THURSDAY, MAY 3
Mickey Avalon w/Andre Legacy Growing up amid a shitstorm of hard knocks has given Hollywood-based indie rapper Mickey Avalon plenty of fuel for his fiery debauched rhymes, from dealing with deadbeat parents (dad addicted to heroin, mom a pot dealer), to picking up their bad habits and prostituting himself out to pay for them. His 2006 debut was the first-ever joint release by Myspace and Interscope, and he spent the next several years after trying to get out of his contract. He was successful last year, and finally released his sophomore Loaded via Suburban Noize Records in April. He’s known for his explosive live performances and dirty tracks like the sex-charged "Jane Fonda" (used most famously in HBO's Entourage) and the bravado-filled "My Dick" with LA cohort and tour pal Andre Legacy (classic line: "we got dicks like Jesus"). (Orpheum, Ybor City)—Leilani Polk
Robbie Rivera w/PeaceTreaty Rivera is a Miami-based progressive house DJ/producer who's dabbled in electro, dance, garage, Latin funk, and tribal elements, and is the mastermind behind the 17-hour, indoor/outdoor waterside party at Winter Music Conference otherwise known as Juicy Beach. This stop is part of his "Dance or Die" tour to Tampa. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)—LP
FRIDAY, MAY 4
Rock the Park w/Sleepy Vikings/The Groves/Crash Mitchell 5/Drake & Sofia Four corners of the Tampa Bay music scene are repped at this month's Rock the Park – mournful shoegaze with indie rock drive from Sleepy Vikings, Southern-seared blues and roots rock from The Groves, brash cowpunk bounce courtesy of Crash Mitchell, and charming sun-kissed pop rock by Drake & Sofia. (Curtis Hixon Park, Tampa)—LP
Geri X CD Release Party / The Deep Dark Woods w/Have Gun, Will Travel Prolific local songstress Geri X presents the fruits of her latest studio labor, Work is the Wolf, a dark, moody alt roots rock record that will get a full review here in the coming weeks. For her CD release show, she shares a co-bill with The Deep Dark Woods, a Canadian alt-country quintet touring in support of their fourth LP, The Place I Left Behind, described by CL Writer Ray Roa as "a breathtaking blend of swirling organ, weeping lead guitar, and heartbreaking vocals." (Crowbar, Ybor City) —LP
Eyes Lips Eyes w/The Dags "I'm afraid we're going to die / and that's okay because we're so pretty / pretty enough to know, pretty enough to never say goodbye, pretty enough to die," sings Eyes Lips Eyes frontman Tony Hello, who strings together run-on sentences against jangly guitar in "Pretty." The West Coast quartet crafts clever, jubilant, discofied post-punk with shades of pop quirkiness ala David Byrne – and they even cover one of his songs, "Psycho Killer." (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP
New Edition 30th Anniversary Tour The six original members of boy band-turned-supergroup New Edition are enjoying another reunion on their "30th Anniversary Tour." Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ricky Bel, Mike Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant bring the New Edition R&B pop catalog to town – "Candy Girl," "Cool It Down" and "Can You Stand the Rain" – along with chart-topping jams the individual members produced post-NE: "My Prerogative" (Bobby Brown), "My My My" (Johnny Gill), "Sensitivity" (Ralph Tresvant), and "Poison," (Bell Biv DeVoe), among others. They can't hit those pre-pubescent high notes like they used to, but they have wisdom and experience to make up for it. Or so we hope. (Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa)—LP
A Taste of Pinellas: Big & Rich / Joe Nichols w/Connor Christian & Southern Gothic The annual three-day food and music fundraiser for the All Children's Hospital Telethon (June 3) gets a rousing, cowboy boot-covered kick off with country music entertainment. Named among "Country's Hottest Guys of 2012" in People's Country Issue, Joe Nichols of "Brokenheartsville" and "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" fame fills in the early evening slot while Nashville superstar duo Big & Rich – who reunited in 2011 after a three-year hiatus – closes out the night with their rockin' brand of twang and a few new tracks, "Fake ID" (produced for the 2011 Footloose soundtrack) and "That's Why I Pray," the first single off their forthcoming fourth LP, Hillbilly Jedis. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg)—LP
Mighty Mighty Bosstones Remember when you were po-going during the alcohol-free all-ages show at the rec center, and during a particularly high pogo you saw her in the crowd, wearing a Dinosaur Jr. t-shirt and a side ponytail WAY before it was cool? Remember how you took her to the comfortably ramshackle coffee shop and read her passages from a battered copy of Naked Lunch you found on the shelf? Remember how alive you felt, like life was worth living and anything could happen and it would always be good? You can feel that way again. Come back. Come back to the endless possibilities of youth. Come back to the Bosstones. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City) –Scott Harrell
Michael Cavanaugh: The Music of Billy Joel For its latest pop-classical concert event, The Florida Orchestra is joined by musician/vocalist Michael Cavanaugh, who earned his Billy Joel cred when he was hand-picked by the artist to play in Broadway's Movin' Out, and appeared in the Joel-inspired show for three years. He belts out Piano Man classics like "New York State of Mind," "You May Be Right" and "Uptown Girl" with TFO during this special single-night presentation. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) —LP
SATURDAY, MAY 5
Bogus Pomp Jerry Outlaw and his band of co-conspirators continue to bring the music of Frank Zappa to longtime fans and the newly curious in fine live fashion. If anybody ever puts together a checklist of requirements for calling oneself a Tampa Bay live-music lifer, having attended a show by this insanely talented ensemble deserves a spot near the top. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) –SH
A Taste of Pinellas: Sheryl Crow / Ziggy Marley w/Cleveland Jones Day two of Taste features an evening set by Bob Marley's oldest reggae-making son, Ziggy, followed by a closing concert by pop-roots rock singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. Her last foray, 2010's 100 Miles from Memphis, was styled as a vintage Memphis, soul-inspired record that includes some original numbers along with select covers, like The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and "Sign Your Name" by Terence Trent D'Arby. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg) —LP
The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Tour Finally, after untold years of legal battles, make-ups and premature reunion rumors, the original lineup of The Beach Boys – Brian Wilson included – have finally re-banded. But is it too little too late? Does anyone really care at this point, especially considering their lackluster and rather awkward performance at the Grammys earlier this year? At least the fivesome is working on new music, first single "That's Why God Made the Radio" a good start and marked by their trademark, still-strong if not so high-pitched vocal harmonies. (Carol Morsani Hall at Straz Center, Tampa) —LP
The Winter Sounds w/The Seedy Seeds/Mini Prophets Nashville-by-way-of-Atlanta outfit The Winter Sounds draws on elements of New Wave, punk, folk rock and dance pop to get to their pleasant, emotive, strings-fused melodies. Cheeky trio The Seedy Seeds, from Cincinnati, purveys smart, upbeat-fun and enchanting electro-folkadelia with boy-girl harmonies. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —LP
Fear Factory w/Shadows Fall/The Devastated/The Browning/Legacy Of Disorder A variety of contemporary metal styles are on display on the State's venerable stage tonight. Fear Factory's ominous, vaguely industrial grooves have been offering an alternative to fleeting heavy-music trends for more than two decades, while Shadows Fall managed to avoid the death of nu-metal by offering a seamless blend of classic thrash and modern metalcore. SoCal doom/groove act The Devastated released its first full-length for Century Media, Devil’s Messenger, back in February, The Browning adds a brutal take on electronic and dance-music elements to the mix, and eclectic, durable underground metal act Legacy of Disorder hails from New Zealand and points unknown. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) –SH
Creed Which says more about the motivations behind this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to see these former mainstream post-grunge titans "in an intimate setting" – that the press release is chock-full of hopelessly cliched quotes about coming full circle and needing time to mature and the electric anticipation of getting the original lineup together onstage again, or that the most recent effort by Alter Bridge (the much better band featuring everybody but Scott Stapp) came out on an imprint called 'The Dude Films'? Yeah. If you've really been pining for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the band that inspired the bands that ruined modern rock radio play all of Human Clay in an intimate setting, you should probably spend that ticket money on an MRI or, like, a long, thin rod to jam into your ears or something. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) –SH
SUNDAY, MAY 6
A Taste of Pinellas: The All-American Rejects / Dashboard Confessional Acoustic w/A Rocket to the Moon/Kinected Closing out the three-day charity fest on Sunday is emo rockers Dashboard Confessional – really, just Chris Carrabba, who performs a special late afternoon acoustic set. All-American Rejects rage Taste to its evening conclusion with an alt rock/punk pop explosion; expect oldies like "Gives You Hell" and "Dirty Little Secret" along with new cuts off their 2012 fourth album, Kids In The Street. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg) —LP
Dirty Bourbon River Show w/Jim Morey Band Big Easy combo Dirty Bourbon River Show plays an apt gumbo of gypsy jazz, streetcorner ragtime folk and shadowy cabaret; it’s the kind of familiar yet utterly unique blend of sounds that immediately screams to be heard live, and judging by the recorded output, this group is unlikely to disappoint in that regard. Prodigal St. Pete son Jim Morey's band drops its collective needle in a similar groove, albeit with a more loungy, sardonically self-aware vibe. Highly recommended. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) –SH
MONDAY, MAY 7
Mayer Hawthorne & The County w/The Stepkids Standing out from the multitude of Motown sound revivalists who've burst onto the scene over the past several years is singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mayer Hawthorne, who made his debut in 2009 with A Strange Arrangement and issued a much-anticipated follow-up, How Do You Do, last year. His silky-toned vocals reach sexy falsetto heights, and are set against a vintage-mod mix of R&B, soul and groove-pop as purveyed by his band, The County, and live, he adopts a sort of pseudo-James Brown persona, one CL writer likening his performance to "a well-oiled Vegas showcase steam train." (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —LP
TUESDAY, MAY 8
Overkill w/God Forbid/Diamond Plate/Suidakra A bit of personal disclosure: As a young rock fan with an odd obsession with all those underdog bands that always seemed just a tier or two below any given genre’s Big Names (like Tesla, for instance), I had a weird affinity for Overkill's 1988 high-water mark, Under the Influence. That guitar tone was like murderous machinery. I haven’t listened to any of the, seriously, nearly 20 albums that have come since, but, you know, thrashchunkhighsarcasticvocalchunkthrash. God Forbid pays aural homage to all the great death metal, groovecore and melodic Scandinavian doom that came before, and acquits itself nobly as a result. Illinois act Diamond Plate likewise eschews trends in favor of a sound influenced by seminal Northern California thrash and Florida proto-death metal, while Suidakra hails from Germany and plies an, erm, uniquely Celt-imbued sort of brutality. (Orpheum, Ybor City) –SH
The Aggrolites w/Old Man Markley Did you know The Aggrolites originated as a one-off backing band for reggae star Derrick Morgan? Well, now you do, and if you know who Derrick Morgan is, then you'll rightly suspect this California group carries much more reverence for the original ska and reggae vibes than pretty much any third-wave support act for Goldfinger you could name. Nice, flowing, soulful stuff. Contrary Fat Wreck Chords act Old Man Markley plays a sort of gleefully straight take on bluegrass-infused alt-country that just can't keep a poppy, punky feel from bubbling up to the surface. (Local 662, St. Petersburg) –SH
Gipsy Kings Originally from France, the Gipsy Kings found widespread success by mainstreaming formerly "obscure" world-music styles for a global pop audience. Their palatable contemporary take on flamenco and other influences first won them worldwide acclaim in the mid-'80s, and if you think you've never heard them, you're almost certainly wrong – whether at a restaurant, in a grocery store or walking the promenade in an even slightly funky neighborhood, you've heard them. Which is not to take away from their formidable musical talents, nor the way their singular vibe can inspire a smile or a goofy little faux-sexy white-guy matador stance in almost anyone. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater) –SH
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9
Monophonics w/Gerry Williams Band Among the West Coast revivalists taking a sonic cue from funk greats like Sly Stone and David Axelrod is Monophonics, a San Fransisco sextet that crafts the sort of tunes made for cool cruising in some sort of big ol' shiny boat car from the early '70s – a shiny red Continental coupe or low-key navy El Camino with a white hardtop, on your way to your next Saturday night destination but in no rush to get there. New record In Your Brain (out May 15 via Ubiquity) is hard retro-imbued funk and psychedelic soul, the horn arrangements dampened to warm bursts of bright and accompanied by thick and fuzzy bass grooves, chugging rhythms, plenty of wet wah wah guitar along with some shrieking and wailing solos, and the impassioned husky-soulful vocals of singer/keyboardist Kelly Finnigan. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —LP
Enter Shakari w/To Write Love on Her Arms To Write Love on Her Arms is not a band – it's a grassroots non-profit movement dedicated to helping people (particularly young people) cope with their lives in positive rather than self-abusive ways. Reps provide a sympathetic and relatable resource for those who may not know others have felt the same way they do. Electro-tinged British pop-screamo act Enter Shikari has graciously invited ‘em out on the road this time around, and it's a pretty good fit – it's hard to think of a band as timely and indicative of the current, catchy young post-hardcore scene as this one. Support by Letlive and At The Skylines. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) –SH
Beach House What's up with indie acts naming themselves after the sublimated material desires of a generation trained to outwardly reject materialism? Your irony is showing, members of Yacht … anyway, Baltimore’s Beach House purveys dreamy, textured electro-pop whose light layers float above a hint of darkness dwelling beneath. New track "Lazuli," from the upcoming fourth album Bloom, finds the band continuing to evince that uniquely French-feeling mix of sensuality and ennui. Yeah, I just wrote that. Like Fellini clowns or some shit. I wonder if they can only play theatres that end with the "r" and "e" transposed like that. Arty, is what I'm saying. (Beacham Theatre, Orlando) –SH
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in May 3-9, 2012.