DANK/SHITTALKER Two maverick St. Pete bands return to live performance after lengthy absences. First up is stoned, droney, noise-blues juggernaut Dank, which shares an incestuous pool of members with Mariola, Sparky's Nightmare and the John McNicholas Band. They're loud, and they're repetitive, and they're totally feelin' it. Pay for the wonderful hearing-loss service that Dank provides, and at no extra charge, you'll get Shittalker's singular way with strangely catchy song structures — before it disappeared, this band had gone a long way toward perfecting a certain balance of sophistication and disheveled-ness. (Dec. 23, Uptown Bar, St. Petersburg)
A RARE GROOVE This regular, serial theme-night at Orpheum brings DJs and live musicians together to worship at the altar of seminal rhythms of every era and culture. (That's a decidedly fancified way of saying that it's all about grooves, but not just your average contemporary urban beats.) Tonight's featured artists include DJ Ran, Mecca, Matt Dorn, DJ Blenda, and Red Tide's BC and 2%. (Dec. 23, Orpheum, Ybor City)
ANTI-MIC Idiosyncratic singer-songwriter Jen Shamro oversaw New World Brewery's "Minus The Band" acoustic-show series; now she's moved on to South Tampa music store/bistro/ intimate venue The Music Spot for a new weekly shindig bent on defying open-mic conventions while still being, you know, an open mic night. Every week brings a new featured player as well as a roster of up-and-comers, and the Spot's small room splits the difference between a coffeehouse and a noisy bar — you get an attentive audience and cold beer. (Dec. 23, The Music Spot, Tampa)
DAVE "RAT" ANDERSON MEMORIAL SHOWS During a punk show at the New World near October's end, Tampa musician and local-music supporter (and friend to just about everybody to grow up in Brandon and start a band) Dave Anderson was fatally stabbed while trying to break up a fight. His best friend, Unrequited Loves drummer Ed Lowery, put out a call to those who knew and loved Dave in the hope of organizing an informal memorial show, and got so much response he had to stretch it out to two days. The lineups haven't been finalized at press time, but the following bands will be seen at some point: The Tim Version; Dumbwaiters; Unrequited Loves; Vagina Sore Jr.; The Crash Mitchell Quartet; Will Quinlan; Super Power Abuse; Rancid Polecats; The Semis; The 39 Steps; Waterdigger; and Anna O. Thursday's show will start at 8 p.m., while the Sunday version will kick off early, at 5. (Dec. 23 and 26, New World Brewery, Ybor City)
HANKSHAW/LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE/ISOBELLA/ SUSIE ULREY/CANDYBARS I might've well just run down the New World's entire weekly schedule — it's a slow week for extraordinary tunes, and most of the good stuff is going on here. Tonight's gig resuscitates the old Tampa-scene tradition of giving local fans something to do on Christmas after the rest of the family has settled into its post-celebration stupor, and features a highly recommendable variety of indie-rock sounds, from the electronic and cinematic to the raw and rocking. (Dec. 25, New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SHALLOW BE THY NAME/ROBBLE-ROBBLE/ TEET A bunch of folks who used to live and play in bands in St. Pete, but moved away, are back in town to spend the holidays with their families. And hey, why not wedge in a show while they're at it? Acoustic pop duo Shallow Be Thy Name is former Gossamer/Pinellas Anthemonic/Mosley (and current Kingsbury Manx) member Clark Blomquist and his wife Caroline. Mike Myerson, whom some of you may remember from anarchic Bay area accordion-punks Action Figure Casualties, is Robble-Robble. And Teet comprises the vision of brothers John and Drew Turner, who played with the aforementioned Blomquist in the aforementioned Gossamer (not to mention Crankshaft); they now live in New York City. Go say hi, then shut up and listen. (Dec. 26, Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg)
CRASH MITCHELL'S SEVENTH ANNUAL NOT A CHRISTMAS SHOW This year's installment of Crash's to-do is a bit more intimate than previous soirees, but you still get plenty of the big guy's provocative, shitkicking folk-punk, along with a set by top-notch local singer-songwriter Ronny Elliott, and whatever surprise friends he happens to drag onto the stage with him. (Dec. 28, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
EDWIN MCCAIN Strum-pop purveyor McCain continues to nurture the fans he earned via several Adult Contemporary radio hits, as well as those who see him these days on various VH1 clip shows, and are intrigued enough to check out the live set. (Dec. 29, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
TASTEMAKERS All right, one more high quality New World event, and we're outta here. This is the third or fourth night shanghaied by Tastemakers, wherein very cool people tear down the walls between DJ and indie/hipster/punk-rock music and culture. In addition to resident DJs Colonic and DRM, you get live full-band action from post-punk adventurers Lush Progress, Red Room Cinema, Coma Girl (yay!), and The Ladies of Death Row Swimsuit Calendar. (Dec. 29, New World Brewery, Ybor City)
This article appears in Dec 22-28, 2004.
