THURSDAY, MARCH 28
Honey Island Swamp Band w/Lauris Vidal/Devon Stuart Southern licking and sliding guitar solos twist over jaunty piano and Hammond B3 grooves in gospel-tinged rock ’n’ roll rambles reminiscent of the Allmans or The Band, while other tunes by Honey Island Swamp Band are imbued with NOLA-style R&B-kissed blues or more country-bayou soulful Americana. Honey Island was originally formed by Hurricane Katrina refugees who met in San Francisco. They returned to New Orleans in 2008, added a keys player, and have produced a few recordings since then; the last was 2010’s Good To You. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
PaintDrop EDM artists spin club-bangers as pulsating lights swirl and figures in white coveralls holding tall tubes of paint spray blasts over the room as the bass drops, showering and coating the mass of bodies in spattered color that looks pretty rad glowing under the flashing black-lights. Welcome to a touring version of NC’s wild paint drop rave, which promises an up-close-and-personal experience to everyone who attends: “Come in white ... leave in color.” (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, MARCH 29
Spring Beer Jam Dunedin Brewery kicks off a new tradition with its inaugural Spring Beer Jam, presenting more than 50 unique brews to taste (like Orange Blossom Wit, Grizzly Brown Ale, Red Pomegranate, and Gold N Coffee), and free live music all weekend that kicks off with a pre-party on Thursday featuring Aquaphonics. Also slated: two nights worth of jams from Michigan psych-progtronic quintet Ultraviolet Hippopotamus (Friday and Saturday) and South Florida jam rock staple The Heavy Pets (Saturday and Sunday); support sets featuring COPE, a ‘Ramblegrass String Jam,’ and DJs Craig Heneveld and 45Revolver. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
Secondhand Serenade w/Juliet Simms/Veronica Ballestrini/Bet Me I’m Lying/Rising Down/Drew Disparte John Vesely, the artist otherwise known as Secondhand Serenade, delivers hooky lyrics in high-toned emo-pained wails (ala highest-charting hit, 2008’s “Fall For You”) or pop-sweet upbeat choruses that offer sage advice as in new single “Shake It Off,” his instrumentals built on a solid foundation of guitar and keys. Last September, he issued A Naked Twist In My Story, which features all the songs off his 2008 album A Twist In My Story as re-imagined with acoustic/orchestral production. He’s also finishing up some new material for a forthcoming self-released LP funded entirely by his fans via Pledge Music. On this tour, he’s joined by Juliet Simms, a rusty-howling rocker songstress and Bay area native who almost won the second season of NBC’s The Voice, and is currently managed by her former coach, Cee Lo Green. She, too, has a new single out, “Wild Child,” and an album expected this spring. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Basement Sessions IV: Mike Mass/Poetry n’ Lotion/Death Starsky/De Tyme Poet/Mighty Jai/Louis Junior/DJ Qeys Billed as a night of “Poetry, Spoken-Word, Jazz-Fusion, Turntablism and Hip Hop,” the fourth installment of the Basement Sessions features performances by Tampa-by-way-of-the-Bronx producer and smooth-flowing rapper Mike Mass (“Cooler than the AC … smooth like the butters”), double-brass blasted jazz-electro-metal fusionists Poetry n’ Lotion, and Death Starsky, the current alt hip hop, dance and art rock project of emcee/singer Sin and rapper/producer Gage. More info about the duo and their new multi-media full-length record here. The dress code is “look fresh,” so put on your fly duds and get ready for a night of high-class entertainment as presented by Left Coast Bartenders Guild and Thx Mgmt. (Don Vicente Historic Inn, Ybor City)
Lydia w/From Indian Lakes/Sweet Talker I was digging hard on Lydia’s 2010 album Assailants when the Arizona indie alt-rock band announced it’d be their last. Keening guitarist Leighton Antelman has since returned without his former co-founding bandmate, Steve McGraw, and sans any female support harmonies. He’s still recording under the Lydia moniker, however, and self-released two albums since Lydia’s comeback — Paint It Gold in 2011, and fifth and latest Devil out last week — with a new lineup that includes Matt Keller (keys, guitar, bass, programming), guitarist Justin Camacho and drummer Craig Taylor. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Mighty Mongo The four-year-old St. Pete foursome, Mighty Mongo, returns to the stage where they won The Ritz Ybor’s very first Ultimate Bands Series competition in 2010. A bouncy mix of ska, party rock and punk-pop is marked by snotty, spunky boy-girl vocal harmonies and the guitar work of 1970s mustache-sporting member, Anthony Isoldi. The band is currently gearing up for their second time playing Vans Warped Tour this summer, but first the “Mongolians” headline the Royal Room Live Concert Series on Friday night. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City) —Kelsey Sunderland
Man Overboard/The Story So Far w/Tonight Alive/Citizen/The American Scene Proudly waving the pop-punk banner (they even have a ‘Defend Pop Punk’ motto, Facebook Group and podcast/mixtape series) is New Jersey fivesome Man Overboard, established in 2008 and delivering youthfully fresh vocal harmonies and chasing calls, riffy power chords, and fast, sometimes breakspeed rhythms. The Story So Far hails from Northern California, has a similar instrumental lineup (five members, two guitars, two singers) and punk-pop roots, but brings a tougher, hardcore forcefulness to their sound; sophomore full-length What You Don’t See was produced by Steve Klein (of New Found Glory, the band whose song they’re named for), and dropped on Pure Noise Records this past Tuesday. The two bands co-headline this “Supply Nation Tour” with several rising acts backing them up, including female-fronted Aussie quintet Tonight Alive, their debut full-length What Are You So Scared Of? hitting the U.S. last year and peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
The Hip Abduction w/The Funky Seeds/Danfield Funk, acoustic rock, reggae, blues, soul, surf, jazz and world music are all represented at the Skipperdome on this night. CL-approved swaying and grooving nine-piece The Hip Abduction leads the feel good jams with their Afro-beat and Caribbean flavors, instrumentals textured and brightened by brass (tenor and bari sax, trumpet, flugelhorn), percussion, vibes and African kora. THA signed a contract to record with renown Easy Star Records reggae producer M. Goldwasser (Matisyahu, Steel Pulse), and is currently working on a third album. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Michale Graves If you think you recognize the name, it might be because Jersey native Michale Graves (yes, it’s supposed to be spelled that way) enjoyed a few short-lived runs (1995-98 and 1998-00) raging lead vocals in The Misfits; or maybe you’ve seen his name in any articles about openly libertarian artists. Just-released Vagabond is his first album of all new material since 2008, a melodic acoustic guitar-driven foray inspired by the traveling he’s done and people he’s met along the way, and far removed from his horror punk tendencies. The album was entirely funded by Kickstarter (more than $31k raised), and another is on the way: The Lost Skeleton Returns, hearkening back to his more familiar aesthetic with 10 re-recorded classics and four new tracks. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Bombadil w/Zulu Wave From the realities of “Marriage” (“Would you still buy me dinner after the 200th time I dropped my silver fork, and the nursery rhyme stork never brought a baby to you?”) to the insecurities brought to light at a “Laundromat,” folk-pop trio Bombadil puts forth an offbeat perspective in their narratives. Multi-timbred vocals rise in lively harmony or in choruses of coos, hoots and oohs that are carried over a shimmering, brightly-hued mix of harmonica, piano, bass, guitar and rollicking drums. This tour hypes fourth album Metrics of Affection, due out July 23 on Ramseur Records, and is Bombadil’s first time back on the road in three years, after a debilitating nerve injury by member Daniel Michalak kept him inactive and unable to play for an extended period. Sound-washing post rock four-piece Zulu Wave supports. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Blast! Friday w/Pure Prairie League The downtown Clearwater street festival features live music right on the street. This time around, Blast Friday welcomes country rock vets Pure Prairie League, featuring pedal-steel innovator John David Call leading the sliding string melodies in songs like breezy roots ballad “Amie.” (Cleveland Street, downtown Clearwater)
SATURDAY, MARCH 30
WMNF Karib-B-Yan Kruze Music Festival w/Jambalaya/Impulse/Jahafari/Tifane/Johukames Possee/Trinity 7/Dewye Ranks/Iyata Christi/ Soul Liberation/ Zuberi & The Passion Crew/many more The fifth annual festival celebrating the sights, sounds, food and culture of the Caribbean is a joint tribute to ska/soca icon Byron Lee and calypso king Mighty Sparrow, with acts ranging from local African dancers to roots reggae music makers. The fun starts at 4:30 p.m. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Florida Night Heat/Auto!Automatic!! In a power trio format, Florida Night Heat brings the post-tronic, stoner-psychedelic rage. Andre’s grinding, pounding basslines raging amid the texturized washes and cadenced passages of guitar by Jensen, his solos flavored with stoner griminess or spaghetti western drama that mount against the walloping, throbbing or steady-driving rhythms of Chris. Auto!Automatic!! also works the three-piece angle, but delivers guitar harmonics-laden and string-shredded rock as built by Brian, Adam’s lowend vigor and Alex’s technically-precise, pulsing drumbeats adding force to their overall sound, which can be aggro metallic or more groove-oriented, like a heart beating in intriguing time signatures. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, MARCH 31
Walter Strauss His style of layering rapid finger-picked melodies and harmonies, and use of rhythms and counter-rhythms give Walter Strass’ acoustic guitar compositions a more robust sound. His jazz and folk leanings have taken a world turn after he delved into West African music and spent four weeks in Mali studying with kora players like Grammy-winning Toumani Diabate, picking up plucking techniques and phrasing that he translated to guitar. This one-off stop after Suwanee Springfest is his last before departing Florida, and the 90-minute, early afternoon concert starts promptly at 2 p.m. (UU Dome, Tampa)
Easter Bunny Hip-Hop Show w/Stick Martin/project: Save C. A. Hircus An early evening show of beats, rhymes and good times as ring-led by Stick Martin and his merry crew of musical pranksters. Also performing is Project: SAVE C.A. Hircus, a clever, cheeky funk-rap rock outfit from Dunedin featuring vocalist/emcee Jon Ditty and drummer/DJ D-rok. Their catalog encompasses songs like “Soapbox Politician Dictating Nonsense from a Three Foot [email protected]#k It, Let’s Go Get a Beer” and feature lyrics with equally mouth-filling and tongue-tying vocabulary. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
TUESDAY, APRIL 02
Yes Sticking to the current trend of full-album nostalgia tours, British prog-art rock heavyweights Yes — high-soaring singer Jon Davison, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Alan White — take it to another level with a triple album live experience. The three LPs that get the front-to-back live treatment are 1971’s The Yes Album (which includes “I’ve Seen All Good People”), 1972’s Close to the Edge and 1977’s Going for the One. Howe commented, “These albums we all easily agreed on — they are complete works in themselves.” Each LP is a little under 40 minutes long, so there will likely be at least one intermission, if not a few. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03
Diana Krall With a resonant, husky contralto and gracefully subtle Steinway piano savvy, Canadian songstress Diana Krall has mesmerized for more than two decades. She’s issued 10 studio LPs that showcase her tasteful repertoire of jazz, bossa nova and traditional pop tunes, which encompasses covers and the odd originals, some of the latter written with husband Elvis Costello. Her most recent outing, 2012’s T. Bone Burnett-produced Glad Rag Doll, finds her crooning her way through jazzy numbers from the 1920s and ’30s, the majority culled from her dad’s collection of 78s. Krall can certainly turn on the understated dazzle as 2002 Grammy-winning DVD and album, Live in Paris, reveals and this date on her ‘Glad Rag Doll World Tour’ will likely finding her shining amid a practiced group of instrumentalists. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
NILE w/Ulcer/Deathtruck/Creatures Of Habit Technical death metal heavyweights Nile have found seemingly inexhaustible inspiration from vengeful gods, their destruction, accursed and forgotten cities, pyramids, catacombs, war, pestilence, dead eaters, and all the other trappings you might find wreaking havoc (or getting havoc wreaked on, or becoming the vessel through which havoc is wreaked) in Ancient Egyptian mythology, culture, history and religion. They also dig HP Lovecraft. Last year’s At the Gate of Sethu includes such blackly enlightening tracks as “The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased” (which premiered on Noisecreep.com), “Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame” and the poetic “Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms.” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
