Eyehategod w/Pale Rider/Keel Haul/ Mastradon Formed in New Orleans in 1988, Eyehategod are linchpins of the Southern sludgecore scene. Last year saw the release of their fourth studio album, Confederacy of Ruined Lives. Pale Rider is a new Tampa stoner-rock concern who describe their sound as "what would have happened if '80s hair metal glam and '90s grunge depression hadn't interfered with the evolution of '70s blues metal." (March 15, Brass Mug)
John Hiatt w/Tim Easton Not just the host of PBS' Sessions at West 54th, Hiatt is widely considered to be one of the finest singer/songwriters of our age. His reputation was made with 1987's Bring the Family, a rootsy, rough-hewn ode to domestic bliss that boasted such players as Ry Cooder and Nick Lowe. His latest release, 2000's Crossing Muddy Waters (Vanguard/ Emusic.com), is an earthy, all-acoustic album with heavy debts to folk- and country-blues, back porches and Alan Lomax field recordings. New West recording artist Tim Easton opens with a solo acoustic set. CMJ said that "his songs condense the emotional weight of full novels into three- or four-minute nuggets," and the Chicago Tribune wrote that Easton's voice "sounds like an airy cousin to Bob Dylan's or Steve Earle's." Tickets are $25, and the show begins at 8 p.m. (March 15, Tampa Theatre)
"Liberace — The Legend Lives!" Actor and musician Martin Preston has devoted the last 10 years of his life to re-creating the music and showmanship of "Mr. Showmanship" himself, the late Liberace. Since then, Preston has worked the ivories, the candelabra, the costumes and the grin in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Branson and now Tarpon Springs. The show, which will likely include everything from Gershwin and show tunes to lounge jazz and light classical pieces, starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets cost $13, or $11 for Center members and students. Singer/actor William Garon will entertain during costume changes. (March 15, Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center)
Nonpoint/Endo/StereoMud MCA released the debut full-length by Miami's Nonpoint last year. The CD, Statement, features melodic rapcore that ranges from rails against the South Beach rave scene ("Double Stacked") to tributes to two of the members' Puerto Rican heritage ("Orgullo"). Endo is on Columbia, and Sony recording artist StereoMud features former members of Life of Agony, Stuck Mojo and Pro-Pain. (March 15, Frankie's Patio)
College of Wooster's Scot Symphonic Band One of several Scottish-theme events going on this week (wasn't St. Patrick Irish?), this free, 7:30 p.m. concert features the kilt-clad quintet from Ohio performing works by Schuman, Sousa and more. The Band comprises close to 100 members, including seven dancers and nine pipers. (March 16, Edgewater Park, Dunedin)
Fiona Davidson The Scottish harpist, storyteller, singer, poet and Druid performs at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10 at the door. (March 16, UU Dome)
Propagandhi w/Avail/J Church/Fabulous Disaster Fat Wreck is calling this "The Humanitarian Intervention Tour," due to headlining trio Propagandhi's choosing of one local activist organization to set up a booth at each stop along the way. These Canadian kings of punk-rock resistance culture have a new record out, Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes, with an enhanced CD version featuring multi-media work by author William Blum and activist Ward Churchill. Richmond, Va., tour-horses Avail and SF punks J Church and Fabulous Disaster open the show (see Music). Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $10 in advance. (March 16, Masquerade)
St. Andrews Pipes and Drums of Tampa Bay The bekilted, award-winning 33-member troupe performs a program of traditional Scottish music and American favorites.
(March 16, Largo Cultural Center)
Elastik Benefit Show w/The Boats/Aaron Lepley Project/Trace Element/Mark McManus/DJ Matador and others Help local electronic label Elastik get to the Winter Music Conference in Miami by, um, coming out to see live, non-electronic music! Regardless of the contradiction here, this evening will showcase some of the area's most uniquely talented artists, including NFW's Aaron Lepley; his new, Crazy Horse-ish trio features members of Tomorrow and NFW, and blew away an unsuspecting audience at the Orpheum last month. (March 17, New World Brewery)
Hot Water Music w/Leatherface/Small Brown Bike Gainesville's favorite beard-punk sons hit town again, with pals Leatherface in tow. Doors are at 7:30 p.m., and admission's $10. (March 17, State Theatre)
Gordon Lightfoot The man behind such soft-rock perennials as "Sundown," "If You Could Read My Mind" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" performs at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29.75, or $50 for limited VIP orchestra seating. (March 17, Ruth Eckerd Hall)
Ray Bonneville/Roy Book Binder/Rock Bottom Country-bluesman Bonneville was once a bush pilot in Alaska — nowadays he tours his guitar-and-harmonica fusion incessantly. Folk-blues artist Book Binder, besides having one of the coolest names in music, carries on the Carolina bluesman tradition, having apprenticed under the Rev. Gary Davis and toured with Pink Anderson. Regional legend Rock Bottom will kick off the show at 7 p.m. with a 15-minute set. Admission costs $10. (March 18, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Sarasota Jazz Festival In this, its 21st year, SJF pretty much stays the course with a formidable array of artists that generally perform pre-bop jazz. Featured artists like singer Rosemary Clooney, pianist Dick Hyman (who leads a program of ragtime, stride and early jazz) and saxophonist Jeff Hamilton are joined by such veteran instrumentalists as bassist John Lamb, guitarist Howard Alden, trombonist Buster Cooper, saxophonist Pete Christlieb, and pianists John Sheridan, Ralph Sutton and Dick Zimmerman. Most of the ticketed events are at Van Wezel Hall; there's a variety of free outdoor shows as well. Check www.jazzclubsarasota.com for details. (March 18-24, venues throughout Sarasota) —Eric Snider
Alexander String Quartet The internationally acclaimed, San Francisco-based group features two former Pinellas county natives, violinist Paul Yarbrough and composer Joan Epstein, who performed together once upon a time in the Pinellas County Youth Orchestra. Tonight's program begins at 8 p.m. and includes works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and others. Tickets are $15, or $10 for Eckerd College students. (March 19, Palladium)
Hero of a Hundred Fights/The Honor System/Chase Theory No band with a name as boastful yet awkward as "Hero of a Hundred Fights" could possibly be as tough as its title would like you to think. You should instead expect tense, post-hardcore/math-rock stylings with touches of Drive Like Jehu, Trenchmouth and A Minor Forest from this Milwaukee-based outfit. Chicago's politically charged Honor System and locals Chase Theory also play. The festivities start at 9 p.m. and cover's $5. 21 and up. (March 18, New World Brewery)
Yngwie Malmsteen w/Lizzy Borden Tickets to see the man to blame for the '80s guitar shredding movement are $15 in advance. Doors are at 8 p.m. (March 19, Frankie's Patio)
USF Faculty Recital feat. James Wilson French horn player Wilson performs works by Robert Helps, Halsey Stevens and more, with various accompanists. The concert starts at 8 p.m. and admission costs $4 for students with ID and seniors, $6 for everyone else. (March 19, USF FAH Music Recital Hall)
The Brooklyn Cowboys This country-rock supergroup features former members of The Amazing Rhythm Aces and New Riders of the Purple Sage, plus sidemen for artists such as Al Green, Bob Dylan, Tanya Tucker and more. (March 20, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Regatta 69/Reese Gray/DJ Paul Mallett Chapel Hill ska-punks Regatta 69 released their fourth full-length, Scattered, Smothered, Covered last year on APB. Pianist Reese Gray, a member of Squirrel Nut Zippers as of last year's Bedlam Ballroom album, opens. (March 20, Orpheum)
Dar Williams w/Jess Klein It's rare that we host two singer/songwriters as esteemed as the ones that play The Southeast's Most Beautiful Theater this week. First was John Hiatt; tonight is a concert by the younger, but nearly as acclaimed Dar Williams. A product of the Cambridge coffeehouse circuit, William's new release, The Green World (Razor & Tie), takes its title from the Shakespearean concept of the unpredictable, "green" world versus the orderly, "closed" one. Upstart opener Jess Klein fired up her own guitar-slinging, songwriting music while spending a college year in Jamaica. On the strength of her 1998 debut, Klein drew comparisons to Stevie Nicks and was named Newcomer of the Year by Mixx magazine. The follow-up, Draw Them Near, came out last year on Rykodisc/Slow River. Tickets are $18 in advance, $22 at the door. (March 20, Tampa Theatre)
AC/DC w/Slash's Snakepit What more is there to say about AC/DC that can't be summed up by a goat-throw of the hand and a hale "YEAH!!!"? They proudly represent the Land Down Under in the drunken, spit-stained halls of classic hard rock, and will probably continue to do so till they die. Slash's Snakepit's opening set will undoubtedly highlight the former G N'R guitarist's noodling acumen. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $35 and $45 plus service charges. (March 21, Ice Palace)
Bitchin'/Rumbleseat/M.A.Y. This ought to be a sleeper show — sleep on it and you'll feel like a jerk. Bitchin' are all-girl punk from Gainesville; Rumbleseat is the coed, country-fried side project of one or two of the Hot Water Music fellas, and M.A.Y. is two-thirds of the sadly defunct Clairmel. (March 21, New World Brewery)
Swing Dance w/DJ Tim Abdel The weekly swing dance event returns to Ybor's Italian Club, sponsored by LindyHop 411. This is an all-ages, nonsmoking event. (March 21, Italian Club)
USF Jazz Ensemble 1/USF Jazztet The groups present "Music from Broadway," featuring songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and admission costs $6 for everyone. (March 21, TBPAC)
—All entries by Stefanie Kalem unless otherwise indicated.
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2001.