Easy Does It
Boasting three of New Orleans' top musicians — bassist George Porter Jr., drummer Russell Batiste and singer/guitarist Brian Stoltz — P.B.S., as they are commonly called, do the Big Easy proud with funky originals and Crescent City favorites custom-made for dance-floor action and late-night revelry. Porter's resume ranks as one of the most impressive in the music biz thanks to his role in the groundbreaking NOLA funk band The Meters and session work with everyone from Paul McCartney to Jimmy Buffett. Batiste joined Porter's Funky Meters offshoot in '89, after already having played with the likes of Harry Connick, Jr. and Champion Jack Dupree. Stoltz honed his chops playing with The Neville Brothers and then the Funky Meters. He offers rich R&B grooves augmented by a Hendrixian love for fiery solos. Opener Bonerama are one of the Big Easy's hottest young brass bands, blending second line standards with personalized covers of classic rock staples such as Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean." Following P.B.S.' set, the two acts will join forces for a "combo funk fest" from 11 p.m. to midnight.
Porter/Batiste/Stoltz w/Bonerama, Fri., Sept. 28, 8 p.m., Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa, $15/$18. —Wade Tatangelo
Romp and Pomp
The Emit series goes balls-out with this avant-romp. I can't tell you exactly how the performances will be configured, but let's break down the principals: Jimmy Carl Black was the original drummer for Frank Zappa's Mother's of Invention; he's stayed very active in the outré music realm ever since. Black has toured and collaborated often with Eugene Chadbourne, an iconoclast who plays guitar, all sorts of other wacky instruments and sings, sort of. His music is noisy and very often funny. This pair will be joined by Bogus Pomp, a Frank Zappa repertory band that calls Tampa Bay home. The 10-piece plays spot-on renditions of the late genius' ultra-complex and tricky compositions, leavening their jaw-dropping musicianship with a lively sense of humor on stage. Opening the show will be the St. Pete-based experimental/indie band Fall on Purpose, another fun and irreverent act.
Only a Mother ... Jimmy Carl Black, Eugene Chadbourne & Bogus Pomp w/Fall on Purpose, Sat., Sept. 29, 9 p.m., State Theatre, St. Pete. $20. emitseries.org. —Eric Snider
Chicks Rock
WMNF has corralled four female-fronted bands from the Southeast that specialize in the punchy, psychedelic rock of the 1960s for this event titled Garage-O-Rama: Girls Gone Garage. Atlanta five-piece Tiger! Tiger! features former Tampanian Buffi Aguero on guitars and vocals. The band is fiery yet melodic, with swirling organ runs that sound copped straight from the funhouse. The Actomatics are a Central Florida band led by keyboardist/vocalist Shadow Pearson, formerly of the disbanded Four Shames. Orlando's The Courtneys bring a New Wave-y bounce to the garage-rock template. Tampa is repped by Heroine, a band that's back on the scene following a maternity-leave hiatus and features Loaf photog Valerie Troyano.
Garage-O-Rama: Girls Gone Garage w/Tiger! Tiger!/The Actomatics/Heroine/The Courtneys, Sat., Sept. 29, 9 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City, $8. —WT
