THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29
Brain Cancer Benefit w/Perpetual Groove/Black Taxi/McAlister Drive Last October, local mom Suzanne Ciani went for a medical exam to find out the source of consistent headaches that left her disoriented and troubled her family. An MRI turned up alarming news: Suzanne had an aggressive form of brain cancer. She underwent emergency surgery to remove several tumors, endured rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and recently returned to the hospital for neurosurgery in response to the discovery of additional growths. The Suzanne Ciani Brain Cancer Foundation was founded this year, its goal to send her for treatment at the Gerson Center in Mexico and help others who’ve had their lives impacted by brain cancer. Son Johnny has booked top-notch acts for the second concert he’s organized to benefit the foundation. NYC’s eclectic rock foursome Black Taxi and New England Americana-pop purveyors McAlister Drive warm up the stage for headliners Perpetual Groove, an Athens quartet that blends Southern rock, funk, jazzy improvisation and jamtronica, and laces it with plenty of synth loops and liquid melodic guitar solos. Rock out for a great cause this holiday season and treasure those closest to your heart. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) —Brian Frederick & Julie Garisto
Erick Morillo w/Pedro M. Nano Remember 1993 dancehall-infused house music anthem “I Like to Move It,” with Trinidad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman spouting ragga style verses over big block-busting beats as created by Columbian-American producer/DJ Erick Morillo? (Will.I.Am covered it for the Madagascar films.) Back then, Morillo was one-half of Reel to Real, and has assumed a number of pseudonyms since. These days, he’s embraced his born identity and spreads his dance music jams to audiences far and wide. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30
Blast Friday w/Little River Band This month’s edition of Blast Friday — the downtown Clearwater street fair and party — features a concert by easy going Aussie rockers Little River Band. The fivesome formed in the mid-1970s and is considered rather integral to the musical landscape of their home country, though their highest charting hit in the U.S. was 1977’s “Reminiscing,” identified by BMI as one of the most frequently played songs in the history of American radio, with more than four million plays. (Cleveland Street, downtown Clearwater)
Zach Deputy w/Kevin Miso Deputy is not only a one-man band, but a one-man party machine, layering and looping dance-inducing instrumentals on guitar, drum pads and a mess of sonic gear scattered around him, singing over his fusion of hip-hop, rock, funk, gospel, Caribbean music and electronica in a soulful howl that hits falsetto highs — and he beat-boxes, too. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
DrFameus w/Sir Charles Allen Aucoin landed the gig as drummer of Disco Biscuits in 2005, but the jamtronica band’s relentless touring schedule has only recently let up enough that Aucoin can pursue his solo sonic interests as DrFameus. He’s the only member — beat-keeper and producer, mixing live drums with pads, samples and laptop jams to arrive at his mix of heady electronica, dubstep, breakbeats, drum ‘n’ bass and house/techno music. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Resinated CD Release Party w/SowFlo/Khora/Mighty Mongo/Danfield Gulfster.com and Jannus present this EP release party and tour kick-off for Resinated, a fresh (barely two-year-old) St. Pete funk and groove-flecked reggae rock four-piece made up of singer/guitarist Kenny Mullins, bassist Justin Runfola, drummer Joshua Hasak and Cameron Willinger on trumpet, melodica and backing vocals. Their repertoire is of the swaying, brass-blazed, party vibing sort, and touches on topics like getting high (like first single “Roll Me Up”), peacefulness and unity, and being yourself. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
The Winter Sounds CD Release Show w/Sunbears! The most recent band to be brought into the New Granada Records fold is The Winter Sounds, currently based in New Orleans and on the road in support of their just-released debut on the Tampa label, Runner. Produced by Scott Solter (Spoon, St. Vincent), the album is a triumphant high-octane blend of New Wave synths and affected vocals, post-punk rhythms and catchy electro pop hooks. According to frontman/lead wailer/lyricist Patrick Keenan, “Each song represents a lost belief or some failed ambition. But, within each one there are personal realizations and revelations.” Similarly anthemic psych pop twosome Sunbears!, from Jacksonville, round out the night’s uplifting musical festivities. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1
Punks for Pups Rescue Benefit w/DRS/Quitled Fish/Sibyls/Dead Cat Lounge/Free Market Anarchists/Hellbent/Car Bomb Dave/Cash for Soul Get your animal aid on and (maybe) take home a new friend at Punks for Pups rescue benefit. A pre-show catered meet-and-greet with adoptable doggies kicks off at 4:30 p.m. with tunes by DJ Brad Brains and acoustic sets by Cash For Soul and Car Bomb Dave (of Car Bomb Driver). Beer for patrons and pups (yes, you read right) until 8 p.m., at which point the noisy punk rock starts and all the doggies have to go home. The $5 admission and any other donations collected throughout the night go directly to Hoodratz Animal Rescue and Pit Bull Happenings Rescue. (Fubar, St. Petersburg)
Grandpa’s Cough Medicine w/Fil Pate Delivering a blend of foot stompin’ bluegrass and outlaw country seasoned with hillbilly Americana and thrashing metal is Atlantic Beach, Fla. three-piece Grandpa’s Cough Medicine. The rugged drawling vocals of fast flat-picking leader Brett Bass (acoustic guitar, dobro) is paired with the twangy higher register harmonies of upright bassist Jon Murphy, their string interplay joined by the five-string finger-picking mastery of Mike “Banjo Boy” Coker. Their songs tell stories of murder, mayhem, love and betrayal, boozin’, crooked cops, doing time, and the blue collar folks who make our little world go ‘round. The cheeky title track off just-released sophomore album, The Murder Chord, is about a boy who discovers heavy metal and slaughters his family (“Soon the songs, they began to change him, relentless drums with blazing double bass / and the twin attack of a rabid thrash guitar with solos that would cause a melted face”), while in “Julianne,” the narrator is a Clyde deserted by his Bonnie and paying for their crimes on death row: “And I wonder if she ever really cared for me at all, or was I nothing more than just a guy to take the fall / I surely wanted her and I became her wanted man, I’d kill and die for my Julianne” (which he does, ultimately). The trio also plays 8th Avenue Pub in Safety Harbor on Friday. (Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg)
Charliepalooza: Charlie Daniels Angelus Country Concert Now in its 22nd year, the Charlie Daniels-hosted charity event to benefit The Angelus — a Hudson-based home for the severely handicapped — kicks off on Thursday at Hard Rock with a blackjack tourney and a jam session featuring Daniels and TBA guests, while the celebrity golf classic follows at Hunter’s Green Country Club on Friday. Everything culminates at Dallas Bull on Saturday with Charliepalooza, the official concert part of the three-day event, which finds the fiddling extraordinaire joined by his regular band in a headlining performance of Southern fried blues-fused country music. Support by Georgia country rockers Confederate Railroad and Nashville duo LoCash Cowboys. (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
emma’s revolution Pete Seeger-approved acoustic guitar-toting vocal harmonizing roots-folk songstresses Pat Humphries and Sandy O. are emma’s revolution, an activist duo who’ve appeared at their fair share of protests and rallies over the past eight years. emma’s revolution yields a regular harvest of material reflecting on relevant issues, like the song about the plight of illegal immigrants off their 2004 debut that earned them the John Lennon Songwriting Contest grand prize, “If I Give Your Name,” and more recently, “Take Your Vagina to the RNC!” written in response to Reps. Lisa Brown and Barb Bynum getting silenced for saying the “V” word in the Michigan House of Representatives. (Craftsmen House Gallery, St. Petersburg)
Napalm Death w/Municipal Waste/Exhumed/Speedwolf Hailing from England and credited with laying the groundwork for the entire grindcore genre is Napalm Death, established in 1981 and known for mixing speed, punk and death metal in their punchy record-setting odes (they hold the Guinness World Record for shortest song ever recorded with the 1987 one-second “You Suffer”), which are marked by fast tempos, deep gutt-wrenching vocals and sociopolitical commentary. None of the original members remain but the current lineup led by Mark “Barney” Greenway has been together since 1997 and released their 15th record, Utilitarian, this year. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
An Evening with Richard Marx The balladeer with deep brown eyes soft-rocked his way through the late 1980s with a string of amorous hits. Though he hasn’t recorded much new material or been on the charts too much lately, he still keeps rather active. In June, Marx released a live concert CD/DVD, A Night Out With Friends, and followed it with a holiday LP, Christmas Spirit, in October; the album includes five tracks off his 2011 Christmas EP along with eight other seasonal cuts, among them, “Little Drummer Boy,” “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” “White Christmas” and “Alleluia.” He also manages a healthy tour schedule and plays two shows at Capitol Theatre, this Saturday night set, and another on Tuesday. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)
Microgroove One-Year Anniversary Party w/The Winter Sounds/Alexander Charos/Feral Babies/Criminal Culture/Rose Quartz Hard to believe it’s been a year since Microgroove — currently owned and operated by former Vinyl Feverite/New Granada Records man with the plan, Keith Ulrey — started serving the public with a fine and tasteful array of music retail, hosting scattered live performances, and bringing added indie street cred to that particular stretch of North Florida Avenue already brightened up by The Independent and Cappy’s. To mark the occasion, Microgroove stages a storewide 10 percent off sale and presents music between 1 and 5 p.m.; performers include New Orleans-based synth rockers The Winter Sounds, in town for a CD release show occurring the night before, Alexander Charos (of Alexander & The Grapes), punk rock faves Feral Babies, self-styled ‘posi-punks’ Criminal Culture, and Rose Quartz, the latest experimental project of indie/DIY songstress/performance artist Brigid Oschorn. (Microgroove, Tampa)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2
Lee Fields & The Expressions w/Sh-Booms “When I come out on stage, what I try to achieve, is to take people on a musical excursion … I want to get them to a totally, totally euphoric state of mind,” Lee Fields explained when I spoke to him earlier this year prior to his stop at Gasparilla Music Festival. And his performance there proved he’s a showman indeed, his backing band, The Expressions, warming up the crowd with a funky instrumental intro before Fields made his grand entrance clad in a retro white suit. He performed cuts off his two most recent albums of warm vintage R&B, soul and funk, 2009’s My World and this year’s Faithful Man, collar loose as he crooned his tender serenades and expelled positive uplifting energy in generous bouts, voicing his feelings of love and appreciation unabashedly and making everyone who witnessed his set feel just great. I’m sure many of us can’t wait to see him in action again amid the cozier Crowbar confines. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Corey Christiansen Quartet Tampa Jazz Club welcomes Corey Christiansen, a one-time USF instructor, current educator at Indiana and Utah State universities, and jazz guitarist with a clean gliding tone and thoughtful phrasing. He returns to the Bay area for a reunion performance with former colleagues Jack Wilkins (sax), Mark Neuenschwander (bass), and Ian Goodman (drums). (HCC-Ybor Mainstage Theater, Ybor City)
Wiz Khalifa w/Juicy J/Chevy Woods/Lola Monroe/Tuki Carter/Berner A busy young ganja-loving emcee with his own named grade of Kush grown specially to support his religiously practiced habit, Wiz Khalifa issued several well-regarded mixtapes between 2005 and 2012 that earned him more acclaim than his actual formal studio LPs, though 2011’s Rolling Papers went gold and first single “Black and Yellow” was one of the highest selling hip-hop songs of 2010. Wiz Kahlifa is set to follow in the footsteps of Snoop Dogg with his hazy clever style and headline-making track record for possession; the two even starred in a straight-to-DVD stoner comedy (Mac & Devin Go to High School) and produced its soundtrack last year. His fourth studio album and second under Atlantic, O.N.I.F.C. (an acronym for ‘Only Nigga in First Class’ or edited for less mature audiences, ‘One Night in First Class’), hits shelves Tuesday. (USF Sun Dome, Tampa)
Mix 100.7 Acoustic Christmas Show w/Gavin DeGraw and Tristan Prettyman Amid showing off his moves on Dancing with the Stars and recording a duet with Colbie Caillat for an upcoming film based on a Nicholas Sparks book, blue-eyed soulful piano pop rocker Gavin DeGraw continues his time on the road, right now backing a new CD/DVD release, Sweeter Live, featuring an August performance from his recent sold-out summer tour with Caillat and supporting 2011 fourth studio album, Sweeter. Joining him on the bill for the Mix 100.7 Acoustic Christmas show is model/surfer-turned-folk pop songstress Tristan Prettyman, who returned this year from a four-year recording hiatus — which found her traveling the globe, undergoing vocal cord surgery, ending an engagement, and questioning whether she even wanted to be a musician at all — with a fourth album, Cedar + Gold, produced by Greg Wells (Adele, Katy Perry). (Hard Rock Café, Tampa)
Alan Jackson Fair-haired and ‘stached country music vet Alan Jackson has been trucking for 23 years, winning display cases full of awards (the last in 2011 with Zac Brown Band for “As She’s Walking Away”), and recording a steady river of studio LPs. The most recent, Thirty Miles West, is his 17th but first on his Alan’s Country Records label, a joint venture with EMI Nashville. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Country Charts and No. 2 on the Billboard 200. (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheater, Tampa)
Raw Oyster Cult This Crescent City supergroup featuring The Radiators’ guitarist/gruff-voiced singer Dave Malone, guitarist Camile Baudoin and drummer/percussionist Frank Bua, Jr., Hammond B3 keysman/vocalist John “Papa” Gros of Papa Grows Funk, and Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes bassist Dave Pomerlau makes a rare appearance outside their New Orleans hometown for an Ybor gig of their funky swinging R&B and bayou-soaked blues grooves. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Rock the Lens w/Arrested Development WOW St. Petersburg — a open forum dedicated to the promotion, completion and enjoyment of the pending "Lens" Pier project — stages this awareness-raising event for its cause, at which the organization reveals the latest developments and welcomes Atlanta alt hip-hop group Arrested Development to perform. Free tickets available at various St. Pete businesses; more info at wowstpete.com. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 3
Eddie Vedder Earlier this year, the much-anticipated (sold-out) solo concert by Pearl Jam’s enigmatic force-of-nature frontman, Eddie Vedder, was canceled along with the rest of the dates on his 15-city solo tour because of nerve damage to his right arm. He’s back in working shape and has scheduled not one but two make-up performances at the Hall (on Monday and Tuesday night) in support of his Grammy-nominated sophomore outing of originals and covers, Ukulele Songs, and live concert DVD, Water on the Road, which tracks his 2008 solo tour. Special guest Glen Hansard (The Swell Season) joins Vedder on the road. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4
Dan Bern The wry lightly Dylanesque modern folk singer, songwriter and guitarist issued two albums of new material this year: Doubleheader, 18 odes dedicated to his boyhood obsession and favorite subject, baseball; and a more traditional Bern effort, Drifters, filled out by band members from LA collective Common Rotation on banjo, dobro and trumpet. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg)
Day Joy/El Cantador Another outfit born from the ashes of Orlando’s Introduction to Sunshine that seems to be generating a buzz by serving small tastes of music before delivering the main course is Day Joy. Since hitting the scene earlier this year, the quintet has played the odd live dates and issued a two-song Animal Noise EP that introduced their sound — dreamy folk pop with surreal-sweet heart-clenching vocal harmonies floating over a luscious mix of light percussion, ukulele, banjo, synthesizers and guitar — to a wider listening audience, and the first single and title track off forthcoming full-length, Got To Sleep, Mess (due in early 2013 via small plates records), has gotten the thumbs-ups from blogs like I Guess I’m Floating and Pretty Much Amazing. Joining them on this date is El Cantador, a three-piece hailing from Alabama, their tight grooving electro rock built on bouncy synths, wailing electric guitars, bumpin’ bass and steady danceable rhythms. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5
BBQ Wednesday Series w/Water Liars This evening’s edition of free musical digestion is brought to you by Water Liars. The fledgling twosome from Missouri (singer-guitarist Justin Kinkel-Schuster and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bryant) only got together in 2011, but their 2012 full-length debut, Phantom Limb (Misra Records), has already stockpiled glowing recommendations from the likes of NPR (which gave them a Song of the Day nod), Paste magazine ad The Onion’s AV Club for their mix of gentle alt-folk and loose swaying rock. Opening track “$100” shifts from sludgy crawl to easy drive marked by choral vocal harmonies and a refrain that devolves back to the slower reverb-coated fuzz of the opening, while “Dog Eaten” reveals Water Liars’ gorgeously tender side with sweet earnest vocals and simplistic heartsick lyrics piped over acoustic guitar. For fans of Iron & Wine. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Chris Cagle A make-up date for Chris Cagle’s canceled October stop. The high and sweet-toned country music artist has five studio LPs under his belt; two of those are Billboard Country chart toppers and the most recent, Back in the Saddle, is his first album since leaving Capitol Nashville to go the indie route. (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
Tyler Ward w/Carl Dylan Denver singer-songwriter Tyler Ward is the latest to make the growing list of YouTube success stories. He started out posting videos of original songs along with covers by artists like Adele, Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber on the video site, and has apparently turned down multiple record deals because he makes enough bread via his partnership with YouTube to continuing releasing his music independently. (His page currently has upwards of 1 million subscribers and more than 311 million views overall.) In September, he released half of his forthcoming debut, Hello.Love.Heartbreak, on iTunes and 12 hours later, it had already reached No. 1 on the Singer-Songwriter charts. The full album hits in February. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
