THURSDAY, JULY 26
MC Chris w/Powerglove/Richie Branson MC Chris made a name for himself as a voice actor and writer on Adult Swim programs like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and The Brak Show, but he's been an active rapper since issuing his 2001 nerdcore hip hop debut, Life's a Bitch and I'm Her Pimp. Last year saw the release of a children’s album, Marshmellow Playground, along with a seventh studio LP, Race Wars, that has him waxing on a ridiculous range of topics, from his desire to smoke weed with Harrison Ford ("Jones") to the origin of Batman ("Part One"), with the usual skits of punchy comedy scattered amid the music. MC Chris caused an online stir recently for tossing a fan from a Philly club for Tweeting during the show and criticizing one of the nerdcore rapper's opening acts; he reportedly singled out said fan and yelled, "Security, is going to take you the fuck out now! That's what you get for talking shit on Twitter!" He apologized later, after catching a lot of flack, but just keep in mind that if you have something to say about warm-up band Powerglove — which dishes out speed metal versions of NES classics — keep your grubby judgmental thumbs to yourselves and take complain directly to MC management. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Leilani Polk
Toadies / Helmet w/Ume A few of the heavier (and better) '90s alt-rock airwave regulars drop in to see how the State has fared over the last decade-and-three-quarters or so. Toadies’ Play.Rock.Music drops on July 31, while Helmet's most recent release was 2010’s Seeing Eye Dog, but expect plenty of familiar tunes from both acts’ respective heydays. Support comes courtesy of Austin’s young, dynamic, sonically intriguing and terribly named Ume. Highly recommended. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —Scott Harrell
FRIDAY, JULY 27
Travis Porter With a quiet storm of seven mixtapes between 2009 and 2010, Georgia hip hop trio Travis Porter (featuring fresh 20-year-old rappers Ali, Quez and Strap) made a big impact, earning a "Most Dynamic Rap Group Duo" award at NYC's 2010 Underground Music Awards and collabing with notable artists like Roscoe Dash and Waka Flocka Flame even before getting signed to Jive Records (now RCA) later that year. In May, they dropped their debut studio LP, From Day 1, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Rap charts and features filthy club-bumpers like "Ayy Ladies" with Young Money rapper Tyga, and stripper vs. high rollin' client call-and-response anthem, "Make It Rain" ("You wanna see some ass, I wanna see some cash / Keep them dollars comin', and that's gon' make me dance … Make it rain, trick, make it make it rain, trick"). (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg) —LP
Deicide w/Riptorn/Prophecy Z14 Back during Bay area death metal's early '90s salad days, Deicide rose to prominence as much on the strength of frontman Glen Benton's image and penchant for provocation as on the band’s able yet somewhat workmanlike take on the genre. How much the upside-down cross brand on Benton's forehead has faded remains to be seen, but the group definitely still has its die-hard fans among the blast-beat lifers. It’s difficult to tell if noisy North Carolina death metal/industrial outfit RIP/TORN is serious about its scattershot approach to all things dark and heavy, but the band is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. Melbourne's Prophecy Z14 brings some classic tech-thrash elements to the proceedings. (Orpheum, Ybor City) —SH
Sugarland I think my Dad is in love with Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles, which may have something to do with why he jams Sugarland so loud in his car — but it could also be that the country duo (which also includes multi-instrumentalist Kristian Bush) is rather great, as "Stuck Like Glue" off their last album, 2010's The Incredible Machine, illustrates. Its guitar-and-scatting intro segues into a poppy verse accented by Nettles' Georgia twang, and the song features a borderline reggae bridge but is centered on a downright countrified hook. Country music fans love Sugarland because they write country, but music fans dig them because they're pretty and fun. (1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, Tampa) —Miles Parks
The Zombies 50th Anniversary Tour feat. Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent Few e-mails make me yell, "Holy shit!" upon opening them, but the latest to elicit such an unprofessional interjection came from the good folks and retro-revival showmasters at Largo Cultural Center when they announced that The Zombies — featuring Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent — would be hitting the venue to play one of only 11 shows in North America as part of their 50th Anniversary Tour. The Zombies formed in St. Albans in 1961, were the second U.K. group after The Beatles to score a No. 1 hit in America, and ruled the '60s with hit singles like "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No." Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle is ranked 80th on Rolling Stone's list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." As a Brit invasion nerd and someone who's geeked-out thoroughly on the dulcet pop harmonies and badass classics of Odessey (one of my desert island albums), and sang "This Is Our Year" at just about more drunk sing-alongs than I care to mention — I'm dern stoked about this. Some fellow Zombies fans have lamented lackluster Blundstone-Zombie outings, but this tour might just warrant the trip back to yesteryear. It will be my first time seeing them — so don't burst me bubble, blokes! ... "Feels so good, you're coming home soon!" (Largo Cultural Center, Largo) —Julie Garisto
