The following is a quick breakdown of shows this weekend’s worthiest live music offerings from Thursday through Saturday (not too much happening on Sunday). For a more comprehensive schedule, check out our Upcoming Concerts page
Chicago There's a striking disparity between the horn-saturated prog rock drive of early Chicago ("25 or 6 to 4" and "Free" come to mind), and pretty much any material produced after 1980, from the pleasant cheese of 1982's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and 1984's "Hard Habit to Break," to minor 2006 AC rock hits like "Feel" and "Love Will Come Back." The band continues to tour after more than four decades and still features original 1967 members Robert Lamm (keys, vox), James Pankow (trombone), Lee Loughnane (trumpeter, flugelhorn, vox), and Walter Parazaider (sax). 8 p.m., Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, $48-$88.
FRIDAY, APRIL 16
A Solo Acoustic Evening with Colin Hay [pictured left] His career didn’t end in 1985 with the breakup of Men at Work, though his New Wave rock band and their chart-topping hit “Who Can It Be Now?” put Colin Hay on the map. The Scottish-Australian multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter has since released 10 solo albums. His current tour supports 2009’s American Sunshine, which is bright and pleasant like a Sunday afternoon, Hay’s low and dusty timbre set against easy-going acoustic melodies, two-steps, and the occasional heavy-treading rock song. 8 p.m., Capitol Theatre, Clearwater, $31 and $41.
Sonia Leigh w/A Play On Words/Red Rockits Citing influences ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Melissa Etheridge, Atlanta singer-songwriter and guitarist Sonia Leigh has a pretty drawl that gets a raw edge when she’s wailing to her blend of country blues and driving roots rock. 7 p.m. doors, Orpheum, Ybor City, $10 (all ages).
Enter the Haggis Toronto outfit Enter the Haggis (or ETH as some fans dub them) has gotten considerable attention for their Celtic-tinged catalog featuring loads of sing-a-long pub jams and glossy fiddle, bagpipe and acoustic guitar ballads that sound like something Guster would put together after a few Irish pints. The quintet’s upcoming tour schedule in support of 2009’s Gutter Anthems has them jaunting through the south, jetting over to Ireland and then back to the U.S for a slew of festival dates. 8 p.m., Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa, $12 in advance/$15 dos. (Matthew Spencer)
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2010.