THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27
So Whatcha Want? Beastie Boys Tribute Party Adam Yauch may be gone but his legacy as MCA lives on through the music of the Beastie Boys. Cles One DJs Balance, Jaybee, EAST, Jay Marley and Teck1 pay homage to MCA and the Beasties with a tribute night of B-Boy cuts and classic hip-hop jams. (Martini Republic, downtown Tampa)
Arboles Libres w/Bellows/FayRoy Columbia native musician Juan "Nacho" Londono fronts Miami-based three-piece Arboles Libres, his bilingual (Spanish and English) lyrics delivered with raw power against riff-raging, solo-screaming or effects-laden guitars carried on the beat of marching and pounding drums. Debut full-length Father dropped in July; the album's experimental folk and twangy soulful rock ’n’ roll has been described by Londono as a balance of "melody and mayhem." (The Hub, downtown Tampa)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28
Anchor Atlantic Farewell Show w/Mighty Mongo/(the) Umbrella Cult St. Pete-based indie outfit Anchor Atlantic is calling it quits for the time being, but throwing one last show before they go. Anchor Atlantic's genre-spanning self-titled EP varies from the ska boppin', retro-flavored pop shuffle of "Leggo Your Ego" to the more straight-ahead pop rock drive of "Autumn" and funky jazz grooving sway of "Downward Spiral." The rich soaring vocals and sexy saxophone squalls of Anchor Atlantic frontwoman Mikayla Winner climb over layered instrumentals and support harmonies by keyboardist/bassist Luke Albright and guitarist Colin Hughes, with David “Jerome” Hart holding down the steady backbeat. Warm-up sets provided by alt punk-ska outfit Mighty Mongo and psychedelic garage-pop purveyors (the) Umbrella Cult. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
SOJA w/Roots Underground Soldiers of Jah Army (SOJA) revive roots reggae in a pleasant, positive-vibing dready-dudes-from-Virginia kind of way, and issued their fourth full-length, Strength to Survive, on ATO Records this January. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Blast Friday w/Molly Hatchet Cleveland Street District's last free concert and street festival of 2012 brings Southern metal and hard rock purveyors Molly Hatchet (“Flirtin’ with Disaster”) to the stage directly in front of the Capitol Theatre. (Cleveland Street, downtown Clearwater)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29
Geri X w/New Cathedral/Paint The Town Red It's a ménage à trois of high quality local tuneage at New World — sharp-edged alt roots and folk-rock songstress Geri X, pretty melodic driving rock foursome New Cathedral, and Paint the Town Red, the acoustic guitar-driven indie pop project of sweet-toned singer-songwriter Justin Vilardi. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Donna the Buffalo The Herd unites to luxuriate in a three-night Saturday-Sunday-Monday stand of Donna the Buffalo performances at the Skipperdome, the quintet's jammy, crunchy, grooving mix of folk, country rock, Zydeco, reggae and bluegrass culminating with a NYE she-bang on Monday night. The Believers kick off the shows on Saturday and Monday, while Hindu Cowboys open things up on Sunday. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Retro Red Square Recall Party w/Death Starsky This pre-NYE extravaganza marks the 10-year anniversary of Retro Red Square Recall, a sink-or-swim dance party piloted by DJs Rig and Noi. Tampa electro-experimental hip hop duo Death Starsky hits the stage at midnight, and an all-red balloon-and-cash drop follows their performance. (The cash will be green.) Red threads encouraged. (Czar, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30
Jim Morey Band Fuel up on some Kansas City-style barbecue brisket and sip a Bloody Ella (garnished with a hickory-smoked rib) while enjoying the New Orleans-soaked jazz rock grooves of Jim Morey Band, with singer/trumpeter Morey joined by his bandmates from Lounge Cat — upright bass maestra Anne Van Atta, drumkit genius Billy Carrr and guitar ace Eddie Rosicky. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 31
The New Year's Eve Party w/Natural Child/Beach Day/Jensen Serf Company/Florida Night Heat/The Stone Eagles/Red Rockits When it rains, it pours, and NYE 2012 sees a virtual cornucopia of musical events to whet pretty much any live music appetite. Brokenmold Entertainment throws an indie rock shindiggy and covers various bases of that particular sonic spectrum. Headlining the festivities is Natural Child, a crunchy, fuzzy and generally disorderly stoner-blues-garage rock trio from Nashville co-fronted by guitarist Seth Murray and bassist Wes Traylor, who wail and harmonize on dual Jagger-esque lead vocals with solid rhythmic back-up by Turbo Fruits former Zack Martin. Natural Child issued two LPs in 2012 full of made-for-partying scorchers and sleezy creeping odes, For Love of the Game and Hard in Heaven. Also on the bill: Hollywood, Fla. retrofied garage-surf pop darlings Beach Day, signed to Kanine Records earlier this year; loose and grimy garage-punk outfit Jensen Serf Company; grinding electro-funkadelic Enrico Morricone-inspired prog three-piece Florida Night Heat; the Billy Summer-led power pop and skuzzy glam rock-kissed garage outfit, Stone Eagles; and explosive blues-folk rockers Red Rockits. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Less Than Jake w/Lionize/Protagonist/Victims of Circumstance This year, Gainesville's Less Than Jake celebrated 20 years of delivering brassy upbeat ska-punk tunes to audiences around the world. Fat Wreck Chords commemorated the occasion with a comp album of sorts that combines two previously limited EPs, Greetings from Less Than Jake (2011) and Seasons Greetings from Less Than Jake (2012), along with two new tracks recorded during the same sessions. The fivesome hit town on their current tour just in time for a NYE showing. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
