Rock Bottom Tribute w/St. Pete Blues Allstars/Sandy Atkinson/Ronny Elliott/Lounge Cat/TC Carr/Greg Poulos/J.P. "Bullmoose" Coley/Pete Gallagher/Rev. Boneshaker/Big Dick Magee/TBone Hamilton/Jimmy Griswold/Johnny & The Wranglers/many more You won't find nary a mention of gritty soulful harmonica great Rock Bottom on Wikipedia, but he played a significant role in our state's blues music circuit, and had his start performing in roadhouses and juke joints across Central Florida nearly 30 years ago. WMNF and the Suncoast Blues Society have assembled a large group of Bay area blues and roots artists pay tribute to Rock Bottom on the 10th anniversary of his death at this special showcase. Among the performers are musicians who played with Rock or who were friends, fans or inspired by the musician. (Skippers Smokehouse, Tampa)
Modern English "I Melt with You" has been used in commercials by Hershey's chocolate, Ritz crackers, Taco Bell, M&M's and Burger King, among others, and is likely the one hit everyone knows by UK New Wave post punk outfit Modern English. The original 80's line up re-formed in 2010, and are currently touring while writing new material. (The Venue, Clearwater)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Pepper w/The Expendables/Ballyhoo! Nearly a year after their last stop at Jannus, reggae punk-rock trio Pepper returns for another night of their Hawaiian dub sunshine and party-inducing antics. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Slaughter The Hard Rock@Nite entertainment series launches its official return with a concert by heavy metal band Slaughter, which rose to fame with their multi-platinum 1990 debut LP, Stick It to Ya, lead singer Mark Slaughter wailing through such post-glam hits as "Fly To The Angels" and "Up All Night." (Hard Rock Café, Tampa)
Langhorne Slim and The Law w/Matrimony His high-toned vocals are warm, slightly twangy and endearingly sweet with a hoarseness that emerges as he gets more passionate. His delivery style, while all his own, hints at his Springsteen and Dylan influences. His rambling Americana and easy-going folk rock is paired with poignant lyrics that strike a chord with their simple clarity or bittersweet but curiously upbeat melancholy. Whether he's offering encouragement, like in "Diamonds and Gold" ("You can have all the diamonds, all the gold, but someday you're still gonna get old / You gotta learn to get happy along the way..."), pondering the end of a relationship from the perspective of the person left behind, as in "I Love You, But Goodbye," or, more often than not, doling out earnest expressions of affection via his tender balladry, Langhorne Slim manages to come off as genuine and has a fedora for every occasion. You might know him from "Worries" — the 2009 theme song for the Travelers Insurance commercials — and the rest of his fare is just as solid. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Ingram Hill w/Kat McGivern/Rachel Platten The Memphis-based outfit purveys the sort of easy-on-the-ears AC alt rock that punctuates the previews of feel good B-grade films; gentle and melodic with a driving edge. Ingram Hill hits town on the heels of putting out an acoustic album featuring re-freshened and stripped-down versions of past hits and fan favorites, Blue Room Afternoon. McGivern is a Boston-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of the same ilk, but with a little more pop fire in her delivery and a keytar in her instrument arsenal. (World of Beer, Tampa)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
