THURSDAY, JUNE 26
TAILGUNNER JOE AND THE EARLS OF SLANDER w/THE DSC PROJECT/GIDDY UP, HELICOPTER! Tampa's Tailgunner Joe & the Earls of Slander are fellas in their early 20s successfully updating the classic rock sounds of bands like Creedence, CSN&Y, etc. The quartet's debut EP, The Red Scare, arrived on my desk last week and, well, it rocks — even on tough subject matter such as the Iraq War ("Killzone"). The disc drops July 18. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
MASERATI w/SUMMERBIRDS IN THE CELLAR/RED ROOM CINEMA/CLOCK HANDS STRANGLE Damn it if Athens, Ga., doesn't have a band for every genre. Maserati falls into the instrumental/prog/experimental rock category — and does it well. Yeah, there are the requisite ambient washes, but they're countered by visceral blasts and psychedelic escapades. The quartet gets mathy on occasion, but it's never obnoxious. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
YOUR FUNERAL, MY TRIAL/SOME DANCING SKELETON Pastimes ditches the punk for a night of moody, acoustic pop-rock. Your Funeral, My Trial's hushed, breathy approach owes as much to Neil Young as to Radiohead, complemented by the charming vocal quirks of Skeleton chanteuse Marlee Flanagan. Two local acts worth checking out. (Pastimes Pub, Sarasota) —Amanda Schurr
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
SOULPHONICS This Atlanta (by way of Gainesville) ensemble brings the funk, old-school style with an ace band featuring a fierce horn section and the hotness of fiery frontwoman Ruby Velle. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
ASPHALT VALENTINE W/THE DOG'S DIVINE/SOBRIETY X Atlanta's Asphalt Valentine plays metal (and dresses) like it's 1988. Seriously, at first listen (and glance) I thought I had stumbled across a Ratt tribute band. Listening to Asphalt Valentine's single "Strip Rock Roll," I can't decide whether to laugh like a buzzed hyena or weep at the thought of this band playing the venerable State and actually drawing several hundred people. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
THE FIXX One of the myriad English synth-driven bands to invade the States in the 1980s, The Fixx had about a half dozen hits during the decade but is best remembered for the one huge, 1983 smash "One Thing Leads to Another." The band has gone through several personnel changes over the years but is still led by original frontman Cy Curnin. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
REV. BILLY C. WIRTZ w/VICTOR WAINWRIGHT He tells bawdy jokes, sings bawdy songs, and plays some mean boogie-woogie piano. Wirtz is a whole lot of shtick but there's substance, too, and the Daytona resident has been delighting Skipperdome regulars for years. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
GREG POULOS CD RELEASE Poulos drops his debut solo effort, Angels from Hazard (see review here.), an outstanding collection of original material and Southern rock and blues covers. Helping the Venturas guitarist celebrate are friends and disc session players, Danny Toller and Joey LaVallee. Poulos also hits Bradenton's Linger Lodge on June 28. (Ace's Lounge, Bradenton) —AS
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
ANTHONY GOMES This Nashville-based singer/songwriter and guitar hero has emerged in recent years as one of the more popular ax men on the blues circuit. More for George Thorogood enthusiasts than blues purists, Gomes should be able to deliver a good time — as long as you can get past lame lyrics like "bang, bang, bang, giddy up, bang bang" ("Painted Horse"). (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
TANTRIC Formed from the ashes of post-grunge MTV faves Days of the New, Tantric has been cranking out generic, Alice in Chains-indebted hits since 2001, when Tantric band blew up with "Breakdown." Commercial radio continues to keep the band in business by playing very average rockers like "Down and Out" from the new Tantric disc The End Begins. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
MEWITHOUTYOU w/MAPS AND ATLASES/GASOLINE HEART Wikipedia says "mewithoutYou is a Philadelphia-based Christian experimental rock band." I'm hearing a bad mix of emo and prog, and annoying, nasally-delivered cryptic lyrics about Moses and bag ladies. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
BROWNFEST '08 An enterprising local musician named Sam Brown has put together an eclectic lineup of local acts. Music starts at 5 p.m. with DJ Jimmy Mac. At 8:15 p.m., it's the "Dirty South Rock" band Slider; 9:30 p.m., the Tool tribute band, Vicarious (Brown is the bassist); 10:45 p.m., Wherewithal, a female-fronted nu-metal band; midnight, bluesy alt-rocker Dallas Marlow. Allstars is at 6710 Hanley Road in Tampa. 813-868-4488. (Allstars Bar and Grill, Tampa) —Eric Snider
GRANT PEEPLES Former expat troubadour Peeples is back in his home state and touring in support of his latest record, It's Later Than You Think. Crafting stream-of-conscious observations about politics, the environment and a nation in decline, the Americana singer/songwriter takes obvious cues from Dylan and John Prine. Peeples also plays Sarasota's Books-A-Million on June 29. (Barnie's Coffee & Wine Bar, Bradenton) —AS
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
VINCE MCGILVRA'S RETIREMENT PARTY W/ JOHNNY G. LYON BAND After founding Skipper's and co-captaining it for more than two decades, Vince McGilvra is walking away from day-to-day duties (although he'll still retain 50 percent ownership.) To celebrate his retirement, Vince handpicked local blues-rockers the Johnny G. Lyon Band to throw a free bash. The festivities began at 5 p.m. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
DEMON HUNTER w/LIVING SACRIFICE/OH, SLEEPER/THE FAMINE/ADVENT Seattle's laughably named Demon Hunter do hard-rock and screamo in the name of Christ. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
DARK LOTUS Members from three of hip-hop's most deplorable acts — Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid and Blaze Ya Head Homie — join forces to unleash brain-dead threats ("KaBoom") and horror-flick shit ("Hell House"). (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
MONDAY JUNE, 30
BROKENCYDE w/KARATE HIGH SCHOOL/THOREAU/SPINLIGHT/THE FIGHT AT THE SHOW When a band featuring four Caucasians describes its music as "crunk/screamo/electronica" it's tempting to assume it's the musicians' sorry attempt at humor. But not the case with Brokencyde, a foursome from "Albucrazy, New Mexico" that raps over big swooping bass slams and guttural growls about girls making his "pee pee hard." Genius? Ridiculous? Honestly, I haven't quite decided. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, JULY 1
ADULT SWIM PRESENTS: DETHKLOK W/CHIMAIRA/SOILENT GREEN So how exactly does animated death-metal band Dethklok (Adult Swim's Metalocalypse) pull off a 31-city tour? I guess the same way Ashlee Simpson does. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
DROWNING POOL w/NONPOINT/CLENCHFIST Texas' Drowning Pool churns out pedestrian metal but the band blew up in 2001 when MTV put the video for "Bodies (Let the Bodies Hit the Floor)" in heavy rotation. You might remember it as the one where the musicians are performing in an insane asylum. Or maybe you don't. It was pretty forgettable. (Bourbon St. Nightclub, New Port Richey)
WEDNESDAY JULY 2
RINGO STARR & HIS ALL STARRS w/COLIN HAY/BILLY SQUIER/HAMISH STUART/EDGAR WINTER/GARY WRIGHT/GREGG BISSONETTE I've never been but have generally heard that these Ringo-fests are a lot of fun. Basically, the All-Starr band plays Beatles songs (most often ones with Ringo's vocals) and hit tunes from each of the members. Colin Hay is the singer from Men at Work ("Land Down Under"); Hamish Stuart, singer/guitarist for Average White Band ("Work to Do"); Billy Squier, an '80s hard-rocker ("Rock Me Tonite"); Edgar Winter, a Texas R&B artist and brother of Johnny ("Frankenstein"); Gary Wright, former leader of Spooky Tooth who had '70s hits with "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive." Drummer Gregg Bissonette has handled the sticks for David Lee Roth, Toto, Santana and others. Ringo's lineups are generally eclectic, and I'm generally cool with this personnel, all except for Squier, who doesn't seem like a good fit. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —ES
