THURSDAY, JULY 21
Tin Armor w/Andy Cook & The Wanderloons Life of Abundance is the just-released sophomore LP by Tin Armor, a Columbus, Ohio foursome that draws on '90s-era alt rock, piano pop, jangly punk and rootsy heartland influences. The band's sound is marked by the earnest nasally wails of singer/guitarist/keyboardist Matt Umland, off-kilter vocal harmonies by brother John Umland and bassist Matty Golightley, plenty of contemplative lyrics ("We're living a life of abundance / the squalor of rentals aside / We cherish our things and live beyond our means / to the tune of our paychecks demise" Matt sings in the title track), and the occasional drawn-out moments of pure rock 'n' roll, like in "Shake Up," which starts plodding and pained, and ascends with an expressive tension-building guitar passage carried on delicate keyboard melodies and steady-measured rhythms by drummer Matt O'Conke. The album is available at tinarmor.bandcamp.com for a name-your-price download. Soulful retro-pop makers Andy Cook & The Wanderloons, also from Ohio, support. (Transitions @ Skatepark of Tampa)
Greenhouse Lounge w/Sir Charles Jacksonville's eco-conscious Greenhouse Lounge is an electro-jam trio that fuses elements of dubstep, funk, jazz and breakbeats into a unique sonicscape with dub basslines, club-thumping beats, warped guitar riffs and psychedelic melodies. Music isn't the only thing that's important to these guys; they also care about the environment and in addition to boasting green Web hosting practices, they purchase Renewable Energy Credits to offset their energy consumption. Their new album, Right On Time, is available for free download at greenhouselounge.com. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Kate Cillian
FRIDAY, JULY 22
Mogul Street Reserve w/Anonymous/Genolexis/Letters&Numbers The progressive rock-driving pop trio that once called Tampa home re-located to Atlanta several months back to expand their audience and tap into that city's more expansive music scene. Mogul Street Reserve returns to headline a hometown show, and according to their message on the Facebook Event, "We've been hard at work on new songs … expect to hear a few at this show. Can't wait to see our friends!" Among the eclectic lineup of support acts is Tampa rhyme-slinger Anonymous (AND.ON.I.MUST). (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Lauris Vidal w/Billy Dean A free show featuring Florida's own high-spirited, sunshine soulful alt-folk troubadour and kitchen sink multi-instrumentalist, Lauris Vidal, who plays a ukulele he crafted from a banjo neck and cigar box, in addition to guitar, tenor banjo and lap steel. This is a full-band stop, which means local folks get the rare treat of experiencing his songs as lushly fleshed out as they are on recordings like his recent well-produced Better Part EP. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
Rude City Riot w/Unchecked Agreesion/The Long Johns An eight-piece self-styled "power ska" outfit from Vancouver, Rude City Riot mixes a bit of punk, hard rock, West Coast alt rock, reggae and soul into their upbeat music. Rah rah backing choruses feature all members joining in, and a two-piece horn section of sax and trombone bring fun and jauntiness to their eclectic sound. This tour the band celebrates the release of their first LP, Nothin But Time (Stomp Records). (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Marksmen w/Geri X/The Wanderer/Christie DuPree Marksmen adorn their thoughtfully somber alt-country with folk and acoustic rock textures. The Tampa foursome released a well-regarded full-length earlier this year, though for this gig, they've threatened to play some "oldies." Hopefully this includes the title track off their 2010 Blue and Grey EP, its crashing drums and animated guitar solos backing the gorgeous vocals of frontman-songwriter Matt Segallos and thoughtful verses like, "It's the blue and the grey / It's the call to arms / You're just fueling the fire / You're just playing a part." Singer-songwriter Geri X — who makes a cameo in the gloomy "Conformity is Key" off that same album — plays a support set, as do a few other local acts. (The Local 662, St. Petersburg) —KC and LP
Stephen Marley w/Ghetto Youths Crew In a recent CL interview, Stephen Marley described his 2011 full-length, Revelation Part 1: The Root of Life, as "mostly roots reggae … I didn't really stray too far from the root. Like with 'No Cigarette Smoke,' it's lovers' rock, original reggae and 'Jah Army' is that type of '80s reggae like Sly and Robbie." Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life is due out this fall and according to Marley, the second installment "represents the bearing of fruit, which is the offspring of the root and the tree. Some fruits are tart, some are sweet, some are fully ripe, some are tangy, so you get a more eclectic sounding album." Click here to read the complete interview. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
SATURDAY, JULY 23
YOB w/Dark Castle/Flying Snakes/Shitdang "With some doom bands there can be a kind of numb glory in pure, matte-finish repetition," wrote New York Times columnist Ben Ratliff in his glowing review of a recent NYC show, "but that wasn't true here: the chords moved like a mamba snake, loaded with tonal variation." I know next to nothing about doom metal, so you'll have to take his word that Oregon-based doom metal trio Yob is good, real good — if you're into that sort of thing. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
OurStage Takes the Stage Competition Finals This battle-of-the-bands competition started at Ourstage.com, where 20 Bay area regional acts submitted tracks to the site that were judged based on head-to-head match-ups against other submissions and whittled down to the four that ranked highest by popular online vote. Those four — Cure for Caska (Winter Park), Not Tonight Josephine (Riverview), From This Fire (Clearwater) and Someday Souvenir (Tampa) — perform 20-minute sets for a live audience and a panel of music industry professionals, both in charge of determining who ultimately wins the $1,500 Grand Prize and a high profile (to-be-announced at a later date) gig. Go out and cheer for your favorite! (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Punk Rock Record Swap Buy, sell and trade your punk rock vinyl and related goodies from noon to 3 p.m. during the return of the Punk Rock Record Swap; this is the 31st swap since organizer Bob Suren started hosting them in 1995. (Sadie Park, Brandon)
Rocksteady@8 w/Tribal Style Two Tampa Bay reggae favorites present a double-punch of sun-splashed, horn-drenched sounds (dub, dancehall, roots, ska and more), guaranteeing a Yeoman's packed-to-the-gills with bumping, grinding, creeping, swaying and bouncing bodies. (Yeoman's Road Pub, Tampa)
Gale Trippsmith Singer/songwriter Gale Trippsmith has supported the likes of Pat Benetar and Leon Russell, and is making herself known in the Southeast with her rich, dreamy, almost angelic vocal stylings, heartfelt lyrics, and simplistic yet lovely instrumentals. Songs like "Darkness" magically combine dreary lyrics ("The darkness is spreading fast / Come on, come on / hurry I'll never last / The darkness is closing in / Come on, come on / Hurry I can't beat this thing) with upbeat drums, melodic guitar riffs and spot-on harmonies. Chasing the Rabbit (2006) is arguably one of her best albums and brims with catchy hooks that'll grab you and keep you coming back for more. (Hideaway Café, St. Petersburg) —KC
SUNDAY, JULY 24
Jimmie Van Zant w/Mojo Gurus Jacksonville-based Southern rocker Jimmie Van Zant (cousin to Donnie, Johnny and Ronnie of .38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd fame) hits town to promote two releases: his third studio album, 2011's Cut from the Same Cloth, and a new food-centric documentary in which he's featured, Boots N BBQ Presents: Grills Gone Wild — From the Backyard to Backstage. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
Oba Oba Bossa Nova O Som Do Jazz sextet present this afternoon program of new numbers from a forthcoming release mixed with the septet's standard 1960s Brazilian Bossa Nova and samba-jazz repertoire. (Catherine Hickman Theater, Gulfport)
Red Mouth w/Blind Buddy Moody Eric "Red Mouth" Gebhardt is an Alabama-based singer-songwriter whose vocals are big, booming, gospel-soulful and overall a nice complement to his one-part gloomy, one-part unruly blend of traditional country, backyard blues, lo-fi roots-punk and strutting honkey tonk. (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
MONDAY, JULY 25
Jolie Holland w/Sallie Ford And The Sound Outside "Gold and yellow mermaid of the Southern sea, open up your honey lips and speak Spanish to me," Texas songstress Jolie Holland croons tenderly, her vocals gold-burnished and retro-sultry against lazily sliding guitar notes and a rambling rootsy-country rhythm. "Gold and Yellow" is the first single off Holland's fifth studio album, Pint of Blood (Anti-), her take on the country-blues tradition rich, dreamy and captivating overall. Stream her entire album at Paste.com and decide whether she's worthy of drawing you out on a Monday night. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, JULY 26
In Fear In Faith w/Vanna/A Loss For Words/Chunk! No Captain Chunk/Ten After Two/Adestria Last year, San Diego's In Fear and Faith — a post-hardcore outfit named for a Circa Survive song and exhibiting heavy metal and electro-industrial tendencies — issued their second album, Imperial and celebrated its No. 8 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts. They headline this "Pyknic Partery Tour" with a new 2011 Rise Records release, the Symphonies EP, which includes symphonic renditions of IFF songs like "The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions" and "The Taste of Regret."(Orpheum, Ybor City)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27
Redlight King Neil Young gave Redlight King his golden seal of approval when he allowed the up-and-coming Hollywood Records artist (aka Mark "Kaz" Kasperczyk) to sample the classic rocker's iconic "Old Man" in the first single off Redlight King's 2011 debut full-length, Something for the Pain. In fact, Young personally approved its use after he was persuaded to listen to Redlight King's treatment of his song, in which Kaz rhymes and flows over the original melody and instrumentals about a rocky patch he went through with his own father. For fans of Everlast. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Click here to see a complete list of concerts taking place in the Tampa Bay area this week and beyond.
This article appears in Jul 21-27, 2011.