Thursday 5.31
Come On Feel the Noize Eardrums are highly overrated, especially if you have lots of people yappin' in your face like we do. With that in mind, State Theatre does its part to speed up the hearing-loss process with an 8 p.m. mix of really loud bands. The lineup includes hardcore Toronto punks Grade, New Jersey rockers Ensign, Austin-based ska-punk outfit The Impossibles and Clearwater's own straightedge rowdies Next Season. Tickets cost $8, and the theater's at 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Call 727-895-3045.
Make Love Not War How might the Peloponnesian War have ended if women had been in charge? Find out when the Center Theater Company presents Lysistrata at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Penned by Aristophanes — a Greek entertainer, writer and general man about town (447-386 B.C.) — this fun-loving classic finds the women of Greece and Athens declaring a sex strike until a peaceful end to the war can be found. The play starts at 8 p.m., and tickets cost $15.50. TBPAC's at 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa. Call 813-229-STAR.
Friday 6.1
The Prolific Painter Returns It's been what, less than a year since Thomas Murray hightailed it out of Tampa in favor of the dry climes of New Mexico? We knew the artist couldn't stay away for long: He's at Hyde Park Fine Arts for a 7 p.m. reception for his solo show, Momente. This exhibition offers Murray's latest figurative oil paintings and hand-pulled lithographs, created during his first year in the Masters of Fine Arts program at UNM. HPFA's at 937 S. Howard Ave., Tampa. Call 813-258-8883.
Sitcom Stand-up Like the show says, Everybody Loves Raymond, so it stands to reason everyone should really love seeing Ray Romano in person, during his 8 p.m. gig at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Much like his wildly popular CBS sitcom, Romano's stand-up shtick draws upon his current family life and middle-class upbringing. Tickets cost $39.75 and $65 (who does the guy think he is, a TV star?) and REH's at 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. Call 727-791-7400.
Bedtime Stories The St. Petersburg Little Theatre gives old tales a new twist during an 8 p.m. production of Fractured Folk Tales. Creator A. Paul Johnson directs this family-friendly musical, which breathes new life into stories like Little Red Riding Hood and The Spider and the Fly by setting them to musical genres ranging from '50s rock to opera. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for kids. SPLT's at 4025 31st St. S., St. Petersburg. Call 727-866-2059.
Saturday 6.2
Balls! Ah soccer … no other sport inspires more devotion in its fans. Or incites as many riots, for that matter. But you can usually count on a mellow, non-life-threatening good time at a Tampa Bay Mutiny game. At 7 p.m., our less-than-winning soccer team takes on the Kansas City Wizards, who also aren't exactly kicking ass this season, so this could turn out to be an interesting match. Tickets range from $10 to $20, and Raymond James Stadium's at 4201 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa. Call 813-289-6811.
You've Got a Friend Fans who missed James Taylor's 1997 near-capacity Ice Palace concert get a second chance at 7:30 p.m. The singer/songwriter's catalog includes four decades worth of Grammy Award-winning material. Taylor's introspective songs and calm singing style also ushered an entire generation from the tumultuous '60s through the more introspective '70s. Feel free to sing along … you know the words. Tickets range from $25.75 to $45.75. The palace is at 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. Call 813-301-6500.
Folk Faves WMNF-88.5 FM, God bless it, puts us into a deep sleep with its radio programs these days, but they still got the concert promoting thing down. At 8 p.m. (and 6 p.m. tomorrow) the station presents Jimmy LaFave & Night Tribe at Skipper's. The prolific LaFave lends his raw pipes to some good ol' foot-stompin', heart-poundin' folk rock, after Slaid Cleaves opens the show with his country- and folk-rooted Americana. Tickets cost $20 at the door, and Skipper's is at 910 Skipper Road, Tampa. Call 813-971-0666.
Sunday 6.3
Back to the Classics Movie buffs take note: The Tampa Theatre kicks off its ninth annual Summer Classic Movie Series with a 3 p.m. showing of Somewhere in Time. Romance drips from the screen as you watch this beautifully remastered 20th anniversary print which features Christopher Reeve as an unhappy playwright who falls in love with a woman in a 70-year-old portrait. Tickets cost $4, and the theater is at 711 Franklin St., Tampa. Call 813-274-8981.
Hair Apparents Scoff if you like, but we know you've memorized every last word to Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Talk Dirty To Me and Cherry Pie. At 6:30 p.m., raise your voice with the white trash masses at the Grand Slam Metal Jam at the Sun Dome. Hair-bands Poison, Warrant, Quiet Riot and Enuff Z Nuff bring you back to the '80s with their rock anthems and power ballads. Tickets cost $19.50 and $29.50. The dome's on the USF campus, at 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa. Call 813-974-3002.
Monday 6.4
Star Babies Mom and Dad, if you think your kid could be the next Macaulay Culkin or Haley Joel Osment, be at Barnes & Noble at 7 p.m., to meet Chambers Stevens. This Emmy Award-nominated actor, director and coach is currently touring the U.S., offering free acting workshops and advice to kids and teens wanting to break into the biz. Stevens teaches budding actors how to approach show business safely but profitably. B&N's at 11802 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa. Call 813-962-6446.
Tuesday 6.5
Everyone's Favorite Color Looking for a bit of stimulation to carry you through the week? The Orpheum gladly complies with a 9 p.m. show by The Blacks. This Chicago-based group of insurgent alt-country rockers regales the crowd with a bunch of hootin' and hollerin' about love, betrayal and paranoia (with the occasional Tom Waits tune thrown in). Tickets cost $6, and The Orpheum's at 1902 Republica De Cuba, Ybor City. Call 813-248-9500.
Wednesday 6.6
Hump Day Happenings Is your own living room a freakin' mess? Get out from beneath the rubble and spend some time at The Living Room of Clearwater. Tonight's attraction is in the new Club XR in the Red Room, where DJs Wiley, Rhodes and Rose spin the latest trance, techno and breakbeat. Cover's free before 11 p.m., and all ladies 18 and up are welcome (sorry guys, it's 21 and up for you). The Living Room's at 13707 58th St. N., Ulmerton Road, Clearwater. Call 727-531-0332.
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 6, 2001.
