WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
NEW WORLD BREWERY 10TH ANNIVERSARY BLOWOUT Yeah, yeah, we usually don't include the issue's street date in our events listings, because most of you don't actually pick up the issue until Thursday. But tonight kicks off a five-night celebration of the New World's 10-year run, so we figured we'd wedge it in. Check out the Music feature for the full skinny, but tonight's bill includes The Empty Spaces, Coma Girl and others, and that's only the start of a party that's going to include everything from acoustic Americana (Friday) to The Tim Version getting hammered and punking up a whole set's worth of covers (Sunday). (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
THURSDAY, APRIL 14
KEB' MO' Although he's nominally an acoustic bluesman, Keb' Mo' (raised Kevin Moore in Los Angeles) pulls nearly as much influence from pop and R&B as delta blues. With his lanky frame and effervescent smile, and a charming way with between-song patter, he's an engaging presence, far more polished than your average acoustic bluesman. His recorded music can be sterile at times (to these ears, his 1994 self-titled debut is easily his best), but by and large his shows are soulful and intimate. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa)
-Eric Snider
THE MUSIC OF STYX: DENNIS DEYOUNG & ROCK SYMPHONY Three hours of Styx, performed by the guy who sang all the classics before leaving the band, a 32-piece "rock symphony" (we're guessing strings, guitars and big percussion), and as an added and completely perplexing bonus, former Babys, Bad English and solo singer John Waite. Think you can link these two guys with six degrees of separation or less? We bet you can. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
THE PANHANDLER'S TOUR It's crazy how much good underground hip-hop is flowing through Ybor City these days, courtesy of a handful of dedicated promoters, crews and fans. This show was brought to our attention by killer, motivated Sarasota collective Science-Non-Fiction; they'll hit the stage, along with Psyche Origami, Mina Mina Good Song, Second Hand Outfit, Breakdown (with Mecca of V.O.I.D.), Trafficked Ambition, and more. (Masquerade Infinity Room, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
TODD RUNDGREN & JOE JACKSON The two musical subversives have teamed up for a five-week trek that finds them playing solo sets and then joining together for a greatest-hits finale, aided by the string quartet Ethel. It's a pairing with significant potential. How'd they come together? Find out in an interview with Rundgren (click here). (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
-ES
OK GO w/SOULFOUND/THE DAUNTLESS Sorta punk but mostly power-pop, Chicago's OK Go turned a disinterest in its hometown's artier post-rock scene into national airplay with the snotty '02-'03 hit "Get Over It." Then nothing happened for awhile, and now they're on tour. Fans who found the band through radio will love locals Soulfound, whose energetic modern rock should by all rights hit the radio itself before too long. (Boomerz Boiler Room, Seminole)
DAMIAN MARLEY & STEPHAN MARLEY Bob Marley's progeny have upheld the family reggae tradition, not with as much galvanizing power, of course, but solid, melodic and engaging. I've never seen this pair, but let's hope that their stage energy is more along the lines of their late dad than their older, somnambulant brother Ziggy. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
-ES
SATURDAY, APRIL 16
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY You simply cannot argue that Zakk Wylde is a frightening bad-ass of a man and musician. Since becoming the last in a long line of extraordinarily gifted guitarists to back Ozzy Osbourne in 1987, Wylde's playing, quotes and appearance have grown more menacing and attitude-laden every year. He's now a paragon of old-school, straight-up, no-frills redneck-metal, but, judging by his turns in Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force and that fake commercial suggesting you outfit your irresponsible friends with a homing device, he's probably a good person to have a beer or 90 with, as well. His Black Label Society's latest release is last month's Mafia. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
TODD SNIDER w/RONNY ELLIOTT/MIKE O'NEILL WMNF brings a favorite of its staff and listeners back to town. Charismatic roots-rocker Snider has been described as "a rock star disguised as a singer-songwriter," as much for his immaculate, fully realized material as his seriously engaging onstage presence. About three-quarters of the more well-known strummers in the world have covered a Todd Snider tune once or twice or a hundred times, including both Garth Brooks and Jimmy Buffett. Veteran Bay area tunesmiths and frontmen Ronny Elliott and Mike O'Neill provide support. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
TSUNAMI RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT A large handful of extremely varied artists comes together to help a phalanx of Central Florida Christian, evangelical and charitable organizations raise some money for the victims of one of the most devastating natural disasters of our time. In addition to comedian/speaker Ray Hughes, the following bands will donate their time to the event, which kicks off at 2 p.m.: Tribal Style (reggae/world groove); Selah Project (bluegrass/roots-gospel); Joelle (singer-songwriter); Urban D (hip-hop); My Rocket Heart (Christian rock); Stephen & Christie Miller (singer-songwriters); Faceless (Contemporary Christian); Inkblot (hard rock); Soulfire (alt-rock); and Sons of Thunder (Christian rock). (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
