tampa several times and counts the town as one of its most supportive markets. RoS perform a coiled sort of art alt-rock based on tricky, repeated guitar patterns; taut, angular hooks; pell-mell beats and searing vocals. You can hear a bit of The Police, a little Jane's Addiction, but ultimately Riddle of Steel is its own, very engaging, animal — and they really bring it live. Also on the bill is one of the Bay area's most original instrumental post-rock outfits, Auto!Automatic!!.
Riddle of Steel w/Auto!Automatic!!/History/City of Ships, 9 p.m. Sat., April 7, Crowbar, Ybor City. $8. 18+ —ES
Da Bomb
The dapperly dressed Dave Reeder is a fixture of downtown St. Petersburg. He's commonly found on weekends quietly stalking the hipster corridor of Central Avenue, sipping beer at The Emerald, Garage or Uptown, where his five-piece veteran punk band Car Bomb Driver headlines Saturday. For those unfamiliar with Da Bomb, expect three raucous chords and a cloud of punk dust. Although Reeder grew up worshipping The Ramones, he has by no means gotten too old to rock 'n' roll and deliver lyrics like: "Jerking off five times a day/ My parents seem to think I'm gay" — the opening salvo of the smile-inducing "Chicks Don't Dig Me."
Car Bomb Driver w/Dead End Kids/Polka Cowboys, 9 p.m. Sat., April 7, The Uptown Bar, St. Petersburg. Admission: $5. —Wade Tatangelo
This article appears in Apr 4-10, 2007.