THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Songwriters in the Round: Michael J Weiss, Dylan Cowles, Dean Johanesen Remember when the Hideaway was gonna change its format and cut down on shows and whatnot? Well, it hasn’t happened yet, and the benefactors of procrastination be us, dammit. Tonight’s strummy in-the-round-style shindig features a guy with five albums and a reputation for entertaining live sets (Weiss), a guy from enduring folk duo Bleu Gravy (Cowles) and the guy who helps make these things a reality, The Human Condition frontman and singer-songwriter Dean Johanesen. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg) —Scott Harrell
Otep w/Butcher Babies/One-Eyed Doll + OTEP Poetry Reading & Signing at Daddy Kool Los Angeles outfit Otep seems to have weathered alt-metal’s wane better than some, probably due to the presence (and, you know, “presence”) of female vocalist Otep Shamaya. She’ll be highlighting the group’s in-store across the street from the State at Daddy Kool Records with a poetry reading at 4:40 p.m., hours before the group’s headlining set. Support comes courtesy of a terrible, tired gimmick from Hollywood called Butcher Babies, and Austin’s immeasurably more musically intriguing One-Eyed Doll. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Wholetones w/Loves It Naples area “folkcore” outfit Wholetones ingeniously combines thrash-metal dexterity and jazz technique with traditional acoustic instrumentation; the result is as enthralling as it is unique. Fans of bluegrass and vaudeville styles will dig ’em just as much as those addicted to musicianship and shreditude. Loves It is a duo from Austin that delivers an entertaining take on a more straightforward contemporary indie-folk/pop style. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —SH
Skull n’ Bone Band Yup — you’ve seen the name approximately 1,428 times in the event listings this year alone. But have you seen the band itself? If you’re down with a catchy, psychedelic and heavily ’70s-rock-informed take on the jam-band aesthetic, then perhaps you should. And there are worse environments in which to enjoy a decent jam band ’round these parts than at the Dunedin Brewery with a locally crafted bevvie in your hand. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin —SH
In This Moment w/Red Tide Rising What the hell is it with gimmicky, exploitative female-fronted alt-metal bands from Southern California this week? Maybe they have to hew closely to one another’s road schedules because they all go to the same acid-casualty astrologer who used to be in the Manson Family and appeared in that one movie with Karen Black, or something. Anyway, In This Moment is what some A&R idiot from Hollywood would undoubtedly call “Evanescence with a hip-hop horror-movie edge,” and exactly as objectionable as that description implies. For its part, Colorado groovecore unit Red Tide Rising moves the girl to the bass-player position, and whatever scant points this band scores for true rock ’n’ roll swagger are immediately deducted for having a song called “Welcome to Zombietown.” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH
Big Blu House w/Acho Brother Sarasota neo-alt-funk/hip-hop Big Blu House deserves mucho credit for its organic collaborations with regional peers like Sons of Hippies. The collective sports a flowing, liquid flavor that only occasionally recalls old-school Native Tongues acts like De La Soul. Good stuff. They’re joined tonight by dynamic multilingual folk/pop/lounge/world duo Acho Brother. Get some culture. (Local 662, St. Petersburg) —SH
The Groves Album Release Party w/Zulu Wave It’s a family affair for the Groves with cousins Lane Smith and Jana Jones on rhythm and a new record proudly under their belt, one they and guitarist Travis Bourguignon and the frontman Justin Brown feel especially proud of — a raw, intimate and accurately representing collection of tunes recorded in a barn in Lutz. Their blues-inflected rock, with a touch of twang and pop, offers up a fulsome feelings live. Zulu Wave provides a somewhat futuristic complement to the evening with electronic doodads, cinematic atmospherics and angular goings on. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Julie Garisto
Randy Houser His music is built Ford tough and is the ‘Merica of county fairs and guys who go muddin’. Foot-pounding awesomeness, y’all. (The Round-Up, Tampa) —JG
Rocksteady@8 w/Control This!/Skylarking Soundsystem Good news, Tampa ska favorite Rocksteady@8 isn’t breaking up. With the bad weather behind us (hopefully) get yerself out to New World to dig on some vintage Jamaican flava with joyful dabs of jammy “Afreekahn” flourish. Understatement alert: These guys can play, and they’ve been at it for 13 years, formed by members of Strangeways, Amandla Tunesmith and Magadog. And, yes, frontman Jason Nwagbaraocha still tours with the Toasters. Not only does Skylarking Sound System share its name with a classic XTC album but it’s got some pretty badass old-school island grooves. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —JG
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
(HED) P.E. w/Soil (HED) P.E. is another nu-metal band that managed to (barely) survive the death of nu-metal solely on the strength of manufactured weirdness subbing in for true originality. To its credit, the group’s music has grown more unique over the years, emphasizing a certain manic spasticity more reminiscent of old Suicidal Tendencies than half-assed rap-rock. Chicago’s Soil, on the other hand, really hasn’t done much to differentiate itself from the sort of groove ‘n’ grind that dominated accessible metal right around the time the new millennium kicked in. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH
The Pauses/Great Deceivers Split Record Release Party w/Greymarket Adventurous, unclassifiable Orlando indie-pop act The Pauses has persevered through the kind of stuff that usually breaks up cool young bands — you know, college, career, family, getting sick of the sight of one’s bandmates, etc. — to turn into something truly original and astounding. Tonight, the group celebrates the release of a fabulous new split record with fellow killer O-Town unit The Great Deceivers out on (what else?) Tampa’s own, unimpeachable New Granada imprint. The Pauses are also heading out on tour, so come out and buy some shit to put gas in the van, won’t you? (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —SH
A Cross Culture/Vegas Death Rays, Capture The Rapture Regional rock reigns at the Pegasus this evening. Potential highlights include the swampy, stomping sound of southwest Florida twang-punk/psychobilly outfit Vegas Death Rays and Gainesville garage-nauts Capture the Rapture, the members of which may or may not know they share a name with a clothing company. (Pegasus Lounge, Tampa) —SH
Between Bluffs w/Garrick Aden Buie You know how those UF lab scientists hybridize plant specimens? Well, Between Bluffs are musicians who do the same thing but with roots of the fun, folksy, country kind. Hmm. What else is growing in their spare room, eh? Poppin’-fresh singer-songwriter Aden Buie is, “a lover of fine acoustic guitars, a writer of words, melodies, chords and even entire songs.”(The Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg) —JG
Sarah Mac Band CD Release Party Celebrate and mack on the sounds of a multi-instrumentally talented musician from Tallahassee, who sports a bevy of respectable influences — ranging from contemporary balladeers to British Invasion pop to “the occasional ‘anthemic’ rock band.” (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg) —JG
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Cheap Time Cheap Time hails from Nashville, puts stuff out on In The Red Records, and plies a cool, sarcastic blend of ‘60s rock, power-pop and punk that vacillates between a collegiate/punk-nerd Dead Milkmen sort of feel and something rougher and rawer yet more experimental and psychedelic at the same time. It’s an interesting mix, and one that’s perfect for the downtown vibe of The Hub. (The Hub, Tampa) —SH
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Kamelot w/War Of Thrones/Seven Kingdoms/Autumns Pain Ah, Kamelot. Did you know Tampa is home to one of the world’s most revered symphonic metal acts? ‘Tis true. And, while I’m aching to make fun of ‘em, I really can’t. The musicianship is top-notch, and these gents pretty much represent the epitome of any subgenre of heavy music in which one can get away with naming one’s band after a folkloric sword ‘n’ sorcery reference. Tonight they’re kicking off a world tour in support of forthcoming album Silverthorn, the first to feature new vocalist Tommy Karevik.(State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Useless Eaters w/Wolf-Face/Little Jerks/Ghost Hospital Useless Eaters is the brainchild of young underground garage-rock staple Seth Sutton, who has already achieved such cred-securing feats as playing Third Man at his hometown of Nashville, putting out about a million singles on obscure European labels and having the late Jay Reatard as his bass player for a while. The sound is fuzzy, melodic and dance-y, a very cool balance of garage rock and throbbing ’80s New Wave rhythms. Good stuff. For this show Sutton is joined by faces old and new to Mojo, as well as music both experimental and entertaining. (Mojo Books & Music, Tampa) —SH
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
Built to Spill w/Helvetia/Sister Crayon Quasi-legendary indie-jam act Built to Spill is the brainchild of Seattle-by-way-of-Idaho’s Doug Martsch. The project has managed to keep a large chunk of the fans it attracted at the height of its catchy, fuzz-toned and slightly psychedelic powers back during the late ’90s. Martsch & Co. last released an album, the surprisingly collaborative and meandering There Is No Enemy, back in late ’09. Long-running experimental Seattle act (and, presumably, Martsch pals) Helvetia and Sacramento, California indie/R&B/art-pop mash-up Sister Crayon provide support. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.
