THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Denney & the Jets w/Tristan You might assume looking at the name, ‘Hey, these guys must sound like Elton John!’ Or perhaps your first thought was, ‘Is this an Elton John cover band?’ The answer to both your knee-jerk reflections is a resounding “Nope.” Band namesake Chris Denney is the nasally vocalist and guitar-playing frontman of Denny & the Jets, a five-piece with music marinated in the twangy retrofied rock n’ roll sounds of their Nashville home and dosed lightly with garage, blues and alt country flavors. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —Leilani Polk
The Steepwater Band Ale and the Witch welcomes national-scale talent to its courtyard stage when Chicago-bred four-piece The Steepwater Band brings their seething blues and heartland rocking sounds to town in support of their latest studio release, 2011’s Clava. (Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg) —LP
Regina Spektor w/Only Son This year’s What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is arguably the most emotionally resonant work to date from Moscow native piano pop/alt folk songstress Regina Spektor, whose stunningly pure and expressive soprano is a perfect fit for her clever lyrical style and mood-flipping songwriting, and a pleasant contrast to her vocal tricks, scats, acrobatics and flourishes. If you missed last week’s story on Spektor, read it here. Warming up the stage is Only Son, the solo project of NYC-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and Spektor spouse, Jack Dishel (The Moldy Peaches). (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)—LP
Peelander-Z w/Electric Eel Shock/Hi-5 Go/Abortion Twins Japanese action comic punks Peelander-Z return for their second Tampa show in seven months, and this time they’ll have a new album — Space Vacation — in tow. Newbies should gleefully expect to witness a high-energy, “where the hell am I?” kind of set with a single overriding purpose: pure, unadulterated fun. Imagine what might happen if The Power Rangers weren’t into fighting and were into consuming massive amounts of candy before playing hyperactive pop-punk for adoring fans (who they pluck onstage to play along), and you might have an inkling of the madness that is sure to ensue. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Ray Roa
The Worn Winter w/Bangarang/Jack Jasper/Danfield Four bands formed in the past year hit the Market stage. The Worn Winter is an indie rock four-piece that channels the psychedelic blues rock of the late ‘60s. Bangarang infuses their own rock with hip hop and island influences. Jack Jasper offers up three-piece soul-and-groove blended sonics with R&B-velvety sweet vocals. And Danfield dips into the acoustic guitar-driven reggae rock. (Market on 7th, Ybor City)—LP
Waka Flocka Flame w/Wooh Da Kid NYC-born, Atlanta-based crunkin’ dirty South rapper Waka Flocka Flame is part of the 1017 Brick Squad (with Gucci Mane and Wooh Da Kid among others) and issues his recordings under Warner Bros. imprint 1017/Asylum Records. His sophomore full-length Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family features guest spots from some of today’s hottest hip hop stars, among them, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Trey Songz, Ludacris and Travis Porter. Each brings his or her own distinctive swag to Waka’s mix of banging hooks, cheeky ad-libs and intellect-free lyrics, which wax on topics ranging from gold grills and lickable metallic paint jobs (“Candy Paint & Gold Teeth”) to the ladies at the clubs who know how to work their ass-dipping moves (“Get Low”). (Orpheum, Ybor City)—LP
Bi-Coastal Boogie Woogie Gals w/Liz Pennock and Caroline Dahl A concert featuring two boogie woogie blues artists from either side of the country; Tampa Bay’s own keys-banging crooner Liz Pennock and San Francisco Bay mistress of the ivories Caroline Dahl are joined by guitar-slinger Dr. Blues in their first co-appearance since performing at the Brussels Boogie Woogie Piano Summit in 2004. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)—LP
Motionless In White w/Chelsea Grin/Stick To Your Guns/Crown The Empire/Upon This Dawning Motionless in White is a gothic metalcore sextet from Pennsylvania with a dark blasting aesthetic littered with rage-filled lyrics that reflect on subjects like Jack the Ripper, The Lost Boys, the Salem Witch Trials, and the psychological damage of infidelity. Second album When Love Met Destruction is similarly horrifying as first single "If It's Dead, We'll Kill it" shows, though has a more socially conscious feel. According to vocalist Chris Cerulli, the song (which features guest screams by Bleeding Through’s Brandan Schiepatti) was inspired by his disgust “for people in the world who have developed this sense of entitlement that they think gives them the right to dictate standards others need to live by.” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16
Dillon Francis Compared to sometimes poorly-attended "indie" rock shows, dance clubs stay mostly packed when nationally-recognized producers and DJs blow through town. Criticize them for their glow sticks and oddball clothing choices, but EDM fans are loyal to their scene and come out in throngs to see their favorite artists. One of those surely to draw a crowd is LA-based Dillon Francis. The 24-year-old boasts unanimous seals of approval from heavyweights like Diplo and Skrillex and his synthesis of pop, dubstep and the increasingly popular moombathon that he sometimes dubs "Horny Spice" — on tracks like "Dill The Noise" and "XX" from his Something, Something, Awesome EP (out now via Skrillex's OWSLA imprint) — is irresistible. Francis is an art school student-turned-graffiti artist-turned photographer with a love for 1950's culture and punk outfits like The Germs and Blood Brothers, but his creative space seems to be in the booth, with monitors glowing back at him and controllers begging to be manipulated whilst his fans clamor for more. Listening at home or in the car is enjoyable, but there’s really no substitute for getting sonically pummeled by a venue PA as Francis' set should prove. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City) —RR
Keller Williams I always have the same sequence of feelings at every Keller Williams show I attend; “Yeah, I’m here, so what?” indifference followed by grin-busting enchantment and laugh-out-loud delight. The unassuming leader of the jam scene’s one man-band phenomena sings, plays a myriad of instruments (though acoustic guitar is his standby) and dips into a wide pool of genres — rock, bluegrass, dance music, funk, folk, jazz and reggae — as he charms with his quirky lyrics and sunny upbeat strums, picks, plucks, taps and slides. This year, the songsmith issued Pick, an album of originals and covers performed with The Travelin’ McCourys. Most likely this performance will be a combo of straightforward acoustic axe playing and ADD-riddled looping of vocals and instrumentals on any of the array of stringed instruments scattered across the stage. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —LP
Cypress Hill “Insane in the Brain” is one of those hip hop anthems that was so pervasive at the peak of its popularity (when I was 13 and couldn’t escape listening to the radio) that I not only know the damn song, but can call up B-Real's nasally sing-song chat with no effort whatsoever. Abrasive proof of how certain hooks are catchy enough they stick with you forever. The Latino West Coast group has issued numerous recordings since 1993 sophomore album Black Sunday went triple platinum and earned them loads of dough with the aforementioned single; April EP Cypress x Rusko found them joining up with British dubstep producer Rusko. I will keep my harsh knee-jerk judgments to myself. (The Cuban Club, Ybor City) —LP
The Woolly Bushmen Close your eyes, turn on their eponymous 2012 LP, and let The Woolly Bushmen take you on a nostalgia trip. Open said oculars at a live set by the Orlando-based trio and you’ll feel like you just came out of a time machine. Clad in garments probably stolen from the set of Three’s Company, frontman Simon Palombi leads his band through fuzzy rock n’ roll peppered with 1970’s soul, sweet doo-wop harmonies, passionate screams, and the pop sensibility of The Beatles all whilst maintaining an air of authenticity that isn’t usually common in acts reviving the past. The Bushmen are the real deal, and no one could argue otherwise. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) —RR
Orchard Lounge Three Chicago-based DJs/producers/turntable technicians make up Orchard Lounge, and the trio has been dishing out their dancefloor jams for a dozen or so years, jumping between heady hypno-tech and down-tempo space hop to modern bass-banging tech house and funkified vinyl-grubbing grooves. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —LP
Fujiki-Hastings Benefit Concert #3: King of Spain/Mrenc/A la Corda In September, New Granada Records took home multiple CL Best Of The Bay awards and the local label’s influence shapes the last of three shows benefiting the family trust of late Candy Bars drummer Ryan Hastings. A La Corda (a string trio led by Candy Bars’ own Melissa Grady) opens the concert and local art auction. King Of Spain follows, likely performing tracks off a new LP of gauzy, epic pop that’s garnered national praise. The bill is made even sweeter by a rare performance by genre-bending Mrenc (Eric Collins), whose recent output takes his love of sampling and paints it with slinky guitar lines, sweeping synths, and painfully poignant lyrics that hide behind crafty melodies. (The Bricks, Ybor City) —RR
Claire Lynch Band New York bluegrass singer-songwriter Lynch has a long resume full of impressive hallmarks, from singing lead in Front Porch String Band early in her career and earning a few Grammy nominations with the outfit to embarking on a solo career, nabbing multiple International Bluegrass Music Association noms and finally earning a “Female Vocalist of the Year” win for her 2009 album, Whatcha Gonna Do. Lynch’s band includes Mark Schatz (upright bassist, clawhammer banjo), Bryan McDowell (mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and Matt Wingate (guitar, mandolin, vocals). (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)—LP
Thomas Wynn and the Believers Always dishing up an engaging, raging good time of brawny bass groovin’ roots rock, Orlando’s Thomas Wynn and the Believers (led by gruff and soulful namesake Thomas with strong support from gospel-throaty singing sibling Olivia) hits the Skipperdome on the latest round of dates behind 2012 full-length, Brothers and Sisters. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17
Donavon Frankenreiter The husky-voiced mustachioed surfer-songwriter with a grooving ‘70s mellow rock appeal is friends with Jack Johnson and repped by his Brushfire label; 2012 saw the release of his fifth full-length, Start Livin’, which he told Relix magazine was basically a love album: “Most of the songs are about my wife and our two boys, and the life that we’ve built together in Hawaii. Start Livin’ means stop worrying about where you’ve been, where you’re going — just start embracing what you have around you. Start loving what you have right now.” (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)—LP
Boukman Eksperyans w/Rocksteady@8 Fusing elements of Haïtian vodoumusical traditions and folkloric music with rock n’ roll and reggae, Haiti’s “mizik rasin” ("roots music") movement arose in the late 1980s as spear-headed by Port-au-Prince-based collective Boukman Eksperyans, their name paying homage to both vodou priest Dutty Boukman and rock icon Jimi Hendrix. The 12-piece features multiple percussionists, three singers (including band leader Theodore "Lolo" Beabrun and feminine wailer Mimerose "Manze" Beabrun), a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and dancers who add colorful kinetic flair to the band’s high energy performances, their heavily-textured Caribbean and Afro rhythms backing layered rock melodies and reggae funky basslines. A must see. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP
American Aquarium CD Release Show w/Will Quinlan Raleigh’s favored alt country rockers American Aquarium hit town on the heels of releasing a new album of whiskey-soaked pedal steel-laced songwriting, Burn.Flicker.Die, frontman BJ Barham delivering odes about being on the road in his ragged drawling howl. Ninebullets.net offered glowing praise of the album, roots music guru Bryan Childs calling the title track one of the best songs he’s ever heard and earmarking the standout album as “Essential Listening” on the site. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP
Face to Face: Live and Unplugged About nine years into a career that began at the dawn of the ‘90s, muscular Cali punk act Face to Face released Ignorance Is Bliss, a depthy and sophisticated post-hardcore record that turned the group’s straightforward, catchy sound on its head. Rebuffed by scene dogmatists and rarely represented during live shows, Ignorance Is Bliss is nonetheless an accomplished and compelling piece of work; had it been put out by some new emo act, it would’ve exploded. This acoustic tour is dedicated to finally giving those excellent tunes the stage-time they deserve, and should provide a special experience for fans of both the band and the album. Nashville roots-punk songwriter Joshua Black Wilkins opens. (Local 662, St. Petersburg) —Scott Harrell
Little Manatee River Jam w/Damon Fowler/ Have Gun Will Travel/Christy Massey/Talk To Mark/Rebekah Pulley and the Reluctant Prophets/ Sarah Mac Band/Ed Carter A camping-and-canoeing optional, family and pet-friendly WMNF event currently celebrating its third year at the five-acre Canoe Outpost. The day-long Little Manatee River Jam is headed up by blues rock licking and sliding axeman Damon Fowler, and filled out by other quality Bay area music makers, among them, sizzling high-octane roots and Americana ensemble Have Gun, Will Travel, and much-adored folk rock mistress Rebekah Pulley and her band, the Reluctant Prophets. (Canoe Outpost – Little Manatee River, Wiumama)—LP
Acoustic Alchemy The British outfit has been producing their acoustic guitar-driven pop, post-bop and rock-tinged contemporary jazz for more than three decades; this tour supports 2011 full-length, Roseland. (Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for Performing Arts, downtown Tampa)—LP
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Koffin Kats w/The Dead Popes The Koffin Kats' fifth and latest album proves a landmark for the Detroit trio for two reasons: 2012’s Our Way & The Highway is the Koffin Kats debut on Sailor's Grave Records and it’s also their first recording with guitarist EZ Ian Jarrell, who replaced founding-member Tommy Koffin in 2010. Though their appeal extends primarily to the psychobillies, the Koffin Kats are really a punk band with an upright bass. Vic Victor's vocals are reminiscent of Misfits-era Danzig with a dusting of Morrissey, his contrabass slap-style is as much percussive as it is rhythmic, Jarrell's guitar leads are equal parts country and metal, and drummer E-Ball holds it all together with unshakeable meter. Casual listeners may mistakenly dismiss Our Way & The Highway as a party-heavy romp, but there’s an underlying sadness that adds depth to the frenetic, driving energy of the album. The Dead Popes warm up the stage with their own brand of badass surf-punk-billyness. (Orpheum, Ybor City) —Justin Little
Aaron Lewis He’s best known for wailing forlornly with alt metal group Staind, but Aaron Lewis found his second calling in country music and issued a solo EP of twangy melodies, 2011’s Town Line, that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Currently, he’s on tour backing a brand new full-length, The Road, out last week via Blaster Entertainment/Warner Music Nashville. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)—LP
Enter the Haggis w/Brother Whitelake is the sixth and latest album from Toronto’s Enter the Haggis, a worldly roots and folk rock quintet that has nurtured a wildly faithful international fanbase with nonstop touring and dazzling live performances. So faithful, in fact, that the musicians raised funds to independently record and release Whitelake via contributions from fans collected on Kickstarter.com — and they netted a fine $46k over their 20k goal at the campaign’s conclusion. Enter the Haggis is Trevor Lewington (vocals, guitar, octave mandolin, banjo), Brian Buchanan (vocals, fiddle, keys, guitar, mandolin, accordion, banjo), Craig Downie (bagpipes, harmonica, whistle, trumpet, vocals), Mark Abraham (bass, vocals, ukulele) and Bruce McCarthy (drums, percs). Warming up the stage is LA-by-way-of-Australia tribal power trio Brother, which builds exotic world-flecked rock music with didgeridoo, bagpipes and tribal percussion. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)—LP
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20
Asia Four British prog rock musicians came together to form the more pop-friendly supergroup, Asia, in 1981; bassist/smoky-voiced singer John Wetton (who played with bands like King Crimson and Uriah Heap), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes, The Buggles), guitarist Steve How (Yes), and drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson Lake & Palmer) charted a few hits, most memorably in the U.S. with “Heat of the Moment.” While a revolving roster of players joined Downes through much of the ‘90s and some of the ‘00s, the original supergroup members re-convened in 2006 and have since recorded three albums. The last, 2012’s XXX, was Asia’s 12th overall and earned rather favorable reviews for its mix of emotional depth and hooky melodies. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)—LP
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21
THX-Giving with Gentlemen Please, Bambery, Halibut and The Passenger THX Management presents a free pre-Thanksgiving showcase of excellent local music and stages a toy drive to support Toys for Tots. Leading the bands is Gentlemen Please, which mixes punchy fuzz pop odes like “The New Sun” with more off-kilter melodica-laced tracks “Bundle of Nerves” and the melodic acoustic guitar prog pop of “ooh-la!” as written by singer-guitarist Alastair St.Hill. Bambery brings blissful sun n’ surf-touched rock marked by winsome boy-girl vocal harmonies, Halibut offers up indie folk with ukulele and trumpet accoutrements, and The Passenger opens the show with hooky riffy alt rock. Bring a new unwrapped toy to donate — it’s for the tots. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —LP
Men Without Hats w/Right The Stars The latest ‘80s New Wave sensation to hit the Tampa Bay area is “The Safety Dance” synth-rock processesors Men Without Hats. The Canadian group was formed and fronted by vocalist Ivan Doroschuk, who revived Men Without Hats after many years of dormancy, brought on three musicians to back him, and recorded and released the first album under the moniker in nearly a decade, Love in the Age of War, this year; first single “Head Above Water” finds Doroschuk practicing his style of social commentary-laced dance music. (Orpheum, Ybor City)—LP
COPE Enjoy a pre-Turkey Day dance party with funky, rootsy, electro-jam rock foursome Cope, featuring Stadelman brothers Dennis and Kenny on guitar and bass, Dave Gerulat holding down the rhythms, Juan “Juanjamon” Montero adding his grooving keys and sexy sax to the mix, and all four taking up vocal duties and lovely support harmonies. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2012.
