Sarah Kass
THURS 12
Karl Blau w/Little Wings A mostly underrated but still celebrated indie artist, Karl Blau is a prolific singer, songwriter, producer, instrumentalist and overall sound explorer from Washington who works within an array of aesthetics — electro out-there, anti-folk, alt roots, Afro-pop, psyche rock. Blau is joined on his current tour by K Records labelmate Little Wings, the quirky rootsy project of Kyle Field, who has worked with anyone from M. Ward to Devendra Banhart to Grandaddy, his tender vocals rich and husky all at once. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
Daytrader w/Daylight/Seahaven/Bible Dinosaurs/Collision "Kill My Compass" is the lead-off single on Daytrader's 2011 EP, Last Days of Rome, its refrain a howling plea: "And say that you remember me / Past the time and past the place / We're dead already." The power pop and post-hardcore punk-inflected outfit hails from Brooklyn and features current and ex-members of Crime in Stereo, Latterman/Bridge and Tunnel/Monikers. (Transitions Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa)
FRI 13
Gypsy Heatwave Warmup: Caravan of Thieves w/Barons Of Tang/Bachaco The pre-Heatwave party is headlined by three-year-old roaming acoustic swing quartet Caravan of Thieves, which brings a sense of playful vaudevillian drama to their vibrant gypsy sound. Husband-and-wife songwriting team Fuzz and Carrie Sangiovanni lead the band in mesmerizing or madcap vocal harmonies and dual acoustic guitar strumming, Fuzz throwing in Flamenco-style plucking, double bassist Brian Anderson adding low-end bounce and violinist Ben Dean rounding it out with wailing fiddle solos and fills. Live shows are vigorous intoxicating affairs with percussive breakdowns and a repertoire that includes original compositions with satirical narratives and quirky fun covers by Talking Heads ("Psycho Killer"), Queen ("Bohemian Rhapsody") and Bach ("Tocatta In E," nestled within their own song, "Bar Isole"). From their Facebook profile: "If Django Reinhardt, the cast of Stomp and the Beatles all had a party at Tim Burton's house, Caravan of Thieves would be the band they hired." (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Candlebox Seattle's post-grunge outfit burned bright in the '90s with hits like "Far Behind" and "You" (both from their multi-platinum self-titled debut), and "Simple Lessons," the sole single that did well enough to earn gold certification for 1995's Lucy. The band has since dissolved, then re-emerged in 2006 following a best-of compilation and recorded a fourth album, Into the Sun, released in 2008 and followed shortly after by a live CD/ DVD set, Alive in Seattle. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Swamp Logic w/Jubal's Kin Tampa's own muddy funk and NOLA jazz-fused outfit Swamp Logic is joined by out-of-town Florida-based guests, Jubal's Kin, a trio fronted by harmonizing music-making siblings Roger and Gailanne Amundsen (on acoustic guitar and fiddle, respectively). (Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa)
Memphis May Fire w/Decoder/Ten After Two/That's Outrageous! Heading up the "Rise Records Tour" is Memphis May Fire, a Texas-based Southern rock-fused post-hardcore outfit that mixes gut roars with melodic clean wailing, thick riffs, and pounding rhythms into a heavy pulsating brew; their new Rise release, The Hollow, dropped in April. (Brass Mug, Tampa)
Two Cow Garage w/The Only Sons/Have Gun Will Travel/Matt Woods Ninebullets.net writer/founder and WMNF radio host Bryan Childs (aka Autopsy IV) celebrates another year of whiskey-kicking life with a bill featuring several of his favorite acts the night before they're due to hit Heatwave — heavy stomping alt-country rockers Two Cow Garage, Tennessee twangy Springsteen-influenced Ninebullets.net "house band" The Only Sons, the area's beloved purveyors of high-octane sepia-washed Americana, Have Gun Will Travel, and Knoxville acoustic guitar strumming crooner, Matt Woods. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Terror w/Stick to Your Guns/Trapped Under Ice/Close Your Eyes/Your Demise/Go Rydell LA hardcore punk metalcore outfit Terror crushes with a pounding sound and barked-shouted lyrics like "I pay to watch you burn" ("Your Enemies are Mine") and "I shattered the insides of something I can't replace, but would you even care?" ("Shattered"). Live, vocalist Scott Vogel is known for keeping it light with plenty of banter and stagedives. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
The Miles Project Miles Davis is celebrated in a collaborative work of sound and movement by two Sarasota cultural groups — Jazz Juvenocracy, a six-piece made up of young (under 18) jazz musicians, and Fuzión Dance Artists, a modern troupe led by award-winning choreographer Leymis Bolanos Wilmott. (Jaeb Theater at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa)
Otis Gibbs w/ Rebecca Zapen Gibbs is a gruff-voiced, straightforward, socially-conscious artist whose upbringing in a rural Indiana town colors the narratives of his folk-roots songwriting and "love songs for young radicals." The Billy Bragg-approved musician, now based in Nashville, released his fifth studio album in 2010, Joe Hill's Ashes, the subject matter ranging from musings on death and the fake face of the music industry ("Where Only The Graves Are Real"), to railings against Greyhound buses ("The only reason you're here is you're too broke to fly / There's a devil named poverty who has brought us together / Now the devil is taking us for a ride.") (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg)
SAT 14
Plain White T's After playing it for nearly a decade, Plain White T's exploded out of the Chicago music scene in 2007 with the Grammy-nominated hit, "Hey There Delilah." The pop-rock outfit stops in town following the release of a new album, Wonders of the Younger. Its first single, "Rhythm of Love," has become the band's fastest-selling single to date. "The album is all about nostalgia and being a kid," Plain White T's vocalist Tom Higgenson told me in a recent phone interview. "There are songs about pirates. I think it's very fitting for us to find the 'treasure' at the end of our tour." He's referring to the intimate poolside show his band plays at The Club at Treasure Island this Saturday. A limited number of tickets are available to nonmembers for $35, with a portion of proceeds to benefit All Children's Hospital. Check out my complete Q&A with Higgenson at cltampa.com/music. (The Club at Treasure Island) —Melissa Beck
Ruth Eckerd Hall on the Road/Rays Concert Series: Darius Rucker Hootie and the Blowfish's former frontman, Rucker took a country music turn a few years ago and brings some soulfulness to his twangy sound. (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg)
Uh Huh Her w/Diamonds Under Fire LA two-piece Uh Huh Her produces New Wave-informed electro pop marked by the matching silver-toned vocal harmonies of co-songwriters Leisha Hailey (keyboards, bass) and Camila Grey (keyboards, guitar). The former is best known for her role on Showtime's The L Word and as one-half of The Murmurs; the latter was once a member of Mellodrone and is currently a backup player in Adam Lambert's touring band. The pretty sirens are currently hyping their forthcoming sophomore full-length, Nocturnes, recorded with Wendy Melvoin (Prince & the Revolution) at the producer's personal studio in LA and due out later this summer. They offer a six-song Black and Blue EP to tide fans over until its release — but it's only available at their shows. Check out the title track at soundcloud.com/uhhuhher; and read Tiffany Razzano's interview with Uh Huh Her at cltampa.com/music. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
SUN 15
Parallels w/Young Egypt Another high quality '80s-inspired act, Parallels, hails from Canada and began in 2008 as the solo indietronica project of producer/composer/drummer Cameron Findlay (formerly of Crystal Castles). He soon brought on girlishly honey-voiced singer Holly Dodson, who's earned comparisons to the likes of Kate Bush, Kylie Minogue and early-era Madonna. The duo recorded and released their first LP, Visionaries, in 2010. Their twinkling uptempo disco pop is layered with Hi-NRG and EBM dance overtones, and built with vintage synthesizers. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Mac Miller w/Rapsody "But I take over the world when I'm on my Donald Trump shit / Look at all this money, ain't that some shit," Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller drones in "Donald Trump," comparing himself to a rich douchebag tycoon who he aspires to be like one day and adding a healthy dose of misogyny for good measure. But he's only 19, so he still has some growing to do (and some boorishness to grow out of), and at least "Live Free," the second track off his 2011 EP, On And On And Beyond, has a positive reach-for-your-dreams message (if you can forget his dream is to be like Trump). (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Flat Earth Society w/Stolen Idols The day after playing the Cuban Club Cantina at Tropical Heatwave, 15-piece Belgian big band Flat Earth Society (described as "the sonic equivalent of a freak show — weird, wonderful and like nothing you've come across before") brings colorful Zappa-progressive avant jazz arrangements and moments of improvisation to a theater with acoustics well-suited to their sound. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
TUES 17
The Love Language w/Andy Matchett & The Minks/Halibut North Carolina's Stuart McLamb didn't mean to put together a retrofied lo-fi pop band with a penchant for big beat percussion and wall-of-sound swells. In fact, the songs on 2009's The Love Language were originally written by McLamb while he was holed up in a storage space with some instruments and a multi-track recorder, attempting to channel the intense emotional backlash of a break-up via music. For his sophomore effort and first release on Merge Records, 2010's Libraries, McLamb adopted the album title as a working band name and brought on a new ensemble of musicians to tour with him to support it, including album producer/engineer BJ Burton on guitar. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Alias Julius Trio w/Greg West Detroit-raised, Tampa Bay-based singer-songwriter Alias Julius sings in a smoky drawl, plays harmonica, and writes rootsy slide guitar-drenched folk-rock numbers with verses like "You only love me on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Tuesday and Thursdays are the days she don't love you." She's joined by Atlanta acoustic rocker Greg West. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WED 18
Girl Talk Pittsburgh's Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) is an electronic music phenom known for his technique of cutting, splicing and layering samples from other artists' songs — melodies, verses, riffs, rhythms and various other sonic parts — to create his own super mashed-up pop collages. His fifth work, 2010's All Day, clocks in at 71 minutes and features 372 overlapping samples with the usual hip-hop drive. It's the sort of music that keeps you grinning, sometimes because of the audacity of artists that run into each other, like LL Cool J and The Clash, or Radiohead and Ol' Dirty Bastard. (Download a free copy at illegal-art.net/allday.) This tour, Girl Talk is accompanied by a 12-man production crew that adds visual appeal — designer lights, video, a custom LED wall — to his live show. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Lovers An all-female electro-pop trio from Portland that released their first LP, Dark Light, last fall on Badman Recordings. (Sacred Grounds, Tampa)
BBQ Wednesday Acoustic Series: Rebekah Pulley The next artist to appear for the hump-day series is a CL favorite — roots-folk rock singer-songwriter and multi-Best of the Bay award winner Rebekah Pulley. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
ALSO THIS WEEK
Grateful Dead Night Deluxe w/Uncle John's Band/Ramblegrass Thurs., May 12, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa
Nelms/Chavers Fri., May 13, Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg
Cope / Bobby Lee Rodgers Fri., May 13, The Local 662, St. Petersburg
Drop D / Manifest Destiny / Prophet / Reality 02 / Crim / many more Fri., May 13, Crowbar, Ybor City
The Groves Fri., May 13, Market on 7th, Ybor City
Midday By the Bay Series w/Rebekah Pulley Fri., May 13, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg
DOCO Fri., May 13, Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
Friday Extra Concert Series: Have Gun, Will Travel w/Lauris Vidal Fri., May 13, Lowry Park Bandshell, Tampa
Rock-A-Silly Saturday Night w/The Hamiltones Sat., May 14, The Dirty Shame, Ybor City.
Julie Black Sat., May 14, Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg
Jennings & Keller Sat., May 14, Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg
Landon Korabek Inaugural OneLove Memorial JamFest w/Shenanigans/The Taints Sat., May 14, Fairway Pizza, Palm Harbor
The Only Sons Sun., May 15, Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa
O Som Do Jazz Sun., May 15, Westminster Presbyterian Church, St. Petersburg
Shai Hulud w/Foundation/Venia/Endwell/many others Sun., May 15, Transitions Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa
Dan McMillion's High Octane Tribute To Maynard Big Band w/Zephyrhills High School Jazz Ensemble Sun., May 15, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa
My Chemical Romance w/Architects Wed., May 18, House of Blues, Orlando
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.