Robert Cray w/Eric Bibb Yeah, we were so psyched about Cray coming to town that we ran his blurb last week. What can we say? He's a strong persuader. Adventurous, soulful, pop-friendly blues from a master player. Opener Eric Bibb blends his folk-blues with a dash of country twang, and a lot of gospel soul. Highly recommended. (Jan. 10, Jannus Landing)

Spyro Gyra For nearly 30 years (and as many albums), Spyro Gyra's light, danceable jazz has provided purists with a handy example of everything they hate about the genre's more commercial corners. Of course, members of the band probably couldn't hear them, as they were buried under a pile of money from actually selling records. Led by saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, Spyro formed in 1974 basically as a studio project and eventually mutated into a rotating-member live outfit.

(Jan. 11, Mahaffey Theater)

The Tampa Bay Composers' Forum presents New Directions This is the second installment of the TBCF's 2001-02 series. They describe the oeuvre as adventurous contemporary chamber music by living composers who are members of the TBCF, as performed by Bay area professionals. Works by Peter Blauvelt, Kendall Burnham, Joan Epstein, Matthew Fields, Mark Francis, and David Vayo will be featured; there will be three premieres, as well. Can I get a little more viola in my monitor, please? (Jan. 11, Palladium)

Tommy Castro w/Deanna Bogart Blues-scene favorite Tommy Castro made his bones in San Francisco by adding a bit of rock and soul to a reverence for traditional styles. Castro's strong, commanding vocals are nearly as renowned as his guitar work. Boogie pianist/saxophonist Deanna Bogart, whose live show has been consistently raved over by roots/blues/R&B fans since she formed her own outfit in 1988, provides support. (Jan. 11, Skipper's Smokehouse)

The Independents w/Blue Flame Combo/Car Bomb Driver/Accordion Justice The world's greatest undead ska-punk conglomerate returns to Tampa Bay. If it seems like only yesterday that you saw 'em, it wasn't, but you might be saying that tomorrow, when you realize they'll be at the New World in a couple of days. Anyhoo, it's entertaining shit, like watching a bootleg Misfits concert video on MUTE while the Ramones cover The Blue Meanies badly in the next apartment. Local scary-billy institution Blue Flame Combo, punk band Car Bomb Driver (recently expanded to a quintet) and enigmatic punk upstarts Accordion Justice fill out a truly impressive bill. (Jan. 11, Harbor Club)

This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb/The Devil Is Electric/Against Me!/The Reactionary 3 Ever since the Center of Radical Empowerment had to give up doing shows at their South St. Pete space (it's a conspiracy, I tells ya), they've been chomping at the bit to get some gigs rolling anywhere they could. And now that the new Refuge space is operational, well, you do the math. Come celebrate CORE's return to enlightened promoterdom with a plethora of brash, guitar-driven dissenters, some of whom have strong opinions, and some of whom do not. Rock on. (Jan. 11, Refuge)

Susan Werner/Vance Gilbert She's a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter; he's an edgy, guitar-playing humorist. She toured with Joan Armatrading; he released three albums for Rounder Records. What wackiness will ensue when these two find themselves trapped aboard a haunted houseboat on Cinco de Mayo? We'll probably never know, since this is a concert at Clearwater's Octagon Arts Center, and not a bad movie that should have been a bad sitcom. Go see a couple of wildly talented and critically lauded songwriter/performers do their thing. (Jan. 11, Octagon Arts Center)

Emit Avant-a-Thon w/Loud Zoo/SHIM/Trace Element/Dub Gabriel/Neshilo? A big blowout by the remarkably resilient Emit experimental music series. Most of Emit's shows feature one touring artist, with perhaps resident outre-jazzers SHIM opening. This one unveils a vertiginous mix: Loud Zoo's self-built instruments and ethnic cornucopia; SHIM's horn-heavy assault; Trace Element's electro-trance; Dub Gabriel's Sufi Laptop Culture and Neshilo?'s art-school sonic bedlam. Also features live painting, something called Signal to Noise giveaways and the ubiquitous and more, which in this case could mean just about anything. All of this avant can be yours for a mere $5. Check out www.emitseries.org. Show starts at 9 p.m. (Jan. 12, Central Stage)

—Eric Snider

The Common Cold / Hankshaw/ Textual/ Gasganno Aestheticized is proud to offer up yet another horizon-expanding spread of post-whatever sounds at the Orpheum. In addition to The Common Cold's infectious (get it?) stylings, you get Mercury Program/Polline side-project Textual, plus extremely noteworthy locals Hankshaw — who've abandoned most of their familiar posthardcore leanings for something much more dynamic and lush, but no less mind-blowing. (Jan. 12, New World Brewery)

Huey Lewis & The News If this is it, then I want a new drug, because my heart and soul are walkin' on a thin line. Who could forget the hits — not because we didn't want to, but because they were drilled into our memories through relentless '80s-airplay repetition. Third in line for Most Hit Singles From One Album (right behind Michael Jackson and Def Leppard), Huey Lewis, the West Coast's facetious answer to Bruce Springsteen, gave the world a whole lot of insubstantial toe-tapping distraction before fading away. Then he returned, wholly unprovoked, to sing with Gwyneth Paltrow in Duets, the response to which he somehow deemed as an invitation to return to touring. You will shortly all be wearing blazers with cuffed jeans. How understandably shudder-inducing. (Jan. 13, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center)

Brian McKnight Smooth, sexy R&B balladeer Bryan McKnight has been inspiring swoons since the early '90s; he coupled with Vanessa Williams (musically, that is) on the hit Love Is, and his latest album Superhero yielded the massively successful single Love of My Life. Yes, your lady will be visualizing him when you do it after the show. (Jan. 15, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center)

The Independents w/The TimVersion/Flat Stanley/Diaphragments The Independents make an unprecedented second appearance in the same Menu. They're not really the be-all-and-end-all, or anything, but we'd be remiss in failing to blurb the support acts billed for this second show. The sometimes-melodic and usually-inebriated lads in The TimVersion simply rip — no one's gonna say they're tighter than Robert Plant's pants, but they're one of those bands with a tendency to overwhelm you by force of sheer energy and abandon. Tuneful punk-tinged rock outfit Flat Stanley has undergone numerous lineup changes, but always manages to deliver an intriguingly volatile set. And the Diaphragments, frankly, scare me. Seriously. They deliver a punky, chaotic noise that careens between Sonic Youth and Unsane, and their drummer absolutely kills. (Jan. 16, New World Brewery)

Carla Ulbrich w/Donna Klein A professional smart aleck who's studied classical guitar since the age of 9, Carla Ulbrich blends acoustic virtuosity with warmth and wit. Her latest album is Carla Ulbrich — Her Fabulous Debut. Native progressive-folk songwriter Donna Klein has been a festival-circuit performer around the state for several years, and is also the president of St. Petersburg-based organization the Women Musician's Alliance. (Jan. 16, Jimmy Mac's)

—All entries by Scott Harrell unless otherwise indicated

This article appears in Jan 9-15, 2002.