Chad w/Uncle John's Band Vermont-based hippie-rocker Chad Hollister drops his last name — and most likely his shoes — when he performs his groove-rock. Members of the Jerry Garcia Band currently back him. Show starts at 8 p.m., and cover's $5. $2 bottled beers all night, too. (April 12, Skipper's Smokehouse)
The Fairlanes/The Tim Version Boulder, Colorado's punks The Fairlanes hit town for a pair of shows. The New World event kicks off at 10 p.m. and cover's $4. (April 12, Central Skatepark w/Risk and April 14, New World Brewery)
USF Percussion Ensemble Robert McCormick conducts the celebrated local aggregation in a program of works by Houston composer Daniel Adams. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Students and seniors with ID pay $3; everyone else ponies up $4. (April 12, USF Theatre 1)
Good Friday the 13th Bunny Bash w/ Grim Faeries/Nothing Promise/Ashes of Grisum/Betty X Ghostly Productions, the same giddy blasphemers who brought you A Faerie Scary X-Mass, now present a ghoulish celebration of things resurrected and ascended, featuring a varied sampling of the darker side of local music. This will serve as a CD release party for Nothing Promise, whose new disc on Impact Records features the Tampa band's signature cumbrous dismalcore. Local merchants of stylish pop doom, the Ashes of Grisum have been working on the follow-up to their 1999 release Completed Works, Vol. 1, and it may very well be available tonight. Opening the show will be chanteuse Betty X and her band, plus the Tampa Bay Devil Bunnies will be handing out sweet treats, taking pictures with patrons and hosting an adult Easter egg hunt. The party starts at 8 p.m. and cover is $7. (April 13, State Theatre)
The Orb w/Autolump/Prayerbox The Orb is Dr. Steve Paterson and his revolving cast of collaborators; Paterson practically invented ambient house as the soundscaper for Land of Oz, the chill-out room at Paul Oakenfold's Heaven club, weaving nature recordings and sound effects into classic ambient tracks by Eno and Steve Reich. As a remixer and a live act, The Orb is critically lauded and widely loved, especially in its home country of England. Though he and his cronies later forayed into more industrial sounds, Paterson eventually came back to the spacier side of IDM with this year's Cydonia. Doors are at 10 p.m. Tickets are $16 in advance, $18 day of show. (April 13, Masquerade)
The Mescalerors Ha! And you thought that love was the universal language. It's the blues, silly, and you can hear evidence of that fact tonight when Sweden's Mescalerors take the stage at 8 p.m. Tickets to see the quintet, led by guitarist Pontus Snibb, cost $5. (April 13, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Seven Nations This NYC quintet comprises a singer/guitarist/keyboardist, bass player, drummer, bagpipe/mandolin player and a fiddler/Canadian step-dancer (hey! who let that guy onstage?!). Admission costs, no, not a bag of haggis, but rather $15 in advance, $17 day of show. Doors are at 8 p.m. (April 14, State Theatre)
Stacy Earle w/Mark Stuart/Paul Thorn Singer/songwriter Stacy Earle — sister to Steve — has two albums out on Gearle, the label she runs with husband Mark Stuart. Stuart backs his wife with vocals and a variety of stringed things, as well as performing an opening set of his own. Tupelo, Miss.-bred Paul Thorn is the son of a minister, and a former boxer who once went seven rounds with Roberto Duran on national television. These days he knocks listeners out with R&B-inflected narratives. The WMNF-88.5 FM concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $13 in advance, $16 at the door. (April 14, Palladium)
Emit presents Evan Parker w/Jim Stewart/ Rick Adams He has single-handedly changed the face of saxophone technique and saxophone music, said notoriously iconoclastic saxophonist John Zorn. He is, simply speaking, a hero of modern music. Zorn speaks of Evan Parker, 57-year-old tenor and soprano saxophonist, who helped launch the British free improvisation movement of the late '60s with the likes of Derek Bailey. With his circular breathing technique, Parker creates endless swells of sound into music that is purely extemporaneous. While performing, he has said, (I'm) listening ahead and anticipating the music at the same time the audience does. Parker's music is not pretty or comforting, but it is consistently challenging and consummately in-the-moment. He'll perform solo and with Bay area musicians Jim Stewart and Rick Adams. Admission is $8 and the show starts at 8 p.m. sharp. The Lobby is at 217 Central Ave. in downtown St. Petersburg. (April 16, The Lobby Lounge at the Garden)
Emit presents Sam Ashley and Jens Brand Experimental vocalist Ashley has devoted his life to the creation of his own form of trance-mysticism; German composer/audiovisual artist Brand develops site-specific works that vacillate between simple/meaningless and complicated/all-encompassing. Get these two together and what results can only be describes as, um, weird. Expand your mind at 8 p.m. tonight/ Admission costs $5 for students and museum members, $8 for the rest of us. (April 17, Gulf Coast Museum of Art)
J. Mascis and The Fog w/Love as Laughter Some rumors propagated by Mascis and Watt during my recent interview with the two seminal indie-rockers: the possibility that Florida promoters will draw together and fly Stooges guitarist/bassist Ron Asheton down for the Sunshine state gigs; and the probability that The Fog will play Blue Oyster Cult's The Red and The Black, a cover often pulled out by Watt's old band, the Minutemen. (See Music for interviews with Mascis and Watt.). Seattle's Love as Laughter formed from the ashes of lo-fi cult band Lync; Sam Jayne and Co. now bring Stonesy swagger to the indie-rock masses. Doors are at 8 p.m., show's at 9 and tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the door. (April 17, State Theatre)
The Moody Blues The band behind Nights in White Satin and Your Wildest Dreams has just released a live album, and has music featured in the IMAX film Journey Into Amazing Caves. They hit the stage at 8 p.m. Tickets are $51.50, $55.50, And $75 for limited VIP seating. (April 18, Ruth Eckerd Hall)
Gary Primich Band The harmonica slinger from Austin brings his blues band to St. Pete. (April 18, Ringside Cafe)
—All entries by Stefanie Kalem unless otherwise indicated.
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2001.