THURSDAY, APRIL 06
KENNY G Look, in all honesty we're sick to death of thinking up new ways to make fun of Kenny G's insipid slide-into-a-bubble-bath saxophone melodies. He sucks. Don't go. That's it. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
THE DUKES OF DIXIELAND/PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND Sarasota Jazz Festival 26 — hosted by Mort Sahl — kicks off the big names with this double-bill tribute to New Orleans. Both groups keep it very trad, with nothing sounding like it came from anywhere but the French Quarter. This is a great night to hear what jazz meant in the early 20th century. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) Cooper Lane Baker
FRIDAY, APRIL 07
HEART One of the most consistently undervalued acts in classic rock. It's totally cool that the Wilson sisters got all '80s sexy for the pop years of Heart and Bad Animals just in time for me to finish puberty, and stayed relevant and made some money and all. But man, if you don't still get amped when "Barracuda" or "Crazy on You" or "Dog and Butterfly" comes on the radio, then you should probably call in sick today — you're obviously worn out after last night's Kenny G show. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
LITTLE FEAT The veteran band's most recent, and probably last, iteration is as a senior member of the jam-band scene. The group still has a terrific book of tunes to draw from, but tends to stretch out and showcase the instrumentalists more than before. It seems as if Feat plays this market at least once a year, if not more, which is probably the reason for the downsize from Jannus to the State. Still, the hardcore heads keep showing up. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) Eric Snider
VINCE WELNICK & GENT TREADLY Best known as a keyboardist for the Grateful Dead, Welnick and his band — a crew quite tuned in to the jam circuit's likes and dislikes, naturally — have hit the Bay area a couple of times before during what now seems like a never-ending road-jaunt. This'll be the group's first time across the Bay at St. Pete's The Bank, however. (The Bank, St. Petersburg)
THE RECEIVING END OF SIRENS/A THORN FOR EVERY HEART/AS TALL AS LIONS/THE BLACKOUT PACT Rising emo-scene act The Receiving End of Sirens is currently on its first headlining tour, after issuing its debut album Between the Heart and the Synapse and being named a Band to Watch by Alternative Press. The sound is slightly proggy, splitting the difference between ambitious modern rock and the grand conceptualizing of Coheed & Cambria. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
MARIAN McPARTLAND TRIO/RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO This pair of jazz trios has got some old-school talent. McPartland's been playing piano for 65 years; Lewis has been at it since 1965. Dave Brubeck, who knows a thing or two about the piano, even pimped the McPartland show when he was in town this past January. He's probably more reliable than me. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) CLB
REBEKAH PULLEY & THE RELUCTANT PROPHETS CD RELEASE PARTY You'd be hard pressed to find a musician or fan in the local pop/rock/roots/singer-songwriter/jam scenes who isn't completely in love with Rebekah Pulley's rich, evocative voice and deceptively straightforward songs. She's got a hell of a band, too — one that re-imagines the poppier aspects of her craft to create a textured whole, crossing the lines between folk, rock and jam. Tonight the group celebrates the release of its first full-band disc, Songs of Southern Zen from Pen and Paper to the Electric Den, and is joined by friends/colleagues Steve Connelly, Ronny Elliott, Natty Moss-Bond and Joran Oppelt. (Bombshell Gallery, St. Petersburg)
STRINGBREAK MUSIC FESTIVAL This year's installment of the roots and traditional music-heavy annual weekend-long jamboree includes performances by Marcia Ball, Chubby Carrier, The Lee Boys, Skinny McGee & The Mayhem Makers, Juniper Trio and many more. For a full schedule, directions and ticket info, go to www.wingsandstrings.com. (Sertoma Youth Ranch, Brooksville)
SATURDAY, APRIL 08
WEEN The freaky fake brothers and their incredibly talented band are back to rock you after a few years of false starts and personal hardship. Though Ween has lately been adopted by many jam-scene fans, anyone who likes funny, weird, interesting, or just plain incredibly original pop and rock music should attend — I can almost guarantee you'll have your mind blown. Get tickets NOW, as Ween shows at Jannus tend to sell out before the day of show. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
BRAZILIAN GIRLS The climax of the Sarasota Film Festival, the Late Night Wrap Party features this sexy pan-national band that marries the latest in icy club cool to jazz and south-of-the-border rhythms. The group is perfect for a haute affair like the wrap party: perfect for schmoozing to, perfect for dancing to and perfect to listen to back at home while you're testing out that new mattress with your baby. (Longboat Key Club & Resort, Longboat Key) CLB
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS One of a small and somewhat entertaining retinue of '80s bands that decided to get back on the road after regrouping for an episode of VH1's Bands Reunited, former adventurous hairdo showcase A Flock of Seagulls is a shadow of its former self. In short, the show is nonexistent, but the old hits can sound pretty good, depending on how badly you've been missing 'em. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
POINTER SISTERS These true sisters spent the early '80s churning out crossover pop/R&B hits like "He's So Shy," "Slow Hand" and "Jump (For My Love)." But the group's early successes in the '70s ran more toward straight-up R&B/soul; it wasn't until a cover of Springsteen's "Fire" hit in '79 that they scored pop paydirt. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
SUNDAY, APRIL 09
STELLASTARR* w/THE EDITORS Stellastarr*, the new-school shoegaze band that came together when a bunch of Scandinavians met in New York, sounds really good live — because half the tracks are canned. The sound is appropriately catchy, stylish and loud, but the group's songs have a tendency to run together. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
MOFRO w/THE LEGENDARY JC'S Skipper's Smokehouse closes a weekend of rolling, soulful grooves with Jacksonville's hippie-swamp-funksters, Mofro. The creative force behind the band is singer/songwriter J.J. Grey, a self-proclaimed backwoods country-boy surfer who hollers about his love of ham hocks and cornbread in one breath, and croons forlornly about the destruction of the environment in the next. His "guitar-playing buddy" Darryl Hance is Mofro's only other official member, with drummer George Sluppick and keyboardist Adam Scone joining the duo on the road. The Legendary J.C.'s are less contemplative and more showy, performing an energetic soul-rock revue that'll surely gets the bodies moving. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) Leilani Polk
TUB RING/DOG FASHION DISCO Both of these bands have been touring the underground-metal circuit for years, winning fans one at a time and simply refusing to be left behind. Good for them. Tub Ring started out as a punk band before evolving into a fearless, spastic outfit that consistently fucks with the conventions of rock music, while one of my personal underdog favorites, Dog Fashion Disco, has a heavily Faith No More-indebted sound that foregoes Mr. Bungle's jazzy skronk in favor of creepy atmosphere and inventive arrangements and time signatures. (688 Skatepark, Clearwater)
THE CHICK COREA TRIO Corea closes down the Sarasota Jazz Festival, with music drawn from his long career that's combined post-bop, Latin and fusion jazz. His latest, The Ultimate Adventure, is a musical journey through the book of the same name by Scientology head honcho L. Ron Hubbard. If that sounds odd, you're right. Still, the album's no Battlefield Earth. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) CLB
GIVING HUNGER THE BLUES This all-day charity throwdown mixes bigger local talent à la Twinkle and Strangeways with headliner Rick Derringer. Derringer is still most famous for his hit single "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo," another so-simple-it's-genius track from the Dazed and Confused era. An excellent place to take your El Camino, with a sixer and some reefer, maybe followed up with a party out at the moon tower. (Five O'clock Club, Sarasota) CLB
AN AFTERNOON WITH ELLINGTON Aw, if only it were an actual afternoon with Ellington. This is more like an afternoon of Ellington, and will feature pianist Ted Howe, a mainstay on the Atlanta jazz scene who recently relocated to L.A., along with bassist Mark Neuenschwander and drummer Marty Morell. The program starts at 3 p.m. Call 813-879-2914 or go to www.gorilla-theatre.com. (Gorilla Theatre, Tampa) ES
MONDAY, APRIL 10
LIFEHOUSE w/MATT WHITE Hitmaking, vaguely Christian alt-rock outfit Lifehouse ("Hanging by a Moment") sort of dropped off the mainstream map, but returned last year with a self-titled third outing. Pop singer-songwriter Matt White is generating a healthy buzz after being named an artist on the rise by Rolling Stone. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
AGENTS OF THE SUN/THE PENNYROYALS This show spotlights unsung groups earning their stripes the old-fashioned way, from club to club. Baltimore's Agents of the Sun plies a pretty mainstream-friendly sound that balances angst-ridden modern hard-pop with muscular rock guitars; The Pennyroyals hail from New Jersey, and offer a style that's mostly Hoobastank-esque modern rock dressed up in faster tempos. (Bourbon Street, New Port Richey)
TUESDAY, APRIL 11
THE HONDA CIVIC TOUR FEAT. THE BLACK EYED PEAS/THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS/FLIPSYDE And here I was thinking the Honda Civic Tour was actually supposed to feature music. The Black Eyed Peas used to make music; now they just make cartoons with mildly quirky soundtracks. As for the Pussycat Dolls, that's gotta be the worst mash-up of bad Missy Elliott and T.L.C. covers I've ever heard. Only the comparatively unknown Oakland hip-hop crew Flipsyde offers anything even approaching listenability. Maybe the hook is, if you win the car, you get to drive away. (USF Sun Dome, Tampa)
ZAO/MADBALL/REMEMBERING NEVER/SCARLET/THE BANNER It's the Ferret Records Tour. You know what that means, right? If you said killer drummers, frightening vocals and vicious pits, you answered correctly. The increasingly influential metalcore label's flagship act, the technically mind-blowing Zao, headlines a mostly worthwhile (except for Remembering Never) evening of chunk and pain. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
EMIT PRESENTS GLORIOUS BRASS Emit head David Manson has referred to this concert as "part of our new kinder & gentler programming." It's certainly a rather conservative turn for the longstanding experimental music series. The brass quintet (two trumpets, horn, trombone, bass trombone), made up of Florida Orchestra and Southwest Florida Orchestra players, will perform a set of "classical, jazz and brass favorites." It's a benefit for the music program at St. Pete College, and will be held at the Music Center on the St. Pete campus. (St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg) ES
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12
MUSICIANS OUT OF THE BOX Let's quote Studio@620's concise and marvelously, efficiently informative e-mail, shall we? "MOB is a progressive string quartet dedicated to the performance of new music, ethnic music, and music that does not fit into the box normally constructed in the mind's eye when one thinks of a string quartet." I couldn't have said it more eloquently myself, so I didn't. (Studio@620, St. Petersburg)
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2006.
