THURSDAY, APRIL 25
The Wailers w/Trinity 7 The band that backed Bob Marley before he passed only has one member remaining who actually played with the reggae icon: bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett. The seven-piece Wailers also encompasses his son, organist Aston Jr., longtime keysmith Keith Sterling (The Upsetters, Soul Syndicate), and channeling Bob on lead vocals since 2010, Jamaica native artist Dwayne Anglin. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Public Speaking w/DC9V/Coruscate/Article 47 Jason Anthony Harris leads Brooklyn-based ensemble Public Speaking, in which he layers hiccupping found sounds with vocal splices, percussive texture, warped and processed sonics, and a bright, appealing, and sometimes appealingly strange collision of instrumentation (synths, vocals, piano, organ, strings, brass, guitar) that adds up to a sound two parts effusive experimental pop, one part darker-tinged art rock and all parts very, very intriguing. (Mojo Books & Music, Tampa)
Renaissance This British prog rock-lite ensemble with folk and symphonic tendencies didn’t gain much traction in the US during their 1970s heyday, but precise trilling vocalist Annie Haslam had led the band through some hits in the UK (“Northern Lights” was their highest-selling single), and critical acclaim here for albums like 1975’s Scheherazade and Other Stories keeps bringing Renaissance back for more. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
FRIDAY, APRIL 26
M.C. Trachiotomy/Public Speaking/Lovebrrd/Leveret/The Explanations Point/John Freda A co-headline bill featuring two diverse avant acts — Brooklyn-based Public Speaking (see Thursday for more info), and M.C. Trachiotomy (Trach for short), the persona adopted by New Orleans Ninth Ward survivor Pavlo J. Poggi, who builds a freaky lo-fi electro-psychedelic palette and offers rambling growl-barked rhymes and schitzo spoken word commentary over it. Other experimental acts round out this Pangea Project bill. (The Venture Compound, St. Petersburg)
Delta Heavy Ben Hall and Simon James are the London producers behind Delta Heavy, and their epic electronic build up-break downs are filled with whirring, womping, bumping and fizzing lowend heaviness, while high-frequency samples bounce, ring, whistle and rubberband all around it, sometimes with vocals spliced in and often with an ‘80s-vibing appeal. (Amphitheatre, Ybor City)
Soilwork w/Jeff Loomis/Blackguard/The Browning/Wretched Nuclear Blast-repped leaders of Swedish melodic death metal, Soilwork, hit town on the heels of issuing The Living Infinite. Their ninth studio effort is a double LP minus founding guitarist Peter Wichers, who left the band for the second time in 2012. The Living Infinite has still earned some positive press. According to Sputnickmusic.com, “Soilwork has simultaneously stepped back to their past while maintaining their current sound, but they have also diversified their formula more than ever before — and they did so without a single filler track.” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
98 Rock Fest w/Alice in Chains/Stone Sour/Three Days Grace/Bullet For My Valentine/more The mainstream rock station’s annual multi-band blow-out rises above last year’s shitshow of headliners (Shinedown, Evanescence, P.O.D.) into more acceptable, if not totally relevant territory. Alice in Chains has been touring without late founding frontman Layne Staley for many years now; Jerry Cantrell and Co. filled in his spot quite adequately with a dude whose gritty-brassy bellow sounds a lot like Staley’s, though William DuVall has his own sort of dynamism as he revealed on 2009’s Black Gives Way to Blue. Also of note: Iowa alt-metal outfit Stone Sour (“Bother”), Canadian alt-rock trio Three Days Grace (“I Hate Everything About You”) and Bullet For My Valentine, a heavy metal four-piece from Wales that hasn’t spent much time on the U.S. charts but boasts seven No. 1 hits in the UK beginning with 2005’s “4 Words (To Choke Upon).” (Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa)
Dr. Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys w/Alison Brown Quartet Bluegrass elder statesmen Dr. Ralph Stanley might be 86 years old, but he can still pick and pluck 5-string clawhammer-style banjo as well as anyone who has seven decades of playing experience. He also maintains a rather active touring schedule and continues to record; last year, he delivered two volumes of Old Songs & Ballads, which has Stanley performing traditional numbers he loved most growing up in old Appalachia Virginia, from “Man of Constant Sorrow” to “Pretty Polly.” (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
No Rave Fridays: Lazy Magnet/Pro Bro Gold More Records and THX Mgmt kick off a new bi-monthly series showcasing obscure, sub-underground electronic dance music sounds — cold wave, old school industrial, minimal techno, new beat, synth pop, italo and more. Featured guest Lazy Magnet (real name Jeremy Harris) is known for his prolific output and versatile range of sonic experimentation. The jams begin at midnight. (The Social, Ybor City)
Spam Allstars w/Locos Por Juana It’s been a longer-than-normal stretch between Spam Allstars’ Tampa gigs. The Miami eight-piece used to bring the dance party to town every six weeks or so, but the last time they played Crowbar was May of 2012. Where have they been? Busy, working their hometown and recording a sixth album in DJ Le Spam’s City of Progress studio, to be self-released on the band’s own Spamusica imprint sometime later this year. First single “Ruby Carat” finds the Allstars up to their usual “electronic descarga” fusion of Latin music, funk, hip-hop, and dub, the bright interplay of flute, trumpet, trombone and sax carried over an easy swaying timbales-driven groove complemented by the expertly-placed string samples of turntablist/producer Le Spam. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
