Chuck Berry w/Little Richard Two of the men who helped define, nay, invent the rock and the roll come to town in celebration of the duck-walking master's 75th birthday. It's the event of a lifetime, an exercise in old-school rebellion, and by the way, did you know that Verizon can save you serious scratch on your long-distance calling? That's right, Chuck 'n' Dick's cavalcade of romping R&R riffage will be brought to you courtesy of the fine folks who made sure I can hear James Earl Jones' dulcet tones any time I feel like it, or even if I don't. The local Michael Ross Quartet will kick out the post-bop jams on the outdoor stage. (Oct. 25, Ruth Eckerd Hall)
George Wein & The Newport All-Stars/Johnny Varro Swing 7 The Verizon Invasion of Music You Won't Hear on Contemporary Radio continues unabated. George Wein (who, coincidentally enough, is CEO of Festival Productions Inc., the producer of this four-day, multi-venue hootenanny) and his crew will get your dancin' shoes a-movin' with an evening of classic swing. (Oct. 25, Coliseum)
Papa Grows Funk/Damon Fowler Group Papa Grows Funk bring their eclectic, all-star New Orleans R&B to the Bay. After years of weekly jams and a growing reputation as one of the Big Easy's finest live attractions, PGF have finally laid their grooves on the digital format, courtesy of Harry Connick Jr. producer Tracey Freeman, with their debut disc Doin' It. Funky blues sensation the Damon Fowler Group will provide support. And yes, this is also a part of that whole Verizon dealie. (Oct. 25, Skipper's Smokehouse)
The Independents/Unrequited Loves/Blue Flame Combo The Independents don't give a shit how much you pay per minute for state-to-state calls after 9 p.m. on a weekday. Really, they don't. What they do care about is giving you the creeps whilst purveying a bizarre-o blend of Misfits/Ramones full-throttle pop and Op Ivy-inflected blitzkrieg ska. I know, I know, it's weird, innit? Kind of makes your idea about that polka/grindcore crossover unit seem rational. The Unrequited Loves, who turned in a simply blazing performance at last weekend's Five-Eight show before hurting my feelings by turning down an interview request (Editor's note: Say what?) have shifted from a worth-seeing to a must-see, and Blue Flame Combo's vaguely Gothic punkabilly is pretty damn fine too. (Oct. 25, Orpheum)
Devils Night 3 w/Hell on Earth Local industro-goth night terrors Hell on Earth treat any old night like it's Halloween. So what happens when they throw a big, evil party in honor of the Devil's Night? Well, The Women's Wet-N-Wild Astroglide Wrestling Championships, for one: The Dungeon of Pain, for another. And how about the Dancing Devil Dolls, Human Petting Zoo, Night of the Living Bed-Girls, Sell Your Soul Booth, and DJs spinning every Hallow's Eve hit from Monster Mash to, uh, that part in Thriller when Vincent Price raps? C'mon, it'll be fun. You've got nothing to lose … (cue big reverb) except your soooouuuuullllllll (cue maniacal laughter)! Massive drink specials are to be expected, along with any number of surprises tasteless or creepy in nature. (Oct. 26, The Masquerade)
Marduk/KataKlysm/Amon Amarth/Diabolic The Verizon Music Festival is pleased to bring you the finest in murderous, gore-drenched Scandinavian Black Metal. No, not really. (Oct. 26, Brass Mug)
Wynonna/Daniel Lee Martin but they are behind bringing the second-hottest Judd to town. It's a little taste of the dawn of pop-country, from back when the only pyrotechnics came from the musicians themselves, and only the female artists wore rhinestones and fringe. Remember? Our own lauded Halcyon will perform on the outdoor stage. (Oct. 26, Ruth Eckerd Hall)
Hey Mercedes/New End Original/Mid Carson July While labelmates like Saves The Day and Alkaline Trio are treated to the indie-rock spotlight, Hey Mercedes (featuring former members of posthardcore pioneers Braid) quietly go about making just about the best, most individual sounds Vagrant Records has to offer. Go buy Every Night Fireworks the second it comes out. New End Original spurns both the ex-member ex-pectations and their own label's avant-punk connotations with moving, evocative modern rock (see the Music column). Mid Carson July, who recently relocated from Pennsylvania to the Bay area, purvey an intriguing amalgam of everything energetic and catchy about punk/hardcore/indie/postwhatever. Highly recommended. (Oct. 26, Orpheum)
Janet Jackson w/112 The Princess of Pop makes good on her vow to reschedule the September date aborted in the wake of our nation's tragedy. She's still touring behind the more mature (read: ooh, nasty) Janet — you know, the one that offended some poor, repressed Bay area woman enough to send her on a CD-stickering campaign. (Oct. 26, Ice Palace)
The Anniversary/Superdrag/Mars Volta/Seafood The Anniversary are almost as well known for their hooky, sinewy, synth-laden pop-rock as they are for being friends with The Get Up Kids — just another example of why it sucks to know famous people. No, seriously, they're really good. Superdrag, of course, is untouchable, with real rock 'n' roll with hooks like the one that guy tried to kill Jennifer Love-Hewitt with — huge, sharp, and utterly righteous in their intent. Nobody knows what Mars Volta sounds like, but the band includes a guy or two from At The Drive-In, so don't be surprised when it's every bit as good as every hipster says it is. Seafood are almost as well known for their hooky, sinewy, iconoclastic pop-rock as they are for having Jon Spencer's little sister in the band — just another example of why it sucks to know famous people. No, seriously, they're really good. (Oct. 27, State Theatre)
Arturo Sandoval/Femi Kuti & Positive Force/Claudia Acuna/Larry Coryell & The Count's Jam Band/Damon Fowler Group/Halcyon The Verizon Music Festival strikes again, this time with a big, free afternoon affair at Clearwater's Coachman Park, presumably to celebrate a successful music fest. It's an admirably eclectic bill, featuring Arturo Sandoval and Femi Kuti, an African rhythmic mad scientist (and son of Fela) among other notables. This bad boy kicks of at 1 p.m., but save a little energy for the grand finale at Skipper's tonight. (Oct. 27, Coachman Park)
Merl Saunders/King Johnson The Phone People close things down with ubiquitous liberal scenester, talented composer and jazzy world-beat funkster Merl Saunders. He's worked with, and even been photographed in the company of, luminaries such as Jimmy Smith, Duke Ellington, Jerry Garcia, B.B. King, Miles, Harry Belafonte, and, er, Blues Traveler, to name but most of 'em. More blackened-Cajun boogie comes via Atlanta, courtesy of the King Johnson Band. (Oct. 27, Skipper's Smokehouse)
Car Bomb Driver/Crippled Masters/The Bastards Everybody's favorite punk-ass oldsters weigh in with a local alternative to the 10-dollar tickets, trams, trash and trauma of Tampa's annual knucklehead summit (that would be Guavaween). You know the drill — fast, loud, clever and offensive. Crippled Masters will give up some tasty garage nuggets, while The Bastards deliver beer-soaked singalong punk classics. (Oct. 27, The Emerald)
Zappaween w/Bogus Pomp This is the seventh Zappaween, featuring our very own Zappa tribute band Bogus Pomp. Founder/guitarist Jerry Outlaw says he's pushing for 10. BP started as kind of a lark and has been variously flourishing and on the brink of dissolution ever since. The group's resume highlight occurred when it shared a stage with The Florida Orchestra in an extraordinary program of Zappa material. They're at their most fun, though, on Zappaween. The fellas cut loose, dress stupid, stretch out and have a blast, without forfeiting any of the on-a-dime precision that it takes to play FZ music without embarrassing yourself. For the third consecutive Zappaween, they'll be joined by former Zappa sideman Napoleon Murphy Brock. Two sets, from 8:30 to midnight. This 10-piece (11 with Brock) never fails to amaze. (Oct. 27, Jannus Landing)
—Eric Snider
Guavaween Is it that time of year again? Sweetie, go get daddy his giant-titty costume. They keep throwing it, and people keep going; this time, I'm going to drop all pretense and attend dressed as a vomit-and-bullet receptacle. Not every promoter informed us of their musical options — we're sure there's plenty more going on than the following, but for the sake of variety, here's what we got: the biggest deal, of course, is Disturbed, The Drowning Pool, Systematic, Stereomud and Adema. I'm quite sure the Stumble will provide a more-than-adequate diversion, should anyone out there take it upon him- or herself to rid the world of the headliner. Former Grand Funk Railroad main-man Mark Farner will be a featured performer, as will woefully unassuming Adult Alternative chartbusters Lifehouse. So, basically, if what you're after is good tuneage, you can either hide out at the Orpheum for their Harry Dash/Mr. Bella bill, or go to St. Pete and divide your time between Car Bomb Driver, Bogus Pomp and Mike Watt. (Oct. 27, Ybor City)
Britney Spears w/O-Town What does it say about your contribution to contemporary American culture that the biggest impact you can make on anyone old enough to drive concerns whether or not your breasts are real? What does it say about contemporary American culture that Pepsi sales have undoubtedly skyrocketed since the Super Bowl? Something profound, surely. O-Town is to the boy-band set what Great White was to late '80s cock-rock — they never quite get the big numbers, but a portion of their demographic will always be drawn to that underdog status. A rehab story won't cut it here; nothing short of a drug-bust or cult-abduction is gonna get 'em into Us Weekly. (Oct. 28, Ice Palace)
Mickey Hart & Bembe Orisha Former Grateful Dead stickman Hart was always a world-beat fiend, and during down time from the caravan he'd put together some sort of rhythmic hoodoo. His latest project has strong African/Afro-Cuban underpinnings. (Oct. 28, Ruth Eckerd Hall)
—Eric Snider
Lucinda Williams Veteran roots-country songstress Lucinda Williams influenced a sizeable percentage of both pop and C&W top-sellers before being adopted by the y'allternative set. With the ace writing and earnest vocals of Essence, she's become quite buzz-worthy. For fans of immaculately crafted roots music, this one is highly recommended. For anyone who thinks country radio is selling them the real deal, it should be mandatory. (Oct. 30, Jannus Landing)
—All entries by Scott Harrell unless otherwise indicated
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2001.