DECEMBER
Wednesday, Dec. 31 Nervous Turkey (Yeoman's Road Pub, Tampa)
Wednesday, Dec. 31 Rewind: The WMNF Tribute to the Music and Songs of 1968 w/ Boon/Christie Lenee/Crabgrass Cowboys/Ted Lukas/Johnny Zoom/Lush Progress/Midnight Bowler’s League/Rancid Polecats/Roppongi’s Ace/Talk to Mark WMNF’s Flee strays from his typical tribute show tradition of having a diverse lineup of local acts honor a single artist and has asked all the bands listed above to cover a tune from 1968. Songs I would like to hear from that year? How about killer renditions of The Rolling Stones’ “Factory Girl,” The Beatles’ “Happiness Is a Warm Gun,” Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City” and The Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat.” Seriously, that would be a rad setlist! “Party favors, champagne toast, breakfast included,” reads the ’MNF website. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Wednesday, Dec. 31 Sister Hazel The Gainesville bar band that made it big a decade ago during Hootie mania is back, with $39.99 tickets that include “champagne toast, party favors and buffet.” (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
Wednesday, Dec. 31 REAX Rockin' New Years Eve Party feat. The Basiqs/Sunbears!/Pauly Crush Tampa’s Basiqs are a highly talented hip-hop duo that drop finessed flow over sonics indebted to soul and classic rock. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Wednesday, Dec. 31 Jason Ricci and New Blood w/Tucci With tight trousers and slanted hairstyle, youngster Jason Ricci might look like he should be playing pop punk rather than the blues. But the latter is his music of choice and Ricci is one of the best harp blowers around. Expect him to have this fabulously barn-like venue rocking! (Ace's Lounge, Bradenton)
Wednesday, Dec. 31 DJ Icey w/Tony Faline/Haf What’s up with Green Iguana bringing in all these killer DJs? Props to them. Icey made his name in Orlando during the gloriously decadent 1990s rave days. He’s best known for acid house, funk breaks and being the resident DJ at The Edge back in the day. (Green Iguana, Anderson Road, Tampa)
JANUARY
Friday, Jan. 02, WMNF presents Kenny Drew, Jr. The jazz pianist, 50, calls St. Petersburg home, but spends a lot of time gigging around the country and overseas. He comes from a decidedly bebop-inspired space — bluesy and hard swinging but capable of introspection and sensitivity. Drew is one of those jazzers who intuitively knows how to excite an audience, playing very fast while remaining coherent, and with his sense of melody always intact. Kenny Drew Jr. is a throwback in the best possible sense. His father Kenny Drew was an estimable pianist in the bop and post-bop eras. Drew doesn’t do a lot of Bay area gigs, and this trio show should be special, held at the acoustically excellent Springs Theatre, which is also a recording studio. (Springs Theatre, Tampa)
Friday, Jan. 02 The Florida Orchestra Presents Five By Design in Stay Tuned The Orchestra goes a bit campy with this concert, backing the vocal ensemble Five By Design, which will sing music from the early days of television, including theme songs, commercials, skits and comedy bits. Guest conductor Will Delony presides. The same program takes place on Sat., Jan. 3 at Mahaffey Theater in St. Pete and Mon., Jan. 5 at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
Friday, Jan. 02 Galactic w/ Trombone Shorty/The Lee Boys The New Orleans quintet Galactic has never been shy about reinventing itself — or at least engaging in significant musical overhauls — especially in the last half decade. The group started in the mid-1990s as a gang of white boys copping Crescent City funk, then added African-American singer Theryl deClouet on vocals. They earned a following on the jam-band circuit and released several albums that built them into a solid cult act. DeClouet and the group parted company in ’04, and the band soldiered on as an instrumental ensemble — until last year, when Galactic unleashed the fine From the Corner to the Block, where the players laid down deep funk grooves behind an array of alt-rappers, including Boots Riley and Lyrics Born. Several rappers joined Galactic on their last tour, but I’ve not been able to discover whether that’s the plan for this trek or they’re reverting back to the all(mostly?)-instrumental format. The band’s website lists only The Lee Boys, a rousing “sacred steel” band, as openers, while Jannus Landing also says Trombone Shorty is on the bill. Let’s hope he is: The lithe trombonist, who also raps, sings and plays trumpet, is a fireball entertainer, and his band pulls from both traditional Crescent City and post-hip-hop influences.
Galactic, Fri., 9 p.m. Jan. 2, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, $21 advance, $24 day of show, jannuslandingconcerts.com. —Eric Snider (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
Friday, Jan. 02 Kim Kramer (Whistle Stop Grill, Safety Harbor)
