With just a pair of bands on the bill, Saturday's show at Crowbar stands to be the kind of quick, hit it n' quit it kind of affair perfect for the night after Valentine's Day. Southern-fried, electrified country-folk husband and wife duo Shovels & Rope headline, but getting there late and missing a little musical foreplay from Shakey Graves is not advised.
His Facebook page describes the man born Alejandro Rose-Garcia (sexy we know) as a "gentleman from Texas," but there's nothing gentle about his live show, which he manages to pull off solo thanks to a suitcase/kick drum percussion section and masterful fret board picking that makes you wonder what else those fingers might be able to do.
The mind doesn't get much room to wander, however, thanks in part to to a guttural growl of a vocal that makes the boy with a soft face sound like his baby bottle might've been laced with Maker's Mark. He balances the raw power of his voice with a few coos, but we should let this live video (c/o Audiotree) do the rest of the talking.
Shakey Graves opens for Shovels & Rope at Crowbar (1812 N. 18th St., Ybor City) this Sat., Feb. 15. Cover is $15-$18, and doors are at 9 p.m. More info at bmetampa.com.
Watch Rose-Garcia (the story about how he got his stage name is worth a blog post by itself) work through five songs below. Stream the entirety of his debut LP, Roll The Bones, at Bandcamp.
