Thursday 11.22
Mug O'PlentyYou've been with the fam all day. Ugh. Drink away the dysfunction for cheap at Tampa Bay's premier live music dive, Brass Mug. The acts in the Turkey Day lineup may diverge in style, but they all play high-energy, guitar-based rock. Expect fun, improvisational antics and beer-soaked guitar windmills from the three-piece Bite Size, who offers up a catchy, slightly twangy garage sound (think Big Star and The Kinks). Music scene vet Mike O'Neill's two bands, Ferrell Melton and Unrequited Loves also make an appearance. FM, comprising ex-members of the popular local band Monday Mornings, plays off-kilter, textured rock that recalls Pavement. Unrequited Loves performs more straight-ahead melodic fare a la Elvis Costello. Flat Stanley, led by drummer/ex-Pink Lincoln Ed Stolz, delivers a five-piece assault of the bad-ass punk of yore. Last but not least, Crash Mitchell is a favorite troubadour of the fun-loving redneck variety. Cover is $5. Brass Mug is at 1441 E. Fletcher Ave., Tampa (813-972-8152).
Friday 11.23
Boob-Tube Humbug The brilliance of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol might be easier to appreciate had it not been adapted in more than 200 films, several of which air annually throughout the holiday season. To get back to the charm of this classic tale, the best thing to do (apart from reading the short story itself) may be to see the thing live. A full-length musical adaptation comes to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Jaeb Theater through Dec. 2, providing ample opportunity to reconnect with old Scrooge, the Cratchits and the ghosts of Christmas. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices cost $24.50, $27.50 and $29.50. TBPAC is at 1010 N. MacInnes Place, downtown Tampa (813-229-7827).
Hard Rock the House Sasha and John Digweed are returning to the States for a nationwide DJ tour, bringing their inimitable DJ sets to these shores together for the first time since December of 2000. Thousands of dedicated followers have been denied the thrill of experiencing marathon eight-hour sets of the finest house music since Twilo, the New York club where the duo resided on the last Friday of every month for 5 years, closed back in May 2001. This tour, taking place in intimate venues, is a chance to reacquaint John Digweed and Sasha with their fans. Sasha & Digweed with Jimmy Van M and Sean Cusik play Hard Rock Live Orlando from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Tickets cost $30 advance general admission, $40 advance reserved and $50 day of show. Hard Rock Live Orlando is at 6050 Universal Blvd., Orlando (407-351-ROCK).
Saturday 11.24
Saturday Afternoon Fever Hot sauces and hot bands rule the day at the I Like it Hot Festival being held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the new Pinellas Park Expo. There'll be hot rods, hot dogs, hot wings, hot women (probably) and cold beer (definitely). The musical lineup includes an acoustic set by Clinton Edwards, New World Cowboys, The Spicoli Brothers, Unspeakable Acts, Ill/Legal, Soul System and "The Sauce Boss" Bill Wharton & the Ingredients. Wharton is a gumbo-cooking blues man who serves up his own spicy Florida blues while mixing hot sauce into his gumbo, and at the end of the show, everybody eats. Admission costs $7.50, free for children under 12. Pinellas Expo Center is at 10601 U.S. 19 N., Pinellas Park. Call 727-423-8433.
Filipino Folk The 43-year-old Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company has delighted audiences around the world through its imaginative, graceful and authentic preservation of the ethnic rites and tribal folklore of the Philippines. The company, which takes its name from the ancient Filipino tradition signifying people working together for the common good, has preserved and added a new dimension to Philippine dance and by so doing received multiple national and international awards. Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company brings its Filipino ethnic dance to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Ferguson Hall at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $24.50, $29.50 and $34.50. TBPAC is at 1010 N. MacInnes Place, downtown Tampa (813-229-7827).
Sunday 11.25
Preaching From the Trough Pigface, the ongoing, aggro-anarcho, industrial collective first roped together by drummer/producer Martin Atkins more than a decade ago, has again taken to the highways and stages of America on its Preaching to the Perverted tour. Material covered includes old and new Pigface songs, work from the collective artists' various solo CDs and work from other Atkins-affiliated projects, such as The Damage Manual and Murder Inc. Pigface is joined by Gravity Kills, gODHEAD and Grim Faeries. The result is a three-and-a-half-hour-plus performance with minimal set changes and little down time. The tour coincides with the release of a double-disc compilation, The Best of Pigface. Disc one is comprised of tracks chosen by fans (yes, Atkins actually reads his e-mail) and disc two features previously unreleased material. Atkins has assembled new lineups of alternative musicians for each album, which range from bracing industrial noise to punk ravers to trance-like atmospherics. The Pigface collective this time out is anchored by Atkins and bassist Charles Levi (Thrill Kill Kult) with a cabaret of artists like Meg Lee Chin and Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) who may also show up solo in the lobby or on stage doing spoken word or acoustic numbers. The Perverted spectacle comes to The Masquerade at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $12 advance. The Masquerade is at 1503 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City (813-247-3319).
Monday 11.26
The Taming of the Shew Jazz trumpeter Bobby Shew performs with the USF Jazz Ensemble at 8 p.m. as part of their Monday Night Jazz Series. A veteran of big band jazz, Shew has played in groups led by such luminary artists as Bill Holman and Benny Goodman. In addition to being a sideman, Bobby has fronted his own band and recorded several albums, one of which, Heavy Company, won a Grammy for Jazz Album Of The Year in 1983. Admission costs $10, $5 for students and seniors. The performance takes place in University Theatre (TAT) at USF-Tampa, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa (813-974-2323).
Tuesday 11.27
AeroCult Occasionally an unlikely lineup of bands sets out on tour, as if only to dismay fans. Aerosmith's Just Push Play Tour with The Cult is just such a pairing. Aerosmith has thrived on drippy power ballads and star appeal for decades, with more than 100 million albums sold and scads of MTV and VH-1 honors. Whereas The Cult, standbys for many fans of straight rock 'n' roll, have merely realized they weren't done yet and are touring in support of their first album in seven years, Beyond Good and Evil. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice Palace. Tickets cost $49-$79. The Ice Palace is at 401 Channelside Drive, downtown Tampa (813-223-1000).
Wednesday 11.28
An Ambassador's Perspective U.S. Ambassador to South Africa (1999-2001) Delano Lewis speaks on Political Change and U.S. Policy in South Africa at 7:30 p.m. in Eckerd College's Dendy McNair Auditorium. Lewis has engaged in many civic, cultural and business activities related to his interests in political and social issues, from president and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR) from 1994 to '99 to currently serving on the boards of Colgate-Palmolive, Black Entertainment Television (BET), the Eastman Kodak Company and Africare. Eckerd College is at 4200 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg (727-864-8873).
