Thursday, April 19

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE w/MUSE New Jersey pop-punk quintet My Chemical Romance got all Wagnerian and Queen-y for its latest blockbuster CD Welcome to the Black Parade. The musicians even went as far as sporting dictator duds in the video for the title track, an anthem that speaks to male teens inclined to self-pity and delusions of grandeur, which of course means the tune's appeal is pretty universal. Muse was recently named Best British Band in the English music bible NME. The group's throbbing brand of sorta gothic, sorta dreamy pop makes ample use of synthesizers and occasionally bites into a nice funky groove. Then again, they can sometimes get all gauzy like a postmodern Roy Orbison. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)

DEAR + GLORIOUS PHYSICIAN w/SUMMERBIRDS IN THE CELLAR Gainesville power trio Dear + Glorious Physicians plays it dark and heavy with sludgy guitar riffs and deep, trippy vocals. The band has been compared to The Pixies, but I'm hearing something more like Blue Oyster Cult — or Iron Butterfly, minus the spooky organ. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY w/2 PISTOLS/DECA/YOUNG SKEE Smooth rapping and close-harmony singing across an infectious, laidback beat makes the '94 smash "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" one of the classics of the G-Funk era. The similar sounding "Tha Crossroads" holds up nice, too. But the hip-hop trio's other biggie, "1st of Tha Month," just sounds outright silly after hearing Chris Rock hilariously blast the track for being what it is — a shameless ode to collecting a government handout. (Cuban Club, Ybor City)

Friday, April 20

RADIO MOSCOW w/POETRY N' LOTION/ACHO BROTHER/MESMUSIC Iowa's psychedelic blues-rock trio Radio Moscow is among the latest batch of new bands that draw on a heady mix of classic rock influences to create music that stomps and swaggers with Cream-like confidence. Multi-instrumentalist/singer Parker Griggs plays guitar while on tour, but he's almost solely responsible for the songwriting and instrumentation on his band's self-titled debut, which was produced and engineered by Ohioan Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Locals Poetry n' Lotion, Acho Brother and MesMusic provide support. (Crowbar, Ybor City). —Leilani Polk

ROD MACDONALD A member of the folk revival movement that managed to sweep through Greenwich Village during the 1980s, MacDonald is a (mostly) topical songwriter based on Florida's East Coast whose latest album is titled A Tale of Two Americas. (Craftsman House, St. Petersburg)

THE LOCUST w/CATTLE DECAPITATION/DAUGHTERS/YIP-YIP The Locust is a decade-plus-running noise-rock foursome from San Diego that's as well-known for their S&M-style outfits as they are for their tricky time signatures, whiplash rhythms and the hellacious vocal growls that are a staple of the genre. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

WSJT'S 12th ANNUAL SMOOTH JAZZ FESTIVAL w/B.K. JACKSON/DAVID PACK/KIRK WHALUM (FRIDAY) AND LES SABLER & CITIHEAT/NILS/WALTER BEASLEY/BRIAN MCKNIGHT (SATURDAY) A collection of slow-jam/vanilla-jazz has-beens fill the bill for this two-day snoozefest. (Coachman Park, Clearwater)

HOLY SOLDIER The Christian heavy metal band from L.A. that has been banging its head in the name of Jesus since 1985. (Royal Theatre, Clearwater)

BUFFALO STRANGE w/BLUE TURTLE SEDUCTION A super-happy neo-hippie jam band more suited for Jack Johnson fans than Allman Brothers enthusiasts, Tampa's Buffalo Strange has built a strong, statewide following since forming on USF's main campus about six years ago. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)

SIGNAL 76 w/DAILYNN/OCEAN BOULEVARD A night of modern rock headlined by Bradenton's Signal 76, a talented trio that leans more toward '90s alt rock than the emo trends of recent years. (Rasher Tierney's Backroom, Bradenton)

RED ROOM CINEMA/THE VERA VIOLETS/SUBTAFUGE Local acts join forces for a night of post-rock/shoegaze headlined by Tampa quintet Red Room Cinema, a band that grows on listeners (particularly this listener) by going with more organic instrumentation than most of their Casio keyboards and Music for Airports-loving peers. (Transitions Art Gallery at Skatepark of Tampa)

DUMMO/EVENTIDE/16 PENNY/JAZZ SALM The Clubhouse Tavern keeps stepping up on the Sarasota scene, pulling in touring acts that otherwise would most likely pass the Suncoast right on by. Dummo brings a rather traditional power-metal sound to town, although quasi-operatic touches like the vocal chorus that opens "The Conflict" earn the group a more bombastic rep than all the other Black Sabbath tribute bands cruising Florida's highways. (The Clubhouse Tavern, Sarasota) —Cooper Levey-Baker

EDIE CAREY She crafts aching and melancholy folk-rock, but her trick is to balance the somberness of the songwriting with the bounce and warmth of a friendly acoustic strum and background touches like mandolins. (Fogartyville Café, Bradenton) —CLB

MUSTY BUTTLERS In celebration of the opening of a new Ybor City venue, The Dirty Shame, this quartet of local musicians perform a concert of sounds described as "a hip-notizing mix: trance/drone-a-delic music of tomorrow and yesterday." Not really sure what that means, but the lineup and sheer variety of instruments — from Turkish stringed instruments like the Baglama Saz and Cumbus to a Bulgarian flute tablas and djembe — suggests some interesting textural experimentation. (The Dirty Shame, Ybor City). —LP

Saturday, April 21

WMNF 88.5 CELEBRATES RONNY ELLIOTT'S 60TH BIRTHDAY Hillbilly soul singer (and first-rate songwriter) Ronny Elliott is an internationally recognized luminary of alt country, and has been a fixture on the Tampa Bay scene since the late '60s, back when his band Your Local Bear opened for folks like Jimi Hendrix. Elliott's ace band of the last decade, The Nationals, will join him at this special birthday bash. The Nationals are vocalist Natty Moss-Bond (Sparky's Nightmare), guitarist Steve Connelly (The Headlights, Zen Recordings), bassist Walt Bucklin, lap-steel guitarist Jim McNealon and drummer/magician Harry Hayward. Elliot's freshly minted concert document, Live, features The Nationals joined by pianist Drew Farmer and trumpeter Roswald Darby. Copies will be for sale at the show. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)

CHUCK OWEN & THE JAZZ SURGE w/GUEST RANDY BRECKER, "A TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL BRECKER" Owen, the head of the USF jazz department, has led his Jazz Surge big band since 1996. The ensemble, up to 20 strong, performs a Masterworks Jazz series, of which this is the season's last installment. The program features material by the late tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, with fresh arrangements for large ensemble. Randy Brecker, Michael's trumpet-playing brother, will fly in and perform as featured soloist. The concert also takes place at Rollins College in Winter Park on April 22 and at USF Theater 1 in Tampa on April 23. For more info, go to centerforjazzcomp.arts.usf.edu. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg) —Eric Snider

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH w/ELVIS PERKINS About a year and a half ago, it seemed there wasn't an MP3 blog in the universe not raving about the unsigned act Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and posting the memorably-titled, synth-driven sing-along "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth." By the time the band's self-titled debut album arrived in September of '05, it was a hipster must-have that proved fun, smart and just dark and mysterious enough to get under the skin and fester a bit. Clap Your Hands survived the tsunami of hype to release the strong follow-up, Some Loud Thunder, a couple months back. (Firestone, Orlando)

CAPTURED BY ROBOTS w/TEDDY BEAR ORCHESTRA/100 CAR PILE UP "Holy shit!" That's a typical response from first-time audience members, according to promo material, and after looking at one publicity picture it's easy to see why. The one-man act by San Francisco musician/mad-scientist Jay Vance appropriately called Captured By Robots is unlike anything most rock fans (myself included) have ever witnessed. Here's the deal: Vance gets on stage in shackles and a bondage mask. He is backed by homemade androids. One robot plays drums while the other wields a double-neck guitar. There's also a three-piece headless horn section. The songs are insane punk with titles like "Speed Food Pyramid" and "Buns of Steel." I've been told by reliable sources this is a show that must be seen to believe. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

ELLIS PAUL Boston-based singer/songwriter cites Woody Guthrie as a major influence and specializes in narrative story-songs. (Octagon Arts Center, Clearwater)

VEDERA w/THIS ME SMILING The Kansas City alt-rock quartet Vedera stands out from the pack thanks to the dreamy, expressive vocals of frontwoman Kristen May. (Orpheum, Ybor City)

Sunday, April 22

AHN TRIO Dubbed the "new classical revolutionaries," this chamber trio — made up of sisters Angella on violin, Lucia on piano and Maria on cello — offers dynamic performances of programs that include both original works and unique interpretations of classical compositions by composers like Beethoven, Bernstein and Piazzolla. (Largo Cultural Center, Largo). —LP

A DENVER MILE/THE VOW/PARK BENCHHOLLYWOOD HALO Orlando's A Denver Mile and The Vow both play sensitive, Coldplay-influenced rock. (Orpheum, Ybor City)

DAYS OF THE NEW For those of us who were there watching MTV and listening to 95YNF and cheering wildly when Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, etc., temporarily saved mainstream rock, knock-off bands like Days of the New are a sore subject. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

OVERLORD w/RISING UP ANGRY/DOLT Daytona Beach's Overlord are four Maiden/Priest/Sabbath-loving metalheads who are not afraid to slow things down and let lyrics about fallen soldiers linger in the air or give room for a flashy guitar solo. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

Tuesday, April 24

THE TOASTERS w/THE BRIGGS Billed as "The longest running U.S. Ska Band," The Toasters formed in New York City in '81 and created the template for acts like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. (Orpheum, Ybor City)

ANDRÉ RIEU World-famous waltz-violinist brings his pop-classicalism spectacle to a venue typically reserved for rock stars. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)

For venue addresses and phone numbers, see Soundboard.

April

26 Diana Ross Ruth Eckerd Hall

26 The Weary Boys New World Brewery

27 Daughtry Raymond James Stadium

27 Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers Skipper's Smokehouse

28 Clipse/Mya/Jovan Dais Club Skye

29 Limbeck w/Hot Rod Circuit/The Forecast Orpheum

29 98Rockfest w/Hinder/Three Days Grace/Buckcherry/Puddle of Mudd/Chevelle/Saliva/Daughtry/Papa Roach/Flyleaf/Bullet For My Valentine/Dropping Daylight The Grounds of Raymond James Stadium

May

2 Heart w/Todd Rundgren Ruth Eckerd Hall

2 Melt Banana Crowbar

3 Patrizio Buanne w/Matt Dusk Ruth Eckerd Hall

4 Tampa Bay Blues Festival w/Jerry Lee Lewis/George Thorogood/Percy Sledge Vinoy Park

4 Delbert McClinton Tampa Theatre

4 Christina Aguilera w/Dannity Kane/Pussycat Dolls St. Pete Time sForum

8 Gwen Stefani w/Lady Sovereign Ford Amphitheatre

11 The Charlie Daniels Band Volunteer Jam w/The Outlaws/Marshall Tucker Band Ford Amphitheatre

12 WMNF Tropical Heatwave Cuban Club

13 Saves the Day Jannus Landing

14-15 Steely Dan Ruth Eckerd Hall