All entries by Scott Harrell except where otherwise noted.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/TRIVIUM/THE ABSENCE/ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE This was supposed to be the big fall Slayer tour-show, complete with fake-blood drizzle and an appearance by untouchable Atlanta heavies Mastodon. But rising post-nu-metal (yes, that's right, there's officially a post-nu-metal milieu) outfit Killswitch Engage's particular brand of melodic savagery will undoubtedly draw, and please, a loyal legion. Central Florida metal outfit Trivium recently signed to Roadrunner Records, and hometown act The Absence, of course, rules. (Nov. 26, Masquerade, Ybor City)
ALBERT & GAGE "Their vocals intertwine like two passionate lovers," says the WMNF press release of this Austin-based coed couple of Chrises. Steamy! The folk-rock duo is known for its harmonies, as well as a deep, entertaining repertoire of singer-songwriter originals and familiar roots standards. (Nov. 26, Catherine A. Hickman Theater, Gulfport)
ANTHONY GOMES w/DAMON FOWLER Young, white, leather-pants-clad Gomes brings his increasingly popular R&B- and roots-infused take on contemporary electric blues to the Skipperdome. Immensely talented, local, young, white, occasional-facial-hair-nurturing Damon Fowler provides stellar support. (Nov. 26, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
THE TEMPTATIONS/THE FOUR TOPS The Temptations have had a rough past few years, with members dying and lukewarm receptions to their recent albums. Legacy, released in June of this year, was something like their 60th studio effort. The Four Tops, unlike the Temptations, were together for decades before undergoing any personnel changes. They haven't had quite as steady an output, but give them a break — they've been together for nearly 50 years. (Nov. 26, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; Nov. 30, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) —Mark Sanders
REGGAE SOCA FEVER Like that one beautifully organic flaw in some married ex-cheerleader's features that no amount of cosmetic surgery can alter, so does Gaspar's Grotto keep Seventh Avenue real, with the jam bands and World Beat tunes and whatnot. Consider tonight's festivities a heavily Caribbean version of their popular Sun Fest shindigs. The lineup: Yami Bolo; Tinga Stewart; The Jahfari Band; The Shaka Band; The Specialist; and Lyrical Don. Jerk Hut, the Tampa franchise that provides the best Caribbean food within a 200-mile radius, proudly co-sponsors. (Nov. 26, Gaspar's Grotto, Ybor City)
EMERALD BAR P.A. BENEFIT WEEKEND The Central Avenue hipster hangout the Emerald is nearly perfect — you've got your cheap drinks, your cool canned tunes, your eclectic live-music schedule, your fringe-friendly art exhibitions, you name it. What it doesn't have, however, is a PA system. And frankly, we're all a little sick of having to call Martin from Sparky's Nightmare or Jason from The Bad Touch every time we book a gig there, and talk them into letting us use their sound systems. (They've probably had it up to here with it, too, but they should've thought of that before they went out and bought such wonderfully reliable gear.) So Arcade Inferno's Dave Haberkorn and some friends came up with this solution: All proceeds from this Friday and Saturday's shows will go toward purchasing a permanently mounted PA for the bar, until such time as enough of it has been broken and stolen piece by piece to warrant replacement. Friday features a more high-volume full-band bill, while Saturday night's slate is heavy on acoustic acts. FRIDAY'S LINEUP: Car Bomb Driver; Hustlers AD; Unrequited Loves; Crippled Masters; Pullout Method; and more. SATURDAY'S LINEUP: The John McNicholas Band; Hugh T. Williams (of Mariola and Sparky's Nightmare); Russ Van Cleave (of The Tim Version); Nessie (aka me, Scott Harrell); Jade (from Tallahassee); Edo McGrady (formerly of The Gotohells); and 1987 Motherfucker. Give till it hurts, please. (Nov. 26 & 27, Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg)
MELISSA FERRICK w/STEPHEN KELLOGG & THE SIXERS/PURAFE' Empowering storyteller Ferrick has long been a favorite here and just about everywhere else due to her enviable songwriting chops and compelling, raw-nerve performances. As long as she keeps coming, fans old and new will keep going. Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers reportedly blend elements of classic rock and New Americana (think Counting Crows, Wallflowers) with an exciting live set. A member of North Carolina's Tuscarora Nation, singer/lap-steel player PuraFe' fuses blues with Native American musical traditions; she also founded the vocal-and-percussion group Ulali. (Nov. 27, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
RANDALL GOODGAME CD RELEASE PARTY Singer-songwriter Goodgame works within the classically poppy yet socially/culturally conscious vein perhaps best exemplified by Don McLean's "American Pie" or Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle." His new disc, War and Peace, is an enjoyable collection of piano- and acoustic-guitar-driven tunes influenced by everything from the war in Iraq to the late Charles Schultz's timeless Peanuts comics. (Nov. 27, Royalty Theatre, Clearwater)
SHORTKUT & J-ROCC Orange County, Calif., turntable gang The Beat Junkies were among a select few '90s crews whose collective genius on the wheels made the DJ more popular than the MC with a culty cadre of hip-hop fans. Tonight, two of the Junkies reunite to school the faithful and blow away the uninitiated in the Masquerade's Infinity Room. (Nov. 27, Masquerade, Ybor City)
GENITORTURERS The Bay area's own world famous purveyors of darkwave-tinged metal and onstage S&M have scored a major coup — along with Ministry, Daniel Ash (Love and Rockets), Laguna Coil and others, they've landed on the soundtrack to eagerly anticipated new Activision videogame Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines. Nothing in the history of the world has ever been so appropriate. Come celebrate the milestone with the group tonight in concert, and you just might achieve a different sort of immortality, 'cause the show will be filmed for a forthcoming DVD release. (Nov. 27, Masquerade, Ybor City)
FRAN SNYDER Longtime scenesters will remember nice-guy singer-songwriter Snyder as a fixture on Tampa stages and in Tampa recording and broadcast studios during the early-to-mid-'90s. Well, after several years of plying his pop-rock tunes (and other musical experiments) in other climes, he's touring the Southeast, and making one intimate, RSVP-only stop for a house concert up in Oldsmar. If you've got a 10-spot and a yen to hear what Fran's been up to, musically speaking, shoot him an e-mail at fran@fransnyder.com, and he'll shoot you directions to the gig. (Nov. 27, Oldsmar)
SMASH MOUTH Part of International Plaza restaurant/club Kahunaville has morphed into Headliners, a medium-large venue that will henceforth be bringing you slightly dated former pop chart-toppers on a regular basis. (Coming soon: The Fabulous Thunderbirds and, slightly afterward, Tonic.) Singer-songwriter Will Hoge headlined the soft opening last week; expect cover bands to work the nights nobody national and Gin Blossoms-esque is scheduled to stop in. The club's first big catch comes in the form of sunny California retro-pop act Smash Mouth. (Nov. 27, Headliners, Tampa)
BOND It's the Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer version of contemporary music-as-culture: A string chamber quartet composed of four hot young women, performing turgid, hyper-dramatic tunes that range from spy-movie themes to watered-down Latin styles, and backed (at least on the records) by what is either an extremely large symphony, or an extremely powerful computer. If this show isn't marked by a climactic display of well-timed pyrotechnics, then there will have been no point at all. (Nov. 27, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
THE OAK RIDGE BOYS Giddyup, ba-hoom, ba-pa-hoom, ba-pa-maow-maow. (Nov. 28, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME/ENTRANCE/TERROR AT THE OPERA/TANKTOP USA/NUT TANK Truly an eclectic set of hipster-friendly sounds. Every Night, the latest disc from classically minded indie-pop band Saturday Looks Good To Me, is an excellent batch of songs that cover it all, from sunshine to sloshed, with hooks and flair, while new Fat Possum Records neo-folk-blues hero Entrance (aka Guy Blakeslee) is currently winning fans and cred via his iconoclastic mutation of roots styles and unhinged voice. Oh, and there's a lot of other interesting stuff going on here, too, not the least of which might be the spectacular return of volatile local project Nut Tank. (Nov. 28, Orpheum, Ybor City)
FOUR SHILLINGS SHORT Vagabond Celtic husband-and-wife outfit Four Shillings Short often gets pegged, naturally, as a strictly-Emerald-Isle affair. Well, then, what's up with that sitar, bro? The pair, which takes its collective education in Medieval and Renaissance music quite seriously, works an intriguing amalgam of styles from all over the map and the historical timeline. (Nov. 28, Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, Tampa)
BOYS NIGHT OUT/EMERY/FROM FIRST TO LAST All-ages trendies Boys Night Out have opened for all of the bands your little brother or sister loves, including Yellowcard, Coheed & Cambria and Senses Fail. They're also signed to noted screamo farm-league label Ferret. They're also constantly being mentioned in that magazine that used to be worth a shit, Alternative Press, and have a very popular song titled "I Got Punched in the Nose for Sticking My Face in Other People's Business," or something. Add it up, and you've got another State Theatre-to-Jannus Landing upgrade in the making. Emery and From First to Last have been here a million times this year, so you already know what they're all angst-y about. (Nov. 29, State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
DAVE KOZ & FRIENDS Does he live here now, or something? Witness Installment Number 20 or so of the smooth jazz artist's apparently endless schedule of regular Ruth Eckerd appearances. (Nov. 30, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
BEN SCALES & WILL STRAUGHAN Humor and hot-ass acoustic guitar picking. These gentleman take resonant topics and skewer them lovingly and irreverently. Fans of the likes of John Prine will enjoy it especially, though this show is recommended to anyone who digs smart, savvy, expertly rendered roots tunes. (Nov. 30, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
TRAVIS TRITT C&W icon Tritt came to power around the same time as Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, but his sound augmented their obvious sense of good times with a love for authentic southern boogie. Nine albums later, he's got a bevy of awards, platinum albums and hit singles to his credit; his latest big tune, "What You Say," is a politically minded collaboration with John Mellencamp. (Dec. 1, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
This article appears in Nov 24-30, 2004.