THURSDAY, JULY 11
The Coathangers w/Permanent Makeup/Atlantic Oceans The Coathangers are an all-femme indie rock band from Atlanta with a sound that draws on elements of dissonant post-punk and more upbeat garage rock, all of it treated with ominous low-end, a coating of surf-y reverbed guitar and dark sci-fi keyboard texture, and vocals that see-saw between aggressive snarled-shouted verses and sweet, snotty or just plain batty higher-toned harmonies. The dark and bright moodiness paired with droll lyrics make for a rather intriguing and appealing dichotomy. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Bossa Nova Guitars: Nate Najar and Phill Fest Two jazz guitar stars — the Bay area’s own nylon-string plucking and stroking Nate Najar and South Florida-based Phill Fest, prodigal son of late keyboardist Manfredo Fest — draw on their bossa nova backgrounds to present an evening of lounging Latin grooves. “The Girl From Ipanema” anyone? (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
FRIDAY, JULY 12
Matt Pond w/Matrimony/The Pauses New England indie troubadour Matt Pond dropped the “PA” and his latest group of instrumentalists (save longtime co-producer Chris Hansen) for ninth full length The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand, diverging from the more melancholic contemplations of 2010’s The Dark Leaves to explore brighter, triumphant pop rock with soaring melodies, faster-paced and more robust rhythms, and tasteful banjo and keyboard adornment. Pond selected a creamy crop of Orlando players to join he and Hansen on the road in support of the album — keys mistress/bassist/vocalist Tierney Tough (The Pauses), drummer Rawnson Forpahl (Saskatchewan, Loud Valley), and guitarist Tre Hester (The Great Deceivers) — and recent video for the track “Hole in My Heart” was shot on location in O-town. Opening the show are Matrimony, a rockin’ husband-and-wife-fronted alt-roots outfit from Charlotte, N.C., and the aforementioned indietronic rock trio, The Pauses, playing one of their last live dates before holing up to record a new album. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
Brian Davis Tampa’s country nightclub hosts its annual bikini contest and brings in national name talent to provide accompaniment: Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brian Davis, who has a strong Southern grind to his sound and backs a sixth studio full-length, Under the Influence, written with fellow country ruckus maker Brantley Gilbert. (Dallas Bull, Tampa)
Teach Me Equals w/Oliver & Company/Radarmen?/Hussar/Archaic Interest The Sarasota-based twosome formerly known as Bard and Mustache has a new name (Teach Me Equals) but their music remains an intriguing marriage of post-classical and experimental pop aesthetics, with Erin Murphy’s gorgeous throaty vocals sailing over instrumental arrangements built on the plucked, bowed, scraped, strummed and warped strings of violin, cello and guitar, and weaving in haunting harmony with the lower register intones of partner Greg Bortnichak. Teach Me Equals are gearing up to embark on the biggest project of their career: living on the road for upward of 12 months while playing shows in 48 states and Canada. This throwdown in St. Pete is both a kick-off of sorts and fundraiser for the first six-month leg of their journey. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
Ballyhoo!/Authority Zero A double bill of punk-rooted reggae-fused acts from either corner of the U.S. hit the Jannus stage. Baltimore’s Ballyhoo! leans to a breezy, melody-fueled pop-Caribbean orientation and backs a 2013 LP issued on their own Right Coast Records imprint, Pineapple Grenade. Mesa, Arizona favorites Authority Zero have a heavier, ska-and-Spanish music tang to their own vigorous skate punk odes, and are fresh off releasing The Tipping Point, their fifth full-length overall but first to feature newer members Brandon Landelius (guitar) and Sean Sellers (drums). (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
Pitch for Pink w/Rob Base and Tone Loc The eighth annual Pitch for Pink game finds the Clearwater Threshers decked out in special pink jerseys as they battle the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs in support of the non-profit Morton Plant Mease Foundation, which offers breast health services and programs to uninsured women, among other services. Old school hip-hoppers Rob Base (“It Takes Two,” “Joy and Pain”) and Tone Loc (“Funky Cold Medina,” “Wild Thing”) perform after the game. (Bright House Field, Clearwater)
Escape Tonight CD Release Show w/Rise of Saturn/UNRB/The Best Day Ever The corroded, deeper register vocals of guitarist/frontman Russell Fama wheel and chafe above the driving pop punk-hooky alt-rock instrumentals he writes with bassist Rick Herbert, lead guitar player Pete Tremblay and drummer Danny Bauer as Escape Tonight. The foursome unleashes their brand new Ampersand EP at this free CD release show, with warm-up varying from Rise of Saturn’s funk-hop prog rock, to the brass-blasted ska-punk fusion of UNRB, to dramatic synth rock stylings delivered by The Best Day Ever. (Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin)
SATURDAY, JULY 13
Anberlin w/Campfire OK/Stars In Stereo CL Staffer and longtime Anberlin devotee Daniel Cura hailed Anberlin’s February performance in Orlando as one of the best he’s seen, with the tightest most consistent playing. The Central Florida native alt-rock outfit makes their long-awaited return to the Tampa Bay area as part of the “Anberlin Lite Tour,” a run of acoustic dates at which the band promises “we’ll be playing songs we haven’t played in a long time, re-working some familiar songs, and maybe a new cover too?” (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
La Lucha with Jun Bustamante A program of Latin-seasoned jazz standards by local trio La Lucha — upright bass caresser Alejandro Arenas, beat-keeper Mark Feinman and keys stroker John O’Leary — is augmented by the silky rich vocal stylings of local songstress Jun Bustamante, who can croon a bilingual turn of phrase with classy finesse. (Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg)
America’s Most Wanted Festival: Lil Wayne w/T.I./Tyga/Future Whether he's offering up his misogynistic brand of romanticism in “Love Me” with Drake and Future on the hook (“I can give a fuck ‘bout no hater, long as my bitches love me”), rapping about his net worth with 2 Chainz in “Rich as Fuck” and tossing lines about all the fake hoes he’s killing and the real one he’s filling with his hose pipe (“That pussy feel just like heaven on earth / Six feet deep, dick shovel in the dirt, R.I.P. — Rest In Pussy”), or claiming to enjoy an anxiety-free existence with Detail in “No Worries” (“She say sorry I didn’t shave so that pussy a little furry / I put that pussy in my face: I ain’t got no worries”), Lil Wayne (aka Lil Tunechi aka Young Weezy aka Weezyana) never suffers from a lack of things to say about women, smoking weed, or his apparently oversized member. The tatted, brassy-voiced rapper from New Orleans brings his latest mega hip-hop tour to town in support of 10th studio album I Am Not a Human Being II. (MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)
Lemuria w/Feral Babies/DieAlps! Buffalo, N.Y. indie punk-pop outfit Lemuria — which hits town on the heels of releasing a third full-length, The Distance Is So Big on Bridge 9 Records — has been wooing audiences and steadily gathering fans since their inception nine years ago, with Sheena Ozzella cooing lyrics like “Don’t look at me with your ‘I know you’re going to die’ eyes” and “Quick to buy a round or throw a fist, slow to open my heart” that sweeten up Lemuria’s sound, and adding guitar riffage to the lively rhythm section thrust of bassist Max Gregor and drummer Alex Kerns. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Florida Music Food Initiative Showcase: Mindy Simmons/James Hawkins/Jenn Weidley/Austin Truax/John French/Leigh Humes/Mary Beth Campbell/The Dunn Deal/Jeffrey Friberg/Steve Humes/William L. Whitacre Florida Music Food Initiative (FMFI) is a not-for-profit project that raises funds and provisions for the Florida Association of Food Banks and the Florida Coalition for the Homeless via compilation albums and music showcases featuring Florida native singer-songwriters who’ve donated their talents to the dual causes of homelessness and hunger. This particular concert is a free food drive, so attendees should bring a few nonperishable food donations and some cash to grab a copy of the first double-disc FMFI collection, Am I My Brothers’ Keeper? For more info, visit floridamusicfoodinitiative.org. (Hideaway Café & Recording Studio, St. Petersburg)
Micah Schnabel w/Booker & Norton Two Cow Garage’s raw and passionate singer-guitarist-songwriter Micah Schnabel has penned his fair share of punk-kicking alt-country scorchers for his band, and he’s also recorded a few albums worth of solo fare, 2009’s When the Stage Lights Go Dim and last year’s sophomore outing, I’m Dead, Serious, both on Suburban Home Records. He performs a set of songs from both along with select Two Cow Garage cuts at Yeoman’s, with warm-up by soulful stomping guitar-and-drums indie rock combo, Booker & Norton. (Yeoman’s Road Pub, Tampa)
SUNDAY, JULY 14
Sole Food 2 + Ol’ Dirty Sundays Before the usual crunk, break and swig party takes place at Ol’ Dirty Sundays, resident DJs Casper and LeSage present a redux of the successful sneaker exchange they held in February. From 5 to 10 p.m., local guests Knucklez (“The Korean Supreme”) and Ritz (“America’s Favorite Cracker”) spin the soundtrack to Sole Food 2 while Bay area residents from far and wide converge to hawk, trade and cop some new (or gently used) kicks. Admission is free; selling shoes is not. Call 727-470-4636 for more info. Once the shoe carnival is over, the regularly scheduled ODS party commences with DJ Infader from Jacksonville firing up the guest decks. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
Rays Concert Series: Carly Rae Jepsen Swarms of tweens are sure to overrun the Trop for the latest edition of the post-game concert series, which features promotional DJ Kitty snowglobes for 14-and-under-aged Rays fan and a live performance by Justin Bieber-championed Canadian pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen. Expect a sing-along that reaches record-setting levels of fervor when Jepsen inevitably launches into catchy saccharine chart-topper, “Call Me Maybe.” (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg)
Ward & Wilder Cali-born, Florida-based fiddler Christian Ward has been performing professionally since age 12, and has a resume full of sit-ins with artists like Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs and Bela Fleck. Fast flat-picking Florida native guitarist and Bluegrass Parlor Band former Austin Wilder tempers his string-play with a pleasant tenor. Together, the roots-favoring musicians harmonize and draw on a repertoire of folk, bluegrass, and country tunes. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
Camille Dupree & Broken Fetters CD Release Party w/Brian Sutherland Trio/Caleb Hyers Band Direct from the unlikely backwaters of the Riverview/Valrico area comes sweet young songbird Camille Dupree, who plays fiddle and sings in a clear soprano that soars over the Broken Fetters’ arrangements of plucked and strummed banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and keys. The result is a spiritually-uplifting, drama-building mix of folk rock, bluegrass and Americana. Last year they issued a seven-song Bohemians EP. The fresh follow-up, Demand to Glow, is unveiled by Dupree and bandmates Jesse Palm, Will Swartz and Wes Lehman at this CD release party. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
MONDAY, JULY 15
B.J. Barham Being the frontman of such a prolific and hard-touring outfit as Raleigh, N.C.’s American Aquarium seems like it’d leave little time for B.J. Barham to flex his solo muscles. But the gritty-drawling artist has taken time between dates with AA to embark on a short (10-day) acoustic tour of the Southeast, which finds him playing new material off a forthcoming AA record along with cuts spanning the band’s seven-album catalog of rocking whiskey-hued alt country, including 2012 Muscle Shoals-inspired latest, Burn.Flicker.Die. The show starts at 7 p.m. sharp; admission is free but donations help B.J. with gas for the road. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
TUESDAY, JULY 16
The Appleseed Cast w/The Life And Times/Muscle Worship Since its release in May, I keep returning to The Appleseed Cast’s Illumination Ritual as my go-to background music. There’s certainly nothing that strikes me as groundbreaking from the Kansas foursome’s first full-length since 2009, though it’s a comfortable mix of their more recent post-rock instrumentals and early emo-tinged lyrics. My main complaint is that albums like Low Level Owl were so great because of their ambition, and Illumination Ritual feels somewhat … settled. Still, the complex and intricate interplay between guitar and drums is ever present; according to Appleseed Cast’s website, each member of the band was given time to riff in the studio, then the spontaneous contributions were captured and cut together. I’m not sure how this will translate to their live set but it’s definitely worth checking out. A few fellow Kansas-based compatriots — spacey alt-rockers The Life and Times and wild post-punk combo Muscle Worship — support. (Crowbar, Ybor City) —Deborah Ramos
The People’s Blues of Richmond The abbreviation is “PBR,” so that should tell you something about this indie rock quartet from Virginia, which has opened for artists as diverse as Galactic, Flogging Molly, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Ghostland Observatory. Their sound is a seething fusion of blues, funk and psychedelia marked by heavy low-end swagger, springy rhythms, meaty keys, crunchy fuzzy guitar riffs interspersed with pedal-warped licks and cleaner piercing solos, and raspy soulful vocals howled over top of it all. This tour backs a new Kickstarter-funded LP, Good Time Suicide. For fans of The White Stripes. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17
Dave Matthews Band Whether or not you’re a fan, you have to give Dave Matthews Band credit: the septet has staying power and continues to reel in new generations of youthful fans on a regular basis; in fact, DMB fans recently made headlines when 81 of them were charged with underage drinking after a recent concert in upstate New York. The megalithic pop, roots and jazz-jammy rock band led by mouth-full-of-marbles singer-songwriter Matthews makes their annual summertime stop at the amphitheater, backing 2012 Steve Lillywhite-produced eighth album Away from the World, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it DMB’s sixth consecutive chart-topping LP. (MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa)
CLICK HERE to see a complete rundown of shows taking place this week and in the coming weeks.
