A quick look at some shows happening this Sun., Aug. 16
J. Cole with Big Sean, YG, Jeremih, Bas Cozz J. Cole is definitely moving on up. The North Carolina-raised hip hop artist played the Straz Center on his last stop with Wale in 2013. This jaunt falls behind Billboard 200 chart-topping third studio LP, 2014 Forest Hills Drive – a pretty badass, rather sincere outing as led by two fine tracks: lead single “Apparently” with its nostalgic waxings and rueful self-reflections, and tribal groove-hawking “G.O.M.D.,” short for “Get off my dick” in case you were curious. The latter gets me and the gals going, hard; we don’t care that we don’t have the proper appendage, because it’s the sentiment of the track and not its literal meaning that we can all relate to. And, you know, we can sub out the body part in question for its feminine equivalent and the rhymes still work just as well… The Detroit emcee so famously behind “I Don’t Fuck With You,” Big Sean, and rising young Compton rapper YG make it worth grabbing a four-pack of lawn passes so you can get down with all your besties with your feet in the grass. (MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Daryl Hance with Eugene Snowden & Friends Daryl Hance was a founding member of Mofro, prior to JJ Grey’s supreme ownership of the Jacksonville band’s name, but the singer-songwriter has been doing the solo thing for the past five years now; his 2014 sophomore full-length, Land Of Trembling Earth, has a sultry, twangy, bass-fuzzed swamp-and-groove rock sound marked by his distinctive slide guitar prowess. Hance is currently touring as part of a “Powermuse” two-piece with drummer/multi-instrumentalist Cameron Weeks. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
The Maension with Fearless Brass Mug delivers a double-blow of alt rock heaviness on this Sunday night. The Maension hail from LA, have a dark arty alt metal sound they’ve dubbed “FutuRock” (sounds a lot like A Perfect Circle – you know, Tool without the teeth), and released a full-length ÆVOLUTION, that features Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst on a track (“Chrysalis”); they have a hot chick keytar player in the ranks. Fearless hails from Sweden and has a surprisingly crusty hillbilly metal sound with scruffy backwoods looks to match.
(Brass Mug, Tampa)
ALSO TONIGHT
Stolen Idols Mermaid Tavern, Tampa
Underground All Stars w/Kayno & Scarver/Rizzy/Drew/Dray DaVinci/Tazz Tony/LB Legalize & Yung $murf/Iconic/Baysir Local 662, St. Petersburg, Local 662, St. Petersburg
Sunday Gospel’s BBQ Brunch Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Ol' Dirty Sundays w/Thee Mike B. Crowbar, Ybor City
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.