THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Authority Zero w/Voodoo Glow Skulls/Skyfox Every year since 2006, I anticipate the announcement of Authority Zero’s Florida tour. For me, their shows are unexplainable cathartic experiences that find me raging like a madwoman, and covered in sweat and beer by the night’s end. It’s glorious and gains me membership to the “high on life” club. Never easy to describe, the four-piece Mesa, Az., band’s music crosses genres of punk, skate/surf rock, reggae, hardcore and metal, with some Spanish influences. This amalgam of styles is apparent instrumentally and in lead singer Jason DeVore’s ability to scream, sing melodically or spit lyrics at a gnarly pace. On Jan. 31, the band released their second unplugged acoustic album, Less Rhythm, More Booze (a follow up to 2005’s Rhythm + Booze), which mostly features rearranged tracks from their last two studio albums, 12:34 and Stories of Survival. More Booze is also the last album to feature longtime drummer Jim Wilcox. Even though I'll miss Wilcox, I look forward to hearing the new guy almost as much as I look forward to peeling my melted face up off the ground. (Local 662, St. Petersburg) —Lily Reisman
Robert Cray w/Shemekia Copeland He’s taken home five Grammys and seen nine of his albums in the Top 10 of the Billboard Blues charts; you probably know his 1986 Hot Mainstream Rock hit, “Smoking Gun.” On this tour-round, Robert Cray, the blues-slinging guitarist with the silky soulful vocals, gets warm up support from Shemekia Copeland, a blues songstress who was honored as the new "Queen of the Blues" by Koko Taylor's daughter, Cookie, at the Chicago Blues Festival last year. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) —Leilani Polk
Tank The R&B crooner — who’s produced records for the likes of Gladys Knight, Ginuwine and Jennifer Hudson — hits town on his current “Couples Retreat Tour” to promote his forthcoming album, Savior, due out via Atlantic in May. (Boomerang Martini Bar, Brandon) —LP
Pine Hill Haints w/Cadillac Bombers Named for a cemetery in their hometown, Pine Hill Haints combine elements of bluegrass, folk, gospel, honky tonk, and rockabilly in their self-styled “Alabama Ghost Music.” The sextet’s dark, Southern gothic odes (like “"My Bones are Gonna Rise Again" and "Garden of the Dead") are set to lively and sometimes shambling instrumentals that encompass fiddle, banjo, harmonica, mandolin, saw, washtub bass, washboard, and accordion. The band signed to K Records in 2007 after self-releasing nearly a dozen recordings, and has since issued several others via K, including last year’s Welcome to the Midnight Opry. (Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg) —LP
Your 33 Black Angels w/Signals From Satellites/Laurel Canyon Early Brooklyn-based indie rock outfit Your 33 Black Angels hits town hot on the heels of the release of their 2012 third album, Moon and Morning Star, which finds the nine-piece mixing dirty fuzz box harmonica-fused blues and Velvet Underground-inspired psyche rock with a healthy dose of twang. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)—LP
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes "I see some of these bands with 20 hit records up there going through the motions,” Southside Johnny told CL in a 2009 interview. “I can't do it. It's gotta be different every night." The underrated smoky-voiced singer-songwriter has been purveying his rocking and rolling brand of blue-eyed soulful, horn-soaked R&B with his tight backing band for more than 30 years. Though he’s never seen the commercial success of fellow Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen, he’s considered by some to be the “grandfather of the New Jersey sound” and has issued recordings steadily throughout his career while earning a rep for delivering blistering live shows. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) —LP
Lambasters Ella’s owner musician Ernie Locke steps out onto the café stage to wail on harp and guitar, his booming growl set to the heavy skuzzy blues rock of his band, Lambasters, which now features Nervous Turkey drummer Aaron Fowler along with guitarist Josh Nelms. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) —LP
Paul Anka This 70-year-old Canadian who gave us the classics like “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” “(You’re) Having My Baby,” “Lonely Boy” and “My Way” has more than 900 songs to his credit. Paul Anka first experienced success at age 16 with “Diana” and by 18, had produced five Top 20 hits. He’s written songs for Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson, and re-worked modern tracks like “Wonderwall” by Oasis and Nirvana’s “Smell Like Teen Spirit,” among many others. He’s been a teen-idol, screen and television actor, and continues to be a sought-after showman at age 70 — not too shabby, eh? (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —Rebecca Forman
The Transfers w/Zulu Wave/Easybreezy A bill of off-kilter indie rock headed up by The Transfers from Daytona Beach, a four-piece with a ’90s alternative college radio appeal and a brand new EP, Going to the Show, that was self-released late last year. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —LP
