Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs This Tex-Mex swing/honky-tonk/rockabilly tourhorse puts on a fantastic show. Los Lobos' Cesar Rosas calls them "Los Puercos Fabulosos." The Thrusters open up the Skipper's show at 8 p.m.; tickets cost $7 in advance, $10 at the door. (March 23, Skipper's Smokehouse; March 26, New World Brewery)
Elastik Records pre-WMC Party w/DJ Skunk/Brian Busto/Josh Wilkins/Matador The local electronic label invites you to see them off before they trek down to represent in Miami at the Winter Music Conference. Featured selectors include Denver deep-house maven Skunk, and Elastik co-founder Matador. Doors are at 9 p.m. (March 23, Orpheum)
Molly Hatchet w/Rebel Pride Tickets to this Southern rock throwdown are $14 … !! Doors are at 7 p.m. and the show's 21 and up. (March 23, Jannus Landing)
Paragon Ragtime Orchestra As part of the Jazz by the Bay Series, the PRO performs the original music to three Charlie Chaplin silent shorts, vintage American music from ragtime to marches. The event begins at 8 p.m. and tickets cost $27, $20 and $33. (March 23, Mahaffey Theater)
Real Heroes/Barely Pink Jacksonville's Real Heroes have been making a rep for themselves in that sprawling city to the north with their tight, power-pop assault. Armed with a showy crunch a la Urge Overkill, and a frontman whose sneering stylings pay tribute to Elvis Costello, they should prove to be about as much as Yeoman's can handle. Tampa Bay pop brethren Barely Pink also perform. (March 23, Yeoman's Road Pub)
Uberzone w/Simply Jeff Southern California's Uberzone, a.k.a. Timothy Wiles, just signed to Astralwerks after years of pulling off his funky breakbeat/big beat sets backed by close to two dozen Roland synthesizers. Simply Jeff gets the crowd warmed up at 10 p.m., and admission costs $15 before 11 p.m., $20 after. (March 23, Fun)
Joe Walsh Before replacing guitarist Bernie Leadon in The Eagles in 1975, Walsh had a string of hits as a member of The James Gang. His 1978 hit "Life's Been Good," is still a classic-rock and yearbook-quote staple. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $23.75 and $27.75. (March 23, Ruth Eckerd Hall)
Zao/Not Waving but Drowning/Under Oath/Sagoh 24-7/Next Season Christian hardcore outfit Zao has released records on Solid State, Steadfast and Tooth & Nail. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $10. (March 23, State Theatre)
Dropkick Murphys w/Swingin' Utters/Lars Fredericksen & The Bastards/Reach the Sky How can you tell that Boston's Dropkick Murphys aren't your run-of-the-pit hardcore punk band? One clue: A bagpiper named Spicy McHaggis. Rancid's Lars Fredericksen produced the Dropkicks' first two records — now his new side project hits the road in support, along with California punk revivalists Swingin' Utters and Boston-based hardcore outfit Reach the Sky. Doors are at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $12. (March 24, State Theatre)
Candye Kane & The Swingin' Armadillos Kane's done more in her life than most people these days have the gumption to read about. The road to empowerment for the larger-than-life, L.A.-based blues chanteuse has been an odd one: "from teen mom to welfare mother to battered wife to porn queen to fat girl to bisexual recording artist." Her last disc, last year's Toughest Girl Alive (Bullseye) featured guests like Marcia Ball and Dave Alvin. Show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $7 in advance, $10 day of show. (March 24, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Christine Lavin w/Lynn Miles Two stellar, understated singer/songwriters on one bill. New York City's Lavin has been giving her humorous spin on modern relationship quandaries since the early '80s; The Canadian Miles is a newer face on the scene — the New York Times wrote that she "makes being forlorn sound like a state of grace." Doors open at 7 p.m., the show starts at 8. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show. (March 24, Octagon Arts Center)
George Strait Chevy Truck Country Music Festival w/Alan Jackson/Lonestar/Lee Ann Womack/Brad Paisley/Sara Evans/Asleep at the Wheel Once again, my favorite aspect of the fourth annual country festival is the midway area's name: "GPC Straitland." Need I say more? OK, I will. This year's lineup includes a wide range of country caliber, from Grammy award-winning vets Asleep at the Wheel to traditionalist Evans, a relative newcomer on the scene. In between are such bona fide superstars as Jackson, Lonestar, Womack and the man himself, George "Straitland" Strait. The midway opens at 11 a.m., the stadium at noon, and the music begins at 1 p.m. Ticket prices range between $39.50 and $69.50. (March 24, Raymond James Stadium)
They Might Be Giants w/OK Go See Music for info on They Might Be Giants. Opening is OK Go, a new guitar-pop quartet out of Chicago, who's earned reams of excited press in that musical mecca, even without a record deal. Doors are at 7 p.m., show's at 8 and tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at door. (March 24, Jannus Landing)
Dumbwaiters/Mark Never/Showman's Rest/Fred Fempto This is a going-away party for Chris Millstein (Dumbwaiters), Shayde Sartin (Showman's Rest) and Kathy Leisen, all headed for more cosmopolitan pastures. It will also serve as a moving sale for the three, who are all visual artists and will be selling their artwork for rock-bottom prices. Showman's Rest have just gotten their act together, and their powerful debut show at The Orpheum — featuring super-dynamic rhythms, elaborate guitar work and impassioned vocals, and closing with a wistful cover of The Beatles' "For No One" — left many wanting more. The party starts at 4 p.m. (March 25, Silver Meteor Gallery)
The Great Tuba Roundup Yes, you heard that right. "The tuba may be the most misunderstood instrument …" reads the press release for this latest event in the "Sundays at the Gazebo" series, and I have to concur. Tuba players are welcome to come out, join up, educate and otherwise commingle, beginning at 3 p.m. Bring a lawn chair — there's no seating, but what do you expect for free?! (March 25, Clymer Park, Gulfport)
Women's Music Now Festival w/Laura Love Band/Saffire the Uppity Blueswomen/Jill Sobule/Laura Fuentes y Calicanto/Women's Blues Revue As this is a WMNF-88.5 FM event, it's only fitting that Laura Love headline. The station favorite is the sole creator of a style she calls Afro-Celtic, a lively, funky musical brew. The rest of the bill is eclectic and fine, from Jill Sobule's clever guitar-pop and Laura Fuentes' exciting Latin sounds, to the powerhouse blues of Saffire and the Women's Blues Revue. The event starts at 1 p.m. and ends around 9. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. (March 25, Cuban Club Patio)
Aretha Franklin What can we say about the Queen of Soul that hasn't already been said? That she brought the power of gospel to soul music? That Sparkle, her 1976 collaboration with Curtis Mayfield, is a great album to get your horizontal groove on to? That she's actually a pretty damn good piano player? The concert starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $43, $56 and $66. (March 26, TBPAC)
Jucifer w/Dukes Of Hillsborough/Suspended Athens, Ga.'s Jucifer comprises just Amber Valentine and Ed Livengood, but you'd never know it with your eyes closed. Singer Valentine plays a bass/six-string contraption while Livengood demonizes the drum kit. Athens' alt-weekly Flagpole compared Jucifer to "Dead Can Dance and White Zombie fighting over who can be louder." Doors are at 9 p.m. and cover's a mere $5. (March 27, Orpheum)
Jorma Kaukonen w/Michael Falzarano The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer started out on the San Francisco scene as a backup musician for Janis Joplin in the early '60s. His guitar playing became a distinguishing characteristic of Jefferson Airplane and, later, Hot Tuna profited from his six-string work and urgent vocal style. Reserved seats are $18, and the show starts at 8 p.m. (March 27, The Players Theater of Sarasota)
—All entries by Stefanie Kalem.
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2001.