Eric Johnson & Alien Love Child w/The Derek Trucks Band Two guitar heroes — one Austin-based and baby-faced, one Floridian and barely out of his teens — bring their bands to Ybor. Doors are at 9 p.m. and tickets are $15 in advance, $19 at the door. (May 3, Frankie's Patio)
Heritage O.P. NYC percussion ensemble Heritage O.P. combines a number of ancient musical styles to create an energetic hybrid that's been lauded by everyone from Weight Watchers magazine to legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins. This is a benefit for The New Place, a cultural center for the underprivileged that was first active in the '70s, and has recently picked up steam again. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. (May 3, The New Place)
Nine Days w/Soulsystem/Friction Farm Tickets to see the Long Island-based radio-friendly quintet — think Matchbox Twenty watered down even further by my old suburban stomping grounds — cost $9.57 in advance, $12 day of show. Local crowd-pleasers Soulsystem and Palm Beach Gardens pop-rock band Friction Farm open. This Star-95.7 FM show starts at 7 p.m. (May 3, Club More)
D.I. w/The Street Walkin' Cheetahs/Jackie Papers/Flat Stanley What do you think D.I. stands for? Development Issues? Dave Irks? Doody Icing? The veteran, sarcastic SoCal punk band ain't sayin'. L.A. punk revivalists Streetwalkin' Cheetahs join The Jackie Papers and Flat Stanley — who both rose from the ashes of our very own Pink Lincolns — to open the show. (May 4, Brass Mug)
Donna the Buffalo w/Peter Rowan The popular, Buffalo, N.Y.-based folk-rock sextet returns, this time with bluegrass hero Peter Rowan, of The Rowan Brothers, in tow (Peter's bro Lorin plays Skipper's on Tuesday). (May 4, Jannus Landing)
Focus Magazine Regional Music Showcase w/Cocktail Honeys/My Hotel Year/Chase Theory/Slack Season/Pseudo Heroes We here at the Planet hold no grudges. Nope. Just 'cause my pals at Focus thought my Home article was too kooked-out for them many years ago, that's no reason at all for me to snub their showcase. The St. Pete magazine has lined up some of the best bands in the area — heavy on the rawk, light on the kook, mind you. (May 4, State Theatre)
Mandorico w/Cave Catt Sammy The Latin-ska-rock-hip-hop hybrid that is Atlanta's Mandorico is no longer a co-ed troupe — in fact, they appear to be attempting some sort of boy-band thing these days — but the eight-man mobile dance party will most likely still get you on your feet. (May 4, Club More)
Syrup w/Blue Flame Combo/Dank Tallahassee's too-tall, funk-rock rednecks return. Doors are at 9 p.m., admission costs $5. (May 4, Orpheum)
Truckadelic w/Cave Catt Sammy Southern Culture on the Skids minus big hair and boobs equals Truckadelic, and there ain't necessarily nothin' wrong with that. Cave Catt Sammy is an up-and-coming rockabilly outfit from San Antonio, Texas. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $7 in advance, $10 day of show. (May 4, Skipper's Smokehouse)
The Tommy Castro Band w/The Jimmy Griswold Band With his laid-back vocals and hot slide guitar, Blind Pig recording artist Castro is a crowd favorite in his hometown of San Francisco. He used to tour with the Dynatones, but has led his own band since 1991. The show starts at 8 p.m. and costs $12 in advance, $15 at the door. (May 5, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Gotohells CD Release Party It seems you can't just be a rock 'n' roll band anymore. The marketing folks need to slot you into some sort of hybridized hyphenation in order for an act to find a niche. Well, Gotohells say fuck all to that and play hard, heavy rock 'n' roll; they stomp out straight-up, face-slapping, guitar-fueled, crunchy, earthy, no-bullshit rock that has as much to do with the Stones as with punk. They pepper their tunes with guitar solos. Singer Edo has one of those gritty, classic rock 'n' roll voices. Oh, and they're from St. Pete, where they still live, although they tour about six months out of the year (down from nine). This show is the Gotohells release party for their excellent disc Rock 'n' Roll America, their second on Vagrant. They'll also appear in-store at Daddy Kool Records (671 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-822-5665) at 1 p.m., where they'll perform a stripped-down set. Fun Gotohells fact: death-metal ghoul Glen Benton of Deicide suggested the band's name. (May 5, Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg) —Eric Snider
Miss July/Built Like Jesus/Paul Mallett Co-ed bubblegum rockers Miss July are from our state's fair capitol. (Don't try looking them up on the Internet unless you wanna get inundated with porn.) Local band Built Like Jesus comprises ex-members of The Spills and The Hustlers. Doors open at 9 p.m. for this all-ages show, and cover's $5. (May 6, Orpheum)
Lorin Rowan/Joey Errigo Guitarist/singer/songwriter Rowan is the leader of the Lorin Rowan Trio and, with brothers Peter and Chris, is part of progressive bluegrass band The Rowan Brothers (Peter opens up for Donna the Buffalo earlier in the week). Possessed of a clarion tenor and an eclectic guitar style (finger-picked and slide), Lorin's composition Soldiers of the Cross was the title track to Ricky Skaggs' recent Grammy award-winning CD. Joey Errigo, a folkie from Ga., opens the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 at the door. (May 8, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Creation Is Crucifixion/Kalibas/more tba The time: 1989. The place: The schoolyard of your average public high school, say … King, or Hillsborough High. A pasty bohunk in a Morbid Angel shirt, out of his mind on dirtweed and hormones, circles. In his sights, a mere wisp of a geek shivers, trig books, jazz cassettes and Omni magazines falling from the broken zipper on his silver backpack. The thug comes closer. Sweat pours from the nerd's armpits and hairline. But it's not what you think — these two aren't fighters. And since surely no one will understand their strange passion, they pack up and head for San Francisco. SF's CIC make the soundtrack to their love — super-thinky, sample-heavy, off-time death metal. Rochester, N.Y.'s Kalibas bring more heft, and rumor has it that there will be further heaviness provided by two local bands born from the ashes of The Blackout Terrors. Doors are at 9 p.m. and cover for this all-ages event is $5. (May 8, Orpheum)
Sick Of It All w/Boy Sets Fire/Death By Stereo/The Hope Conspiracy If the D.I. show at Brass Mug earlier this week is a bit too light-hearted for your earnest punk sensibilities, head to Ybor for NYC hardcore kings Sick of It All. Opening the show is a bevy of hot young punks: Delaware's BSF share the headliner's fervent politics; SoCal's Death By Stereo bring the quirk of their home turf to the bill; and The Hope Conspiracy features ex-members of hardcore metal-punks Harvest. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $12. (May 8, Masquerade)
—All entries by Stefanie Kalem unless otherwise noted
This article appears in May 3-9, 2001.