A high quality smattering of shows taking place this weekend. Take a look below...
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20
Fleetwood Mac There are at least a half-dozen classic rock artists that I love but whose repertoires saturated my childhood so thoroughly, I need not ever listen to them again. Fleetwood Mac is one such, their easy breezy and groove-driving sounds inducing both immediate nostalgia and hasty station-changing when forced upon me. This run of arena dates is a rather big deal, because singer-keyboardist Christine McVie has returned to the fold for the first time in upwards of 16 years and reviews of recent performances rave about a revitalized Mac attack. Who knows if she’ll remain after tour, so if you’re a fan, it’s probably a good time to invest in a ticket. (Amalie Arena, Tampa)
Infinite Groove Orchestra with Serotonic Infinite Groove Orchestra (currently made up of drummer/percussionist Adam Volpe, bassist Jon Shea and keysman John Richardson currently joined full-time by guitarist Josh Formanek) unleash a set of expansive, funked-out sci-fi-delic jazz marked by dirty organ and bass grooves, unexpected time signatures, occasional forays into reggae, hip hop and drum n’ bass territories, and an instrumental repertoire drawing on originals and the odd cover (like Outkast’s “Spottieottiedopaliscious”). Serotonic complements with more dance oriented sax-blown funk-jazz set. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
The Best Day Ever Black Christmas Show with Children of Orion, Funeral Dazies, Shinraco, Lilith The band formerly known as Best Day Ever officially sheds the old name and name, Children of Orion, to better represent the ongoing storyline of the dramatic, well-heeled sci-fi/prog rock quintet’s series of concept albums. A few-track preview of upcoming release A Thousand Year Love Story is given away at the show along with holiday goodie bags, and the best dressed attendee in black and red (the band members’ trademark colors) wins a $50 bar tab. (Fubar, St. Petersburg)
R.O.C. Park Benefit with Come Back Alice, Strange Brew, Trigger City Trio, Bekauz, Apallo, Delusions Of Grandeur A genre-spanning bill of acts led by jammy Southern rock-prog-gypsy skrunking Sarasota foursome Come Back Alice playing to raise funds for the in-progress Remember Our Children (R.O.C. Park), located in Madeira Beach and dedicated to remembering children who have passed. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Annual Halcyon Toy Drive with The Cheaters For their last performance of the year, Deb Hunseder and Steph Callahan – the acoustic-guitar wielding vocal harmonizing primaries of folk outfit Halcyon – collect toy donations for children of any age for Carlton Manor, which provides therapeutic housing, skilled caregivers and dedicated treatment to emotionally disturbed foster children in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Yoni Wolf + Astronautalis with Bleubird, Samurai Shotgun, Project: Save C.A. Hircus Yoni Wolf is the co-founder of indie label Anticon and the founding artist behind eccentric rock/hip hop project WHY?. On this short winter tour he hawks Snowjams, a new limited edition cassette of covers by artists ranging from Bob Dylan and Tom Petty to Frank Ocean, Pavement and The National. He’s joined on the road by Minnesota-by-way-of-Florida weirdo clever, forward-thinking hip hop emcee Astronautalis, who recently worked with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on a fresh collaboration, called Jason Feathers. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21
Trace Adkins A true chrome-plated America-loving patriot whose honky tonk-swinging country backs a drawling baritone reflecting on mostly none-too-serious topics, mostly women, and has 30 Top 40 country singles to prove his fans like it. But on Trace Adkins current “Christmas Show 2014 Tour,” he sticks to cuts off 2013 album The King’s Gift, made up of classic Celtic -style holiday carols. The live production features a 12-piece ensemble, including Scottish singer Alyth McCormack, and history-driven yet dynamic narrative segments and “fireside chats” are interspersed amid the fine symphony arrangements. On a side note, The Christmas Show DVD was filmed during last year’s tour stop at Ruth Eckerd. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)
SWIMM with Saskatchewan, Florida Night Heat Soaked in Florida waters before re-locating to Los Angeles, SWIMM (Chris Hess and Adam Winn) mix up guitar-warped shoe-gaze-y folk and grooving psychedelia-soaked dance rock, sometimes all in one song ala “Souvenir.” The twosome is generally joined by other players while on the road, this time around backing a trio of EPs self-released this summer. Orlando’s Saskatchewan brings an ethereal dream pop quality to the bill while locals Florida Night Heat rev up the crowd with grungy stoner ooze and Old West-flecked rock-outs. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
ALSO THIS WEEKEND
The Sicilian Tenors Sat., Dec. 20, Largo Cultural Center, Largo
Geri X/The Real Clash/Saganaki Bomb Squad/Jun Bustamante Sat., Dec. 20, Market on 7th, Ybor City
The Ori Naftaly Band Sat., Dec. 20, Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
An Evening of Worship w/Steven Curtis Chapman/Third Day Sat., Dec. 20, USF Sun Dome, Tampa
Uncle John’s Band w/Renee Giaccone Sat., Dec. 20, Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
A Hideaway Christmas Sat., Dec. 20, Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg
Flowers and Fowler Sat., Dec. 20, Yeoman’s Road Pub, Tampa
Metal Meowlisha w/Pain Killer/Dark Disciple/Forged With Blood/Chlover/Foundry/Tickle Thrash Attack Sat., Dec. 20, Brass Mug, Tampa
Bowser’s Holiday Party w/Jon “Bowzer” Bauman/Peter Noone/Gary Puckett & The Union Gap/Joey Dee & more Sat., Dec. 20, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
Savi Fernandez Sun., Dec. 21, Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
Catatonic Scripts Sun., Dec. 21, Bananas, St. Petersburg
Applebutter Express w/Jeremy Willis Sun., Dec. 21, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa
La Lucha Sun., Dec. 21, Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Ol’ Dirty Sundays w/DJ Balance Sun., Dec. 21, Crowbar, Ybor City
Michael Smith Sun., Dec. 21, UU Dome, Tampa
More concerts for the week HERE.
