THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15
TITO PUENTE JR. AND FLORIDA ORCHESTRA Namesake scion of legendary Latin music percussionist Tito Puente carries on his father's jazz/mambo legacy with help from the Florida Orchestra. Puente Jr. also performs with the Orchestra on Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg and on Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Hall, Tampa)
THE SPILL CANVAS w/MEG & DIA/PLAYRADIOPLAY/TREATY OF PARIS Rote emo with a pop bent, The Spill Canvas' major label debut, No Really, I'm Fine, came out last month on Sire. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
PREFUSE 73 w/SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS/BLANK BLUE Prefuse 73 is the mostly instrumental project of Guillermo Scott Herren, the hip-hop producer/percussionist who also records as Savath & Savalas, Delarosa and Asora, and Piano Overlord. His current project features a live band performing what has been dubbed an intricate form of dance music that incorporates live instrumentation with myriad electronic effects and sporadic samples. To my ears, it's music to absorb and appreciate for its avant-garde sonics rather than shake a tail feather to. Sounds great on the headphones. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
CAPTURED BY ROBOTS A one-man metal band, San Francisco musician/mad-scientist/bondage freak Jay Vance returns to Ybor City following a performance in April at Crowbar. Unfamiliar with this act? YouTube Vance's off-key it's-cool-in-an-ironic-way cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and dig the visuals. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16
JULIE BLACK w/DAVE EICHENBERGER/EMILY ROFF/JESSIE THOMAS Julie Black's a strong-voiced singer from New Port Richey who offers the kind of smoky jazz ballads that sound real nice in a dimly lighted bar near closing time. (Pro Star Recording, St. Petersburg)
BRER This local Americana trio brings pop and twang together better than most, offering earnest songs that hit the emotional mark without clobbering the listener with melancholy. Check out the title track to the band's new CD, Microwaveable, at myspace.com/breermusic. (Kelly's Pub, Tampa)
SLIGHTLY STOOPID Originally signed to Brad Nowell's Skunk label, Slightly Stoopid is one the first and best of the ever-growing subgenre of Sublime-inspired bands. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS w/ALESANA/THE NUMBER 12 LOOKS LIKE YOU/IDIOT PILOT Denver screamo sextet Drop Dead, Gorgeous skews more metal than emo, with a muscular guitar crunch and machine-gun drumming that's atypical of the genre. The band's sophomore release, Worse than a Fairy Tale, came out in August. There are two shows at the State on Friday. This one starts at 6 p.m. Paul Oakenfold starts at 10 p.m. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
GREY MARKET w/TAILGUNNER JOE & THE EARLS OF SLANDER/NOUS RAPPORT/INERTIA w/MATT BUTCHER/WILL QUINLAN This impressive, eclectic lineup is quality across the board. The duo Grey Market offers a grabby mix of modern rock and electronica, resulting in one of the more distinct sounds on the local scene. Tailgunner Joe & The Earls of Slander are four young men taking their cue straight from the 1960s, delivering neoclassic rock with a gloriously rugged edge. Sarasota's Nous Rapport's moody alt-rock is buoyed by the piercing vocals of frontwoman Katherine Kelly. Sister duo Inertia specializes in delightfully delicate folk tunes augmented by sparse synth beats. Orlando's Matt Butcher and Will Quinlan (Pagan Saints/Diviners/Holy Slow Train) bring their literate, Jay Farrar-style Americana. (Globe Coffee Lounge, St. Petersburg)
MIDNIGHT BOWLERS LEAGUE w/CRYPT CEEPERS/BIG JEF SPECIAL Dig the sound of those old Sun Records: Presley, Perkins, Cash, Lewis? Then go check out Tampa's Midnight Bowlers League, an ace rockabilly band that sounds straight out of 1955. (Crowbar, Ybor)
RADIO-FREE CARMELA AND THE TRANSMITTERS Radio-Free Carmela and the Transmitters gig it up again, building excitement for the upcoming release of their just-waxed new disc, Americana Tourister, set for release Dec. 14. No, we don't want to wait that long to be able to spin the band's first-rate combinations of country, folk and rock, but try to be patient. Maybe we'll be treated to a preview at tonight's show. (Metro Coffee & Wine, Sarasota) —Cooper Levey-Baker
RAIFORD STARKE BAND A longtime presence on the South Florida music scene, Starke has earned raves for his electric band work, his startling unplugged solo shows and his, um, newspaper column. It's the band side of Starke's personality that gets a workout in Bradenton this weekend, when he drops into Aces to share some of his no-tricks blues-rock skillz. (Aces Lounge, Bradenton) —CLB
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17
TRAPT w/FUEL/SUBMERSED/ENDEVERAFTER A pair of rather generic post-grunge bands and a couple of support acts. Trapt first climbed the charts in 2002 with its single "Headstrong" and then enjoyed heavy airplay again last year with "Waiting;" Fuel is best known for the 2000 smash "Hemorrage (In My Hands)." (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
THE WIGGLES One of the top children's bands in the land: They sing, they dance, they wear pirate costumes. There are worse ways to make a living — I guess. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
DEBORAH HARRY The former Blondie lead singer is touring in support of her new solo album, Necessary Evil. Harry's voice sounds much huskier than in her heyday — but not shot — and the production's first-rate, her vocals draped by propulsive beats and clever guitar touches. However, I'm not hearing anything on the new disc as memorable as "Maria," the comeback single she had with Blondie in '99. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa)
YAMOTO DRUMMERS This 13-member cultural percussion and dance ensemble — with male and female members — has been bringing its traditional Japanese rhythms to a global audience for the past 14 years. The skillfully choreographed programs are marked by Japanese Taiko drums of all sizes — the most impressive a monstrous odaiko drum made from an enormous hollowed-out tree trunk. Other traditional instruments, like the stringed banjo-like Shamisen and Japanese flutes and cymbals, are also incorporated into their spirited performances. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —Leilani Polk
JUCIFER w/LEFT IN ASHES/BLOOD BY DAWN/KALAKAI The girlfriend/boyfriend team of Amber Valentine and Ed Livengood, Jucifer is an Athens, Ga., duo that mixes grungy metal with industrial noise and sells it with Valentine's Gothy vocals. Signed to the revamped Capricorn Records (Cake, 311) in the late '90s, Jucifer released one album on the major before settling into indie territory. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
JEFF COFFIN MU'TET A former member of Bela Fleck's Flecktones, saxophonist/composer Jeff Coffin has assembled a taut funk/jazz/experimental ensemble that should play nicely at the jam-friendly Dunedin Brewery. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
SYFUR/RMISERY/THE DOOD/SMEGMA James Taylor fans, stay far, far away: Tonight's gig at Sarasota's Gallery Billiards features more of the same grunt 'n' thrash metal misbehavior. (Gallery Billiards, Sarasota) —CLB
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18
TH' LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS w/THE PINE HILL HAINTS Psychobilly faves (they also do deranged polka numbers) Th' Legendary Shack Shakers just didn't live up to the hype when I saw them at Heatwave. On record, frontman J.D. Wilkes affects a somewhat appealing Delta bluesman growl. In concert, he screams indecipherably and runs around the stage like some asshole given too many Adderalls. At least, that's the show I got at the Cuban Club. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
DOPE w/CROSSBREED Nu-metal also-rans Dope had a hit in 2000 with a gimmicky cover of "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record.)" (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
A TRIBUTE TO MANFREDO FEST The late pianist/composer Manfredo Fest, a Brazilian bossa nova/jazz artist, lived in the Bay area from 1987 until his death in '99. He made a lot of friends around here. An ace ensemble of mostly local players, all of whom worked with Manfredo, gets together to honor him: his son, guitarist Phil Fest, pianist Dale Powers (of Miami), saxophonist Dave Moss, bassist Patrick Bettison and drummer Tom Carabasi. Showtime is 6 p.m. (Gorilla Theatre, Tampa) —ES
THE BISCUIT BURNERS Young coed North Carolina quintet offers faithfully re-created mountain music marked by sweet harmonies and sharp banjo and fiddle playing. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19
HANNAH MONTANA/MILEY CYRUS Far and away the biggest concert attraction around is a 14-year-old girl who performs as herself, Miley Cyrus, and her Disney alter ego, fictional pop star Hannah Montana. How very meta. The music is, of course, frothy pop targeted at tweens. The most interesting aspect of this show? We'll call it Hannah-gate: Advance-sale tickets for the show were grabbed up by scalpers, leaving thousands of desperate moms running up big credit-card tabs. (St. Pete Times Forum) —ES
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20
TORI AMOS This poetic piano woman proved she still has plenty of smart, dramatic pop songs left in her on her ninth album, American Doll Posse, which came out in May. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
DASH RIP ROCK A nationally beloved bar band with strong ties to Skipper's, the power trio has been elating beer-swilling college students, hippies, etc. with its rowdy brand of roots-rock for more than two decades. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21
BLACK KIDS w/POETRY 'N LOTION/THE ALOHA MODEL/CRATE BROTHERS Aestheticized Presents once again brings to the town a killer, relatively unknown band on the cusp of bigger things. Unsigned Jacksonville New Wave revivalists Black Kids were given a glowing review in the Nov. 1 edition of Rolling Stone. The quintet's song "Hit the Heartbreaks," which has been popping up on numerous MP3 blogs, earned three and a half stars in the magazine. Check it out at myspace.com/blackkidsrock. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
MELT BANANA w/MOUNTAIN OV DAWN/CULT RITUAL Highly touted Japanese experimental/noise-rockers Melt Banana were supposed to play here earlier in the year but had to cancel when they got invited to go on the road with none other than Tool. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
