THURSDAY, MAY 11
KEVIN SO Asian-American folk-festival staple Kevin So has released 10 albums in as many years, and is reportedly adept at just about any style, from vintage croonerisms to jazz and R&B, on both guitar and keyboards. This is So's second UU Dome appearance. (Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, Tampa)
JUST RECORDS SHOWCASE St. Pete-based indie imprint Just Records boasts a stable full of groups that came together out of Eckerd College's student body. Which is certainly cool; the only drawback would be if some of your label's bands broke up upon graduation, as is reportedly the case with Armchair Romantics, so come see the group at one of its final shows. The more experimental Ship Shape and electronic-noise-laced Nines round out an intriguing young bill. (Bombshell Gallery, St. Petersburg)
IMPROMPTU This Bay area acoustic quartet specializes in the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Their last high-profile gig was opening for Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks at the State Theatre, and the post-show talk was that guitarist Larry Camp and his cohorts really took it to the headliners. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) Eric Snider
FRIDAY, MAY 12
JAMES BLUNT Truth is, the hit single "Beautiful" is the kind of ubiquitous tune that can turn people off to a new artist without every giving him or her a chance. The song's not even bad — it's just that you hear it a dozen times a day if you tune into the radio, or watch VH-1, or shop in a mall, or basically leave your house without your iPod. Yes, Blunt, the hip Adult Alternative guy of the moment, is associated with former Four Non Blondes vocalist/songwriter-to-the-stars Linda Perry, but he has a fresher sound than most. Also, he says "fuck" in some of his songs. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
.38 SPECIAL We won't judge. It's totally up to you to decide whether or not loving to air-guitar to "Hold on Loosely" carries with it the responsibility to support this fading Southern Rock-lite institution in a live setting. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD/THE MATCHES/MC LARS/FORGIVE DURDEN The Florida boys and frequent Bay area visitors Whole Wheat Bread mix pop-punk and hip-hop in a novel fashion, but are definitely heavier on the former. Perennial middle-of-the-bill Epitaph Records act The Matches stays the course; punk-savvy, Stanford-educated glitch-hop mouthpiece MC Lars gets clever; and Seattle's snotty-but-sophisticated pop act Forgive Durden dies for the sins of Ed Norton's other personality. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
GO IT ALONE/NOW SOLDIERS/ANCHORS AWAY/THE DAMAGE Two of the most committed, compelling and listenable acts in Florida metalcore, Pinellas' Now Soldiers and Jacksonville's Anchors Away, come sandwiched between a rock-infused hardcore act from Southern California and, uh, The Damage. You decide which is which. (688 Skatepark, Clearwater)
PAUL WILBORN & THE BLUE ROSES QUARTET: "LET'S MISBEHAVE!" Wilborn may run around Tampa in a jacket and tie as the city's arts czar (I know that's not his title, but I love saying it), yet he can't seem to get performing out of his system; nor can he get naming all of his bands "Paul Wilborn & the …" out of his system. For this show, the czar and his Blue Roses Quartet venture across the bay to perform songs by Fats Waller, Cole Porter, Gus Khan, Irvin Berlin and other titans of the American Songbook, in a performance that's "Rated R for Racy." (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) ES
ODEM PRESS/MAH_ONE/SPANKY HUDAS/S2E/DJ KOMBATROCK Let's let eloquent, outspoken Tampa activist Kelly "DJ Kombatrock" Benjamin tell us about these acts, shall we? Odem Press: "Tampa's own Odem Press hate to be compared to Lightning Bolt. They're better than those crappy songs they have on Myspace.com." Mah_One: "After years of carbon monoxide inhalation he is seeking therapy through the manipulation of 45 rpm recordings using effects processors and broken toys. Spanky Hudas: "Owns a church in Zephyrhills that he uses as a bass for his wicked mashups and audio experimentation." S2E: "S2E performs Mooged out space rock in leotards out of the back of a baby blue VW bus with various members, usually passerbys … He has a regular gig in the parking lot of Borders on South Dale Mabry. He once played outside of a presidential fundraiser and was a hairtrigger away from being blown away by the Secret Service." Thanks, Kelly. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
HANGTOWN CD RELEASE PARTY For those of you who remember Hangtown as a superior local Americana act that went kaput several years ago, this is not a posthumous sort of thing — Hangtown is back, in a slightly more rockified fashion. And the group brought a pretty damn fine EP, Gone Today, Here Tomorrow, back from Beyond with it. Helping the guys celebrate new life are Experimental Pilot, Four Star Riot, Rebekah Pulley & The Reluctant Prophets, and their close friends/former Barely Pink bandmates The Threads. Come early; the music starts at 8:30 p.m. sharp. (The Bank, St. Petersburg)
TOOTH AND THE ENAMELS/FASHION! FASHION! AND THE IMAGE BOYS/PRETTY UGLY/CREETEENS "I hate girls that don't put out/ I hate girls that don't put out" … romance is in the air with this little ditty from beer-fueled Orlando punksters Tooth and the Enamels. And then there's "Daddy I'm in Porno," by Pretty Ugly, the so-sad tale of a young woman led astray. A classy bill all around. (The Tavern on Main, Sarasota) Cooper Lane Baker
SATURDAY, MAY 13
THE BEACH BOYS Mike Love and the guys don't carry the same sort of artistic cred as Brian Wilson, but, hey, they don't need a drool cup, either. The current Beach Boys are a pure nostalgia act, with plenty of great songs to sing in their not-as-harmonious-as-before voices. This is a good venue for them. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg) ES
ROSIE LEDET Zydeco music doesn't have many female exponents, in fact it may have just one: Ms. Ledet, who sings and plays the requisite button accordion. She grew up in southwest Louisiana barely turning an ear to the indigenous music around her. At age 16, she went to a dance featuring Boozoo Chavis — and thus was born "The Zydeco Sweetheart." (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) ES
THE BUSINESS/ROGER MIRET'S DISASTER/BRAIN FAILURE Manly, manly punk from British late-'70s street-punk pioneers The Business, semi-legendary Agnostic Front principal Roger Miret (though many say this more Oi-influenced project lives up to its name) and Brain Failure, a wildly mohawked, young Rancid carbon copy. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
EFEST w/STITCHCRAFT/IDEAL AND THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION/TANYA RADTKE/RADIO-FREE CARMELA AND THE TRANSMITTERS/BIG NIGHT OUT Sarasota's festival for sustainable living has music all day, with one highlight being the first ever Sarasota show of punta rock artist Ideal. StitchCraft is an ex-Stone Soup out-there folk duo, while Radtke and R-FC bring the more traditional folk sound. Big Night Out? We awarded them "Best Bilingual Cover Band" on the Suncoast last fall, and we don't regret it. (Outside the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) CLB
69 FINGERS/ARM THE POOR/RED TIDE Didn't someone tell 69 Fingers that ska is so, like, 1995? Horn sections are so passé. Do people even skank anymore? Do I sound like an old man? The band's not just a shitty Mighty Mighty Bosstones tribute act, though. It has an aggressive edge that punk groups usually leave behind once they go two-tone. Where's my wallet chain? (The Tavern on Main, Sarasota) CLB
FERENGATA CD RELEASE PARTY Local act Ferengata has been honing its songwriting chops while playing covers and originals all around the Bay. Tonight marks the release of these musicians' first CD as Ferengata; Fire in the Heart evinces a decidedly, um, mature classic-rock sound inspired by everything from Santana to Jimmy Buffett. Proceeds from CD sales at this free event will benefit Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches; Norton's Southside is located at 115 N. Starcrest Drive in Clearwater. (Norton's Southside, Clearwater)
CLOSING RECEPTION: "OUTSIDE" For several months now, you've had an opportunity to go to The Globe and discover that Stacy Mathis doesn't just take pictures of John McNicholas, and that Jeff Morris isn't just the super-nice guy who runs Wilson's Book World and teaches you publishing industry terms like "trade paperback." After tonight, their marvelous joint exhibition will be a memory. Acoustic performers Will Quinlan, The Beauvilles' Shawn Kyle, Rebekah Pulley and Joey Neill (DISCLOSURE: Neill plays bass in Nessie, a band of which I'm also a member) send the show off. (The Globe Lounge & Coffeehouse, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, MAY 14
LET GO/TRANSITION/SELECT START/CLASS OF 98/JONEZETTA Arizona's Let Go features somebody or other from noted raw-pop machine The Stereo; this group is slightly heavier, in an urgent way that splits the difference between American Hi-Fi and the more modern-rock likes of Hoobastank. Transition is a rising new pop-punk/emo act from Pittsburgh whose debut, Get There, was produced by MxPx's Mike Herrera. The surprisingly astute 'n' powerful young Tampa pop act Select Start, haunting Nashville-bred Jimmy Eat World acolytes Class of 98, and ambitious recent Tooth & Nail Records-signing Jonezetta round out a bill that covers a lot of post-emo/heavy indie-pop ground. (Top 5 Records, Tampa)
TUESDAY, MAY 16
GOD FORBID/ILL NINO/BLEED THE SKY/EYES OF FIRE/SILENT CIVILIAN God Forbid has owned that coveted space just below where underground metal breaks through to the mainstream for a couple of years now. This hard-touring group is still out on the road supporting last year's IV: Constitution of Treason. Longtime support-act Ill Nino is next up, followed by three comparatively new-on-the-radar California acts: industrial/nu-metal group Bleed The Sky, tech/prog-metal band Eyes of Fire, and Silent Civilian, a combo heavily influenced by the glory days of old-school thrash. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
BLACK COBRA/ANDROS REX The band with the coolest, most gang-of-ninjas-sounding name ever, Black Cobra, hails from L.A. and plies a down-tuned and downright scary brand of technical spaz-core. We're sure there'll be more bands on this bill by the time it rolls around, but at press time only enigmatic Tampa act Andros Rex had been announced. (Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17
THE SHIRTS FOR A CURE TOUR FEAT. THURSDAY/MINUS THE BEAR/MEWITHOUT YOU/WE'RE ALL BROKEN Shirts For A Cure is a killer idea from the non-profit Syrentha J. Savio Foundation, which raises funds for women without the means to get treatment for breast cancer. The deal is, a whole ton of your favorite nu-punk/emo/screamo/indie rock bands donates one-of-a-kind T-shirt designs conceived by themselves, their friends and their fans. Shirts For a Cure owns the rights to the shirts, so all the money made from selling them goes to the Foundation. And the only place to get these special-edition band T's is at tour shows, or from SFaC's own website. Killer, huh? Read more about it in this week's music feature, then go see the screamo's godfather act Thursday in action with a diverse spate of underground up-and-comers. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
DJ TIESTO Cred-heavy Dutch spinner/remixer/trance-master Tiesto is making the American club rounds flogging the fifth installment of his globetrotting In Search of Sunrise mix-CD series, a two-disc set with the city of Los Angeles as its inspiration. Tiesto's known for marathon sets, so dancin' fools might want to get their next Grey Goose with Red Bull instead of tonic. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
This article appears in May 10-16, 2006.