THURSDAY, JULY 20
YELLOWCARD/MATCHBOOK ROMANCE/ROCK KILLS KID/HEDLEY Say what you will about 2004's highest-profile pop-punk band with a violin (like, for instance, that it's not a very good band), Yellowcard knows how to put together a hip bill. Matchbook Romance is one of the most successful bands to sure-footedly walk the line between punk and emo in years. Rock Kills Kid's blend of power-pop and '80s New Romantic influences is poised to be the breakthrough sound of late summer. And the comparative unknown Hedley, from San Diego, plies a ballsy style that calls to mind a more straightforward Queens of the Stone Age having a couple of beers and kicking out some great, simple, unkempt rock songs in the garage. Hip, but maybe not too smart — all of the support acts here are more interesting and listenable than the much more familiar headliner. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
I AM THE AVALANCHE/THE BLACKOUT PACT/THIS IS HELL/HEIRS The former members of Long Island kid-favorite The Movielife who populate I Am The Avalanche have matured, if only slightly — while sporting a vibe more grounded in classic power-pop, IATA's groove is still plenty heavy and snotty. Denver's Blackout Pact puts a new spin on the new school by grounding its catchiness (slightly) in both classic punk and fuzzed-out proto-rock 'n' roll; imagine a cross between Hot Water Music, Thursday and The Murder City Devils, and you'll come up with something in The Blackout Pact's ballpark. This Is Hell plies a slightly more frenetic version of the metalcore sound that pretty much defines the band's label, Trustkill Records, while Heirs is the least weighty band here, sporting a melancholy, piano-assisted emo-pop sound. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, JULY 21
REEL BIG FISH/MXPX/STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO/WHOLE WHEAT BREAD/TRANSITION Veteran ska-punk outfit Reel Big Fish and Christian pop-punk unit MXPX make their umpteenth St. Pete appearances co-headlining this eclectipunk bill. Perennial middle-of-the-show attraction Streetlight Manifesto leans toward the less overdriven, more roots-reverent end of the nu-ska spectrum; Jacksonville's Whole Wheat Bread mixes pop-punk hooks and energy with hip-hop attitude; and relative newcomer Transition, whose debut album was produced by MxPx's Mike Herrera, does the whole taut, slick, harmony-laden emo-rock thing. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
RISING JUPITER NIGHT Worthy local jam-scene promoter Rising Jupiter has relocated its regular event to Skipper's Smokehouse, a fitting match. Tonight's installment features a couple of young, extremely Caucasian-in-college-sounding acts, New Orleans-bred Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes and local combo Traveling North; the former comes off as a bit more world-ish and eclectic than the latter, which sticks closer to blues-based fare. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
AT ALL COST/VERSUS THE MIRROR/THE ESOTERIC I believe I've commented before on the jarring marriage of harsh thrash and sudden melodicism purveyed by Austin's At All Cost. It's a strange sound, to be sure. We've also been over Tucson's Versus The Mirror — the phrase "generic Equal Vision screamo product" appeared in the Menu back in May, and another trip through the band's album Home doesn't exactly inspire a recantation. The Esoteric, a band from the eternal musical hotbed of Lawrence, Kan., signed to Prosthetic Records, has a more original take on the genre, one that's spare and truly moody. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
VERONIKA JACKSON & TOBY BONAR A St. Pete native now living in Atlanta, Veronika Jackson's folk is made more soulful than most via more than a little blues and gospel inspiration. She's a Florida Folk Festival regular; those and other festival and coffeehouse appearances have made her a well-known favorite in her home and adopted states. Up-and-coming folk-blues player Bonar studied with Roy Book Binder. He hasn't been playing all that long, but there's gotta be something there, because he went from open mics to opening slots to an invitation to appear at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival in record time. (Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, Tampa)
FAKE PROBLEMS/WATCH ME DISAPPEAR/BAND MARINO/HAIRCUTS FOR THE FUTURE! Fake Problems is a wildly talented Naples indie rock band, with some serious songwriting chops and a sound that's impossible to peg easily. I missed the group's set in Sarasota a couple of months ago, but listening to the group's songs online, it's difficult to imagine that it was anything but phenomenal. Band Marino is another group with a hell of a lot of talent, bringing an indie folk sing-along vibe. In Sarasota, lineups like this aren't exactly what you'd call common. (The Tavern on Main, Sarasota) —Cooper Levey-Baker
SATURDAY, JULY 22
THE ADOLESCENTS/STREET DOGS/THE VACANCIES Along with Social Distortion and other skate-culture-centric acts like Agent Orange, The Adolescents pretty much defined the SoCal punk rock sound back in the '80s. The Street Dogs are a vaunted street-punk/punk 'n' roll/almost-oi group fronted by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan; chances are, if you're into the Murphys, you'll dig on the Street Dogs. The Vacancies are an old-school blue-collar punk combo from Cleveland, Ohio. They've been championed by the likes of Joan Jett, who signed the band to her Blackheart Records, and boast among their ranks dudes who are directly related to the Planet's queen of classified ads, Miss Chastity Moore. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
WHISKEY ON A SUNDAY SCREENING The film Whiskey on a Sunday documents a couple of years in the life of L.A.-based Celt-rockers Flogging Molly. Before you can buy the sucker — the official DVD release date, accompanied by a new 10-track CD, is July 25 — there's a screening going down at the Paddy Wagon, an Irish pub in Sarasota. Why here? Hell if I know, although the Irishness may have something to do with it. But the film's being backed up by performances by Tampa punskters The Dead Popes and rockabillies The Redliners. (Paddy Wagon, Sarasota) —CLB
SUNCOAST BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS JOOK JOINT NITE The SBS roadhouse-style live-show series continues. This time around, Beautiful Bobby Blackmon provides the tunes; as always, proceeds will go to the Diamond Teeth Mary "Really Got The Blues" fund for blues musicians without adequate coverage or care. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
SUBURBAN TRAGEDY/SOULFOUND/CROOKED EDGE/TRACE OF DAY/SOMEDAY SOUVENIR An all-local bill at Jannus Landing that isn't a benefit, an awards show or a flea market? Ballsy. It's been years since crowded local shows were the norm, or even semi-regularly on the schedule, at this big, beloved outdoor St. Pete venue. Here's hoping this show, heavy on contemporary modern rock and skating right up to punk (Crooked Edge), brings 'em out, packs 'em in and serves as notice that the hometown guys have always been worthy of serious consideration. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
BARONESS/BLACKTUSK/MACHETE ATTACK It would take several minutes to come up with a more vaguely ominous list of three band names that also ends with a machete attack. Some of Baroness' music is like that, too — just a little creepy at first, but letting you know the all-out thrash assault is coming. Savannah's BlackTusk tends to get straight to the bludgeoning, and is adept at doing so at both high and low speeds, while Virginia's Machete Attack is apparently so brutal the band can't even put any songs on its webpage, for fear of crushing the entire Internet under their weight. (Transitions Art Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
RECYCLED RUINS/LIBYAN HIT SQUAD Another night of Black Flag and Minor Threat-inspired hardcore punk at the Tavern on Main, with Orlando's Recycled Ruins headlining. The band plays everything at breakneck speed, screams instead of sings and most likely hates your guts. Libyan Hit Squad — also from Orlando — has a sound that recalls '60s garage-punk gonzos. In fact, the group's Myspace page features a demolition of the Sonics' classic barnburner, "The Witch." (The Tavern on Main, Sarasota) —CLB
SUNDAY, JULY 23
JOHN FOGERTY/WILLIE NELSON There exists a legion of baby-boomers who hold Credence Clearwater Revival in extremely high regard. I, a fellow boomer, don't get it. (One guy, long since forgotten, claimed that the band's version of "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" was superior to Marvin Gaye's; fightin' words, no doubt.) True, "Bad Moon Rising" is catchy, and "Fortunate Son" was a good, ornery protest song, but the rest seems particularly disposable. And then we get to Fogerty's '80s solo comeback — don't even get me started on "Centerfield." As for Willie, he must still have tax troubles. Aren't we getting a little tired of seeing him on just about any bill he can dredge up? The guy can be entertaining in a smaller venue — where he can forge a laid-back rapport with his audience — but bigger rooms tend to swallow him up. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —Eric Snider
JAGUAR WRIGHT This is a rather atypical WMNF benefit show. Wright is a decidedly neo-soul chanteuse who's toured with The Roots and been a backup singer for Jay Z. The Philly artist has an agreeably slinky style, anchored by bold, sensual vocals. (State Theatre, St. Pete) —ES
TUESDAY, JULY 25
PINK This young singer was always a little grittier than the Britney/Christina pod-people to whom she was often compared (at least before tastemaking songwriter/producer Linda Perry set her apart), and this proves it — pop divas simply do not play sets at Jannus. Pink has certainly benefited from the same studio magic as her quasi-peers, however, the jury is still out on whether she'll be able to bring the goods live. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
THE FORMAT/RAINER MARIA/ANATHALLO/STREET TO NOWHERE Myspace success story The Format is a quirky, earnest modern-pop duo that tempers its Generation Hot Topic flirtation with adept musicianship and a seemingly bottomless knowledge of what makes classic pop music good. Long-running female-fronted indie-rock trio Rainer Maria continues to get catchier and catchier without sacrificing quality — for more on this Brooklyn-based underground institution, check out the Music feature.
BRANDTSON/UMBRELLAS/DE'SOLE' Former emo-template contributor Brandtson has long been a favorite with those in the all-ages set who have to have a favorite band that not everybody knows about. But this year's Hello, Control broke away — WAY away — from the group's former sound to experiment with dancy (but by no means ironic), ambitious synth-pop. Will it work? Probably. That shit is huge. It's a pretty fun listen, in any case. Umbrellas is a labelmate of Brandtson's over at The Militia Group, and plays a sensitive, almost-fey sort of postmodern strum-pop buoyed by myriad effects and keyboard lines. De'Sole' hails from Phoenix, and brings guitar-pop back into these other bands' keyboard-heavy sounds without completely doing away with the ambiance. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2006.
