THURSDAY, FEB. 24
BEEP BEEP w/AUTO! AUTOMATIC!/THE CRAYONS/TRES BIEN I left the bio for Beep Beep sitting on my coffee table, but after listening to their full-length Business Casual, here's what I think it should say: "Saddle Creek Records' Beep Beep sounds like a cross between Saddle Creek Records' Cursive and Saddle Creek Records' The Faint. The result is a terribly hip mix of dance-punk and synth-punk, but don't assume it's all a pose, because the songs are actually pretty good." Three up-and-coming Bay area indie bands, ranging from excitingly experimental (Auto! Automatic!) to extremely entertaining but extremely unoriginal (the Hives-meets-Interpol shtick of Tres Bien, who admittedly have that shit down cold), open. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
MAGNA-FI There's nothing super-killer about this Ozzfest-alumnus hard rock act, but their combination of heft and pop hook definitely one-ups the usual post-Creed fare. Magna-Fi's got two road shows scheduled in the area; tonight's Rockerfella's shindig also features perennial Manasota hard-rock favorites Ripa Joda and Dolt, while tomorrow's gig at Seminole's Boomerz Boiler Room boasts support in the form of energetic Clearwater modern-rock outfit Soulfound, among others. (Rockerfella's, Bradenton; Feb. 25, Boomerz Boiler Room, Seminole)
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK This Washington, D.C.-based African-American women's vocal ensemble has been uplifting audiences through its gospel- and World Beat-informed fare for the better part of 20 years. Highly recommended. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
THE STARTING LINE w/FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER/DAYS AWAY/JAMISON PARK The Starting Line was among the first acts to achieve a breakout buzz by moving poppy nu-punk closer to emo territory; it's not as bad as, say, Midtown, but it's in that ballpark. There's nothing new to say about South Florida's anthemic all-ages favorite Further Seems Forever (you know Sense Field's Jon Bunch is singing for them now, right?), except that there's a home-field reunion show with original vocalist Chris "Dashboard Confessional" Carrabba coming up. We're not saying they're scrambling to stave off the inevitable downhill slide, but if the next FSF album – if there is one – doesn't find Carrabba back in the fold full-time, then we'll eat that Star Booty trucker cap that's been underneath the passenger seat of my Jeep for about a year. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
DIANA ROSS Though she's been in the headlines lately more for her relationship to Michael Jackson than for her singing, this soulful diva has still got it. Expect to hear some of her older hits, plus songs from her 2001 album Love and Life. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) -Mark Sanders
FRIDAY, FEB. 25
BADFISH This Sublime tribute act comes quite highly recommended. Of course, said recommendations are coming mostly from ex-brahs who only go out when Slightly Stoopid comes to town, and still put their baseball caps on backward when they head out into the garage to get away from the wife and kid, but they oughta know good Sublime tributeage from bad, right? Chances are, if you're a fan, you'll dig it. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
NUMBER ONE FAN/IN PASSING/BRANDTSON/BLOOM. If you're down with the all-ages post-hardcore thing, then you're already familiar with the melodic, angsty sounds of Brandtson and former Lakeland homeboys In Passing. Appleton, Wisconsin's Number One Fan will treat your ears nicely (think Jimmy Eat World). The odd band out here is Orlando's Bloom., a long-running outfit whose new album, Osinner, delivers some great, original and seriously infectious indie-tinged power pop. (Check out a review of Osinner in Spins.) (Orpheum, Ybor City)
DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT This group has remained a fairly underground favorite within the jam scene, possibly because its soulful, heavily jazz-, funk- and rock-influenced sound isn't readily associated with any jam sub-group. They've got horns, and some Latin beats, and they're buddies with the Allman Brothers, though, so there you go. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
SATURDAY, FEB. 26
TONY BENNETT He just missed the salute to him that's been running down at St. Pete's Palladium Theater, and finished up a couple of weeks ago. Think he would've gone? It's a testament to Bennett's talent that, following that hip cachet he gained a few years back, the man has continued to draw in fans of every generation. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
JIMMY BUFFETT Buffett, Bennett. Bennett, Buffett. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
THE FORECAST/THE KIRBY/THUMBSCREW All right, kids. I don't know why you're not hitting the shows at 688 in force, and I don't care. Get out there, or the next time you decide you're bored and want something to do, there won't be a show to go to. Represent! Tonight's a perfect opportunity, because Peoria's The Forecast is rad – eclectic and energetic rock with killer boy/girl vocals and the occasional alt-country dust-up. Word has it they might end up on your favorite young, ubiquitous, big-eyed singer-songwriter's label, and you need to get to them before that happens if you want to be, y'know, cool. Austin's The Kirby goes out of its way to be more original than the average tortured emo act, and Thumbscrew's blitzkrieg spaz-core is just plain scary. (688 Skatepark, Clearwater)
DARRYL PURPOSE Singer-songwriter Purpose is one of the new wave of politically and culturally active fingerpickers, showing us our lives, and his views, in vignettes and people rather than beating us over the head with his agenda. Before taking up music full-time, he was a professional blackjack player in Vegas, and found his muse while walking from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. as part of The Great Peace March in '96. (Octagon Arts Center, Clearwater)
THE GIRL SHOW An unofficial New World tradition finds its way across the bay to St. Pete's favorite little venue/dive bar. Seven female singer-songwriters and coed bands do their thing in a showcase format; most of 'em you probably know, but they've all got something to offer, and a couple of new names should intrigue you. The lineup, in descending order: Rebekah Pulley & The Reluctant Prophets, Michele Ari, Sparky's Nightmare, Jen Shamro, The Peabodies (featuring local music critics Gina Vivinetto and Curtis Ross), Kate Bradshaw (a sunny, quirky local singer-songwriter just back from New Zealand), and Nathalia Estrada (all we know is that she plays keyboards, and isn't related to Ponch). (Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg)
NASHVILLE PUSSY w/ARTIMUS PILEDRIVER/RIVER CHICKEN/AZALEA/STANDING SHADOWS/SOCIETY'S END Nashville Pussy loves Tampa Bay, and Tampa Bay returns the favor every time. This two-guys-and-two-girls foursome plies gritty, greasy, loud-ass rock that's all about drinking beer, smoking dope and fucking. Expect a fire-breathing, bra-bearing, girl-on-girl-makeout good time. Sludgy eternal NP tourmates Artimus Piledriver are once again in tow, along with a grab bag of local support that runs from loose and Stones-y to metallic and schizoid. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
DAVE ALVIN & HIS GUILTY MEN w/THE IGUANAS Grammy winner, former Blaster and Los Lobos collaborator Dave Alvin has parlayed a gravelly voice and smart, roadhouse-shuffle songwriting into electric-blues legend. And did I mention he was in X offshoot The Knitters? Yeah, boy. His latest is Ashgrove, out on Yep Roc. The Iguanas might be your average rhythmic, category-smashing New Orleans party band, were it not for the sense of humor and engagingly idiosyncratic personality that shows through in every finely wrought tune. Which is not to say that they're not a great New Orleans party band, too. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
CENTRO-MATIC w/THE BAPTIST GENERALS/THE DIVINERS/NEW ROMAN TIMES Denton, Texas, pop-rock iconoclast Centro-Matic is headed up by prodigious songwriter Will Johnson, who also manages a solo career and leadership of another side project, South San Gabriel. This particular enterprise of his is honest, evocative, catchy and muscular, a perfect example of good guitar-driven music that doesn't sound quite like anything else out there. (See the Music feature for more.) Fellow Dentonites The Baptist Generals are twangier, and more misanthropic – my favorite moment on their album No Silver/No Gold comes when the singer is recording a solo acoustic tune, and his cell phone rings, causing him to abandon the song in favor of trashing the room. You know and love Will Quinlan's Diviners, and as for Orlando's New Roman Times, they're pretty good, but their carefully tailored synth-punk sound would probably feel more at home on that Beep Beep show we mentioned earlier. Highly, highly recommended. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
YANNI New Age master and '80s-magician look-alike Yanni deserves props for his nonstop fundraising efforts on behalf of such worthy causes as public television, and the orchestra currently on tour with him is a talented group of instrumentalists culled from more than 15 countries around the world. As far as his music goes, however, well, that shit's just silly. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
TSUNAMI BENEFIT, NIGHT ONE Some of the hardcore/screamo/metalcore scene's biggest underground names – many of them from right here in our neck of the woods – bring the noise for tsunami relief. For our money, you won't find a bigger, better bill of the brutally cathartic stuff than this two-day festival, ever (and not having to sit through a set by Remembering Never is just a bonus). Much praise be to New Port Richey's Silence After Tragedy, Significant Records' Tom Stevens, and all the bands putting in the time. Tonight's bill: Silence After Tragedy, Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, Take These Eyes, Dreams You Die In, Dividing Factor, Sleeping Alone, Greenhaven, and Windshield Death Threat Procedure. And yes, there will be drawings and all sorts of black-T-shirt-and-sleeve-tattoo-related giveaways. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, FEB. 27
TSUNAMI BENEFIT, NIGHT TWO The aural carnage for a good cause continues at the State, with a little more sonic variety than last night. Tonight's bill: Anam Cara, Shed For You, Fat Aggression, Another Broken Promise, Cut The Chord, Eugene, Headvice, Beauty in Chaos. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
MONDAY, FEB. 28
WYCLIFFE GORDON The highly regarded trombonist and music educator, a former member of Wynton Marsalis' band who has played with everyone from Dizzy to Lionel Hampton, stops by for USF's Monday Night Jazz series. He can play straight-out bop or throw down with a mute and drag listeners back to the '30s. Gordon will join the USF Bone Band and Jazz Ensemble 1 for, the press release says, "an Ellingtonian evening of music with classical jazz tunes and new originals." For ticket info, call the box office at 813-974-2323 or go to www.arts.usf.edu (USF Theatre 1, Tampa)
-Eric Snider
TUESDAY, MARCH 01
CRYPTOPSY w/CATTLE DECAPITATION/THE AUTUMN OFFERING We've said it before, and we'll say it again: "Uuuuuuuuuurrrrrggggghhhhhhhaaaaaaaagggghhhhhh!" (Masquerade, Ybor City)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02
NORTHSTAR/THE HONORARY TITLE/COMMUNIQUE/HEARSAY Huntsville, Ala., doesn't produce many contributions to rock music, save for maybe one obscenely talented emo band (Northstar) and at least one cranky music critic (me). I knew a couple of these kids in high school 10 or 15 years ago, and didn't hear much from or about them until they were recently featured on MTV. The Honorary Title is two guys who worship Elvis Costello and Bright Eyes. They do the slurred-drunk speaking/singing thing well. Oakland group Communique is on Lookout! and they do more New Wave-influenced emo rock, which we sadly do not hear enough of these days. (Orpheum, Ybor City) -MS
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 1, 2005.