A quick breakdown of the most worthy concerts (i.e., the ones you want to know about) coming up this week(end) beginning with Wednesday. Yeah, we started on Wednesday this week — it's the day before the day that almost feels like Friday, right? Check out our Upcoming Concerts page for a more comprehensive schedule of this weekend’s offerings and a calendar of shows taking place over the next several months.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28
Crowded House [pictured right] Admittedly, up until a few weeks ago, the only songs I knew by Australian melodic rock/alt pop foursome Crowded House were the two 80s-era ones that were Top 40 hits in America — “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Something So Strong.” But when one of my writers used words like “adventurous” and “intricate” and “creative peak” when he recommended the band’s just-released sixth album, Intriguer, my interest was piqued. The band broke up in 1996, reconnected a decade later after the death of founding member Paul Hester, and in 2006, recorded and released Time on Earth, and hit No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Album Charts. After listening to its 2010 follow-up, and despite my relatively light history with the band, I think it’s safe to say that Crowded House is still on the right track back, dipping into dreamy psychedelia in such a way that’s tasteful, relevant and unexpectedly delightful. 8 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $39.50-$69.50.
Melissa Etheridge We all know Melissa Etheridge for her raspy, throaty wail in commanding ‘90s-era AC rock ballads like “Come to My Window,” “I’m the Only One” and “I Want to Come Over.” The rockin’ singer-songwriter has been nominated for 15 Grammys (she won two), took home a “Best Original Song” Oscar in 2007 for “I Need to Wake Up,” a number she wrote for the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and is currently on tour in support of her 10th studio album, Fearless Love, which dropped in April. 8 p.m., Straz Performing Arts Center, Tampa, $38.50-103.50.
THURSDAY, JULY 29
Deer Tick [pictured left] w/Dead Confederate/The Beauvilles/Sleepy Vikings Providence, R.I.’s Deer Tick crafts a mix of grungy yet comfortingly familiar indie folk rock, frontman John McCauly’s country intonation as distinctive as Neil Young’s, but with tinges of George Thorogood-like gruffness. Their latest studio LP, The Black Dirt Sessions, finds Deer Tick stretching their musical legs into more diverse and darker territories. Openers Dead Confederate combine elements of melancholy ’90s-style alt rock with the arena-ready, reverb-heavy sensibilities of modern rockers like Muse and Kings of Leon. 9 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $10 (ages 18 & up). —Andrew Silverstein
Secondhand Serenade w/White Tie Affair/Runner Runner LA-based alt pop singer, songwriter and guitarist John Vesely has an emo-earnest vocal tone that’s high, piping and perfect for delivering plaintive wails on cue. His pseudonym/band is Secondhand Serenade, and he’s on the verge of releasing his third album under the moniker. Whereas 2008’s A Twist in My Story focused on relationships and Vesely’s own crumbling marriage, Hear Me Now (out August 3 on ILG/Glassnote) is a therapeutic post-divorce record, its first single, “Something More,” a melancholy ballad about learning to forgive and move on. 7 p.m. doors, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $18.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.