THURSDAY, NOV. 17
THE BACON BROTHERS As for movie stars slumming as rockers, we've had a handful drop by Tampa Bay over the years. Keanu Reeves played a couple of gigs with his band Dogstar and the late River Phoenix came by with Alleca's Attic (sorry, couldn't confirm the proper spelling). Dermot Mulroney was a member of the Low & Sweet Orchestra, but when the band played a date at The Rubb, he didn't show. So we're due. The Bacon Brothers, Kevin and Michael, are a welcome addition to the list (well, Kevin is). They play sturdy country-rock. For more, check out this week's Music Column. The band also plays Van Wezel Hall in Sarasota on Nov. 18. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa) ERIC SNIDER
TED LEO/PHARMACISTS W/BRANDON L. BUTLER & THE VAQUEROS/ZILLIONAIRE Pop-rock songwriter, hipster hero, social activist and unabashed Thin Lizzy superfan Ted Leo put together one of his best and most straightforward albums to date about this time last year; it's called Shake The Sheets, and holy crap it's good. Come, enjoy the passion. Support comes courtesy of Brandon L. Butler, a former emo pioneer (Boys Life, Farewell Bend) turned Americana songsmith (Canyon, his solo stuff), and Zillionare, a meandering, slightly experimental and wholly worthwhile local post-pop outfit. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
PIEBALD/HOT ROD CIRCUIT/HIT THE LIGHTS Piebald is an enduring posthardcore/heavy-pop outfit from the Boston area. The band used to be great, with engaging songs full of interesting time-signature shifts and strange and humorous lyrics, but last year it released an inexplicably horrible record called All Ears, All Eyes, All the Time. No matter, the live show will be full of old favorites, and the group has a chance to redeem itself via the new DVD/CD combination Killa Bros and Killa Bees. Hot Rod Circuit was once positioned to follow in the footsteps of The Get Up Kids; unlike the Kids, however, Hot Rod matured before it got big, relegating itself, however unjustly, to cult-band status. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
JACKDAW/BAD HAGGIS FEAT. ERIC DIGLER This show's a warm-up for Saturday's Dunedin Celtic Festival and Highland Games (see below), where both bands will make another appearance alongside the infinitely inferior Seven Nations. (Proving that quality and commercial returns aren't necessarily related, Seven Nations will play a sold-out show Fri. Nov. 18 at the Brewery.) Run yer eyes down to the Celtic Festival entry for info on the bands. (Dunedin Brewey, Dunedin)
FRIDAY, NOV. 18
METAL MANIA STRIPPED FEAT. DON DOKKEN/JANI LANE/FIREHOUSE/STEPHEN PEARCY/KIP WINGER The frontmen for some of the hair-rock era's most beloved bands — and Firehouse — get all intimate and unplugged for whoever's interested. Which is weird, because didn't Dokken, Warrant, Ratt and Winger all only have one song per record — you know the one I mean — that could possibly sound good when played on an acoustic guitar? (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
RATDOG Any Grateful Dead spin-off act could fart in a bag for two hours, bill it the Farting in a Bag Tour, and fill up Jannus Landing pretty much any night of the week. Fortunately, Bob Weir's unit Ratdog will be playing some music tonight. Protest though they might, Ratdog is a jam band. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg) ES
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA w/CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE You wanna talk longevity? How's this? The Blind Boys of Alabama formed at the Talladega Institute for the Deaf and Blind in NINETEEN and THIRTY-SEVEN. These old dudes still bring the Southern gospel, and they bring it with fervor. Man, you've never heard harmonies like this. The Blind Boys don't water down the religious themes in their songs, but it still works for a secular crowd, believe me. Get sanctified, y'all. Charlie Musselwhite is one of the blues world's preeminent harmonica players, and an estimable singer to boot. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa) ES
THE PORK DUKES w/F/THE PULLOUT METHOD Culty British snotty-punk anachronisms The Pork Dukes celebrate their 29th year of playing songs like 1977's "Telephone Masturbator" by coming to one of the few cities with a punk scene that's probably full of people who remember them. (They'll be playing Brandon's Sound Idea Records tomorrow, as well.) (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
AN EVENING WITH BONERAMA If only we could've gotten The Pork Dukes and Bonerama together, yes? Now, you gotta choose. This incredibly unprofessionally named act is actually one of New Orleans' most highly regarded funk acts; the group features five, count 'em, five trombones — where did you think they got the name? — and a rollicking sound the injects some crazy rock influences into groovy Crescent City R&B. (Bourbon Street, New Port Richey)
A BENEFIT FOR THE FAMLY OF KENNY YOHO Kenny Yoho, one of the highest-profile members of the East Coast Xtreme Freestyle Motocross Team, recently lost his wife when she and their young daughter were struck by a car in Pinellas Park. Their daughter survived the accident, but is in a coma, and Kenny needs all the support, moral and financial, that we can give him. The relatively new punk act 34 put together tonight's benefit, which also features the perennially underappreciated Sophomore Effort, Trace of Day, Spot Lucy, Skylab Hoax, and The Redliners, among others. (Java Junction, Clearwater)
SATURDAY, NOV. 19
DUNEDIN CELTIC FESTIVAL Don your kilt, and fill your hippie bag with cans of Guinness; it's once again time for Dunedin's annual cavalcade of games, music, dancing and grub from the Highlands. This year's music comes courtesy of the extremely, unjustifiably popular and only vaguely Celtic pop outfit Seven Nations; the energetic, genre- and tradition-blending Bad Haggis, featuring renowned bagpipe-and-whistle specialist Eric Rigler (if you've ever seen any movie that had mournful, plaintive, sort-of-Scottish music playing in the background, like Titanic, then you've heard him); and the more straightforward, Irish-rocking Jackdaw. Highlander Park is located at 903 Michigan Blvd., adjacent to downtown Dunedin; no coolers and no pets, not even setters or terriers. (Highlander Park, Dunedin)
BUDDY GUY'S BLUESFEST w/INDIGENOUS/DAMON FOWLER The traveling mini-bluesfest, lent its name by one of the most enduring icons in the genre, strives, more than anything, to introduce hot talent to audiences that might not have seen it before. The featured act on this tour is Indigenous, a Native American blues-rock band hailing from South Dakota's Yankton Indian Reservation and comprised of three Nakota Nation brothers and their sister. Also on the bill is the Bay's own, seriously talented Damon Fowler. Just so we're clear — Buddy Guy is not on the bill. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
THE PRODIGALS God only knows why this superior, pop-grounded Irish and American Celt-rock act isn't playing in Dunedin tonight; probably because its members love bars in general, and Four Green Fields in particular. Spend the day over at the festival, then cross the bridge for a pint in Four Green Fields' friendly, smoky environs while these guys tear it up. They always do. (Four Green Fields, Tampa)
NICKEL CREEK Comparatively young, highly acclaimed roots/progressive-bluegrass combo Nickel Creek hails from California, and has become a critical darling and fan favorite over the course of its decade-and-a-half of existence, no mean feat in a scene where you usually have to be at least in your late 40s or early 50s to get any real respect. (Several members of the coed Nickel Creek were barely into their teens when the band formed.) The group's star really rose during the post-O Brother roots craze, when its adventurous mix of bluegrass, rock and jazz set it apart from the pack. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa)
THE ABSENCE/THIS WILL BE REMEMBERED/LIMB FROM LIMB/BEAUTY IN CHAOS Tampa's own The Absence may be the best death metal band to emerge from this scene since the genre's heyday. The group's worldwide debut on Metal Blade Records, From Your Grave, dropped in September and is generating some nice press around the globe, and this is the band's first real national-tour show in its hometown since the ball really started rolling. Some of the other bands on the bill are more readily associated with the hardcore/screamo side of things, but expect brutality throughout. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
MOUNTAINS/HYDRA THE SEA SERPENT/AARONZARZUTSKI Brooklyn soundscape project Mountains is a collaboration between the founders of experimental record label Apestaartie, and is known primarily for being really arty and constantly getting compared to Brian Eno. Most anybody who's attended several of the hip, cutting-edge shows put on by local promoter Aestheticized Presents has seen or heard of Hydra the Sea Serpent — weird sound-collage fun, man. And Aaronzarazutski, of course, sounds like an old standalone arcade video game breaking down. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, NOV. 20
THE JUNIPERS CD RELEASE PARTY Local Celtic/folk outfit The Junipers celebrates the release of its second disc, Stepping Stones. Get your eat on, too, but remember to wait half an hour before hitting the dance floor. (Viva La Frida Café y Galeria, Tampa)
TUESDAY, NOV. 22
THE BRIEFS w/MORAL DECLINE/FORWARNED INJUSTICE Quasi-legendary Seattle quirk-punk crew The Briefs is one of that special handful of Pacific Northwest bands that always gets mentioned by far more famous Pacific Northwest bands as an influence. But you've probably never heard them if you don't live in Washington State. Think of The Tubes channeling Buzzcocks, and you're three-quarters of the way there; in doing so, you'll also realize that that comparison alone makes them sound like a pretty fucking awesome thing to see, and they are. Contrary to previously published reports, stalwart St. Pete offender Car Bomb Driver will not be playing tonight, even though it should be. (688 Skatepark, Clearwater)
GHOST MICE/ERIN TOBEY/THE FOLKADOTS/MOUNT AWESOME Yes, this gig only made it into the Menu because one of the bands is called Mount Awesome. Skatepark of Tampa has consistently brought those bands associated with way, way way underground label/distributor Plan-It-X Records to town, and this show is no exception. Indiana's Ghost Mice and solo singer-songwriter Erin Tobey are both eccentric, original acoustic acts affiliated with Plan-It-Ex, while The Folkadots hail from Tampa and screw around with agit-folk, and Sarasota's Mount Awesome apparently bring a little blues to the mix. Strange, crusty anti-folk stuff going on here, kids. (Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
This article appears in Nov 16-23, 2005.