Upcoming Concerts in Tampa Bay
THURSDAY, FEB. 16
THE COUNTRY GOLD TOUR The Florida State Fair entertainment train rolls on. Tonight's slate has become something of a State Fair tradition — a touring lineup of Nashville C&W notables who, while not exactly up there with Garth and Toby, are well known to lifelong country music fans. This year's tentative bill includes two-time Grammy nominee Barbara Fairchild, Billy "The Tall Texan" Walker, songwriter Helen Cornelius, veteran singer-songwriter Moe Bandy, Jett Williams (yes, of those Williamses), and more. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
A JAZZ TRIBUTE TO LILLETTE JENKINS-WISNER The press release says that Lillette Jenkins-Wisner is an "internationally renowned concert pianist and vocalist," who, though "initially trained as a classical pianist," has "maintained a strong interest in gospel, ragtime and traditional jazz." I'm going to take the Palladium's word on this one, because I've never heard of Ms. Jenkins-Wisner. She'll be feted by jazz friends Katt Hefner, Rose Bilal, John Lamb and many others at this to-do. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) —Eris Snider
FRIDAY, FEB. 17
BON JOVI Somehow, this late-'80s hair-metal-lite combo survived the death of its genre (and a largely unsuccessful foray into acting by its namesake frontman) to return as mature, anthemic elder statesmen of the Adult Contemporary crowd. We're guessing there'll be plenty of soccer moms available to comfort guitarist Richie Sambora, who recently split with Heather Locklear and might be suffering from the post-Valentine's Day blues, during this two-night Forum stand. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
YELLOWMAN/MORGAN HERITAGE/PATO BANTON All of these reggae and dancehall acts have played numerous times in the Bay area — usually in the hotter months — but rarely do they come in one bill like this. Folks in need of a reggae fix shouldn't miss this one. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —ES
FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS Valli and crew haven't done much lately, and one wonders if the group can still crack those upper-register notes that make tunes like "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man" such oldies-radio standards. The songs are still perfect for kicking off a sock-hop, and Valli and company certainly have their share of memorable melodies. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) —Cooper Lane Baker
A TRIBUTE TO JOE PRINE Singer-songwriters Roy Book Binder, Ronny Elliott, Sam Pacetti, Rob Rafkin, Bryan Rivers, Ron Canady, Robert Phillips and Victoria de Lissovoy play to remember Lakeland contemporary/fan/tireless show promoter Joe Prine, who passed away last year. Proceeds will help keep the nonprofit Friends of Joe producing live music in Prine's name. The Polk Theatre is located at 121 S. Florida Ave. in Lakeland. (Polk Theatre, Lakeland)
HOMO ALONE: AN EVENING OF SOLO QUEER ARTISTS The Bombshell hosts an impressive slate of local and national singer-songwriters whose personal lifestyles may or may not be exactly like yours, and who cares, really? It's about the tunes, and you'll get 'em from area artists Lorna Bracewell and Jeremy Gloff, as well as California's Adrianne and Fort Lauderdale's Richard Cortez. (Bombshell Gallery, St. Petersburg)
SKINNY MCGEE AND HIS MAYHEM MAKERS This group cranks out some acceptable Floridian rockabilly, which certainly means a good-times vibe, even if the music doesn't stick with you a whole bunch afterwards. The tunes cover some wide ground, from hootenannies to cheating women to whiskey and back again. (Fogartyville Café, Bradenton) —CLB
SATURDAY, FEB. 18
AIMEE MANN Evocative, critically hailed independent singer-songwriter Mann enlisted soulful production guru Joe Henry to helm last year's marvelous The Forgotten Arm. Here, she makes good on a previous Tampa Theatre date cancelled during the height of hurricane season. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa)
THE FIERY FURNACES w/DEADBOY & THE ELEPHANTMEN Siblings Matthew and Eleanor Friedburger have led their eclectic, eccentric Fiery Furnaces to the height of indie buzzdom, releasing three wildly disparate yet uniformly acclaimed full-lengths mixing psychedelia, folk, experimentation, art-rock and obscure Americana traditions — all in the last two-and-a-half years or so. The group's latest, last year's Rehearsing My Choir, is a themed collaboration with the Friedburgers' musically gifted grandmother. Deadboy & the Elephantmen are the latest garage rock combo to emerge from the Fat Possum stable. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
KEVN KINNEY w/THE HUMAN CONDITION/THE DIVINERS It's been a while since Georgian singer-songwriter and former Drivin' n' Cryin' frontman Kinney made a Bay area appearance. Expect timeless, well-crafted roots-and-country fare delivered with Kinney's trademark plaintive, gets-under-your-skin voice, and aptly earthy material courtesy of Bradenton's strummy Human Condition and Tampa's gritty Diviners. (The Bank, St. Petersburg)
JOHN CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT & FAMILY The Knight family hail from Kentucky, where they grow their own food, eschew electricity and train Border Collies for a living. Patriarch John never aimed for a musical career, but was "discovered" performing at a dog show, ended up recording some tunes and has become something of a roots-music novelty. He and several multi-instrumentalist members of his clan (six of his nine children play in the band) will perform two nights' worth of shows at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Patel Conservatory. (TECO Theater @ The Patel Conservatory, Tampa)
RICHARD GILEWITZ Gilewitz is a Floridian finger-picker well known on the coffee shop circuit in town. And for good reason: The dude's got a lot of talent on the acoustic guitar and his songs consist of little but him pickin' away. Not the most thrilling of shows, but certainly nicer than getting caught in a mosh pit. (Fogartyville Café, Bradenton) —CLB
SUNDAY, FEB. 19
CEPHIA'S TREAT PRESENTS THE POST-INC FIASCO INC stands for International Noise Conference, an annual adventurous-music festival held in Miami. On their way back out of the state, a buttload of purveyors of challenging sounds will hook up with their local brethren for an evening sure to ignite countless arguments about exactly what constitutes music. We won't list all the bands playing here, because 98 percent of you reading this haven't heard of a single one of 'em; we'll just say the show starts at 6 p.m., features more than 20 bands and is guaranteed to thrill, illuminate, irritate or anger. (Flight 19, Tampa)
MONDAY, FEB. 20
KID ROCK This proud Detroit redneck/hip-hop kid inexplicably went from LiveStock dirt-rocking stardom to recording duets with Sheryl Crow and semi-legitimate pop-country respectability. These days, it appears his lengthy 15 minutes are just about over; those fans who just can't abide watching The Kid rock from reserved seating might just want to wait a couple of years, until he becomes quite possibly the most entertaining attraction to ever headline RibFest. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
NOFX/THE LAWRENCE ARMS/THE LOVED ONES Enduring California punk act NOFX makes its umpteenth appearance in the State-Jannus corridor. Along with Fat Mike and his jolly band of politically active miscreants are quite possibly the best punk act around these days, The Lawrence Arms — see the Music Feature for more on this smart, original Chicago trio. Along for the ride is another worthwhile group, Philadelphia's anthemic Loved Ones. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
CATIE CURTIS The hard-touring Boston singer-songwriter often plays more than 100 dates a year, and her traditional-gets-contemporary tunes have been heard on TV shows like Dawson's Creek and Felicity. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
SONATA ARCTICA This Finnish prog-metal combo mixes the melody and melodrama of the old-school New Wave of British Heavy Metal with ferocious instrumental chops and the sweeping, atmospheric orchestrations of its more dark-hearted Scandinavian contemporaries. This show was originally booked into St. Pete's State Theatre; all tickets sold for that venue will be honored tonight at Orpheum. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, FEB. 21
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS Bob Marley had a tune called "Crazy Baldheads," a reference to Jamaicans who didn't wear dreads, and thus were not part of the clan. Toots Hibbert has always been a baldhead, and that hasn't hurt his storied career in reggae, rocksteady and ska. His gruff, soulful voice is one of the most revered in the genre, so respected by the American soul-music establishment that he was once recruited to cut an album called Toots in Memphis, an album that turned out very well, by the way. On stage, the diminutive singer's incandescent smile and vibrant energy always make for a celebratory experience. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg) —ES
BOB SCHNEIDER w/DREW HOLCOMB One of the WMNF crowd's favorite Austinites, Schneider has always been a little more rocking than most roots-rockers, and it's a characteristic that has consistently served to set him apart, and often above, many of his peers; his confessional writing style and knowledge of the best of '70s rock's fringe also help keep him from veering too far into Adult Alternative territory. Drew Holcomb is a young roots singer-songwriter whose Memphis upbringing has lent him a style beyond his years. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22
NASHVILLE PUSSY Everybody's favorite band that sounds like Motorhead partying with Supersuckers, and features talented female players who don't mind breathing fire and making out onstage, is back in town. Yes, you've seen them a million times. But c'mon — every so often, people who work hard doing something they hate for a living need to be re-exposed to the concert equivalent of sneaking into a Catholic school's girls' dorm with a case of whiskey and several scratched-up vinyl copies of REO Speedealer albums. (Masquerade, Tampa)
This article appears in Feb 15-21, 2006.
