THURSDAY, DEC. 08
ALLISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION With all the empty, videogenic pop-country stars out there, let us applaud Allison Krauss. She's a talented fiddler, yes, but it's her singing — with a crystalline, angelic quality that's virtually unparalleled — that's the true marvel. It's a sweet voice, but not saccharine, and it fits her music perfectly. Krauss and her ace band play a modernized, pop-infused take on bluegrass and country that maintains a solid measure of authenticity while sitting nicely on mainstream ears. Yes, she's a crossover act, but in a good way. Her career began at a young age, and at first she was introspective and retiring onstage. All grown up now, she shows off a quiet charisma and dry wit. An entertaining gal. (The Lakeland Center, Lakeland) ERIC SNIDER
MODEY LEMON/THE APES/THE PEABODIES Pittsburgh's Modey Lemon does a trippy neo-garage sort of thing that really doesn't sound like anything else in the trend, particularly because the drummer is a hyperactive polyrhythmic psycho. Good stuff. The Apes hail from D.C., and also have their roots in Nuggets-gone-psychedelic retro fare, though theirs is a darker and fuller sound. Tampa's own Peabodies, featuring TBT culture writer Gina Vivinetto and Tampa Trib music critic Curtis Ross, provide local support, quirky guitar-pop and unbeatable stage banter. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, DEC. 09
INNER CIRCLE w/DJ SPAM & SPAM ALLSTARS Best and forever known as the group that did the theme to COPS, Jamaican reggae outfit Inner Circle enjoyed stardom in its homeland during the '70s, before the death of original singer Jacob Miller in 1980 and a subsequent decade's worth of stylistic reinvention (during which time "Bad Boys" was penned, in 1987). The mobile, sort-of-Latin dance party that is Spam Allstars makes another of its frequent visits to the Bay area, as well. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
TRACE ADKINS Current pop-country is a powerful rebuke to red state wholesomeness, offering up a Snoop Dogg-homage video by Hot Apple Pie for its song "Hillbillies" and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Adkins, which can only be described as "Sisqo-esque." Country music was never pure — no genre that counts Hank Williams as a godfather could be — but it is interesting that folks from the "heartland" are lapping up material so clearly derived from bling-bling hip-hop. It's particularly telling that Adkins, who was known as somewhat of a traditionalist when he arrived on the scene back in 1996, has chosen this route. (Sarasota Bradenton International Convention Center, Sarasota) COOPER LANE BAKER
SAVES THE DAY/SENSES FAIL/THE EARLY NOVEMBER/SAY ANYTHING A few years back, Saves the Day was poised to become emo's biggest mainstream breakthrough ever; instead, the band adopted a more grown-up, classically pop-grounded sound, and Taking Back Sunday inherited the earth. The heavier, screamier Senses Fail is still in line for its shot at aboveground fame, and sports a legion of rabidly loyal young fans. The Early November used to be a bit rootsier and poppier, but the stuff I've heard from them lately is disappointingly generic, and L.A.'s Say Anything has no business appropriating the title of a good movie for its smarmy, smirking, like-Piebald-but-bad kiddie pop. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
DEVON ALLMAN One of Gregg Allman's professional-musician sons (the other being Elijah Blue, the Gregg/Cher spawn best known for his bizarro Goth-metal outfit Deadsy), Devon fronts a band called Honeytribe that specializes in bluesy, soulful rock. It's different than the jammier fare his father helped pioneer, but still sports a Southern sort of swagger. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
BROTHERS PAST These guys have been gleaning positive hype all year long with their fun, almost cheesy take on pop electronica. Lumped into the jam-band genre with every other group that can't be neatly categorized, Brothers Past produce emotive, futuristic music with beat-intensive jams and spaced-out melodies. To find out more, see this week's Music Feature. (Masquerade, Ybor City) LEILANI POLK
DANIEL O'DONNELL This guy's an Irish crooner who layers saccharine on top of sweet on top of sugary, making for a queasy and teeth-corroding experience. He's got a Christmas DVD to push and is surely going to offer up his take on Christmas classics, as well as his usual easy listening and soft-rock tunes. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) CLB
PULLING BIRDS REUNION Maybe eight or so years ago, young Pinellas roots-pop quartet Pulling Birds was one of a handful of bands buzzed enough to garner industry attention and hope for a national breakthrough. (Another band of the era, Mighty Joe Plum, actually scored a deal before tanking.) Tonight the original members regroup for a gig that has the potential to become one hell of a party; the group's earthy, catchy sound — think of a rougher-edged Wallflowers — has that sort of timeless Americana vibe, and probably won't sound too dated for new local-scene fans. (Neptune Lounge, Tarpon Springs)
SATURDAY, DEC. 10
H2O w/FORTITUDE/KNUP New York City's H2O has always provided a more melodic counterpoint to that town's often brutal and bro-heavy hardcore scene, earning the band an enduring fan base among lovers of both pop-punk and the harder stuff. Fortitude holds truer to the original hardcore/crossover tradition, playing jagged, pummeling tunes with lyrics about friendship, family, lifestyle and unity, while Knup is a new Orlando band featuring members and associates of that city's beloved ska act Spitvalves. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
GENITORTURERS Tampa's own world-famous cavalcade of metal, industrial, darkwave and fetish behavior makes good on a Jannus date cancelled a few months back. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
KIDS LIKE US/ANCHORS AWAY/DREAMS YOU DIE IN/SHED FOR YOU/MAKE OR BREAK/THIS WILL BE REMEMBRERED/CONTAGION THEORY/DEATHBED DECEMBER/…AND I DREAMT OF YOU The guys over at Significant Records have put together a big-ass showcase of metalcore/spazz-punk/screamo sounds to palpitate your heart and hurt your ears. Most of this stuff sounds pretty much the same to these aging senses, but Fort Lauderdale's Kids Like Us has a cool old-school groovecore style, and Jacksonville's Anchors Away deftly mixes up heavy hardcore sounds of every era. (688 Skatepark, Clearwater)
KEITH SECOLA & THE WILD BAND OF INDIANS w/MICHAEL SOUTHERN BAND Native American singer/songwriter Secola infuses his folk and blues fare with elements of traditional native instrumentation and style, but is never heavy-handed or intent on working solely with those sounds — they're just parts of some solid, perhaps surprisingly contemporary folk songwriting. The blend has won him acclaim with a large cult following in both America and Europe. The largely acoustic local roots/jam act Michael Southern Band, a group that's partly responsible for bringing Secola to the bandstand at Pinellas County's Sacred Lands in the first place, opens up. Call 727-347-0354 for more information, or check out www.sacredlands.info. (Sacred Lands, St. Petersburg)
BLUE DICE CD RELEASE PARTY The long running local soul/blues ensemble celebrates the release of its third CD, One Way Street. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SUNDAY, DEC. 11
ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS These Texans might all be nuts, but they know their music history, and how to combine styles running from Vaudeville to folk to alt-country into a wholly original and insanely entertaining end result. The group recently went electric, but not in the way that you think — they still use acoustic instruments, but have been playing such large rooms to such rowdily appreciative crowds that they had to start miking them. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SOUTHWIND w/KATHLEEN BRINDLEY Southwind brings together four talented West Central Florida folk musicians. The group is known for its harmonies and eclectic choices in instrumentation and set lists; seeing how this is its eighth annual holiday concert, expect plenty of traditional winter/Christmas favorites thrown into the mix. Teenage vocalist/flutist Kathleen Brindley will kick off the evening's program. (Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, Tampa)
MONDAY, DEC. 12
ROB THOMAS He's the former leader of the multi-, multi-, multi-platinum Matchbox Twenty. He's a Grammy award-winning songwriter responsible for all of us hearing Carlos Santana's "Smooth" a million more times than we probably wanted or needed to. He's a successful, mercurial solo artist who moves easily between electro-pop and singer/songwriter fare, an alumnus of People magazine's "Most Beautiful People" list, and a fashion plate who may or may not have invented the sportcoat-over-hoodie look. Ladies and gentlemen … Rob Thomas. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
TUESDAY, DEC. 13
NODES OF RANVIER/THE BANNER/AT ALL COST The names may be artier than those of the average metalcore outfit, but this bill is heavy on the heavy, for sure. South Dakota's Nodes of Ranvier does technical, occasionally catchy metal that sounds like it's got chunks of Coheed & Cambria in its manly scat. The Banner comes from New Jersey, and leans a little more toward the hyperkinetic hardcore side of things, with a little creative dissonance thrown in to keep things interesting. At All Cost's screechy, eclectic output is part of the second coming of semi-legendary metal/hardcore label Combat Records. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14
STATIC X/ILL NINO/OPIATE FOR THE MASSES Static X's lite-industrial sound and highly questionable fashion sense briefly endeared it to younger members of the nu-metal crowd; since debut album Wisconsin Death Trip, however, the band has been on a slow but inexorable downhill slide to obscurity. Former Papa Roach soundalikes Ill Nino have owned the just-below-the-headliner slot on metal bills like this forever, and not to be rude, but it's a wonder they ever rose to that level in the first place. Opiate for the Masses is the new kid on this particular rock block, and has been seen quite frequently in the show-opening position at Jannus lately — the Arizona group's sound blends moody, Goth-metal atmosphere with giant guitars and melodic vocal hooks. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
This article appears in Dec 7-13, 2005.