THURSDAY, oct. 12
BERTIE HIGGINS & THE BAND OF PIRATES A quarter century ago, Tarpon Springs' own Bertie Higgins landed a Top 10 hit with a slight little ditty called "Key Largo." He continued his tropical theme the following year with "Just Another Day In Paradise," which peaked at No. 46. Bertie's been flogging the same horse ever since. (Largo Cultural Center) —Eric Snider
TOBY LIGHTMAN A veteran support act for just about everybody who's been anybody in contemporary Adult Alternative singer-songwriter fare (including Howie Day, Gavin DeGraw, Jewel, Rob Thomas and yes, James Blunt), Lightman's got a rep as an ace songwriter and earnest, engaging vocalist who lets her strongest, rawest talents get a little too cleaned up by major-label trip-hop/post-Paula Cole production. Here's hoping the less polished edges of her ably constructed strum-pop stand out in the Orpheum's intimate environs. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA PRESENTS POPS IN THE PARK Our beloved Florchestra celebrates the coming of cooler weather with a series of five concerts — four evening shows, one noon performance — at various locations throughout the Bay area. Expect a program of familiar refrains from the likes of John Williams, Mozart and Leonard Bernstein. This evening's event takes place in Clearwater's Coachman Park at 7 p.m., and the rest of the schedule is as follows: 7 p.m. Fri., Oct. 13, Curtis Hixon Park, Tampa; 7 p.m. Sat., Oct. 14, Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg; noon Tues., Oct. 17, Lykes Park, Tampa; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, Sulphur Springs Park, Tampa. For more information, call 813-286-2403 or go to floridaorchestra.org. (Coachman Park, Clearwater/various dates and locations throughout the Bay area)
FRIDAY, oct. 13
TIM REYNOLDS w/DAN GODDARD Called "an underrated master," multi-instrumentalist Reynolds is best known as a guitarist, particularly for his contributions as a regular guest on albums by the Dave Matthews Band. But he's an accomplished and eclectic recording artist in his own right, and those fans in the know recognize his ability to use everything from guitar to piano to violin in the creation of his unique fusion of rock, folk and jazz. Support comes courtesy of Dan Goddard, frontman and principal songwriter for the Tallahassee roots/boogie/Southern rock act Stillwood. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
THE KINGSTON TRIO Three dudes — none of whom are remotely close to being original members, naturally, what with the surviving founders being in their 70s — keep the name and spirit of the group that originally brought folk to a pop audience alive. In the late '50s, The Kingston Trio was one of the most popular musical acts on the planet, and is said to have influenced everyone from The Beatles to the Beach Boys with its accessible, crowd-pleasing take on seminal acoustic songwriting traditions. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
SWINGTIME'S SIXTH ANNIVERSARY, FEAT. THE VENTURAS Blow out some birthday candles for the folks who've been bringing exciting swing/jump-blues acts, big and underground, old and new, to Bay area venues since the start of the '00s. In addition to a performance by loved, lauded and long-running West Central Florida act The Venturas, there's also the traditional pre-concert swing-dance lesson, a contest with more than $200 in prizes, and assuredly a plethora of surprises. (Gulfport Casino Ballroom, Gulfport)
DIRTY BUT SOPHISTICATED III DBS is only on its third installment, but already this mash-up of music, visual arts, fashion and nightlife culture feels like a Tampa-scene institution. The music lineup for DBS III is dependably eclectic: Locos Por Juana; Gwan Massive groove representatives the GwanHeads; buzzed local indie-rock outfit Mouse Fire and everybody's favorite singer-songwriter (including the Loaf — she earned a Best of the Bay award this year) Geri X. (Czar, Ybor City)
THE BLOCK PARTY Ybor chillout spot The Good Luck Café hosts this tampahiphop.com-approved evening of beats, rhymes and poetry benefiting WMNF. The truly impressive lineup of local performers include Ovados; C-rena; Laws; Paradox; C-Skills and Prolific; Aych; The Basiqs; Mo Gutta Game; B-Boy; Black Ops; and Lucky Koreano. Ladies get in free, but dudes gotta fork over a fiver to watch the girls while pretending to watch the artists. The Good Luck Café is located at 1910 East Seventh Ave. (The Good Luck Café, Ybor City)
BRADENTUCKY BOMBERS BENEFIT SHOW w/LAST GREAT HOPE/THE IN-CROWD/SIXX YEAR BENDER/CODE ZERO It's strictly punk rock at tonight's cash-raising slammer at Rockerfellas. The derby chicks themselves are skated-up and in attendance as well, with raffles for things like tattoos and more. If you like hopping up and down in one place for hours, come do it here. (Rockerfellas, Bradenton) —Cooper Levey-Baker
SATURDAY, oct. 14
MONTGOMERY GENTRY Think of Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry as a slightly more rocking Brooks & Dunn, only without most of the Las Vegas-magician subtext. This duo took Garth Brooks-style pop-country in a more rollicking, rough 'n' ready direction at the end of the 20th century, adding the grizzled roadhouse edge we now recognize so readily in the likes of Toby Keith and the big arena-rock-style show we now see from fucking every guy with a cowboy hat and a five o'clock shadow. The pair's hits include "My Town," "She Couldn't Change Me" and "Daddy Won't Sell The Farm." The brand-new sextet Heartland and a couple of reality-contest alums, Josh Gracin (American Idol) and Chris Young (Nashville Star), open up. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
CASTING CROWNS Georgia-based seven-piece pop act Casting Crowns has pretty much owned the Contemporary Christian Rock scene for the last year and a half or so; '05's Lifesong netted six Dove awards and saw the band nominated for both Grammy and American Music Awards. Tonight, Christian radio station network The JOY FM brings the group to Clearwater, along with coed peers Skillet, gospel vocalist Andrew Philip, evangelist Luis Palau and the Team Faith Motocross Stunts riders, who, for obvious reasons, aren't afraid to die. (Coachman Park, Clearwater)
FRANK BLACK w/KENTUCKY PROPHET Former and current (Maybe? Who knows?) Pixies frontman Black has an immaculate new solo double album, Fast Man Raider Man, on the shelves. Expect an evening heavy on the fresh disc's maverick mélange of rock, folk, soul and Americana; don't expect Pixies tunes, but don't rule out a reworked song or two completely, either — anything can happen. Check out this week's music feature for more on what Charles Thompson's been up to lately. Perplexing one-man twang-funk-rap enigma — just how serious is this supposed to be? — Kentucky Prophet provides support and, most likely, deeply divided reactions. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
IRS: INTERNATIONAL ROCK SHOW Did you ever wonder what would happen if some of the smallest names from some of the biggest classic-rock acts hooked up with some of the biggest names from some of the most middle-of-the-pack classic-rock acts and ran wild (and slowly, given their ages) across America? Me neither, but for some reason, it happened. Joey Molland (Badfinger), Chris Slade (AC/DC), Greg Douglass (Steve Miller Band), Mario Chipolina (Huey Lewis & The News, Foreigner) and Terry Ilous (XYZ) have joined forces to, well, rock you, I guess. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
THE OUTLAWS Back in the 1974, a gang of guitar-slingin' hippie rednecks burst out of Tampa as one of the prime progenitors of a style known as Southern rock. After a splendid run from 1975-1981 — which yielded such memorable tunes as "There Goes Another Love Song" and "Green Grass and High Tides" — the band fractured and faded. The Outlaws have been an on-again-off-again affair for a good two decades. The on-again group is out touring, with the promise of a new album. (Pasco-Hernando Community College, New Port Richey) —ES
SUPERSTARZZ FEATURING RAY PARKER JR., CRAIG CHAQUICO AND WARREN HILL This lineup is billed as a titanic night of smooth jazz, although all three names in the title are famous for very different brands of music. The big claim to fame of guitarist Ray Parker Jr. is as the man behind the iconic theme song to Ghostbusters; Craig Chaquico starred as a guitarist and singer in Jefferson Starship; saxophonist Warren Hill got his big break playing with Chaka Khan. So what kind of jazz cred do these guys have? Little to none. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) —CLB
VIVA LA GINA Gina Vivinetto is a former music and culture writer for both the St. Petersburg Times and its zippy free-weekly offshoot, TBT*. She's also an ardent supporter of local music and art, the proprietor of St. Pete's Best of the Bay-winning gallery venue Bombshell, and a woman facing almost insurmountable medical fees following several surgeries and extended hospital stays. And we love her, so we're gonna do this benefit, complete with the usual raffles, bevy of killer local talent, and good times for a good cause. Seven bucks gets you in at 6 p.m. The lineup: Geri X; Nessie; James McFarland; Rebekah Pulley & The Reluctant Prophets; Natty Moss-Bond & Sam Bond; Zanesville; Giddy Up, Helicopter!; and Crippled Masters. (Bombshell Gallery, St. Petersburg)
THE WAR ROMANCE/DOLL PARTS The Lakeland-repping headliner at The Tavern tonight is the powerful hardcore punk band The War Romance. The group's pretty cocky, declaring on the chorus to one song: "This is the sound of the underground!/ We're gonna start a revolution!" Later, the singer adds: "We are hope/ We are truth." The band's decent, and this is your typical rock bombast, I guess, but I'm not quite sold that The War Romance lives up to the self-hype just yet. (The Tavern on Main, Sarasota) —CLB
SUNDAY, oct. 15
JOHN WAITE Just last weekend, I played a trivia game and missed the question "What band did John Waite front during the '80s?" I answered The Babys, not only because I'm old but also because I had successfully repressed all memories of Waite's late-'80s soft-hair-rock supergroup Bad English. Anyway, he's the guy who sang "Missing You" in '84 and gave George Michael bad ideas about short hair and one giant, dangly cross earring. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
KMFDM If you don't already know that German industrial-pummel outfit KMFDM mixed guitars with dirty, repetitive electro-beats to both influence and open doors for the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Skinny Puppy, then you probably wouldn't be interested in this show at this point anyway. But shit, they're scary. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
THE NIGHTHAWKS w/REV. BILLY C. WIRTZ The venerable Nighthawks epitomize the notion of a hard-working, barnstorming blues/R&B band. Wirtz blends folksy, slightly ribald monologues into a solo show that involves a lot of playful blues and boogie. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —ES
GIANTS OF JAZZ A formidable foursome of Bay area jazzers will gather at the waterside Saffron's restaurant for a Sunday matinee. Joining world-class pianist Kenny Drew Jr. will be the dean of local bassists (and Duke Ellington alum) John Lamb; vocalist/drummer Patricia Dean; and sturdy tenor saxophonist Mark Gould. For info or reservations, call 727-343-5410. (Oct. 15, Saffron's Caribbean Restaurant, St. Pete) —ES
Monday, oct. 16
RICKY NELSON REMEMBERED The twin sons of '50s proto-pop 'n' roll teen idol Nelson — cock-rockers-turned-country hopefuls Matthew and Gunnar — pay tribute to their father's life, music and legacy. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo)
Tuesday, Oct. 17
NICK LACHEY w/JOANNA The former Mister Jessica Simpson (and 98 Degrees boy-hunk) is currently in the midst of his first-ever solo tour, in promotion of a pop album stacked with songs about how much he misses his ex-wife. Sad, sad, sad. My guess is there will be plenty of ladies in the audience more than willing to comfort his heart and whatever other organs need tending to. Twenty-one-year-old newbie pop princess Joanna opens up; that her debut album This Crazy Life took five years to complete and release doesn't exactly make me think she's gonna set the building on fire with incendiary talent. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
THE DUHKS/THE STRING DIVAS Canadian Celtic/folk/country act The Duhks is a favorite with both WMNF and the folks at Skipper's, but this might be one of the last times you'll get to see the group in such an intimate, familiar setting — the video for the band's new single "Out of the Rain" is getting some spinnage on CMT. Get out and enjoy the set before you have to settle for nosebleed action while they open for, oh, I don't know, Montgomery Gentry or somebody. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
ALEXISONFIRE/MONEEN/CANCER BATS/A CHANGE OF PACE Something weird is going on with Alexisonfire and Moneen. While the former started out plying a somewhat traditional screamo sound, and the latter cut its teeth on more introspective, idiosyncratic indie-rock, a new split CD finds them both moving toward some eclectic, moody, heavy-punk common ground. While my personal jury's still out on the new Moneen stuff, it's definitely an improvement in the case of Alexisonfire. Toronto's Cancer Bats ply an impressive metalcore sound that's more old school than new trend, while Peoria, Arizona's A Change of Pace dishes up a type of All American Rejects-reminiscent post-emo power-pop that's pretty generic, but still fairly listenable. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2006.