Three very different shows are happening in Tampa and St. Petersburg tonight. Check out the breakdown for this Mon., Feb. 8 below.
Birds of Chicago Allison Russell and JT Nero are co-songwriters in Birds of Chicago, her rich and hearty vocals soaring in elegant lead or balancing JT Nero’s warm and huskier drawl in finely rising harmonies. Nero handles lead guitar and percs, Russell juggles banjo, uke, guitar and occasionally clarinet, and Chris Merrill supports on electric and acoustic bass. The group lands in Tampa on the eve of releasing sophomore album Real Midnight, produced by Joe Henry (Solomon Burke, Carolina Chocolate Drops) and due out February 19. (Jaeb Theater at the Straz Center for Performing Arts, Tampa)
Robert Ellis with Will Quinlan, Kristopher James The Houston-grown singer-songwriter has a vocal quality that belongs in the Nashville realms he currently calls home – old-soul deep, heavy on the drawl yet clear, rich and resonant. His 2014 third album, The Lights from the Chemical Plant, finds him building on his guitar-twangy roots rock with R&B, bossa nova and jazzy hues. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Agent Orange with In The Whale Guitarist/singer Mike Palm has fronted Agent Orange for the extent of its 32-year tenure, his band taking hold of the SoCal scene with skate punk coated in surf saltiness (the “Miserlou / Pipeline / Mr. Moto” mash is righteous), shaded in post-punk pensiveness (“A Cry for Help in a World Gone Bad” is downright gloomy) and often fueled by shout-along choruses ala fan favorite “Bloodstains” (“I've lost my sense, I've lost control, I'm lost my mind”). Even with a mere three albums (and none since 1996), the kids still get excited when Agent Orange blows into town. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2016.