THURSDAY, sept. 21
SICK OF IT ALL/THE WARRIORS/THE AUTUMN OFFERING/DEAD HEARTS Sick of It All may not have invented the first wave of metallic-crossover NYC hardcore, but they've pretty much defined it for 20 years now. This anniversary outing — and introduction to new album Death to Tyrants — brings California SOIA acolytes The Warriors, new-school Daytona thrash/doom/metalcore unit The Autumn Offering, and Buffalo, N.Y.'s Dead Hearts, which splits the difference between the two generations of "aaarrrrggghhh." (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
BEFORE DAWN/KINGS OF THE HIGHWAY/HIPNAUTICA Pinellas Park's only Gothic sushi joint continues it run of national shows with this gig. Before Dawn hails from Austin, but has roots on both coasts of Florida; the group's comparatively light version of New Romantic/retro-Wave fare is, in all honesty, nothing special. Port St. Lucie's Kings of the Highway play a fairly interesting, bass-driven blend of darkwave rock and pop, while another Austin project, Hipnautica, provides the most synth-driven — and immediately gratifying — throwback sounds on this bill. Before Dawn and Hipnautica will also make a stop at Sarasota's Tavern on Main tomorrow night. (Café Tsunami, Pinellas Park/Tavern on Main, Sarasota)
THE CASUAL FIASCO From Burlington, Vt., the heavily reggae-accented groove-pop act The Casual Fiasco cut its teeth amid the burgeoning Northeastern jam scene before settling into a touring cycle that saw it log 200 shows up and down the coast in less than a year. The Fiasco is in the midst of its second jaunt, and tonight brings its crisp, danceable sound to Ybor City club Prana. Pretty good stuff. (Prana, Ybor City)
NEW ROMAN TIMES/MODERN SKIRTS/THE LAKE AUDITION/GREYMARKET Yeah, yeah, we pimp Orlando's New Roman Times every time they come down here. It's because the group totally brings it live, stupid. This time around, there's a value-added bonus in the form of top-notch Athens sophistipop combo Modern Skirts, as well as unique local post-rock units Greymarket and The Lake Audition. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 22
THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT w/THE HORRORPOPS Look, I'm as sick of writing the same glowing words about the venerable Rev and his twisted punkabilly trio every time they come to town as you are of reading them. But I just saw 'em, AGAIN, a couple of weeks back in Chicago, and they completely slew — AGAIN. Always a good time, and always highly recommended. So is the sexy, catchy, upright-bass-thumping Danish rockabilly outfit The Horrorpops. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
RUSTED ROOT w/TREVOR HALL While mid-'90s college-rock outfits were applying the Grateful Dead's loose, trippy eclecticisim to traditional folk- and pop-music styles, Pittsburgh's Rusted Root was blending it with soulful rock and rhythms from around the world. The band is apparently back from a hiatus during which founder/vocalist Michael Glabicki stretched his solo-performing muscles, and mounts a two-night stand at Jannus with a little help from singer-songwriter Trevor Hall, who plies a more mainstream-friendly strum-pop style. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
TRACY LAWRENCE Dallas Bull brings another in a string of impressive mainstream-country names to its relatively intimate environs. The platinum-selling Lawrence stirred a little gritty honky-tonk into his pop-C&W to stay at or near the top of the charts for most of the '90s; his hits include "Alibis," "If The Good Die Young," "Texas Tornado" and "As Any Fool Can See." (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
THE LEE BOYS This Orlando-based group of kinfolk specializes in the gospel subgenre known as sacred steel — a variation of Southern black gospel that showcases the pedal steel guitar. This is no weepy country stuff, though; The Lee Boys and their ilk make the steel snarl. (Skipper's Smokehouse) —Eric Snider
HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL/GASOLINE HEART/MIKE DUNN AND THE KINGS OF NEW ENGLAND/MILITARY JUNIOR A wholesome break from whiplash-metal, this alt-country lineup at Rockerfellas is a winner from top to bottom. Have Gun is the much-celebrated solo side project of Chase Theory singer Matt Burke. Gasoline Heart is a rough 'n' ready whiskey-rock band from Winter Park, which is also the hometown of Mike Dunn, who brings a similar sort of noise. St. Pete's Military Junior kicks things off. Even if you happen to not like good music, this show is worth supporting for the sheer fact that Rockerfellas is trying to branch out without watering down the rock. (Rockerfellas, Bradenton) —Cooper Levey-Baker
HARBOR CLUB ANNUAL FALL FESTIVAL: A SALUTE TO JOHN COLTRANE Well, I'm all for a salute to John Coltrane, the saxophonist/composer who died in 1967 and was so important that jazz is still considered to be in the post-Coltrane era, which is to say that no figure has come along to eclipse his towering shadow. That said, a salute to John Coltrane requires a considerable amount of talent and imagination, or the salute will be a pallid one. Featured acts on this show are Dwayne White with Quadrivium, and guests Denise Moore, Rose Bilal and Niki Barnes. I couldn't dig up much information on these artists; White is a trumpeter affiliated with the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association, Moore is linked to smooth jazz and Bilal is a singer and actor who's worked in nostalgia revues. As for their ability to viably salute John Coltrane, let's just say I'm a tad incredulous. (Harbor Club, Sulfur Springs) —ES
SATURDAY, SEPT. 23
RICK SPRINGFIELD/LOVERBOY/EDDIE MONEY/SCANDAL This slate of once incredibly high-profile blasts from the past comes courtesy of — who else? — VH-1. While every single one of these artists appears at least quasi-groan-worthy in today's light, every single one of them also produced at least a couple of tunes catchy enough that you still crank 'em up when they come on the radio. "Jessie's Girl?" "Workin' for the Weekend?" "Two Tickets to Paradise?" "Goodbye to You?" Don't even argue. But where the hell are my beloved Motels? (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
STYX/FOREIGNER/FOGHAT If your yen for the '80s is the kind that actually stretches back into the '70s, forget Ruth Eckerd; Ford Amp is the place for you to be. While Foghat peaked in '75 with "Slow Ride," the two headliners rode quite a ways into the next decade on the strength of over-the-top concepts and theatrics and moody faux-soul, respectively. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
JIMMY LAFAVE What? A concert by Austin roots singer-songwriter LaFave, at the Skipperdome, that isn't a benefit for WMNF? Laura, honey, get me some smelling salts, please — I think I'm gonna swoon. No, seriously, let Skipper's have its own damn fun; this is the 'dome's own 26th birthday bash, and the bar/restaurant deserves some barn-burning action in its honor. Support comes courtesy of longtime Skipper's faves Ronny Elliott and Sawgrass Flats. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
CHRIS NORMAN ENSEMBLE Norman is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from Nova Scotia who, in addition to his efforts as an educator, sings and plays flute and bagpipes in this Celtic-grounded yet eclectic quartet. The ensemble's performances draw lines between traditional Emerald Isle sounds and their mainland-European precursors and relations, as well as those taken back and forth to Canada's northeastern maritime cultures. (Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, Tarpon Springs)
PAUL J. WATKINS CD RELEASE PARTY Local songwriter Watkins celebrates the birth of his fourth disc, Drive. If his previous three releases are any indication, Drive will be an extremely eclectic affair — he's been known to dabble in everything from rap-metal to folk to techno. The Venue Theater & Actors Studio is located in Mainlands Plaza at 9125 U.S. 19 N., just north of Pinellas Park. (Venue Theater & Actors Studio, Pinellas Park)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 24
MASON JENNINGS w/JENNIFER O'CONNOR Visceral, poetic and political singer-songwriter Jennings started out playing coffeehouses in Minneapolis, and over the course of four albums built a committed underground fan base through touring and word-of-mouth. He was the first artist signed to Modest Mouse principal Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace imprint, and released Boneclouds, his first CD for that label and fifth overall, last May. He's joined by former Tampa Bay resident Jennifer O'Connor, who for some reason preferred running off to New York and becoming a talented artist and recording for cred-heavy Matador Records to staying around here and working at Vinyl Fever. Go figure. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
FOURPLAY The smooth-jazz supergroup includes keyboardist Bob James (who scored a hit in the '70s with "Theme From Taxi"), guitarist Larry Carlton (who played several of those great Steely Dan solos and made some hard-hitting jazz-rock fusion albums in the late '70s/early '80s), ubiquitous bassist Nathan East and tasty drummer Harvey Mason. Despite having quite a bit of potential firepower in the group, Fourplay, in its recordings at least, keeps it pretty neat and manicured. (Tampa Theatre) —ES
MONDAY, SEPT. 25
DEPECHE MODE FILM SCREENING If you've ever suffered through those dreadful 20 minutes before the flick you came to see hits the screen, you'll know that Sarasota's Hollywood 20 occasionally hosts one-night-only concert documentary screenings. Suncoasters can thereby catch a show by artists who would never in their lives deign to actually visit the area while on a tour. The latest in this film series is Depeche Mode: Touring the Angel, which is two-plus hours of the Mode live in Milan. It's kind of a cool idea, blowing up your average rock DVD to stadium-seating size, but I'm not exactly geeked about a Mode show, all sultry synthesizers and such. (Regal Hollywood Stadium 20, Sarasota) —CLB
TUESDAY, SEPT. 26
CURTIS & LORETTA w/JENNY JAMES & RON GILBERT Like the aforementioned Mason Jennings, husband-and-wife folk duo Curtis & Loretta cut their teeth on the Twin Cities original-music scene. They're also multiple Minnesota Music Award nominees who hold very true to folk's stylistic (and sartorial) traditions. Locals Jenny James & Ron Gilbert are both multi-instrumentalists who switch up often to keep the music behind their lovely harmony vocals interesting. (Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27
ELECTRIC SIX w/ABERDEEN CITY/THE BLUE VAN Electric Six (extremely) successfully blurs the line between anthemic rock and performance art. The band's outrageous legend, ironically provocative lyrics and musical combination of disco, synth-pop and arena-metal have thus far proved too arty for mainstream American rock audiences, but E6's records and live shows show that the band should be far bigger than it is. Along for the ride are postured, poignant, vaguely New Wave-influenced Boston pop-rock unit Aberdeen City, and Danish revivalist acid-rock outfit The Blue Van. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
