Rising Down w/Bangarang/Outside Atlas/Ketu On their new LP (Harmony and Disconnect, released in April), Tampa four-piece Rising Down roll their love of Incubus, Muse and Hendrix into 45-minutes of alternative rock that is mathy (“Feast of Flowers”) and quiet (“The Real You”) at times, but mostly rife with proggy riffs and careening vocals (“Things,” “LG). Instrumental trio Ketu opens the show along with rap-rock quintet Outside Atlas and CL-favorite Bangarang. (Crowbar, Ybor City) INFO
Cassady w/DieAlps!/Old Bones What happens when the brains behind Orlando psych-folk outfit Pasty Cline joins up with Kimmy Drake and Skyler Black from Hollywood, Florida surf-punks Beach Day? No one really knows yet, but Friday is a chance to find out when the lineup (playing under the Cassady moniker) play Ybor City. If you’re wondering, yes the name is inspired by Neal, Jack Kerouac’s famous On The Road muse. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) INFO
Sleeping Pills Record Release w/Burnt Hair/Johnny Mile and the Kilometers/Poster Last week CL profiled Tampa/Lakeland pups Poster, who just released a new LP, Elias is a Nice Guy. This night, however belongs to Sleeping Pills. At this free show, the Tampa punks with a new wave bend release a new album of their own (self-titled and recorded with Merchandise frontman Carson Cox). The eight track LP features "No Home For the Soul," a song fueled by the desperation of homelessness frontman Phil Taylor experienced during a couch surfing stint. Listen to it below and call your local record store to see if they'll carry the album on vinyl. Digital copies can be ordered via Bandcamp. (The Bends, St. Petersburg) INFO
HeRobust w/Blunts & Blondes/$Smgglr/Winta Hayden Kramer gets co-signs from a bevy of EDM patriarchs like Tiesto, Bassnectar and Pretty Lights, but the producer better known as HeRobust isn’t resting on any laurels. A new-ish EP (I’m Aloud, released in January via Mad Decent) sounds like a graduation project from a trap & bass music finishing school, and while many electronic music fans have started to grow tired of the mechanized sound guys like Kramer put to tape, the crowds at Amphitheatre’s takeover the Ritz seem to indicate that there will always be an audience for it. (The Ritz, Ybor City) INFO
Martina McBride w/High Valley/Hailey Whitters Last week on NBC’s The Voice, former child star Billy Gilman performed a kind of campy, mostly good cover of Martina McBride’s “Anyway,” and while that might not be the cut to peg McBride’s career on, the tribute is a good indication of the influence she’s had on pop music. The 50-year-old country star comes to Clearwater on Friday in support of a new album Reckless. Expect her to do a lot from the record, but mostly come ready to hear her many hits (“Valentine,” “All My Ex’s Live In Texas”). Depending on your tolerance for Christmas music, keep your fingers crossed for some stuff from McBride’s 2013 LP of holiday classics. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) INFO
Five Finger Death Punch w/Shinedown/Sixx:A.M./As Lions Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody is feeling the Kanye-itis these days after cutting a Massachusetts show short because “his mother was passing along.” Fans later learned the no one was actually dying, and that the 36-year-old Moody (who has had his share of alcohol-related problems) would be dismissed from the tour to deal with what’s being described as “mental exhaustion.” Phil Labonte, who normally fronts metal five-piece All That Remains, has been tapped to take Moody’s place, and if fans are wondering whether or not he’s fit for the job, then consider the fact that Labonte did the same thing for metalcore heavyweights Killswitch Engage when their own frontman Howard Jones left a tour in 2010. Homestate boys Shinedown co-headline this show and will support a 2015 LP, Threat to Survival. (Amalie Arena, Tampa) INFO
Rittz w/Jarren Benton In a June interview, Georgia emcee Ritzz talked about not being able to take care of himself properly on tour. “We go to sleep around 6 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. [and wake] up at 11 a.m. in a bunk. So you're tired.” he said. “I need to start copying some of the guys on the tour because I’m not doing it right.” It’s been more than half a decade since Ritzz first broke through after appearing on Yelawolf's 2010 track “Box Chevy,” and fans are still hyped on his 2011 mixtape White Jesus, but expect the wild-haired rapper to do a lot of stuff from a band new album, Top of the Line, which he released in May. A fellow Peach State rhyme-spitter, Jarren Benton, opens the show. (Orpheum, Ybor City) INFO
Mistletoe Show w/The Fray/Blue October/Colbie Caillat/Joshua Radin Amalie Arena’s gigantic Jingle Ball show is slated to happen next week, but Mix 100.7 FM is scaling things down a bit for a more intimate affair at the Mahaffey where The Fray will most likely worth through the cuts on a new greatest hits compilation, Through the Years. Malibu pop-songwriter Colbie Caillat recently re-located to Nashville, so it’ll be interesting to see if her new hometown has had any influence on the live interpretations of her latest LP, The Malibu Sessions. The name Joshua Radin might be less familiar to fans, but most everyone in attendance on Friday has most likely heard the 42-year-olds songs on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill and Cougar Town. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) INFO
Florida Orchestra Pops Series: Holiday Pops You don’t have to be a classical music buff to enjoy this one as the Florida Orchestra under the direction of Jeff Tyzik joins forces with vocalist Doug LaBrecque for performances of holiday classics like “Sleigh Ride,” “White Christmas” and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Carol of the Bells.” The weekend’s first performances happen in Tampa like always, but there are two matinees (2 p.m. Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Pete and 2 p.m. at Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall on Sunday) for those who would rather spend their evenings actually watching chestnuts roast on their own open fires. More information is available at floridaorchestra.org. (Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa) INFO
Dark Matter CD Release Show w/War of Thrones/Avenging Benji/Dolt/The Dood Dark Matter celebrate the release of a new CD buoyed by “Color of Pain,” a heavy metal rallying cry against the atrocities of illegal dog fighting. Tampa’s War of Thrones open alongside the appropriately named Avenging Benji, Dolt and The Dood. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) INFO
ALSO PLAYING
Largo High School Madrigals Christmas Concert (Largo Public Library, Largo) INFO
Lauren Lane w/Brian Busto/See Shellz/Glen S (The Castle, Ybor City) INFO
Blood on the Dance Floor w/Tear Out the Heart/Vanity Strikes/Justin Symbol (The Local 662, St. Petersburg) INFO
Jazz With Jim Holiday Concert (Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa) INFO
Shakespeare at the Keyboard w/Jeffrey Swann (St. Petersburg College Music Center, St. Petersburg) INFO
Demi Nova w/Nova Cane/Mighty Jai/Siobhan Monique (BARat548, St. Petersburg) INFO
The Juanjamon Band (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) INFO
Sara Rose Band (Ella's Americana Folk Art Café, Tampa) INFO
Loose Talk/Ninehorn/Geri X/Oxford Noland (Fubar, St. Petersburg) INFO
B-Zeik w/Rizzy/Lo Life Clique/Yzm/Yung Toon/Tyrell Golden/Skarz (The Venture Compound, St. Petersburg) INFO
