Your weekend live music breakdown… these are shows happening in addition to all the festivals (FolkFest, Coral Skies, Fantasma Fest — info here).
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
The Devil Makes Three with The Cave Singers Fans of Squirrel Nut Zippers will likely dig The Devil Makes Three, a trio from California that plies a particularly vibrant blend of ragtime, gypsy jazz, rockabilly, folk and country blues evocative of a bygone era but maintaining modern-day punk-kicking spirit. Guitarist/singer Pete Bernhard leads with a brassy calling tenor, upright bassist Lucia Turino pounds fat strings and delivers pretty feminine backing harmonies, and guitarist Cooper McBean helps both hold down the bouncing drums-free rhythms. TDM3’s fourth album and New West Records debut, I’m a Stranger Here, finds dark lyrics touching on anything from rootless-ness of being on the road (“Stranger”) to a gospel-hued waxings on the weather (“Forty Days” with Preservation Hall Jazz Band). (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Mary Lambert with Jillette Johnson Seattle singer-songwriter Mary Lambert enjoyed her come up after her pretty pipes sang the refrain of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ 2013 gay rights anthem, “Same Love.” She’s since been signed to Capitol Records; her full-length debut of poignant, personal folk-soul odes, Heart on My Sleeve, dropped this month. On her first headlining tour, Lambert is joined by NYC pop songstress and powerhouse vocalist Jillette Johnson, also backing a first LP, Water in a Whale. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)
Authority Zero with The Bastard Suns Jason DeVore’s merry band of ska-punk pranksters has seen several lineup changes over the years but Authority Zero’s fans have remained relentlessly devoted despite this fact, maybe because even though DeVore is the only original member, he’s the engine that runs the AZ train. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Brand New with Cymbals Eat Guitars Brand New is one of those bands that doesn’t need to put out new material to tour; the alt rock foursome with emo, noise and post-hardcore tendencies plays so irregularly and have such a devoted fanbase, they tend to sell out shows as soon as tickets go on sale. This Jannus date is no exception. Good luck getting in. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Send Shaft Home Benefit for late Reggae musician Shaft with Impulse, I-Ruption, Jahfari, The Groovers, Spy vs. Spy The Bay area lost a much-loved locally-based musician far too early when in Elvis “Shaft” Dowe passed away this past August at age 57. The reggae drummer played in several internationally touring Caribbean bands, including Swinging Stars, and made his biggest waves here as part of Spy vs Spy. All proceeds from this charity concert featuring all island-vibing acts will be used to get Shaft and his family back home to Dominica. The festivities kick off at 2 p.m. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
New Wave, No Synths Imagine a concert showcase that pays tribute to early ‘80s sounds without the one era-appropriate instrument tying them all together. That was the idea behind New Wave, No Synths, a showcase curated by St. Pete writer, professor and respected music scenestress Gina Vivinetto with help from BAAMO. Six rather fantastic local acts – The Ditchflowers, Rebekah Pulley and the Reluctant Prophets, Skully, Jeremy Gloff, The Pretty Voices and Y Los Dos Pistoles – reinterpret songs by the likes of Depeche Mode, Psychedelic Furs, Madonna, The Cure and a few dozen others minus synths and plus whatever else they want to use to imitate those slick electro vibrations. Ridiculous ‘80s fashion encouraged, not required. Doors at 6 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
This Wild Life with Every You, Goodnight Neverland, Culver Creek, Lauren Rotz Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso are This Wild Life, the musicians’ emotive vocal harmonies soaring over stripped-down melody-rich pop driven by dual acoustic guitars. First full-length and Epitaph debut Clouded has earned across-the-board good reviews; Alternative Press called the songs outrageously well-written, “… played and sung with much skill and arranged in a way that goes beyond the standard two-guys-doing-acoustic thing: With extra instrumentation and flourishes all over the place, this never gets dull.” (Epic Problem, Tampa)
Yellowcard / Memphis May Fire with Emarosa Yellowcard has always been known as that pop punk band with violin accoutrements, but ninth and latest Lift A Sail takes a loud metallic turn, which might be why the Jacksonville band is co-headlining with a metalcore outfit, Dallas-bred Memphis May Fire; the latter has a new album out, too – Unconditional, their fourth. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
ALSO THIS WEEKEND
Chris Duarte Group w/Iron Mike Norton Sat., Oct. 25, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa
Voodoo Carnival w/Mojo Gurus Sat., Oct. 25, The Cuban Club, Ybor City
JT Brown w/Kristopher James Sat., Oct. 25, Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg
Baby Anne Sat., Oct. 25, Amphitheatre, Ybor City
Blast and the Detergents w/Early Disclaimers/Butterqueen/Tam Tam Sat., Oct. 25, Tre Amici @ The Bunker, Ybor City
The Heavy Pets Sat., Oct. 25, Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
Pumpkin Fest w/Applebutter Express/The Wholetones Sat., Oct. 25, Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Riptoberfest II: The Abortioning w/Riptorn/Abortion Twins/Harmonicide/Moral Decline/Witch Bastard/UnChecked Aggression /Counted Out/Skare Taktiks/Upon Graves Sat., Oct. 25, Brass Mug, Tampa
Pig Pen/Cigarette Crossfire/Spenjamin Bach/No Talent Sat., Oct. 25, Fubar, St. Petersburg
Jim Chambers Music Box Presents: Sam Ash Drum Bash V.6.0. Sat., Oct. 25, Sam Ash Music, Tampa
Kool Keith (*MAKE UP DATE) Sun., Oct. 26, Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
Ol’ Dirty Sundays w/Boogie Blind Sun., Oct. 26, Crowbar, Ybor City
Travis Larson Band w/Tony Smotherman/Gary Schutt Sun., Oct. 26, Brass Mug, Tampa
This article appears in Oct 23-29, 2014.