THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

Songwriters in the Round: Michael J Weiss, Dylan Cowles, Dean Johanesen Remember when the Hideaway was gonna change its format and cut down on shows and whatnot? Well, it hasn’t happened yet, and the benefactors of procrastination be us, dammit. Tonight’s strummy in-the-round-style shindig features a guy with five albums and a reputation for entertaining live sets (Weiss), a guy from enduring folk duo Bleu Gravy (Cowles) and the guy who helps make these things a reality, The Human Condition frontman and singer-songwriter Dean Johanesen. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg) —Scott Harrell

Otep w/Butcher Babies/One-Eyed Doll + OTEP Poetry Reading & Signing at Daddy Kool Los Angeles outfit Otep seems to have weathered alt-metal’s wane better than some, probably due to the presence (and, you know, “presence”) of female vocalist Otep Shamaya. She’ll be highlighting the group’s in-store across the street from the State at Daddy Kool Records with a poetry reading at 4:40 p.m., hours before the group’s headlining set. Support comes courtesy of a terrible, tired gimmick from Hollywood called Butcher Babies, and Austin’s immeasurably more musically intriguing One-Eyed Doll. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

Wholetones w/Loves It Naples area “folkcore” outfit Wholetones ingeniously combines thrash-metal dexterity and jazz technique with traditional acoustic instrumentation; the result is as enthralling as it is unique. Fans of bluegrass and vaudeville styles will dig ’em just as much as those addicted to musicianship and shreditude. Loves It is a duo from Austin that delivers an entertaining take on a more straightforward contemporary indie-folk/pop style. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —SH

Skull n’ Bone Band Yup — you’ve seen the name approximately 1,428 times in the event listings this year alone. But have you seen the band itself? If you’re down with a catchy, psychedelic and heavily ’70s-rock-informed take on the jam-band aesthetic, then perhaps you should. And there are worse environments in which to enjoy a decent jam band ’round these parts than at the Dunedin Brewery with a locally crafted bevvie in your hand. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin —SH

In This Moment w/Red Tide Rising What the hell is it with gimmicky, exploitative female-fronted alt-metal bands from Southern California this week? Maybe they have to hew closely to one another’s road schedules because they all go to the same acid-casualty astrologer who used to be in the Manson Family and appeared in that one movie with Karen Black, or something. Anyway, In This Moment is what some A&R idiot from Hollywood would undoubtedly call “Evanescence with a hip-hop horror-movie edge,” and exactly as objectionable as that description implies. For its part, Colorado groovecore unit Red Tide Rising moves the girl to the bass-player position, and whatever scant points this band scores for true rock ’n’ roll swagger are immediately deducted for having a song called “Welcome to Zombietown.” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH

Big Blu House w/Acho Brother Sarasota neo-alt-funk/hip-hop Big Blu House deserves mucho credit for its organic collaborations with regional peers like Sons of Hippies. The collective sports a flowing, liquid flavor that only occasionally recalls old-school Native Tongues acts like De La Soul. Good stuff. They’re joined tonight by dynamic multilingual folk/pop/lounge/world duo Acho Brother. Get some culture. (Local 662, St. Petersburg) —SH

The Groves Album Release Party w/Zulu Wave It’s a family affair for the Groves with cousins Lane Smith and Jana Jones on rhythm and a new record proudly under their belt, one they and guitarist Travis Bourguignon and the frontman Justin Brown feel especially proud of — a raw, intimate and accurately representing collection of tunes recorded in a barn in Lutz. Their blues-inflected rock, with a touch of twang and pop, offers up a fulsome feelings live. Zulu Wave provides a somewhat futuristic complement to the evening with electronic doodads, cinematic atmospherics and angular goings on. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Julie Garisto

Randy Houser His music is built Ford tough and is the ‘Merica of county fairs and guys who go muddin’. Foot-pounding awesomeness, y’all. (The Round-Up, Tampa) —JG

Rocksteady@8 w/Control This!/Skylarking Soundsystem Good news, Tampa ska favorite Rocksteady@8 isn’t breaking up. With the bad weather behind us (hopefully) get yerself out to New World to dig on some vintage Jamaican flava with joyful dabs of jammy “Afreekahn” flourish. Understatement alert: These guys can play, and they’ve been at it for 13 years, formed by members of Strangeways, Amandla Tunesmith and Magadog. And, yes, frontman Jason Nwagbaraocha still tours with the Toasters. Not only does Skylarking Sound System share its name with a classic XTC album but it’s got some pretty badass old-school island grooves. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —JG

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

(HED) P.E. w/Soil (HED) P.E. is another nu-metal band that managed to (barely) survive the death of nu-metal solely on the strength of manufactured weirdness subbing in for true originality. To its credit, the group’s music has grown more unique over the years, emphasizing a certain manic spasticity more reminiscent of old Suicidal Tendencies than half-assed rap-rock. Chicago’s Soil, on the other hand, really hasn’t done much to differentiate itself from the sort of groove ‘n’ grind that dominated accessible metal right around the time the new millennium kicked in. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg) —SH