Tonight in live music: Bob Seger, Less Than Jake & Reel Big Fish, The Revivalists + more

This Thurs., Feb. 5 is crammed with live music. I've broken it down for you below…

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band With a warm sandpaper-scratchy vocal timbre and old time rock n’ blues tunes soaked in roots-heartland hues, Bob Seger has proved himself a strong and steady musical workhorse, churning out 16 studio LPs over his more than five-decade career and ensconcing himself on the airwaves with singles that have become bonafide American rock classics – “Night Moves,” “Like a Rock,” “Turn the Page,” “Old Time Rock n’ Roll,” “Still the Same” and “We’ve Got Tonight” among them. He hits town on tour with his Detroit-spawned Silver Bullet Band supporting his latest album and first release of new material in eight years, 2014’s Ride Out, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The J. Geils Band opens. (Amalie Arena, Tampa)

24th Street Wailers This quintet from Toronto – on tour behind 2014 full-length and current Juno Award nominee Wicked – slings a slinky, shuffling blend of vintage blues, roots rock and psychobilly as powered by the throaty lead belting of Lindsay Beaver, who commands the stage as she simultaneously juggles frontwoman and drumming duties while her bandmates lay down strong support on guitar, keys, bass and a saxophone that adds a real Jersey Shore sound to their music. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)

Less Than Jake / Reel Big Fish with Authority Zero For more than 20 years, Less Than Jake has been a staple of the punk/ska genre, producing upwards of 17 albums and touring behind them nonstop. The Gainesville rockers’ sound has evolved from the hypersonic tempos of 1995’s “Liquor Store” to the more balanced horn-guitar melodies of latest single “American Idle.” No matter how many changes, however, LTJ always maintains the same upbeat vibe and relentlessly loyal fanbase. Co-headlining this tour is fellow punk/ska vets Reel Big Fish, which can turn any subject, no matter how dark, into a smile-inducing, head-bobbing dance tune, like happy-hate anthem “Everyone Else Is an Asshole,” and their own twisted take on holiday classics in the Happy Skalidays EP. Punk outfit Authority Zero warms the stage with Latin-fused ska and alt rock sounds. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) –Seth Peterson

The Revivalists with Bobby Lee Rodgers Vigorously rocking and jamming New Orleans septet The Revivalists crafts music lightly coated in ‘60s vintage tones, calling on elements of folk, funk, pop and soul (as displayed in live double album City of Sound, re-released by Wind-Up Records last year), and finishing it off with wailing pedal steel guitar, sax and occasional trumpet. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)

Dean Johanesen, J.W. Teller, Iris Calling Dean Johanesen has taken a surprising turn since disbanding his longtime group The Human Condition, spicing up his repertoire of more straightforward acoustic guitar-driven rock odes with Spanish-style instrumentals, Speakeasy-vintage Americana and swinging Gypsy jazz dosed in light circus hues, his original material studded with perfectly-executed covers of songs by Django Reinhardt and Santana. Read more about Johanesen here. (Tre Amici @ The Bunker, Ybor City)

ALSO TONIGHT
Rock the Park with Dead Fender Twin, Gullwing, Fistful Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa
The Witch’s Four-Year Anniversary with Applebutter Express Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Olivia Newton-John Capitol Theatre, Clearwater

This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2015.