THURS 13
The New Pornographers Get ready for a night of exhilarating indie-pop, the sort that'll have chicks in sneakers and dresses dancing wildly in the aisles. The New Pornographers surrender themselves to the cathartic and joyful abandon of making big pop music, busting out pitch-perfect boy-girl harmonies, electric power, New Wave flourish, Britpop majesty and more (okay, let's throw in Spaghetti Western and Bond flicks, too). If you haven't heard 'em, their music appears all over TV commercials and in movies, dishing up flavors from bygone eras — The Kinks, The Cars, Queen, E.L.O. and Bay City Rollers. They're the shit in Canada, and they've been at it since 1997. The Vancouver collective hits the Sunshine State with the full lineup, comprising their most high-profile, solo-successful members: Kathryn Calder, A.C. "Carl" Newman, Neko Case and Dan Bejar, playing tunes from their 2010 CD, Together (Matador), an album praised as a return to the band's earlier rock. Michael Benjamin Lerner, aka Seattle-based Merge act Telekinesis, delivers a like-minded uplift with a mix of electronic and guitar-driven pop. (Beacham Theatre, Orlando) —Julie Garisto
Zeds Dead A Toronto duo (DC and Hooks) that took their handle from Pulp Fiction and produce a mix of electronica, dubstep and progressive house with a healthy dose of hip hop-style sampling. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
David Rovics w/Jun Bustamante An activist singer-songwriter who's performed at innumerable protests and demonstrations around the country over the years, David Rovics has made his radical views known about the government's abuses, war, the two-party system, anti-globalization and other relevant topics that are addressed in his topical folk music, which he gives away freely. In his opinion: "Music is the Commons. Ignore the corporate music industry shills who tell you otherwise. Downloading music is not theft, you're not hurting anyone, I promise." Opener Jun Bustamante, St. Pete's own socially aware songstress, described his music as "hard hitting, socially conscious and topical (he has songs about Bradley Manning, the Norway massacre, and Mitt Romney's recent comment that corporations are people)." This show benefits WMNF. For further details, see Do This on p. 6. (Roosevelt 2.0, Ybor City)
The Bastard Suns w/Groove Stain From swaying jams about getting "Wasted" ("And although I know that this lifestyle is bad for my health / Well I never lose sight of what this life is all about / I've worked myself up into knots all damn week, now its high time I sort myself out"), to optimistic reach-for-your-dreams odes like "Onward and Upward" ("Always moving forward, we'll reach the promised land with a little luck"), Atlanta five-piece The Bastard Suns spread positive reggae rock vibes with a little bit of punk, ska and funk-soul added for flavor. (The Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Celtic Thunder An all-male vocal group that delivers an AC folk-infused homage to the musical culture of Ireland, their home. Celtic Thunder is a PBS staple with several specials and is currently promoting the CD/DVD release of their latest one, Heritage. (Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center, Tampa)
FRI 14
Sheila Kirsten Hughes & the TSP Orchestra/Leigh Humes Band/Steve Vaclavik & The Woeful Ones A big bill of local country-roots singer-songwriters that includes songbird multi-instrumentalist Sheila Kirsten Hughes (guitar, piano, cello), who just released her debut LP with the TSP Orchestra, If These Stones Could Speak, in March. Her band includes husband Chris on bass, and his deep grooves add a pleasant low-end foil to her dulcet vocals. Rounding it out is drummer/percussionist Alex Wolfe Parnes and Jim Parna, who brings instrumental layers on sax, tin whistle and clarinet to the table. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Kenny Rogers I love that country music legend Kenny Rogers hits town a mere day before Ms. Dolly Parton, together responsible for one of my favorite crossover hits by both, the Barry Gibb-produced duet, "Islands in the Stream." Rogers has also served poker players across generations with his counsel in his 1978 hit, "The Gambler" ("You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run"). According to Wiki, he's sold 68 million albums in the U.S. alone. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
FUSION w/D'Visitors/Tribal Style/The Ruckus/ Jinx/Breakdown/The Ruckus/Monica Delgado/Dynasty/Road To The Riches/DJ Blenda/DJ Ran Mecca A huge collaborative showcase featuring musicians, vocalists, emcees, DJs and rap artists who are all members of the local Gwan Massive collective. A range of styles are featured, from the world rock funkadelia of D'Visitors, to Tribal Style's reggae grooves, to the hip-hop bump and drive of The Ruckus. Expect lots of sit-ins. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Tim Reynolds & TR3 w/Smokehouse Rats In the mid-1980s, before two-time Grammy nominee Tim Reynolds became the full-time touring guitarist of Dave Matthews Band, he led a rotating jazz-rock trio dubbed TR3. After touring as a solo acoustic musician for several years, he played a string of shows with bassist Mick Vaughn and drummer Dan Martier in 2007 that convinced him to give TR3 another shot. The threesome has since released two albums, their second and latest, From SPACE and Beyond, a live double LP culled from three shows TR3 performed in 2009. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa) —Lindsay Collette
