THURSDAY, FEB. 24
BEEP BEEP w/AUTO! AUTOMATIC!/THE CRAYONS/TRES BIEN I left the bio for Beep Beep sitting on my coffee table, but after listening to their full-length Business Casual, here's what I think it should say: "Saddle Creek Records' Beep Beep sounds like a cross between Saddle Creek Records' Cursive and Saddle Creek Records' The Faint. The result is a terribly hip mix of dance-punk and synth-punk, but don't assume it's all a pose, because the songs are actually pretty good." Three up-and-coming Bay area indie bands, ranging from excitingly experimental (Auto! Automatic!) to extremely entertaining but extremely unoriginal (the Hives-meets-Interpol shtick of Tres Bien, who admittedly have that shit down cold), open. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
MAGNA-FI There's nothing super-killer about this Ozzfest-alumnus hard rock act, but their combination of heft and pop hook definitely one-ups the usual post-Creed fare. Magna-Fi's got two road shows scheduled in the area; tonight's Rockerfella's shindig also features perennial Manasota hard-rock favorites Ripa Joda and Dolt, while tomorrow's gig at Seminole's Boomerz Boiler Room boasts support in the form of energetic Clearwater modern-rock outfit Soulfound, among others. (Rockerfella's, Bradenton; Feb. 25, Boomerz Boiler Room, Seminole)
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK This Washington, D.C.-based African-American women's vocal ensemble has been uplifting audiences through its gospel- and World Beat-informed fare for the better part of 20 years. Highly recommended. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
THE STARTING LINE w/FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER/DAYS AWAY/JAMISON PARK The Starting Line was among the first acts to achieve a breakout buzz by moving poppy nu-punk closer to emo territory; it's not as bad as, say, Midtown, but it's in that ballpark. There's nothing new to say about South Florida's anthemic all-ages favorite Further Seems Forever (you know Sense Field's Jon Bunch is singing for them now, right?), except that there's a home-field reunion show with original vocalist Chris "Dashboard Confessional" Carrabba coming up. We're not saying they're scrambling to stave off the inevitable downhill slide, but if the next FSF album - if there is one - doesn't find Carrabba back in the fold full-time, then we'll eat that Star Booty trucker cap that's been underneath the passenger seat of my Jeep for about a year. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
DIANA ROSS Though she's been in the headlines lately more for her relationship to Michael Jackson than for her singing, this soulful diva has still got it. Expect to hear some of her older hits, plus songs from her 2001 album Love and Life. (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota) -Mark Sanders
FRIDAY, FEB. 25
BADFISH This Sublime tribute act comes quite highly recommended. Of course, said recommendations are coming mostly from ex-brahs who only go out when Slightly Stoopid comes to town, and still put their baseball caps on backward when they head out into the garage to get away from the wife and kid, but they oughta know good Sublime tributeage from bad, right? Chances are, if you're a fan, you'll dig it. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
NUMBER ONE FAN/IN PASSING/BRANDTSON/BLOOM. If you're down with the all-ages post-hardcore thing, then you're already familiar with the melodic, angsty sounds of Brandtson and former Lakeland homeboys In Passing. Appleton, Wisconsin's Number One Fan will treat your ears nicely (think Jimmy Eat World). The odd band out here is Orlando's Bloom., a long-running outfit whose new album, Osinner, delivers some great, original and seriously infectious indie-tinged power pop. (Check out a review of Osinner in Spins.) (Orpheum, Ybor City)
DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT This group has remained a fairly underground favorite within the jam scene, possibly because its soulful, heavily jazz-, funk- and rock-influenced sound isn't readily associated with any jam sub-group. They've got horns, and some Latin beats, and they're buddies with the Allman Brothers, though, so there you go. (Masquerade, Ybor City)
SATURDAY, FEB. 26
TONY BENNETT He just missed the salute to him that's been running down at St. Pete's Palladium Theater, and finished up a couple of weeks ago. Think he would've gone? It's a testament to Bennett's talent that, following that hip cachet he gained a few years back, the man has continued to draw in fans of every generation. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
JIMMY BUFFETT Buffett, Bennett. Bennett, Buffett. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
THE FORECAST/THE KIRBY/THUMBSCREW All right, kids. I don't know why you're not hitting the shows at 688 in force, and I don't care. Get out there, or the next time you decide you're bored and want something to do, there won't be a show to go to. Represent! Tonight's a perfect opportunity, because Peoria's The Forecast is rad - eclectic and energetic rock with killer boy/girl vocals and the occasional alt-country dust-up. Word has it they might end up on your favorite young, ubiquitous, big-eyed singer-songwriter's label, and you need to get to them before that happens if you want to be, y'know, cool. Austin's The Kirby goes out of its way to be more original than the average tortured emo act, and Thumbscrew's blitzkrieg spaz-core is just plain scary. (688 Skatepark, Clearwater)
