THURSDAY, MARCH 03
CHASCO FIESTA New Port Richey's annual celebration kicks in today, and you know what that means – more than a week's worth of weird and (sometimes) wonderful live outdoor entertainment. Tonight's show features Native-American singer-songwriter Bill Miller and a tribal dance troupe, starting at 7:30 p.m. Here's the rundown for the rest of the festival: Friday: 2Shae/Alexia/4 Real/Velez/Keisha & Kellie/Nnocent/Sean van der Wilt (urban/pop/Latin) Saturday: Get Back! The Cast of Beatlemania Sunday: All-day talent showcase Monday: Foothill/Sno Rogers (bluegrass) Tuesday: Retromatic/Wiley Fox/Bertie Higgins (classic rock) Wednesday: Orquestra Infinidad (Latin) Thursday, March 10: Pat Travers/Sean Chambers/Back Alley Blues Band/Mikki Taylor (blues/classic rock) Friday, March 11: Salvador/Desert Rain (contemporary Christian) Saturday, March 12: Phil Vassar/Buddy Jewell/Jenna Thomas/Daniel Lee Martin (country) Sunday, March 13: Local High School Bands (Sims Park, New Port Richey)
STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL MAINSTAGE ENTERTAINMENT Chasco's not the only yearly festival going down on the outskirts of the Bay area; Plant City's world famous tribute to whipped cream's best friend is back again, as well. The Festival Grounds are located at 2202 W. Reynolds St. in Plant City, and a ton of information can be found at www.flstrawberryfestival.com. The Strawberry Festival's lineup of nightly headliners is a mostly impressive slate of big-name country types (plus variety crooners Wayne Newton and Neil Sedaka, along with Christian singer-songwriter Michael W. Smith), so don't get too full up on funnel cake to hang out late: Thursday: The Oak Ridge Boys Friday: The Charlie Daniels Band Saturday: Aaron Tippin Sunday: Lorrie Morgan (4 p.m.)/Clint Black (7:30 p.m.) Monday: Vince Gill Tuesday: Wayne Newton Wednesday: Neal McCoy Thursday, March 10: Neil Sedaka Friday, March 11: John Michael Montgomery Saturday, March 12: Michael W. Smith Sunday, March 13: LeAnn Rimes (Strawberry Festival Grounds, Plant City)
MUNICIPAL WASTE/TORCHE/NEW BRUISES/THE HOLY MOUNTAIN Skatepark of Tampa shows used to take place in a sweaty corner of the complex's main warehouse, but no more. The neat, adjacent Transition Arts Gallery makes a nice display and performance space, without the added hassle of having to watch everywhere at once for ankle-busting errant boards. Richmond, Va.'s Municipal Waste continue to carry the flag for the sort of old-school crossover thrash pioneered by DRI and Suicidal Tendencies; tonight they're supported by three savage combos from all over our lovely, phallic state. (Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
FRIDAY, MARCH 04
OTEP w/AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE/DRY KILL LOGIC/BLOODSIMPLE/END OF THE ROPE/AGAINST ALL Female-fronted Los Angeles Goth-metal group Otep, big, novel post-Slipknot gang American Head Charge and perennial metal-scene underdog Dry Kill Logic are all the sort of second-tier hard-music act whose main reason for being is to fill out the bottom of the OzzFest bill – neither terribly original nor simply terrible, they all make loud, scary, jagged sounds well enough to find fans in those metalheads that think relative obscurity is the same thing as cult cachet. Speaking of cult cachet, some of the guys in Bloodsimple had it when they were in pioneering metalcore outfit Vision of Disorder, but their new endeavor comes off as fairly generic. (Boomerz Boiler Room, Seminole)
TSUNAMI BENEFIT A handful of mostly punky locals gives it up for the cause. 34, Flat Stanley, Skylab Hoax (which features former members of Pegasus fave Strictly Ivy League), Distance, Stranded, and The Redliners provide sets; you provide six bucks each, or eight if you're under the legal boozing age. (Pegasus Lounge, Tampa)
POSITIVE KNOWLEDGE As part of the spoken word-celebrating Say What festival currently howling down there in St. Pete, this show mixes poetry with experimental jazz and sonic mood-building. It'll also be the last EMIT show for a little while, so represent, will ya? Performer/musical polymath Oluyemi Thomas and his wife Ijeoma comprise the crux of Positive Knowledge; Noted author/poet Dionisio D. Martinez and EMIT's own David Manson will also mix it up. You can find Studio@620 at 620 First Ave. S. (Studio@620, St. Petersburg)
LUNASA Emerald Isle quintet Lunasa has been characterized as "at the forefront of contemporary Irish instrumental music," but when it comes to a heritage as rich and beloved as that of Irish music, "contemporary" often doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot. In this case, the group deftly adds a somewhat jazz-informed sensibility to things, using rhythm and mood to create a compelling ebb and flow. But fret not – you still get all the fiddle and tin whistles you can handle. (Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, Tarpon Springs)
KANSAS The legendary almost-prog institution kicked out that massive retrospective CD/DVD compilation last year, so it's going to be quite a while before we receive the peace of knowing that they're done. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
SATURDAY, MARCH 05
WMNF IRISH FLING FEAT. THE PRODIGALS/EMPTY HATS I've never made any bones about my love of Irish-American pub-rock juggernaut The Prodigals (though I can't remember ever writing anything about "hip-hop rhythms" – hey Randy, where the hell did you get that particular quote from?). While the band is by no means treading the same Celt-punk boards as Flogging Molly or The Dropkick Murphys, its poetic, textured and melodic sound often reaches a punky intensity, particularly live. They're just really good, and a lot of fun. Empty Hats begin from a more rootsy, classically acoustic place, but are no slouches themselves when it comes to building to a raucous singalong climax. Highly recommended. (Gulfport Casino, Gulfport)
TIMONIUM w/ISOBELLA/THE VERA VIOLETS/SLEEPY EYES/KINGSBURY Dreamy yet catchy post-rock dominates this indie show. It's good to see our own Isobella taking on a slightly busier performance schedule, and tonight marks the debut (or maybe almost-debut, I may have missed them somewhere) of engaging new shoegaze/fuzz-pop outfit The Vera Violets, helmed by Jonathan Beadle, the guy behind the late, lamented Drone Dimension. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
BILLY IUSO & THE RESTLESS NATIVES New Orleans jam-scene veteran guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Iuso's latest project, The Restless Natives, is a refreshingly succinct outing – the lineup puts the emphasis on songs and hooks, doing away with overlong exploration (at least in the studio) without sacrificing groove or organic vibe. (The Martini Club, Dunedin)
THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW w/YIP YIP Something former televangelist something something one-man-band something "electrofunk experience" something something. Whatever. Think half-assed Beck, and expect those hipsters still in love with their own convoluted sense of irony to be there in droves. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, MARCH 06
SOCIAL DISTORTION w/BACKYARD BABIES/STREET DOGS Two words, and they rhyme with "bold shout." (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
(HED)PE This hopelessly clichéd rap-metal act flirted with a breakthrough back in the day, but never managed to parlay buzzworthiness into bigger things. Nice dreads, though. Tonight's Boiler Room gig features support courtesy of rising national act Madside and locals E-Merge; they'll be down at Club Heat (the larger dance club adjacent to Rockerfella's) in Bradenton tomorrow night, and will share the stage with usual Manasota suspects Ripa Joda, Dolt and New Crash Position. (Boomerz Boiler Room, Seminole)
MONDAY, MARCH 07
LISSA SCHNECKENBURGER Young, talented fiddler Schneckenburger graduated from Boston's New England Conservatory of Music in 2001; she's performed at festivals all over the world, and while she doesn't consider herself a singer-songwriter per se, she does have both a fine voice and a talent for finding the traditional Celtic/contradance standards that fit it best. Tonight, she'll be backed up by double-bassist Corey DiMario. Colorado-based Acoustic Eidolon is a chamber-folk duo whose last Bay area appearance – at a house show – caused quite a stir. (Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, Tampa)
TUESDAY, MARCH 08
7 SECONDS w/CHAMPION/THE BRIGGS Bona fide American punk legends 7 Seconds have been turning out exciting rock 'n' roll since the very early '80s, and though the last time I saw them was probably three or four years ago, they were still more than capable of smoking the nu-punk crowd at that point. Tight, smart, catchy, anthemic shit that hasn't aged much at all. Seattle's Champion pays reverent homage to the straightedge hardcore tradition, and The Briggs love that stuff too, but they've also got more than a little updated street-punk in 'em. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
THE JUGGERNAUT JUG BAND This Louisville foursome carries on that city's jug-band tradition, but don't expect crusty music historians getting all stodgy and anachronistic on your asses – these guys are all about making sure the audience enjoys itself. Check out the Music feature for more. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
CASTANETS/AUDIBLE/LAZARUS/THE BEAUVILLES/AARON LEPLEY San Diego singer-songwriter Raymond Raposa got members of such luminary indie-rock outfits as Pinback, Rocket from the Crypt and Tristeza to flesh out his autumnal, road-digest Americana in Castanets. Philly's Audible does a more classic-pop sort of thing, Lazarus is quite the enigmatic creator, and locals The Beauvilles and November Foxtrot Whiskey's Aaron Lepley provide dynamic revivalist rock and moody, indie roots-rock, respectively. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2005.