THURSDAY, APRIL 25
The Wailers w/Trinity 7 The band that backed Bob Marley before he passed only has one member remaining who actually played with the reggae icon: bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett. The seven-piece Wailers also encompasses his son, organist Aston Jr., longtime keysmith Keith Sterling (The Upsetters, Soul Syndicate), and channeling Bob on lead vocals since 2010, Jamaica native artist Dwayne Anglin. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Public Speaking w/DC9V/Coruscate/Article 47 Jason Anthony Harris leads Brooklyn-based ensemble Public Speaking, in which he layers hiccupping found sounds with vocal splices, percussive texture, warped and processed sonics, and a bright, appealing, and sometimes appealingly strange collision of instrumentation (synths, vocals, piano, organ, strings, brass, guitar) that adds up to a sound two parts effusive experimental pop, one part darker-tinged art rock and all parts very, very intriguing. (Mojo Books & Music, Tampa)
Renaissance This British prog rock-lite ensemble with folk and symphonic tendencies didn’t gain much traction in the US during their 1970s heyday, but precise trilling vocalist Annie Haslam had led the band through some hits in the UK (“Northern Lights” was their highest-selling single), and critical acclaim here for albums like 1975’s Scheherazade and Other Stories keeps bringing Renaissance back for more. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
FRIDAY, APRIL 26
M.C. Trachiotomy/Public Speaking/Lovebrrd/Leveret/The Explanations Point/John Freda A co-headline bill featuring two diverse avant acts — Brooklyn-based Public Speaking (see Thursday for more info), and M.C. Trachiotomy (Trach for short), the persona adopted by New Orleans Ninth Ward survivor Pavlo J. Poggi, who builds a freaky lo-fi electro-psychedelic palette and offers rambling growl-barked rhymes and schitzo spoken word commentary over it. Other experimental acts round out this Pangea Project bill. (The Venture Compound, St. Petersburg)
Delta Heavy Ben Hall and Simon James are the London producers behind Delta Heavy, and their epic electronic build up-break downs are filled with whirring, womping, bumping and fizzing lowend heaviness, while high-frequency samples bounce, ring, whistle and rubberband all around it, sometimes with vocals spliced in and often with an ‘80s-vibing appeal. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
Soilwork w/Jeff Loomis/Blackguard/The Browning/Wretched Nuclear Blast-repped leaders of Swedish melodic death metal, Soilwork, hit town on the heels of issuing The Living Infinite. Their ninth studio effort is a double LP minus founding guitarist Peter Wichers, who left the band for the second time in 2012. The Living Infinite has still earned some positive press. According to Sputnickmusic.com, “Soilwork has simultaneously stepped back to their past while maintaining their current sound, but they have also diversified their formula more than ever before — and they did so without a single filler track.” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
98 Rock Fest w/Alice in Chains/Stone Sour/Three Days Grace/Bullet For My Valentine/more The mainstream rock station’s annual multi-band blow-out rises above last year’s shitshow of headliners (Shinedown, Evanescence, P.O.D.) into more acceptable, if not totally relevant territory. Alice in Chains has been touring without late founding frontman Layne Staley for many years now; Jerry Cantrell and Co. filled in his spot quite adequately with a dude whose gritty-brassy bellow sounds a lot like Staley’s, though William DuVall has his own sort of dynamism as he revealed on 2009’s Black Gives Way to Blue. Also of note: Iowa alt-metal outfit Stone Sour (“Bother”), Canadian alt-rock trio Three Days Grace (“I Hate Everything About You”) and Bullet For My Valentine, a heavy metal four-piece from Wales that hasn’t spent much time on the U.S. charts but boasts seven No. 1 hits in the UK beginning with 2005’s “4 Words (To Choke Upon).” (Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa)
Dr. Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys w/Alison Brown Quartet Bluegrass elder statesmen Dr. Ralph Stanley might be 86 years old, but he can still pick and pluck 5-string clawhammer-style banjo as well as anyone who has seven decades of playing experience. He also maintains a rather active touring schedule and continues to record; last year, he delivered two volumes of Old Songs & Ballads, which has Stanley performing traditional numbers he loved most growing up in old Appalachia Virginia, from “Man of Constant Sorrow” to “Pretty Polly.” (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
No Rave Fridays: Lazy Magnet/Pro Bro Gold More Records and THX Mgmt kick off a new bi-monthly series showcasing obscure, sub-underground electronic dance music sounds — cold wave, old school industrial, minimal techno, new beat, synth pop, italo and more. Featured guest Lazy Magnet (real name Jeremy Harris) is known for his prolific output and versatile range of sonic experimentation. The jams begin at midnight. (The Social, Ybor City)
Spam Allstars w/Locos Por Juana It’s been a longer-than-normal stretch between Spam Allstars’ Tampa gigs. The Miami eight-piece used to bring the dance party to town every six weeks or so, but the last time they played Crowbar was May of 2012. Where have they been? Busy, working their hometown and recording a sixth album in DJ Le Spam’s City of Progress studio, to be self-released on the band’s own Spamusica imprint sometime later this year. First single “Ruby Carat” finds the Allstars up to their usual “electronic descarga” fusion of Latin music, funk, hip-hop, and dub, the bright interplay of flute, trumpet, trombone and sax carried over an easy swaying timbales-driven groove complemented by the expertly-placed string samples of turntablist/producer Le Spam. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
SATURDAY, APRIL 27
Acoustic Storytellers: Al Torcia/Jason Kushner/Kersey Williams/James Bess/ Christopher Costabile & Alissa A new series of shows featuring Tampa Bay area music makers in an intimate acoustic setting, playing a few of their songs (which can include a meaningful cover) and offering accounts of how said songs came about, ala VH1 Storytellers. Among the performers on this date are James Bess (guitarist of Permanent Makeup), Jason Kushner (Beardsley) and Al Tortia (of the Tattered Saints). (Café Hey, Tampa)
Relient K w/Hellogoodbye/William Beckett/Mike Mains & The Branches The punk-poppin’ group with Christian attitude and secular appeal, Relient K, issued their last album in 2011. K Is For Karaoke is a compilation of a few covers EPs that have the band performing tracks spanning eras and genres, and encompassing “Doctor Worm” by They Might Be Giants, Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Synthy alt-pop outfit Hello/Goodbye is among the stage warmers, and appears for a pre-show (5 p.m.) acoustic in-store and signing at Daddy Kool. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Bikini Blues Bash w/Latimore w/Billy Seward and Soulfonic/Sarasota Slim/Ellie Lee & Blues Fury/Steve Arvey/more A festival featuring more than 10 hours of live music on Treasure Island’s wide open shores. Heading up the festivities is soulfully resonant R&B singer, songwriter and keysman Latimore, active since the 1960s and charting his highest-grossing hit in 1974 with “Let’s Straighten It Out.” Also of note: Billy Seward, who cooks up a brassy blend of blues, soul and R&B, and the rockin’ Ellie Lee & Blues Fury, led by throaty commanding namesake singer and axe-slinger, Lee. Admission is free; parking available directly on the beach, all day, for $10. (104th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard, Treasure Island Beach)
Chris Botti On his new album, Impressions (out last year on Columbia), Portland smooth jazz trumpeter and composer Chris Botti performs brass-fueled renditions of songs by Randy Newman, Herbie Hancock, R. Kelly and George Gershwin, among others, and with a superstar roster of guests that includes Hancock as well as Vince Gill, Andrea Bocelli and Mark Knopfler. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
Red Elvises w/Renn Loren & The Tiki Town Castaways If you missed the intimate Red Elvises performance at St. Petersburg Nights last Saturday, Igor Yuzov’s quirky-colorful surf and rockabilly slingers return to the Bay area to play their standard Skipperdome stomping ground before making their back northward. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
STS9 There are three general classes of electro music acts: those made up of instrumentalists, those featuring producer/DJs, and those combining the talents of both. Jamtronic rock outfit STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector Nine) is among the last class; guitarist Hunter Brown uses sequencers, bassist David Murphy and keyboardist David Phipps both operate synthesizers, and drummer Zach Velmer works effects and electronic drum pads on his kit. Jeffree Lerner adds organic texture on percussion, and the resulting sound is a textured, groove-oriented marriage of funk, disco, dub reggae, jazz, rock and drum ’n’ bass. Two-set live shows are complemented by multi-hued swirls of saturated light. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Instanter w/Halibut/Article47/The Dags Instanter is the new indie rock project made up of musicians from other well-known but presently inactive Bay area acts. Singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader Ryan Metcalf (Tres Bien, Automatic Loveletter), drummer/singer Damon Harper (Tres Bien), bassist/singer Brian Schanck (The Same, Win Win Winter) and guitarist/singer Mike Crowe set lovely dreamy four-part vocal harmonies over driving, soundwashed, shoe-gazey instrumentals as evidenced on the self-titled EP they dropped in December. Filling out the bill are three other quality local acts ranging from the warm folk pop of Halibut to the heavier alt-rock space noise of Article74 and the punk blues raucousness of The Dags. (Fubar, St. Petersburg)
Someday Souvenir Zombie Apocalypse Party Powerfully howling vocalist/songstress Dari Mahnic and collaborator-in-crime, guitarist Chrissy DeRado, have been working the local music scene for the last decade, most notably and recently as Someday Souvenir. The rad femme rockers have been joined by a rotating cast since the band’s inception several years back, and the current roster includes Tonya Floyd (keys, vocals), Andrea Garcia (bass) and Riz Blanton (drums). This “Zombie Apocalypse Costume Party” has Someday Souvenir performing like the living dead — and they encourage anyone who drops by to get zombiefied, too. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, APRIL 28
Asking Alexandria w/Whitechapel/Chimaira/I Killed The Prom Queen/Reveal Renew No word yet on a release date for the third full-length from British metalcore outfit Asking Alexandria, though it has a name (From Death to Destiny) and NSFW album cover featuring a stripper, or go go dancer, or a Real Doll — I can’t tell which — inside a vending machine, pressed suggestively against the glass in a sort of “Buy me, baby” pose, while the object of her attention passes, dropping quarters on the floor as he walks toward the (stage) lights. (The RITZ Ybor, Ybor City)
Hardcore Sunday Matinee: Agnostic Front w/Coldside/Dead Cat Lounge/The Scurvy Spirits Get your thrash and rage on with this Sunday bill headed up by NYC hardcore vets Agnostic Front (est. 1980), known for jumping from punk to crossover thrash like West Coast contemporaries Suicidal Tendencies (which play St. Pete the following day). My Life My Way, the band’s 10th full-length studio album, was recorded in Tampa at Mana Studio by Erik Rutan and produced by Freddy Cricien of Madball. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, APRIL 30
The Black Crowes Last December, after a few-year hiatus, Atlanta blues-jam rockers The Black Crowes announced they’d be coming back together, fresh and energized, and returning to the road again in 2013. The current “Lay Down with Number 13” world tour was preceded by the release of Wiser for the Time in March; the new Black Crowes LP includes 26 songs — 15 acoustic and 11 electric — culled from the band’s five-night run of sold-out NYC concerts leading up to their hiatus in 2010, and features originals along with a cover of Bob Dylan’s classic, “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You.” Chris and Rich Robinson, Steve Gorman, Sven Pipien and Adam MacDougall are rounded out by newest member Jackie Greene on guitar and vocals. (Mahaffey Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Youth Lagoon w/Majical Cloudz Chillwave, electro-pop-hipster music — whatever you call it, the music of young Trevor Powers is beautiful, joyful noise. Powers — the wunderkind behind Youth Lagoon — released Wondrous Bughouse in March, and the album’s 10 tracks update the already blissful lo-fi, downtempo pop music of his debut, 2011’s The Year of Hibernation, while embarking on sonic exploits that are at times abrasive (album opener “Through Mind And Back” is particularly dark and ominous) and psychedelic (the middle of “Pelican Man” is a clear homage to Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles), but always impossible to turn off. (The Social, Orlando) —Ray Roa
Vintage Trouble w/Papa Ray Last October, before Vintage Trouble were due to kick-off their first tour opening for The Who, the L.A. area rock group stopped by the CL Space to rehearse and make final preparations before their first date in Orlando. They sounded amazing — their tight, energetic music a fast-chugging and slower-grooving mix of juke-joint blues, ass-shaking funk and R&B, and hard rock with shimmy-shaking power. Soulfully howling and crooning singer Ty Taylor can hit sky-reaching notes, though his usual mid-level tone has a nice raw-gritty quality — and the man can bust some moves. Vintage Trouble has grown a rather devoted fanbase in the few years they’ve been around, self-styled “Troublemakers.” On a side note, bassist Rick Barrio Dill is a Tampa native who graduated from USF and played around town (most memorably in Starbaby) for several years before eventually relocating to LA. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Aan w/Sun Signs Portland-based foursome Aan (“Amor Ad Nauseum”) delivers an intriguing blend of offbeat psychedelia with light retro tang and blues-garage fuzz, explosive pop experiments and sonic embellishments, and progressive rock leanings replete with unexpected time signatures, sinister guitar-bass phrasing, and the high wild wails of visionary leader Bud Wilson. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 01
Peter Murphy “Mr. Moonlight” Bauhaus Tour After what happened in California this past March, British gothic rocker Peter Murphy hasn’t been doing any press to support his “Mr. Moonlight Tour.” Not that the so-called Godfather of Goth is known for being super chatty. But his current circumspection is likely because he can’t comment on his arrest, forthcoming court case or the misdemeanor charges (DUI, drug possession, hit-and-run) for allegedly crashing his car and fleeing the scene of an accident — and those little news nuggets have super-ceded interest in his three months of dates celebrating the 35th anniversary of Bauhaus. Concerts feature Murphy backed by a full band in sets of solely Bauhaus material, like the ever-classic creepy, stripped-down strut and moody atmospherics of “Bela Legosi’s Dead,” and the Bowie-inspired post-punk/glam rock drive of “Ziggy Stardust.” Who knows? He might even dust off some tunes from 2008 Bauhaus swan song Go Away White, which have never been performed live. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Holly Hunt/Shroud Eater w/Permanent Makeup/Landbridge Churning forth from Miami’s underground doom, drone and sludge metal scene is Holly Hunt, an instrumental two-piece (guitarist Gavin Perry and grrl drummer Beatriz Monteavaro) that blasts deep grinding fuzz-and-reverb-distorted guitars over hard, measured rhythms. Full-length debut Year One was recorded by Jonathan Nuñez (Torche). Shroud Eater, a fellow sludge/stoner band from Miami, is a three-piece with faster tempos and two women rocking the front, guitarist/low-voiced lead droner and bellower Jean Saiz and bassist/backing vocalist Janette Valentine. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Willie Nelson A surprising advocate of same sex marriage in addition to the legalization of marijuana, prolific outlaw country icon Willie Nelson returns to Clearwater backing an album that dropped a few weeks ago on Legacy Recordings, Let’s Face the Music and Dance, comprised of pop, rock, jazz and country classics as re-worked by the 80-year-old and his band. This is a make-up date for the one Nelson canceled in February due to illness. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
This article appears in Apr 25 – May 1, 2013.