Look, the month of June is almost over and there's some fun music happening, too! Take a look at the breakdown of highlights for this Thurs., June 30 below.
Czar Takeover Thursdays There’s been all kinds of uproar on Facebook over the recent ejection of Czar from The Ritz Ybor. Seems the Amphitheatre folks took up residence and claimed the coveted Friday-Saturday night time slots that were formerly inhabited by the Czar Nation and Filthy Richard parties, and whether Czar will be ushered back in and operations will return to the Amp once the clean-up from the fire is done remains to be seen; there’s rumors Amp made a purchase offer, but for legal reasons, no one on either side is talking officially. While the attorneys battle on, Czar’s self-styled “traveling hustlers of culture” have planted roots at The Kennedy, and kick off Takeover Thursdays tonight, with all the CZARtenders, CZARbacks, security and even door staff occupying both the ballroom and patio along with Filthy producers, DJs and VJs pumping indie dance, alternative, electro, remixes, EDB, hip hop and hipster hop, trap, twerk, juke, b'more club, booty and underground dance music to get the bodies moving. Visuals, video mapping and eye candy included. (The Kennedy, Tampa)
Steely Dan with Steve Winwood My love of Steely Dan came as a slow burn. Admittedly, I was the opposite of a fan to start. My ex’s ardor didn’t change how I felt, exactly, but a dozen years of regularly hearing the band’s mix of soft rock and prog-jazz on albums like Aja, Gaucho and Countdown to Ecstasy sparked a like, and an appreciation for music in general eventually turned it to love. Those intricate jazz-influenced arrangements and harmonies, especially the horns and back-up vocals; those fluid keyboard melodies and funkier grooves; those impeccable production qualities. What's not to love? Original leaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagan bring the Dan to the amphitheater with Steve Winwood in tow. Perhaps you know him from his feel good ‘80s era AC rock (“Back in the High Life Again,” “Roll With It,” “While You See a Chance,” “Valerie”), but he has multi-instrumental jazz rock chops he flexed in Traffic, Blind Faith and Spencer Davis Group prior to his easy hits. (MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Transcendental Telecom with Draem Girl, DAWNS Their (short) Facebook description reads “Slack indie surfers ride the jazz chord tidal wave,” and based on Transcendental Telecom’s 2015 Escape from Shred City EP, the Orlando-five piece sums it up pretty well; but it's less slack and more purposefully lackadaisical, calling on a nice mix of ‘60s garage pop and ‘90s alternative influences and shining it up with fine boy-girl vocal harmonies. Draem Girl plays the lo-fi shoegazey angle while DAWNS adds brooding power and calculated fuzz to the evening’s musical festivities. (The Bends, St. Petersburg)
Dunedin Brewery 20th Anniversary Blowout Dunedin’s favorite craft beer haven celebrates two decades of operation with special brews (including a 20th Anniversary Bohemian Pilsner and archived DunBrew beers on tap) and four days of live music that’s heavy on improvisation and ranges from synth-fueled EDM-influenced livetronica to funked-out rock n’ roll to progressive jazz-fused grooves: Aqueous and Universal Sigh perform Thursday, Broccoli Samurai and Funk You hit the standing room stage on Friday, Displace, Row Jomah and The Orange Constant lead Saturday’s festivities, and The Fritz and Backup Planet close things down on Sunday night. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2016.