THURSDAY, JULY 17
SHELBY LYNNE Touring in support of her current album, Just a Little Lovin', a low-key tribute to the late Dusty Springfield, Shelby Lynne brings a guitar/bass/drums/keyboard lineup to the classy confines of the Tampa Theatre for a show that I'm expecting to be an out-and-out winner. For more scoop on Shelby Lynne, see the music feature. (Tampa Theatre, Tampa) —Eric Snider
OURS w/GOD OR JULIE/PLAIN JANE AUTOMOBILE Ours is a mellow alternative rock outfit fronted by New Jersey's Jimmy Gnecco, a heart-on-sleeve singer who often sounds like he's aping his mentor Jeff Buckley. Ours had a minor hit in 2001 with the title "Sometimes," off its major-label debut Distorted Lullabies. In April, Columbia issued Ours' latest full-length, the unfortunately named Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy). (Orpheum, Ybor City)
FRIDAY, JULY 18
THE FAB FOUR This gig is for Beatles geeks only. The tribute band offers: "note-for-note live renditions of Beatles' songs, this incredible stage show includes three costume changes representing every era of the Beatles' ever-changing career." (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
ERIC LINDELL A Crescent City (by way of California) blues guitarist with a soul man's voice, Eric Lindell gained national attention with his 2006 Alligator Records debut, Change in the Weather. Low on Cash, Rich in Love, his new follow-up for the same venerable blues imprint, is another assured, swampy batch of Lindell originals. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
DANCE GAVIN DANCE w/A STATIC LULLABY/FOUR LETTER LIE/SECRET AND WHISPER/LOWER DEFINITION Dance Gavin Dance, a post-hardcore sextet from Sacramento, adds some proggy touches to the punk formula (for expressing rage) but also skews emo at times. The band formed a couple years back and includes former members of the acts Farewell Unknown, Ghost Runner on Third and Atherton. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
THE WARREN BROTHERS Tampa's very own Brad and Brett Warren were on the cusp of major country stardom a decade ago when they started charting with hits like "Guilty," "Better Man" and "She Wants to Rock," songs that recalled the toughness of the Outlaw movement but with the requisite polish required by Nashville. Alas, the sibling duo hasn't cracked the country Top 40 since 2001 but this homecoming gig should be a hoot nonetheless. If memory serves, one night in '96 or '97 I saw a Warren brother sit in with the house band and perform an impromptu classic-rock covers set at the O'Brien's Pub on North Dale Mabry. (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
TRUCKSTOP COFFEE w/WILL QUINLAN/MILITARY JUNIOR Formed three years ago, Truckstop Coffee has established itself as one of the top twang-rock outfits in the area (the quartet hails from Lake Worth). Led by sandpaper-but-sweet vocalist Pete Stein, the band confidently alternates between rollicking whiskey songs and somber ballads. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
GUITAR SHORTY/THE WHODOOS Born David William Kearney, Houston's Guitar Shorty has performed with the best of 'em during his almost 70 years, including Ray Charles, T-Bone Walker, Sam Cooke, Otis Rush and B.B. King. And he's the first to talk about it all — from his influential tenure as Jimi Hendrix's brother-in-law to his 1978 Gong Show appearance, on which he played guitar while standing on his head. With his latest disc, 2006 Alligator Records release We the People, the ever-confident ax-man proclaims he "was a bluesman by 7/ That's when I hit the road." Shorty's still going strong, churning out crunchy, thick riffs and equally storied live shows. (Ace's Lounge, Bradenton) —Amanda Schurr
SATURDAY, JULY 19
ZILLIONAIRE w/CANDY BARS/THE MICRODOTS Tampa-based New Granada Records recording artists Zillionaire (slo-core) and Candy Bars (dream-pop) are joined by the Microdots, a guitar-driven indie-rock band from Miami named after a pretty cool stimulant/hallucinogen that was popular in these parts during the mid-'90s. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
MC HAMMER Buy a ticket to the Rays game and enjoy the privilege of witnessing late-1980s/early-1990s pop-rap star deliver mega hits like the "U Can't Touch This," "Too Legit to Quit" and "Have You Seen Her?" No word yet on whether Hammer will also serve as the game's bat boy, a job he had for the Oakland A's from 1972 to 1980. (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg)
THE FLORIDA MOUNTAIN BOYS The Bradenton bluegrass ensemble taps the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? songbook, along with a mix of Southern-rock staples and original tunes in the hootin' and hollerin' vein. (Rasher Tierney's, Bradenton) —AS
16 PENNY/MENA BRINNO With its goth, upper-octave frontwoman and metal bent, Tampa quartet Mena Brinno brings to mind Evanescence. But a close listen reveals folk arrangements, vocalist Katy Decker's straight-faced operatic (her one-time day job) delivery and old-school fretboard wanking more akin to Jethro Tull, if not Spinal Tap. If the feverish caterwauls of "Icy Muse" and "Theodora" are any indication, expect a theatrical rawk show — the drama will be brought. (Pastimes Pub, Sarasota) —AS
SUNDAY, JULY 20
HED PE SoCal hardcore outfit gets points for injecting its metal mayhem with danceable funk riffs, but the jagged rap vocals and brain-dead lyrics leave me flat. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
ROGER CLYNE & THE PEACEMAKERS w/PILGRIMS/FEATURE PRESENTATION Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers are an alt-country outfit from Arizona who incorporate plenty of power-pop into their commendable sound. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
TREATY OF PARIS w/THE FRANTIC/KUNG FU GIRLS/FIRST CRUSH KID Treaty of Paris' slick power-pop doesn't exactly stick to the ribs but it's, y'know, delectable. The Chicago quartet's debut disc, Sweet Dreams, Sucker, dropped last year. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, JULY 22
POISON w/SEBASTIAN BACH/DOKKEN How come every shitty band that enjoyed mass fame 20 years ago is once again popular enough to play 20,000-capacity venues? Wasn't grunge supposed to forever regulate the likes of Poison to the unglamorous life of playing dirt-rock dens in places like Bradenton? Nope, Bret Michaels is back on the road playing the country's largest amphitheatres and then going backstage to hoover uncut cocaine off strippers' asses. There truly is no justice. (Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa)
DASH RIP ROCK Veteran New Orleans cow-punk trio with a winningly juvenile sense of humor has been hosting killer parties since the mid-1980s. "Let's Go Smoke Some Dope," "Pussy Whipped" and "Fuck" are song titles that speak to the band's special sensibility. I caught 'em six years ago at the Skipperdome, and it was a boozy blast. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
G.B.H. w/KRUM BUMS Not to be confused with the similarly named date-rape drug, G.B.H. arrived from England in the early 1980s with a more metal-oriented brand of punk that became highly influential in the hardcore scene. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23
RX BANDITS w/PORTUGAL THE MAN/FACING NEW YORK Orange County's Rx Bandits trade in the ska/punk template that's been pouring out of SoCal for more than a decade. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA Not all that long ago, Rolling Stone magazine named Zappa Plays Zappa its best cover band. Frank's son Dweezil sings and plays guitar; the rest of the band is made up of young musicians and older Frank alums. The group focuses mostly on Zappa's more rock-oriented material. I've heard a live recording of the band, and for my money, our own Bogus Pomp, the Bay area's Zappa repertory ensemble, is the better outfit. (Hard Rock Live, Orlando) —ES
