THURSDAY, JULY 13
97X PRESENTS THE SUMMER ROCK SHOW I was just thinking it was about time for Bay area modern-rock station 97X to throw some shindig or other up at Clearwater's Coachman Park, and here it is. The kids love the flagship emo act Taking Back Sunday for some reason or other (though maybe when they see the group's acoustic performances on the Bastards of Young DVD, they'll reevaluate that unconditional loyalty); TBS will be this evening's headliner. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: Blink-182 guitarist-vocalist Tom Delonge's new and highly praised — though mostly by him — wave-pop act Angels & Airwaves is in full effect, along with the power-pop dandies of Head Automatica, the very hip British fuzz/garage-pop trio The Subways, and local modern-rock outfit Trace of Day. Get there early; this one kicks off at 5 p.m. (Coachman Park, Clearwater)
CHICAGO/HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS Once a punchy rock/R&B unit that made innovative use of its horn section, Chicago gradually descended into schmaltz. In 1970, the band released two Top 10 hits: the sizzling "25 or 6 to 4" and the velvety "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" Six years later, they reached No. 1 with the treacly Peter Cetera vehicle "If You Leave Me Now." The band has undergone myriad personnel changes over the years, and balladeer Cetera has been out of the fold for quite some time. These days, Chicago contents itself with working the nostalgia angle, duplicating its impressive catalogue of hits, schmaltzy or otherwise. Huey Lewis and the News doesn't possess the same sprawling history as Chicago, but the band scored a number of agreeable hits in the '80s: "I Want a New Drug," "The Heart of Rock & Roll" and "Stuck with You" among them. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa) —Eric Snider
SEARCH THE CITY/MONUMENT, MONUMENT I got an e-mail saying Bombshell Gallery proprietor/Times sacrificial lamb Gina V. is out of the hospital, again. Here's hoping she feels better, and stays out long enough to enjoy some of the music her establishment is importing this week. Search The City boasts six members (one of them goes by the awesome name Jimmy Full Blast) and plies a fairly original and listenable sound that's emo-esque without being too generic or overwrought. Monument, Monument is more original and pensive, with an ambient, occasionally almost jazzy, style of post-rock. I dig it. Both of these bands hail from Detroit, but don't throw a brick through the van window before robbing them at gunpoint, they're on tour to get away from that sort of shit. (Bombshell Gallery, St. Petersburg)
FRIDAY, JULY 14
KOTTONMOUTH KINGS/(HED)P.E./SUBNOIZE SOULJAZ Negligible pro-pot rap-rock train wreck Kottonmouth Kings seems to be on tour all the time. This is probably because the band's home base, Orange County, Calif., is always encouraging it to hit the road in the hope it'll find a scene it likes more, and move there. This time, Orange County scored a twofer, and got its third-tier nu-metal/rip-hop act (hed)p.e. to go out with the Kings. The group has evolved from threatening to sort of goofy and spastic, like an overly white and overly metallic version of '80s-era Chili Peppers from the Midwestern suburbs. In fact, both acts are on a label called Suburban Noize Records, which, judging by its roster, apparently can't tell what was good about Sublime from what is bad about 311. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
MR. MENTION/FINOTEE/SOUL, SOUND & POWER Jamaican toaster, singer, producer and musician Mr. Mention will be backed by the USF-spawned, female-fronted reggae/neo-soul/funk quintet Finotee for this Skipperdome appearance. Finotee will also play a set of its own, as will reggae act Soul, Sound & Power. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
LES SABLER & CITIHEAT This is the latest show in the Van Wezel's ongoing Friday Fest monthly concert series, held outside the hall, right on the water. This installment features the cortex-numbing smooth jazz sounds of Mr. Sabler, et al. It's tough to slam on this show too much, though, since the American Red Cross is going to be on hand to raise some cash. My advice? Mail a check to the organization and save yourself some head trauma. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) —Cooper Levey-Baker
ROSETTA/DAY WITHOUT DAWN/HEURISTIC/WETNURSE Transitions Art Gallery hosts an evening of posthardcore that comes from both coasts, and stretches from the melodic and atmospheric to the histrionic and cacophonic. That's a lot of adjectives that end in "ic," so check out the Planet Picks section for a more detailed foray into the sounds of these bands from Philly, NYC, California and elsewhere, or just show up and get your mind staved in by the tightness and fury. (Transitions Art Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
SATURDAY, JULY 15
JANI LANE'S WARRANT/LILLIAN AXE/HIGHWAY TO HELL The man who brought you "Down Boys," "Cherry Pie" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin," among many others, gives the Energizer Bunny a run for its money on the cock-rock nostalgia circuit. Lane was, and presumably continues to be, a better than average songwriter, but he hitched his car to the Poison-era hair-metal train firmly, and the Sof-Serv fare Warrant was churning out as the '80s became the '90s is now the stone he'll forever be pushing up the hill. Once upon a time, Lillian Axe split the difference between Sunset Strip fare and Shrapnel Records-style shred — one can only assume the band is still cranking out hard rock with face-melting guitar leads — and Highway to Hell is, of course, "the ultimate AC/DC tribute band." (Bourbon Street, New Port Richey)
CIRCA SURVIVE/DAYS AWAY/THE RECEIVING END OF SIRENS/YOUINSERIES Philly's Circa Survive plays the prog-emo sound with more balls and style than most — Coheed and Cambria rip-off, this isn't. It's epic, with interesting guitar parts and much less punk influence than the majority of its ilk. Hometown peer Days Away has an ambitious and infectious way with blending emo, Something Corporate-style power-pop and killer live-versus-programmed rhythms. The Receiving End of Sirens, from Boston, is pretty anonymous, splitting the difference between the aforementioned C&C and whatever the most melodic band is on Equal Vision Records at this particular moment; and Vegas' YouInSeries sounds like, um, The Receiving End of Sirens. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
DIKKI DU & THE ZYDECO CREW The brother of, and one-time drummer for, Chubby Carrier, Dikki Du keeps the Louisiana zydeco thing going, having switched to accordion and vocals some time ago. The bio on his website touts Dikki's music as an "innovative" take on the time-tested genre, but after scanning a few sound clips, it sounds pretty traditional to me. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —ES
BANDANA/THE BOYDS Tony "Butch" Gerace rocked the States back in the 1960s as part of the second lineup of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, the guys behind eternal garage-rock classic "Wooly Bully." The song is a sloppy party sing-along on par with other basement gems like "Louie Louie." Gerace retired in Venice in 1990 and now fronts Bandana, which performs occasionally in the area. This is the band's third gig at the Venice Little Theatre. (Venice Little Theatre, Venice) —CLB
BLOTTO/DAN PADILLA/THE TIM VERSION/DUKES OF HILLSBOROUGH How cool a name for a punk band is Blotto? Leave it to the Japanese to produce a pop-punk band that rocks a name that not only is an archaic American euphemism for drunkenness, but also conjures images of a cool graphic-novel character — perhaps the protagonist's leechy-yet-lovable roommate. Dan Padilla is a band from California named after a dude from Tampa (and featuring former members of Tiltwheel and Altaira); the sound is very Tampa/Gainesville, and quite comfortably fits in with the organic, rough-and-ready stylings of our own beloved Tim Version and Dukes of Hillsborough. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
THEE OBSCENE/THE IN-CROWD/BONEY FIEND Hailing from Cocoa, Fla. — near Cape Canaveral — Thee Obscene's got a nasty punk/garage sound, with even nastier lyrics. "I want to tear your heart out, girl" goes one tasty refrain. The band does come off a bit punk-by-numbers, but there are worse crimes. The other two bands on the lineup are closer to home: The In-Crowd reps Bradenton, while Boney Fiend is from Tampa. (The Tavern on Main, Sarasota) —CLB
SUNDAY, JULY 16
BILLY RAY CYRUS He personifies the term "one hit wonder." He very nearly single-handedly catalyzed the mullet's permanent berth in American culture's Irony Hall of Fame. His "Achy Breaky Heart" made weddings well nigh unbearable for a while there, open bar or no, and he's undoubtedly counting the mortgage payments until his appearance on The Surreal Life. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
NEEDTOBREATHE/BIG CITY ROCK/OCTOBER FALL These bands flourish where the New Wave revival meets mainstream alternative rock. South Carolina's Needtobreathe recalls such less accessible (and early Radiohead-indebted) acts as Palo Alto and Kent, only with studiedly huge choruses and just the right amount of U2-inspired existential anguish. Ditto Big City Rock, only with a succinctly Los Angeles-bred blend of detached self-aware flirtatiousness ("Do you wanna rock/ Do you wanna roll?") and over-the-top synth-pop fascination. Of the three, Chicago's October Fall seems the most earnest, vulnerable and reverent to guitar-pop tradition, and all three are catchy and comfortable enough, but make no mistake: The Killers (and Panic at The Disco!, and Rock Kills Kid) made this happen. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
WMNF PRESENTS THE FIRST ANNUAL AMERICANA FEST It's no secret that the Bay area is home to a thriving and exciting roots/Americana/insurgent-country scene. I mean, Ronny Elliott's been doing this shit better than most for ages now, and The Diviners' Will Quinlan was exorcising his demons with venom, whiskey and twang when I first moved here more than 15 years ago. Here's a long overdue showcase and celebration of that particular arm of the local scene's body politic, featuring some of the best in town: a resuscitated Hangtown; Quinlan's never-sounded-better Diviners; the always-entertaining Urbane Cowboys; beautifully liquid singer-songwriter Rebekah Pulley and her band, The Reluctant Prophets; rising strum-pop scene supporter The Human Condition; Experimental Pilot, featuring Rob and Steve Vessenmeyer (Men From Earth); and studio/session whiz Steve Connelly's new outing, The Lesser Gods. Highly recommended. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
TUESDAY, JULY 18
AWESOME COOL DUDES Another road show hosted by downtown St. Pete's Bombshell Gallery, this one's headlined by Austin's Awesome Cool Dudes. Dumb name, yeah, and the group's consciously dated, semi-ironic lo-fi electro-pop can be hokey as hell. But if you're in the mood for a Tuesday night dance party — and who isn't, really — this is where you need to be. It's like Beck, only more like Salt 'N' Pepa. (Bombshell Gallery, St. Petersburg)
RUSSELL "ELVIS" CORTESE How long has it been since we featured an Elvis tribute in the Menu? As long as the fins on a dozen Cadillacs parked nose-to-tail, I'd wager. Russell Cartese has been residing in the Bay area for nearly a quarter of a century; his musically and sartorially reverent rendition of The King has been featured at Devil Rays games, as well as Elvis festivals all over the state. Tonight, he'll be laying his scarves across the shoulders of the ladies at infamous John's Pass party spot Gator's. (Gator's Café & Saloon, Treasure Island)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19
RETCHING RED w/THE DEGENERATE ELITE It's hard to think of a more instantly off-putting band name than Retching Red; what's more, this female-fronted Oakland, Calif., fast-punk unit's Myspace page features a helpful graphic. Thanks, Retching Red. The band is actually pretty good, with short, amelodic, take-no-prisoners tunes in the mold of old-school American let's-learn-to-play-our-instruments-fast-together hardcore. Tampa's own Degenerate Elite is even faster and tighter, though — there aren't many bands in town doing blazing hardcore like DE, and while the band's shows are known to occasionally, er, degenerate, DE's recordings showcase one tight unit. (Top 5 Records, Tampa)
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2006.