THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11
Borgore Standing out in a genre that has seeped into every part of our culture can be a challenge. Israeli dubstep DJ/producer Borgore instills his own brand of wobble bass-slinging with a healthy dose of heavy metal textures and general dark sonics into his so-called gorestep sound. His New Decisions EP features a surprising guest — teen sensation Miley Cyrus — and you can get a copy of the new album in addition to hats, tees and a pair of Borgore pasties (in pink, white or blue) at buygore.com. I wish I was making this shit up. (The Honey Pot, Ybor City)
Skeletonwitch Prosthetic Records heavy metal purveyors Skeletonwitch has been given the seal of approval by Ozzy Osbourne and Glenn Danzig (the quintet played both the Ozzfest and Blackest of the Black tours), and are on the next round of dates supporting 2011 fourth LP, Forever Abomination, awarded a whopping 7.3 rating from Pitchfork.com and called “exciting, skilled, fist-pumping, true-to-life stuff.” Bringing thrash and hardcore to the bill: Early Graves, from San Francisco, and Denver foursome Havok. (Brass Mug, Tampa)
Gareth Emery A night of pulsating trance, house and progressive styles of unz with plenty of light-saturated lift-offs as launched by UK-based dance music DJ and producer Gareth Emery. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12
Bob Nite: All Dylan, All Night Long An assemblage of Florida acts repping the broad extent of Bob Dylan’s influence — Grant Peeples, The Sarah Mac Band, Free Hugs, Radio-Free Carmela and the Transmitters, and Waking Giants (formerly Elysian Sex Drive) — pay their dues to the iconic artist in five 25-minute sets of each one’s favorite Dylan songs. The showcase culminates with a grand finale sing-along of “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
Death Angel w/Threat Signal/Bonded By Blood/Wretched Vocalist Mark Osegueda is the only original member who remains in Filipino-American thrash metal outfit Death Angel (est. 1982), though guitarist/backing vocalist Rob Cavestany has been with the band since ’84 and was on all three albums released during their original reign, along with the three that dropped upon their return in 2001. The last was 2010’s Relentless Retribution. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
John Oates Admittedly I’m more interested in John Oates’ mythical mustache than his music; the guitarist and songwriter best known as one-half of retro R&B pop duo Hall & Oates shaved that baby off in 1989, then went bare-lipped for two decades. Despite growing it out for the occasional hello beginning in the late ‘00s, he seems to prefer a ‘stache-free existence, which means a sighting is a rare treat and thus highly unlikely at this intimate solo acoustic performance. (The Club at Treasure Island, Treasure Island)
GatorNate & Gladezmen w/Lone Wolf GatorNate Augustus is a gritty-voiced singer, slide guitar player, harmonica wailer and sample slinger from the Everglades, and his Gladezmen comprises a crew of other nick-named musicians — AntKiller on double bass, regular bass and backing vocals, Mississippi Matt aka The Honey Badger on drums and percs, and Scotty Crow on washboard, stump fiddle and guitar. Together, they distill a cheeky, made-for-juke joint hellraising blend of twangy Southern rockabilly and swamp blues. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
Fujiki-Hastings Benefit Show #1: Auto!Automatic!!/Rec Center/Will Quinlan/The Florida Kilos Four promoters that don’t normally work together — THX Management, New Granada Presents, Brokenmold Entertainment and aetheticized presents — have pooled their combined resources to stage a series of concerts that celebrate beloved local drummer Ryan Fujuki-Hastings, whose life was taken in a freak motorcycle accident last month. All the acts on this bill (from tight and technical prog trio Auto!Automatic!! to serene melodic pop swaying quintet, Rec Center, both Best of the Bay winners) have donated their time, admission and proceeds from commemorative merch go into a family trust to continue Fujuki-Hastings’ musical legacy, support his 6-month-old daughter and wife in a desperate time of need, and spread awareness about motorcycle safety. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Journey w/Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo/Loverboy Journey is one of those classic rock bands that’s likeable and cringeworthy at the same time thanks to their combination of soaring anthems and cheestastic ballads — some of them winners (“Lights,” “Open Arms,” “I’ll Be All Right Without You,” “Faithfully,” some losers (“When You Love a Woman”) and some so overplayed that you hope to never, ever hear them again (“Any Way You Want It,” “Don’t Stop Believin’”). Filipino singer Arnel Pineda has been providing smoky wailing lead vocals since 2007, and on this run (supporting 2011 studio album Eclipse), Journey is joined by rock songstress Pat Benetar and husband/longtime collaborator, producer and guitarist Neil Giraldo, and another 1980s hitmaker, Canadian fivesome Loverboy (“Turn Me Loose,” “Working for the Weekend”). (1-800 Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Stokeswood w/Arboles Libres/Archaic Interest A triple serving of indie music as led by Stokeswood, a beat-driven dance pop five-piece formed by Atlanta singer Adam Patterson and guitarist Mark Goodwin, the rest of the musicians filling in on bass, laptop production, keys, synths and drums, and the majority switching between instruments when the song calls for it. For fans of Junior Boys. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
