THURSDAY, SEPT. 29
ALICE COOPER Vincent Furnier made a name for himself by adopting another one, and being among the first to test the limits of provocative rock 'n' roll theater — no, seriously, back in the day, carrying a snake onstage with you was hard-fucking-core. Of course, it didn't hurt that Cooper and his compadres wrote some of the coolest, stoniest, anti-social rock anthems of the era. These days, Alice is better known as a radio-show host and golf enthusiast, but some of the conservative Republican opinions he's voiced lately are every bit as scary as his pre-Marilyn Manson stage show. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 30
THE SKA IS DEAD TOUR III People have been saying it for so long that one of the best road-shows in the genre took it on as a name for laughs, and they're having the last one. Once again filling hip theaters worldwide, ska seems primed for a major comeback. This installment of the Ska is Dead Tour features performances from headlining old-school heroes The Toasters, as well as slightly punkier third-wave acolytes Streetlight Manifesto, The Planet Smashers, The Know How and Supervillains. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
LOGGINS & MESSINA Before Kenny Loggins became the king of movie theme songs (Caddyshack, Footloose, Top Gun and probably others I can't recall) he was actually pretty good in that '70s SoCal pop kind of way. His Celebrate Me Home and Keep the Fire albums still hold up, although I'd be a liar if I said I owned a copy of either (on the other hand, maybe I do, but just don't have any earthly idea where they might be). He was even better before that, in the first half of the '70s, when he teamed up with guitarist Jim Messina. The duo craftily melded singer-songwriter fare with uplifting pop-rock. In a perhaps ironic twist, before joining Loggins, Messina was an original member of the band Poco, which is playing down the street tonight at the Largo Cultural Center. The guess here is that he won't be sitting in. But you never know… (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —ERIC SNIDER
THE VIBRATORS The Vibrators are one of the few true first-wave Brit-punk pioneers still around — hell, frontman Knox celebrated, no shit, his 60th birthday back at the beginning of September. Nothing against the guy or anything, but I really hope I don't play the Brass Mug the same month I turn 60. Anyhoo, nostalgia and true, snotty U.K. spirit abound, supported by a full bill of local punk acts. (Brass Mug, Tampa)
POCO After Dylan and The Byrds forged a fusion in the mid '60s that came to be called country-rock, a small legion of acts followed, among the most prominent being Poco. The group came up from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. When that band's two high-profile members, Neil Young and Stephen Stills, left, holdovers Richie Furay and Jim Messina (who, yes, is playing down the street tonight with Kenny Loggins) formed an outfit called Pogo. When cartoonist Walt Kelly sued them for cribbing the name from his strip, they changed one consonant and enjoyed success through most of the '70s. Best I can determine, the current Poco lineup is anchored by long-time members Rusty Young and Paul Cotton, but lacks Furay. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo) —ES
SWINGDANCE USA TAMPA BAY Just when you thought the Bay area couldn't get any cooler, hipper and more cutting edge, it plays host to a three-day swing-dance convention. Not to bag, but the photos accompanying the press releases for this sucker don't show a bunch of beautiful tattooed Bettie Page acolytes and killer zoot-suited dudes — they show families getting tips on box-steps from a guy with a megaphone. But, hey, whatever keeps you from climbing an overpass embankment with 30.06, right? Tonight's convention kickoff occurs at Ybor City's Asturiano, and includes a 6 p.m. meet-and-greet, 8 p.m. dance and special appearances by rug-cutters from all over the world. Tomorrow, the festivities move to St. Pete's Coliseum for the Main Event, which features various afternoon workshops, a 6 p.m. dance-off and an 8 p.m. performance by Barbara Morrison and The All-Star Swing Band; then it's back to Tampa, the Zendah Grotto and all sorts of workshops and dancing for Swingdance USA's final day/evening. For more information, call 813-960-7198, or log onto www.swingdanceusa.com. (Centro Asturiano, Ybor City; The Coliseum, St. Petersburg; Zendah Grotto, Tampa)
SATURDAY, OCT. 01
THE HELLRAISERS BALL At first, it sounded like one of those obviously fabricated rumors you hear from time to time: Some of metal's biggest names are going to descend upon, of all places, Pinellas Park's Town Square Plaza Park for an afternoon of unscrupulously heavy mayhem. Then, all of a sudden, it turned out to be true. Not only that, but freakin' Motorhead is headlining, in one of a scant few American appearances to be made this year! Want more? Here you go: Hatebreed, God Forbid, Meshuggah, The Haunted, Devildriver (that tool from Coal Chamber's new band), Otep, Mnemic, and Cemetery will also appear, along with locals End of the Rope, Trigger Point and Reflux. No, I'm not kidding at all. The whole thing kicks off at 11 a.m. Here's a tip: go get your tickets NOW. Town Square Plaza Park is located at 5121 80th Ave. N. in Pinellas Park. (Town Square Plaza Park, Pinellas Park)
SLIGHTLY STOOPID Nicer and smoother than Sublime, but drawing that same weird mix of the stoned and the violent that Sublime did, the strum/pop/jam/reggaefied men of Slightly Stoopid are alumni of the late Bradley Nowell's Skunk Records, and have been bringing resin-choked sounds of the SoCal surf community to the world at large since the mid '90s. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
ORQUESTRA INFINIDAD This eclectic 11-piece Latin sound machine is led by Cuban trumpeter Pedro Bullaudy, and puts together classic Island and Central and South American rhythms, from merengue to salsa to mambo, with a contemporary energy and infectious pop-grounded sensibility. Come early for the Latin-inspired cuisine, and stay late to sweat all of it right out of your damn pores on the dance floor. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
SVETOZAR IVANOV Some people just call in their friendly neighborhood piano tuner to break in their new Steinway. St. Pete's First Presbyterian Church has called in Svetozar Ivanov, a member of the Stuart-Ivanov Duo and acclaimed recitalist and orchestra soloist, to do it for 'em. Ivanov is an in-demand pianist across the United States and Europe; in addition to holding chairs on various international classical music-judging panels worldwide, he also happens to teach at USF. First Presbyterian Church is located at 701 Beach Drive. (First Presbyterian Church, St. Petersburg)
THE BRNO CHAMBER SOLOISTS Originally the Moravian Brno Chamber Ensemble, these highly acclaimed players developed a unique take on the chamber format that spotlighted the talents of several gifted players. Tonight's program includes works from composers both iconic and obscure, but you bet there'll be some Bach and Mozart in there. (Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, Tarpon Springs)
SUNDAY, OCT. 02
BAND/TOGETHER: A BENEFIT FOR THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA Our sincerest apologies to all the folks who threw together the slew of benefits for the victims of Hurricane Katrina that immediately followed in the wake of that unbelievable disaster. Things happened very quickly, and we weren't able to pimp so many of the quickly convened charity shows; many props to all the folks that put 'em on, or even decided to donate the proceeds from whatever shows they already had booked over the last couple of weeks. This one came with a little bit of lead time, however — and the Planet is a co-sponsor, so we knew about it from the get-go — so we'll just throw it in here, thank the bands and sponsors and donors in advance, and hope everybody that still has a little left to give can make it out to this multi-band bill that starts at 5 p.m. Performers include Auditorium, The Cuban Sandwich Crisis, The Diviners, Gravy, The Human Condition, Knowing Stu, Lucious P. Slugworth & The Burning Seeds Orchestra, Military Junior, Nessie, Ronny Elliott, Rumors of War, Sparky's Nightmare and Truly Sunday. If that sounds like a lot, don't worry — there are two stages inside the State tonight, and you'll still be home in time for the tail end of Adult Swim. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
TUESDAY, OCT. 04
THE UNSEEN/A GLOBAL THREAT/CAREER SOLDIERS Old-school punkity-punk. The Unseen, who have played this stage roughly 7,437 times, hail from Boston and rock the old-school street/political punk style. Come to think of it, so does A Global Threat, a fairly hardcore outfit I saw suck it up at Club Venom a couple of years ago. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 05
LONG BEACH SHORT BUS w/WEAKSAUCE/ELEVATED Like Slightly Stoopid, LBSB is a rootsy, ska-and-reggae-literate soul-surf outfit still riding what looks to be an eternal post-Sublime wave; what you might not know is that Long Beach Short Bus is an offshoot of the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, the post-Sublime torch-bearing outfit. Weaksauce mixes roots, rock, funk, rap and heavy groove, but in the right way — they absolutely do not suck — and Elevated knows its way around roots reggae. (Boomerz Boiler Room, Seminole)
THE ROCKET SUMMER/THIS DAY & AGE/SOCRATIC Poppier and more upbeat and straightforward than most of its more emo-oriented peers, The Rocket Summer is a Christian post-punk outfit that's long been tagged as a serious contender for breakthrough success. This Day & Age is a little more lightweight and overwrought (think of it a cross between Dashboard Confessional and a pale imitation of the more pensive moments from Jimmy Eat World's Clarity), and New Jersey's Socratic sports a conspicuously Piebald-influenced sound to go with its odd name. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2005.
