Jelle Wagenaar
THURS 28
Interpol w/School of Seven Bells A frontrunner of the aughts post-punk revival (with bands like The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand), NYC's Interpol brings a brooding, Dark Wave vibe to their sound with echoing guitar harmonies and the grimly intense vocals of singer/guitarist Paul Banks. Interpol — which released a fourth record on Matador last year — hits town with a new bass player in tow, Brad Truax, and has also recruited Secret Machines keyboardist/singer Brandon Curtis to play on their current tour. (The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City)
Inspired Flight w/Luminary Youth/Mike Mass San Diego's Inspired Flight draws on hip-hop and downtempo electronica as inspiration, and uses analog and digital instrumentation to build their groove-rocking music. OpenOptics handles the mixing, turntablism and beat-making, co-bandmate Chavez works the guitar and pedal effects, and both add various laptop-crafted sonic embellishments. Their debut album, We All Want To Fly (2010), features guest performances by Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan) and Scarub (Living Legends), among others; live, they're joined by vocalist/pianist Ashley Marie Mazanec. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Jim Beam Live Music Series: Cold War Kids The Long Beach, Calif. foursome hit the indie rock scene with a well-regarded debut in 2006 and perform as part of Jim Beam's "Live Music Series" to support their third and latest record, Mine Is Yours. (House of Blues, Orlando)
Heritage Sip handcrafted brews while soaking up the sunny Florida-flavored sounds of island rockers Heritage. The sextet — which hails from the panhandle — played the intimate Dunedin Brewery in September and delivered a few impressive sets that flowed on soulful vocals, grooving Jawaiian beats, tropical Latin melodies and rock-infused rhythms, the irie vibrations accented by ukulele strums and funky percussive-enhanced drums. If swaying to the sweet sounds of amorous reggae riddims in a live setting appeals to your inner beach bum, don't miss this show. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin) —Amber McDonald
Unwritten Law w/Authority Zero/Crash Fist Fight/Dead Cat Lounge Southern Cali pop punkers Unwritten Law are back with their fifth LP and first album of new material in six years, Swan, and a fresh single "Starships and Apocalypse" with a funny and straightforward, if somewhat muddled, chorus ("Singing something about / everybody get drunk drunk / Yeah baby lets fuck fuck"). Much of their lyrics are similarly literal and usually reflect on what's going on in their lives, from the high price of fame to dark times of drug use and partying. The LP is allegedly the band's most personal yet and serves as a tangible record of their struggles over the past few years. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —Valerie Quintana
Usher The seven-time Grammy winner and diamond-certified R&B-pop star — who's ranked as one of the best-selling artists in American music history by the RIAA — released two chart-topping albums in 2010: his platinum-selling LP, Raymond v. Raymond, and a nine-song follow-up EP, Versus, which sold well enough to become Usher's sixth Top 10 album in the U.S. (Amway Center, Orlando)
FRI 29
Tim McGraw w/Luke Bryan/Band Perry He sings (in a sweet drawling tenor), he acts (his last role was opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in 2011's Country Strong), he's married to Faith Hill (one of the most beautiful and successful female country pop stars around), and he was country music's No. 1 touring act of 2010 according to Billboard. (And yes, I'm talking about Tim McGraw.) (1-800-Ask Gary Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Sleigh Bells / CSS w/Bosco Delrey The NYC noise pop-dance punk duo comprised of vivacious siren Alexis Krauss and guitarist/producer Derek Miller gave off waves of frenetic energy and earsplitting sonics when I saw them open for LCD Soundsystem in Orlando last fall. Sadly, I only caught the last few minutes of their set, but they went from a fuzzy blip on my radar to an act I pledged to catch on their next Florida jaunt. This tour, they co-headline with CSS (Cansei De Ser Sexy, literally, "got tired of being sexy"), a Brazilian electroclash outfit with a neon-sparkling frontwoman, Lovefoxxx. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
Snakehealers w/The Future Show/The Broken Inn A bill of Florida indie rock headed up by Snakehealers, the new project of alt-country musician Devon Stuart (ex-Takers, Gainesville), along with post grunge rock outfit The Future Now (also from Gainesville) and Orlando's The Broken Inn, which mixes elements of alt, prog and funk rock into their energetic sound. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Rick Derringer As part of the Cleveland Street District's free family-friendly BLAST! Friday series, the city welcomes hard blues rock guitarist Rick Derringer, best known for his 1973 hit single, "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" but responsible for more than 20 albums in his long (more than four-decade) career. (Capitol Theatre, downtown Clearwater)
Ziggy Marley w/Fall On Purpose/Bambooda/Schylan A relatively major artist — reggae singer-songwriter Ziggy Marley, oldest son of legendary late dad Bob — stops at a rather minor outdoor Tampa venue (the former stadium Bennigans that recently re-opened as Green Iguana — Hawaiian Village, because two names are more confusing than one). He's promoting an as-yet-to-be-released solo LP, Wild and Free, due out in June, as well as the first issue of his debut comic book, Marijuanaman, which dropped on 4/20 (go figure) and follows a superhero as he tries to save Earth's marijuana fields from destruction by an evil pharmaceutical drug company. (Green Iguana, Tampa Stadium)
