THURSDAY, AUGUST 2
Bush Don’t judge Bush too harshly for touring with Nickelback — a band’s gotta eat, right? Singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale continues to lead the British alt-rock band with original drummer Robin Goodridge, and newer ranking members, guitarist Chris Traynor and bassist Corey Britz, who took over for Nigel Pulsford and Dave Parsons when Rossdale re-formed Bush in 2010 and they declined to join him. Bush returns to the Ritz for a show presented as part of the “Jim Beam Live Music Series.” Expect a set featuring their Bush-stamped version of The Beatles’ “Come Together” (originally recorded for the series) along with cuts off 2011’s The Sea of Memories, their first LP in nearly a decade, and all the ’90s hits — “Glycerine,” “Everything’s Zen,” “Machinehead,” “Comedown” and the like. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Rock the Park w/Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypso/Serotonic/Renee Proffitt THX Management kicks off the August edition of its monthly Rock the Park series with a percussive-fueled, brass-splashed blend of punk, ska, calypso and reggae rock by Johnny Cakes, along with delicate pretty acoustic folk-rock songstress Renee Proffitt and the sax sexy funk and jazz of Serotonic, which has been known to cover the likes of Galactic, Soulive and Medeski, Martin & Wood. Cellphone reps will be on hand pimping a cool new (and free) eMe Music app that delivers info about the local music and nightlife scene. (Curtis Hixon Park, downtown Tampa)
Afropop 2 A showcase of mic-rocking rhyming and singing emcees, spoken word artists and vocalists from around the Bay area, including Hittman & Manolo, Davida Belove, Ryell featuring AP, Venus Jones and Lioness. (Tampa Improv, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3
Yo Majesty w/Aych/PF Gang/Heights NS Locals enjoy a rare hip-hop treat when the three original rhyme-flipping women of Yo Majesty — Shunda K, who’s also celebrating her birthday, Shon D and Jwl B — come together for a headlining gig at Crowbar to perform a mix of their crunkified-aggro tracks like “Kryptonite Pussy,” “Club Action,” “Monkey” and “Don’t Let Go,” among others. A strong lineup of support acts round out the Friday night bill. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
The Lacs Clay “Uncle Snap” Sharpe and Brian “Rooster” King are The Lacs (Loud Ass Crackers), a hip-hop duo from Georgia who proudly tout redneck ideals — blacking out on Wild Turkey, kicking up mud in their four-wheel drives, living in a country boy’s paradise with “wild women in white T-shirts” — and infuse their sound with Southern pop-rock swagger. Their 2012 sophomore album, 190 Proof, finds the usual mix of drawling dirt road rhymes with a bonus guest spot by Big & Rich on “Shake It” (“I ain’t never seen no country girl shake it like that”). Not thinking man’s music by a long stretch, but better than Uncle Kracker. (The Round-Up, Tampa)
Identity Fest II w/Eric Prydz/Wolfgang Gartner/Excision/Showtek/Eva Simons/Le Castle Vania/Arty/Noisia/Doctor P/The Eye/many more Big traveling festivals often offer a cross-selection of sounds reflecting what’s happening within a specific genre. Identity Fest (aka ID Fest) focuses on EDM and brings two stages worth of dance music acts to amphitheaters around the U.S. The second annual edition is headed up by Swedish-born, London-based progressive house heavyweight Eric Prydz, best known here for 2009 single “Call on Me”; the song’s main refrain riffs on a sample of Steve Winwood’s “Valerie” and its sexy aerobics video hit viral heights, clocking more than 36 million YouTube views. Among the other noteworthies, Wolfgang Gartner brings American electro house to the bill; Canadian export Excision’s integrates drum n’ bass, heavy metal, and hip hop into his dramatic brand of dubstep; Dutch brothers Sjoerd and Wouter Janssen deliver hardstyle dance as Showtek, while fellow countrywoman Eva Simons serves club bangin’ pop (and was the voice featured in Afrojack’s 2011 hit single “Take Over Control” and more recently in wil.i.am’s single “This Is Love”); and Le Castle Vania reps the indietronic angle direct from Atlanta. (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, Tampa)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 4
Summer Jams 2012 Benefit & Awareness Concert St. Pete native Jermaine is a survivor of sickle cell anemia who grew up singing in the youth choir and now uses his powerful vocals and mix of R&B, gospel, and hip hop to uplift and inspire while spreading awareness about and raising funds for worthy charities and their causes. He’s joined by a variety of other musical performers, dancers and America’s Super Choir for this latest benefit concert, which benefits the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, West Coast AIDS Foundation, Lupus Foundation of Florida, Sierra Club of Tampa Bay, Florida Suncoast Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Jermaine’s own nonprofit, Evening Star Foundation. (Ferguson Hall at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa)
Gypsy Star Band This particular locally based Latin and gypsy jazz sextet infuses worldly diverse instrumental flavor into their slinky, swaying compositions, which are marked by exotic flute flourishes, layers of rhythmic texture from claves, castanets, shakers, congas and other percussive instruments, finger-picked nylon-stringed acoustic guitar, and mesmerizing female vocals. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
Zoogma w/Sounduo Rising to the top of the latest crop of Southeastern instrumental jamtronic rock bands is Zoogma, a Mississippi/Tennessee four-piece that delivers a collision of drum n’ bass breakdowns, ambient electro soundscapes and sci-fi funky grooves via a combination of synths, turntables, sequencing and live instrumentation (guitars, bass and drums). (Crowbar, Ybor City)
WMNF Americana Fest w/Ted Lukas & the Misled/Will Quinlan & the Reluctant Diviners/Rebekah Pulley & the Reluctant Prophets/Memphis Train Union/Lonesome City Travelers/Matt Woods/Whiskey Gentr/Between Bluffs/Ronny Elliott/Justin Brown & Travis Bourguignon/Ramblegrass WMNF brings another interesting grouping of performers to the Skipperdome for its seventh annual Americana fest. Drawing on a broad range of sounds from the genre, the bill features regular local dealers in folk rock like Ronny Elliot (fresh off releasing a new album), Will Quinlan and Rebekah Pulley joined by bluegrass-influenced acts like Whiskey Gentry, more pop-upbeat roots purveyors like Between Bluffs, and the throwback appeal of Lonesome City Travelers, among others. The nine-hour musical festivities culminate in an easy rockin’ set by Ted Lukas & the Misled. Though his lyrics and song structures definitely lend themselves to the Americana sound, the instrumentals on his most recent record, Learn How to Fall, has a gentle, enjoyable folk pop drive with catchy choruses and guitar solos that don’t scream so much as bounce. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —Miles Parks
Ledisi w/Eric Benet She’s dipped her sonic toes heavily in jazz and more lightly in funk, though New Orleans songstress Ledisi’s throaty croon and overall aesthetic is firmly rooted in an R&B and neo soulful sound. Her fifth full-length, 2011’s Pieces of Me, is her highest charting to date and earned a Grammy nom for “Best R&B Album” at this year’s awards (she lost to icky Chris Brown); Ledisi also appeared in the 2011 staging of VH1 Divas, performing in medleys with Kelly Clarkson, Marsha Ambrosius and Sharon Jones. Opening act for the tour is R&B singer Eric Benét, whose two highest charting singles, “Georgy Porgy” and “Spend My Life With You,” feature female singers (Faith Evans and Tamia, respectively). I smell opportunities for a few Ledisi sit-ins… (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 5
Rays Concert Series: The Wiggles Rays fans enjoy a family-friendly edition of the post-game series, the afternoon face-off against the Orioles followed by a concert featuring platinum-selling Aussie children’s music group The Wiggles, which originally formed in 1991 and are known for incorporating theories of child development into their songs, videos and TV series. (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg)
Ol’ Dirty Sundays w/Jeremy Sole Get your dance on when Ol Dirty Sundays presents an extra special (and rare) guest appearance by DJ, producer and KCRW radio host Jeremy Sole, from LA, who draws on a broad palette of sonic influences in his heady grooves — blues, jazz, hip hop, disco, house, funk, Afrobeat, Latin, Brazilian and other remixed world rhythms. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
MONDAY, AUGUST 6
Lindsey Buckingham Following a run of sold-out solo gigs last fall that included Capitol Theatre, the soft melodic AC pop rocker best known for his tenure as Fleetwood Mac’s lead singer, songwriter and string-picking guitarist hits the road for another round of intimate one-man performances showcasing his distinctive style. He returns to Clearwater for a redux to perform Mac classics along with select solo material, including cuts off his 2011 full-length, Seeds We Sow. This show is *SOLD OUT.* (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)
Dirty Projectors w/Pop Etc. “Gun Has No Trigger” is the first single released off Dirty Projector’s 2012 sixth LP, Swing Lo Magellan, its easy grooving bass and drums paired with the wordless chorus of harmonizing dulcet-toned female vocals oohing and cooing to create a bed of rhythmic melody against which the jagged wailing vocals of lead singer-songwriter David Longstreth delivers lyrics like “If you had looked, you might have just seen them / Stretched in the background / You’d see the oceans swirl / And the mountains shook / You’d see a million million colors.” While critics have called it the band’s most accessible album to date, Swing Lo Magellan is still quite obviously in line with the band’s avant, prog and popadelic rock tendencies. (Beacham Theatre, Orlando)
Ted Nugent The Nuge is now best known as an ultra-conservative gun-loving motormouth with a “Strangle Hold” on controversy. Ted’s latest step into a verbal minefield was insinuating that he would assassinate Barack Obama if the Prez gets re-elected. (The Secret Service has since paid him a visit, which was either within reason or a Gestapo-style tactic, depending on how fried on Fox News you are.) Nugent loves his guns, and so does his audience, but we’re hoping things remain peaceful at Ruth Eckerd. Please do not shoot up the ceiling or each other as The Nuge delivers a string of songs that no one has cared about in 30 years. If you bring a gun to a concert, you are a fucking moron. Just like Ted. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —Joe Bardi
TUESDAY, AUGUST 7
Living Room Live Hideaway Cafe re-institutes its monthly songwriters’ night open mic. Potential performers are invited to come in, sign up, and when called, perform three original tunes from his or her repertoire. Showtime at 7:30 p.m. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8
BBQ Wednesday Acoustic Series: Tracy Shedd New World keeps upping the ante on its BBQ series, not only offering the usual $5 plates of fall-off-the-bone tender barbeque but inviting high-quality talent to entertain folks while they’re shoveling it in by the pound. This week, dulcet-toned guitar-and-keys playing singer-songwriter Tracy Shedd (a Jacksonville native currently based in Tucson, Ariz.) drops in for a special one-off acoustic gig of her warm and introspective alt pop. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Mewithoutyou w/Kevin Devine/Buried Beds The conceptual stage for Ten Stories is set from track one, “February, 1878,” which opens mewithoutyou’s 2012 fifth album with a mix of moody folk rock and post-hardcore marked by grinding guitars, light percussion and the wildly erratic sung-spoken vocals of lyricist Aaron Weiss as he relates a story about animals that escape into the wilds of Montana after a circus train is derailed. The narratives of the escapees show up throughout the rest of the album, as in “Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume” (featuring a guest spot by Paramore’s Hayley Williams). Warm-up sets by Brooklyn singer-songwriter Kevin Devine (best known for his Bad Books project with Manchester Orchestra) and Buried Beds, from Philly, their charming boy-girl vocal harmonies set against rootsy chamber pop. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
The Dangerous Summer w/From Indian Lakes/Makari/New Cathedral You know the music that plays during those in-between atmospheric shots of MTV’s The Real World — the unremarkable, mildly emotive alt-rock soundtrack to a roommate’s quiet contemplation of his own general hot messness, humdrum choruses kicking in as he stares off into the distant city skyline? Yeah, that was probably The Dangerous Summer, currently headlining a tour in support of their sophomore full-length, War Paint (Hopeless Records). (Orpheum, Ybor City)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2012.