THURSDAY, JUNE 7
Bon Iver The intimately soulful falsetto of singer-songwriter Justin Vernon captures your heart and gently squeezes with its poignant and tender melancholy, drifting and winding through stark yet stunning instrumentals. Formerly his alias, currently the name of his four-piece band, Bon Iver is the Midwestern folk outfit that eased into the indie scene with their 2008 debut, For Emma Forever Ago, and were introduced to a wider audience with their 2011 self-titled sophomore effort, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, earned relentless critical acclaim along with its commercial success, and nabbed Bon Iver two Grammys, for Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist. A must-see. (Carol Morsani Hall at Straz Center, Tampa)
Hideaway Cafe Songwriters In The Round: Ivan, Joran and Dean The first-Thursday series brings together a trio of singer-songwriters for an "in the round" concert that has all three on stage together taking turns performing renditions of tunes from their own respective repertoires. Dean Johanesen of The Human Condition hosts the loosely-themed series, and for this stripped-down rock n’ roll edition, he's joined by Ivan Peña (Rise of Saturn) and Joran Oppelt (formerly of Auditorium and The Gita). Admission is free. (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg)
Rock the Park Two-Year Anniversary: Stokeswood / Breakdown / Empire Cinema Hard to believe it's been two years since THX Management landed at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park with a live music series that has not only managed to draw local folks to downtown Tampa after dark, but introduced them to the variety of musical talent located right here on our doorstep, not to mention select regional acts, too. Oh, and Rock the Park can also be credited with making Curtis Hixon a viable outdoor live music venue. Three diverse performers hit the stage for the two-year anniversary celebration: dark-tinged alt rock quartet Empire Cinema; tall drink of water rap artist, Breakdown, who just dropped a new 16-track LP, So Far Away; and Stokeswood, a synthesizer and low end-loving indietronica outfit from Atlanta. If you're hitting Bon Iver, come downtown early and drop by Rock the Park first. (Curtix Hixon Park, Tampa)
The Malone Brothers Band A pair of guitar-wielding brothers lead this New Orleans group, and both are staple purveyors of the city's finest roots rock – Dave Malone (of The Radiators) and younger bro Tommy Malone (from The Subdudes). (Jaeb Theater at the Straz Center, Tampa)
Avicii w/Gareth Emery/CAZETTE The dude is only 22 and he's already an international EDM star big enough to headline his own first-ever all-arena tour. Avicii (real name Tim Bergling) is a Swedish progressive house DJ and producer who’s been active since 2007 and made all the right friends along the way. Most notably, he collabed with mega electro artist David Guetta on Guetta's 2011 album Nothing But The Beat, and earned a Grammy nom for a track he co-produced, "Sunshine." This tour backs his recent Le7els EP, and his huge stage production features 3D visual mapping executed on an organic surface and mixed in real time. Warm-up dance sets by CAZZETTE, the dub house project of fellow Swedes Sebastian Furrer and Alexander Björklund; and British trance producer Gareth Emery, whose video for his latest single with Christina Novelli, "Concrete Angel," has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube. (Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa)
FRIDAY, JUNE 8
Rocket 88 w/Midnight Bowlers/Eugene Snowden & His JC Jumpers Orlando's high-octane rockabilly staple Rocket 88 – led by the gruff punkified vocals of frontman Michael Bales – marks their 20th anniversary this year. The five-piece hits town to celebrate with Tampa's more traditional-leaning outfit Midnight Bowlers, and Eugene Snowden & His JC Jumpers, the new retro jump-swing blues septet featuring members of the Legendary JCs, including force-of-nature frontman Snowden. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Snatch 10-Year Anniversary Part 1: Seth Troxler The first in a series of dance parties commemorating the decade-long tenure of South Tampa’s upscale after dark nightclub, Hyde Park Café, which brings in big name DJs on a regular basis. Michigan-born, Germany-based techno/house producer Seth Troxler kicks off the festivities. (Hyde Park Café, Tampa)
John Waite w/Jackie Bristow If you turned on FM radio anytime in the late 1970s, there's a good chance you were exposed to the fine vocals of John Waite. Throughout his career – from his time fronting power rock band The Babys and supergroup Bad English, to his longstanding tenure as a solo artist – Waite's clear, soaring vocals have always been his defining characteristic. His flawless ability to raise a whisper to a scream without losing any clarity or depth has made him one of the more distinctive and enduring vocalists in the rock genre. On his 2011 stop at Capitol Theatre, he asserted himself like the engaging frontman he's always been. Whether he was belting out a sensitive ballad like "Missing You" or churning out rockin’ covers (last year’s setlist included "All Along the Watchtower" and Tina Turner's "Sweet Rhode Island Red"), Waite showed he still had what it takes to carry both. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) –Gabe Echazabal
Smile Empty Soul w/The Veer Union/Ionia/Sunshine & Bullets/Lions After Dark/Crow California post-grunge outfit Smile Empty Soul enjoyed gold-certified success with their 2003 self-titled debut, and have been attempting to scale that mountain ever since. This tour supports 3's, the trio’s 2012 full-length. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
SATURDAY, JUNE 9
Poetry n' Lotion w/Jason Miller A damn fine local band and among my favorites, Poetry n' Lotion is a foursome that delivers an ironic, mostly instrumental fusion of post-jazz, metal, indietronica and rock, like the stealthy electro-trumpet dance ode, "Sego Techna," and the ever-popular double-punch of "Knight Rider Theme" > "Skinsuit," the cover an always-welcomed vehicle that segues into and through their original start-stop hoedown/reggae number. (Yeoman’s Road Pub, Tampa)
The Hip Abduction w/Funky Seeds Another of my favorite local bands, The Hip Abduction brews up a warm, sunny mix of danceable brass-blasted grooves, their sound marked by elements of Zimbabwean, Malian, and Caribbean Afro-beat, dub reggae, rock and funk. Last year saw the release of a new Hip Abduction full-length, One Less Sound, produced with help from Jim DeVito (Mofro, Donovan Frankenreiter). (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
The Owsley Bros. w/Laurel Canyon/Red Rock/Its "I'm a hot hot mess," multi-instrumentalist J.E. Reynolds drawls in the first track off Cobalt, his nasally-brassy vocals crawling and climbing over grinding garage blues and setting the dark-tinged tone of The Owsley Brothers’ brand new full-length record. For fans of The Black Keys. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, JUNE 10
Marty Morell Latin Jazz Sextet For its latest presentation, Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association welcomes this six-piece directed by percussionist, drummer and composer Marty Morell – who has the distinction of being the longest-lasting beat-keeper in the Bill Evans Trio with a stint from 1968 through 1974 – and featuring Japanese vocalist Michiko Ohta aka "Michiquita." Morell produced Ohta's 2011 Latin pop album, Enamorada, and the afternoon program will include select cuts from it along with various original Morell compositions. Special guest Jeff Rupert joins on tenor sax. (Studio@620, St. Petersburg)
2 CHAINZ Although he's been active since 1997, 2 Chainz (real name Tauheed Epps) is dropping his first-ever solo LP in 2012. He spent his early years performing with fellow Georgia rapper and school friend Dolla Boy as part of hip hop duo Playaz Circle, and they issued two albums under Ludacris' Def Jam imprint, Disturbing tha Peace, before dissolving in 2009. 2 Chainz is due to drop Based on a T.R.U. Story in mid-August via Def Jam, and among the confirmed guests are Drake, Kanye West, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Nate Najar Trio An afternoon Side Door Jazz concert presented by finger-style acoustic jazz guitar whiz Nate Najar with bassist John Lamb and drummer Stephen Bucholtz. Expect originals along with old standards and choice cuts off Najar’s latest record, Blues For Night People: The Nate Trio Remembers Charlie Byrd. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
MONDAY, JUNE 11
Puscifer w/Carina Round As if Maynard James Keenan didn't already have enough on his plate fronting two multi-platinum alt metal bands – Tool and A Perfect Circle – he also leads Puscifer, his electro-experimental art rock pet project that he's described as "danceable, diverse and at times dangerous." Keenan is the creative anchor amid an ever-changing cast of musician collaborators in Puscifer, which isn't just a band but a performance troupe that, in a live setting, integrates comedic video sketches and quick set changes into a heavy-driving quirked-out musical extravaganza. Sophomore record Conditions of My Parole dropped last year and current collaborators include Telefon Tel Aviv's primary, Josh Eustis, and LA-by-way-of-England indie rock songstress Carina Round, who brings femme vocals into the Puscifer mix and serves warm-up duty on Puscifer's current run of dates in support of her 2012 record and first full-length in five years, Tigermending. (Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center, Tampa)
TUESDAY, JUNE 12
Curren$y w/Smoke DZA/Fiend/Corner Boy P/Trademark da Skydiver/Young Roddy/Styles P We're only halfway into 2012, and already, prolific and fast-rising New Orleans rap artist Curren$y has issued two well-regarded LPs, both showcasing his measured, smoke-hazed style of rhyme-spitting; his seventh, Muscle Car Chronicles in February, and eighth, The Stoned Immaculate, just last week. He's called the latter his first "real" studio album since it features more production and collaborations than ever before with an all-star roster of guests that includes Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, Young Jeezy, Marsha Ambrosius, Pharrell, Estelle, Big K.R.I.T., Young Roddy, Daz Dillinger and 2 Chainz, who makes his own appearance at the same Ybor venue a few days earlier. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Man Man w/Raleigh Moncrief Philly-based avant rock band Man Man has a carnival freak show sort of aesthetic, possibly the sort of music that Frank Zappa might have made had he ever decided to eat drugs – upbeat instrumentals with lots of colorful embellishments and eclectic textural elements as created by the kitchen sink's worth of instruments Man Man's members employ, which include but aren't limited to clavinet, Moog synths, brass (sax, trumpet, French horn, flute, euphonium, sousaphone, bass clarinet), xylophone, marimba, melodica and various nontraditional percussive tools. Paired with the throaty barks and bellows of frontman Honus Honus, and his completely wacked-out narratives about anything from murdering mothers to butter beans to exorcism, and you have yourself one truly bizarre yet highly potent mix. The live show is outrageously energetic and a definite must-see. Click here to read this week's story on the band. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2012.