Thursday 6.28

The Curator Speaks William Jeffett, Curator of Special Exhibitions at the Salvador Dali Museum, presents a lecture, "Disarming Desire: Dali, Surrealism and the Venus de Milo" about his research for the current exhibit, A Disarming Beauty. Have some coffee and find out how a sculpture with no arms became an obscure object of desire and symbolizes classical clarity. The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Raymond James Community Room of the museum, at 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg. Call 727-823-3767. Attendance is free with museum admission ($5 for adults, $3.50 for seniors).

Big-Mouth Heralded Florida rockers Big Sky and Cowboy Mouth play Frankie's Patio in promotion of Big Sky's 2000 album Live at the Sapphire: Under the Megawatt Moon. The album, recorded during two consecutive sold out concerts in Orlando, came out as a limited release and quickly sold out. The 18-and-up show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets cost $12 in advance. Frankie's Patio is at 1920 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City. Call 813-248-3337.

Friday 6.29

Locals Relocate Rising rents in Ybor City have pushed out a diverse group of artists and photographers, who have now popped up in a new West Tampa art space. Gallery 1906, in the Ellis Van Pelt Building, is a multistory structure that once housed a small cigar factory. Resident artists Alex-Espalter Torres, Dennis Johnson, Guillermo Portieles, Tomas Marais, Oliver and Diana Mendez, Maida Millan and Lori Ballard got together through word of mouth and decided to display their work right where they were created. Their open house happens 6-10 p.m. at the Van Pelt Building, 1906 Armenia Ave., Tampa. Call 813-251-6134.

This Is Your Brain on Lasers An acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, a laser produces a kind of chain reaction with light, resulting in a beam so concentrated it can cut metal. Or it can project graphic animation synchronized to the music of Pink Floyd pumping at 10,000 watts. The crew of Laser Spectacular, the largest touring laser show, fires off their 90-minute Floyd show at 8 p.m. at the Bayfront Center's Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg. Tickets cost $20-$24 plus service charge. Call 727-892-5767.

Saturday 6.30

Dig It The Bud Light Beach Volleyball Series is a grassroots, recreational beach volleyball program designed for players of all ages and skill levels, who can register and compete in 20 different divisions over an event weekend. For the past decade, the series has been the driving force in pro-am beach volleyball in the Southeast, attracting the area's best players and bringing a carnival-like tent city of vendors and promoters to the beaches' lounge-chair audiences of swimsuit-clad partiers. 2001 series event number six takes place 9 a.m.-6 p.m. June 30-July 1 at Pier 60, 10 Pier 60 Drive, Clearwater Beach. Visit www.digthebeach.com.

B.Y.O.B. Bring your own box. Library book sales aren't like going to Borders. Books sell for a quarter of the jacket price and there aren't any nice shopping bags. It's the library's way of getting patrons to buy a boxful of books, and it works. St. Petersburg's Main Public Library is having its third annual Library Book Sale, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, July 1. The library's at 3745 Ninth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Call 727-893-7724.

Smokehouse Nobility The Dukes of Juke have continued to dish out high-energy rhythm and blues since their debut at Skipper's in 1985. Band leader, sax and harp man Bobby Rose, has kept the band together with drummer South Side Kyle, and newcomers Dan Hill on keyboards and Steve Deady on bass. Their $5 show starts at 8 p.m. at Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road (at Nebraska Avenue) Tampa. Call 813-971-0666.

Sunday 7.1

He Might Be A Redneck Comedian Rodney Carrington's freshman album on Capitol Nashville, Morning Wood, debuted at No. 1 on the Soundscan chart as the biggest-selling comedy album in the country, thanks to his fans in the country. Carrington performs his hilariously raw and aggressive, East Texas humor at 9 p.m. at the Improv, 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Ybor City. Tickets cost $20 in advance, $25 day of show. Call 813-864-4000.

West Side Story Set in New York City's Upper West Side of the '50s, this widely-acclaimed, melodramatic musical — a loose retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet — is still one of the best film adaptations of a musical ever. Songs and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim translate this story of lovers who cross ethnic barriers, to fit the landscape of racial strife between rival street gangs (newly arrived Puerto Ricans vs. second-generation Americans from European immigrant families). Show time is 3 p.m., and tickets are $6.25. Tampa Theatre is at 711 Franklin St., Tampa. Call 813-274-8286.

Monday 7.2

Are You A Lover? Or a fighter? Either way, Monday nights at Club More mean Fight Night. Amateur boxers (girls are encouraged, too) square off and DJs C and Treg spin lover/fighter jams. Fighters are always wanted, 18 and up are welcome and there's free Beck's beer before 10 p.m. You can't beat that. (Get it, beat that?) Anyway, cover for those 21 and up is $5, $10 for those under. Doors open at 9 p.m. Club More's at 703 Franklin St., Clearwater. Call 727-466-6673.

Tuesday 7.3

Let Freedom Rave Our forefathers fought for their right to freedom. Independence II fights for its right to party. Presented by SoBe Beverages and NOFOES, this Independence Day celebration spans two locations for a total of 14 hours of nonstop music. Headliners include Dieselboy, DJ Magic Mike and scores of local DJs, such as Stateside Collective's Dread, Trixie and Screwface. The party runs 7 p.m.-3 a.m. at the Garage (802 E. Whiting St., Tampa) and continues 2 a.m.-8 a.m. Wednesday, July 4, at Club 60/Starlite (8504 Adamo Drive/State Road 60, Tampa). Tickets to the all-ages event are $20 in advance, $25 day of show, one ticket good for both venues. Call 727-516-0635. www.insomniactivity.com.

Wednesday 7.4

Soccer And Fireworks The Tampa Bay Mutiny continues one of the longest-running Bay area traditions, soccer and fireworks, following the team's match against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at Raymond James Stadium. The Mutiny picked up where the Tampa Bay Rowdies left off, having celebrated the Fourth in old Tampa/Houlihan's Stadium for 21 years. This year's 25-plus minute show is the largest fireworks display in the Bay area, and the first 10,000 fans receive a set of Bangers noisemakers to add to the festive atmosphere. Tickets cost $10, $16 and $20. Raymond James Stadium is at 4042 N. Himes Ave., Tampa. Call 813-386-2000.

This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2001.