Thursday, May 24
ELEVATED/OFF SHORE RIOT/STUMMP St. Pete's Elevated play an umbrella-drink-friendly blend of reggae, rock, funk and old-school hip-hop. Off Shore Riot follow the same sunny pop path, skewing more toward Jack Johnson than Sublime. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
KILL YOUR EX Trio from Beaverton, Ore., does the screamo thing, singing earnestly and occasionally hollering over highly processed guitars. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Friday, May 25
THE SUBDUDES The New Orleans quintet brings the down-on-the-bayou party vibe with their accordion-driven brand of Cajun rock but also gets soothingly churchy with warm vocal harmonies. Formed in '87, the band had a successful run that included five albums before breaking up a decade later. In 2002, three of the four original members revived The Subdudes and inked a record deal with the EMI imprint Back Porch. Both 2002's Miracle Mule and last year's Keb' Mo'-produced Behind the Levee find The Subdudes in fine form, and recent area shows have been well received. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
WALTER TROUT w/LAZY BOY AND THE ROCKERS The journeyman singer-guitarist, a regular on the blues-fest circuit since the '80s, has made a lot of friends over the years, many of whom show up on his latest, guest-laden album, Full Circle: John Mayall (Trout was once a Bluesbreaker), Bernard Allison, Coco Montoya and others spray licks around with the firebrand Trout. A Trout show is going to be pretty much one thing: a blues-rock guitar freakout. Lazy Boy and the Rockers are a local band closely affiliated with the Suncoast Blues Society. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —Eric Snider
BUJU BANTON One of Jamaica's biggest stars for the past decade-plus, dancehall/reggae singer/hatemonger Buju Banton is perhaps best known for his disturbing homophobia, which has led to cancelled shows and protests in recent years. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
UNRELEASED/FAREWELL VERONA/A LOSS FOR WORDS/THE HOMEFRONT Unreleased may be headlining this night, but the real news is that this gig will be Farewell Verona's final performance. Yep, the heavy electric band from Bradenton is calling it quits after six years, despite still having an unreleased EP up its sleeve. Pour some sips on the concrete for one of the more talented bands on the Suncoast. (The Clubhouse Tavern, Sarasota) —Cooper Levey-Baker
SPANKIN' FRESH/BONEY FIEND/THE IN-CROWD Strap on the Chucks and limber up: It's a night of pogoing to three of Bradenton's most promising straight-up punk acts. (Rasher Tierney's, Bradenton) —CLB
Saturday, May 26
BAND MARINO w/MODERN SKIRTS/PIXEL PANDA/HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL This show is a must-see for anyone with an interest in indie twang. Orlando's Band Marino are a five-piece that wrap reedy vocals around breezy folk melodies fleshed out with banjo, mandolin, harmonica and barroom piano. Athens, Ga.,-based quartet Modern Skirts craft precious pop nuggets and then lace 'em with muscular guitar solos and energy to spare in concert. Have Gun, Will Travel is the acoustic side project of Bradenton's Matt Burke, a gifted singer/songwriter who is also an able guitarist, banjo picker and harmonica player. Highly recommended. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
SEAL w/SHANE ALEXANDER The British pop-soul singer scored a series of epic-sounding hits in the '90s — "Crazy," "Killer," "Prayer for the Dying," "Kiss From a Rose" — that made him a star. He's not as much of a star now, but he is married to Heidi Klum. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa) —ES
THE WRECKERS Maybe Michelle Branch was a country gal all along. Or maybe she just got tired of people confusing her with Vanessa Carlton. Whatever the reason, the switch paid off. After establishing herself as a pop star with a string of hit singles including "Everywhere" (2001), "All You Wanted" (2002) and "Are You Happy Now?" (2003), Branch drafted backup singer Jessica Harp for the country project The Wreckers. Their debut LP Stand Still, Look Pretty came out last year and produced three hits including "Leave the Pieces," which topped Billboard's country chart. (Busch Gardens, Tampa)
THE DOLLYROTS w/DAILYNN/THE EXPLICITS The Dollyrots bubble-gum anthem "Because I'm Awesome" might just be the cutest, catchiest pop-punk ditty released this year (myspace.com/thedollyrots). Plucky frontwoman Kelly Ogden, who carries herself like a sassier, smarter Avril Lavigne, leads the L.A.-based trio. The band is signed to Joan Jett's Blackheart label. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
DAN KINCAID AND FRIENDS Local singer/songwriter Dan Kincaid has a gentle, expressive voice and meditative lyricism that's accompanied by little more than an acoustic guitar. This show sees the folk-rocker joined by musicians who helped him record his debut album, including soon-to-be-gone drummer extraordinaire, Jonathan Priest. (Yeoman's Road Pub, Tampa) —Leilani Polk
NERVOUS TURKEY w/STAND BACK/BLIND BUDDY MOODY Part of a series of concerts at Dave's Aqua Lounge hosted by Steele Management, this bill features some pretty fine local talent. Nervous Turkey perform unabashedly raucous barroom blues-rock marked by the guttural vocal growls and fierce harmonica playing of bandleader Ernie Locke. Stand Back offer heavy rockin' blues that struts along with funky, danceable rhythms and delicious slide-guitar. And finger-pickin' Blind Buddy Moody plays soulful, countrified blues. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg) —LP
97X MEMORIAL DAY BACKYARD BBQ w/RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS/THE ALMOST/SHINY TOY GUNS/SICK PUPPIES/ARMY OF ME Headliner Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are five young men who grew up in the small North Florida town of Middleburg and found themselves in the national spotlight last year when their debut album, Don't Fake It, produced the smash single "Face Down." The song's a generic-albeit-catchy blend of pop punk and screamo, featuring a mature lyric about domestic abuse. In addition to music and barbecue, this scaled-down Warped Tour-style fest will also include the requisite BMX and skateboard demonstrations. (Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg)
Sunday, May 27
BRASIL ARTS FESTIVAL BrasilArts and the Emit series join forces for a mini-festival celebrating the art and culture of Brazil. Along with Brazilian visual art, food and a capoeira demonstration, O Som Do Jazz will lay down the cool bossa nova grooves. The event runs from 3-6 p.m. Check out emitseries.org. (Studioat620, St. Petersburg) —ES
THE DARK ROMANTICS w/KINGSBURY/MILITARY JUNIOR/AIR MINISTRY Lakeland quartet The Dark Romantics are in the middle of a national tour to support their debut LP Some Midnight Kissin', which came out in February on the indie label Lujo Records. The disc channels the shadowy, synth-driven sounds of bands such as Roxy Music, with lead singer Eric Collins alternating from a detached croon to a falsetto cry. Incidentally, Collins is joined by his wife/bassist Carla Jones. There is also guitarist Dean Paul and his wife Amanda Jones (keyboards) and — get this, ABBA fans — the two women are sisters. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
THE BANGLES Between 1986 and '89, The Bangles managed to notch four of the decade's biggest hits: The Prince-penned "Manic Monday," the novelty tune "Walk Like an Egyptian," a synthed-out cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (from the Robert Downey Jr., film Less Than Zero) and the icky (all right, kinda sweet) torch song "Eternal Flame." The gals called it quits while "Flame" was still in heavy rotation, but all four original members reunited in 2000 to cash in on the new demand for all things '80s. (Busch Gardens, Tampa)
RETARD O BOT w/TUB RING/FOZY SHAZAM Tampa's Retard O Bot once again bring their crazy mix of punk caterwauls and Nine Inch Nails-indebted synthscapes back to their favorite stomping grounds. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
DAMON FOWLER GROUP w/JOHNNY G. LYON BAND Fowler can do the greasy blues-rock stuff but then take it to the country with able dobro, lap-steel and slide-guitar excursions. Johnny G. Lyon brings more of a Windy City blues style to his guitar playing and packs each performance with plenty of ribald showmanship. This concert is a benefit for the Tampa Humane Society. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
RASH OF STABBINGS w/SUDDEN DEATH/PRECIPICE/TRIAGE/ARGUS/ FALL TO PREY This death metal bash featuring homegrown talent is a $5 "kill the keg" event that promises hearing loss, a hangover and a one-way ticket to hell. Props to Rash of Stabbings for best band name. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Monday, May 28
BLOC PARTY w/THE NOISETTES/MACCABEES Bloc Party's dour dance music made it the hottest indie band in Great Britain, with their latest album Weekend in the City performing equally well in the U.S. This show marks the quartet's Tampa Bay debut. (Check out our interview with frontman Kele Okereke on p. 43). The Noisettes are an up-and-coming rock band from the U.K. fronted by bassist/singer Shingai Shoniwa, a woman of English and Zimbabwean descent who occasionally brings a jazz sensibility to the band's punk-blues classic pop sound — good stuff. Rounding out the bill are The Maccabees, an English, keyboard-driven indie outfit touring in support of their newly released debut LP Colour It In. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
YIP-YIP w/ATTRACTIVE AND POPULAR Winter Park duo Yip-Yip issue wacky electronica workouts that remind me of being a child and watching my neighborhood chums play Super Mario Bros. — and being thoroughly annoyed that they found the game enjoyable. (Transitions Art Gallery @ Skatepark of Tampa, Tampa)
