Blurbex

1. Albuquerque’s screamo/crunkified dance music purveyors Brokencyde (pictured) and punkified pop music makers Karate High School of San Francisco bring their “We Make It Rain” tour to Crowbar tonight. Thoreau and The Fight at the Show provide support.

2. Indie Fest continues at Beach Theatre.

3. “A Concert for Nelson Mandela” – which was held in London’s Hyde Park in honor of Mandela’s 90th birthday and to raise funds for his HIV/AIDS charity – is aired on VH1 tonight at 9 p.m. The program includes performances by Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds and many others as well as presentations by a variety of African artists.

4. The Tampa Bay Rays return to Tropicana Field for a three-night stand of home games against the Boston Red Sox. The action begins at 7 p.m.

5. Last day to see the textile works featured in Lilly Marsh: A Shimmering Surface at Craftsmen House Gallery.

Because of Jesus Christ Superstar’s colossal reputation, I wasn’t surprised by the excited buzz before the rock opera’s start at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center last night. While the regular theater-goers busied themselves at the bars scattered in the lobby, families and couples found their seats and flipped through their playbills, excitedly discussing “the guy from the movie,” Ted Neeley, who stars as Jesus in the production and who played the same role in the 1973 film.

Corey Glover as Judas; photo by Joan Marcus.

When Neeley made his grand entrance during the third number, the crowd roared, but that’s about as exciting as things got until the famous “Gethsemane” scene.  I wanted to see Neeley play a real superstar, a more Michael Jackson-esque performer who wowed his followers into worship with rock ‘n’ roll. What I got was a Jesus who was majestic and pained, but not a convincingly rockin’ messiah or even a believable messiah at all. In Neeley’s defense, his failure was probably the result of a lack of strong direction. It seemed like he was just there to sing. That, at least, he did very well.

Unfortunately, Judas was also a dud. Played by Corey Glover — lead singer of Grammy-winning band Living Colour — Judas lacked strength or charisma. Glover was limp, shoulders hunched and head hung, for the entire time he held the stage, making his character annoying, not tragic. A bolder Judas would have been more interesting.  Again, this was probably the result of ineffective direction, not a reflection of Glover’s lack of talent, and his final number, “Superstar,” actually allowed him to shine. Matthew G. Myers and Aaron Fuksa as Simon and Herod provided the most memorable performances. Myers shocked me out of my boredom-induced haze during his solo in the first act. But it wasn’t until Fuksa, playing an afroed Herod, appeared on the stage with a handful of soul singers  that I was entertained again.

Despite the production’s generally lackluster feel, the technical aspects were flawless. The choruses were clear and beautifully harmonized, and the choreography stole the spotlight from Jesus and Judas every time.

Overall, Jesus Christ Superstar didn’t live up to its glowing reputation. For the most part, I was bored out of my mind and couldn’t wait for it to be over, but that may have just been me. The 9-year-old behind me really dug it, what with his knowledge of every word and participation in every sing-along throughout the show. If you’re already a JCS nut, then I’d say go for it. The show runs through Sunday, June 29.

Note: A correction has been made in above entry to the name of one of the actors. In earlier version, Matthew G. Meyers had been misidentified as Michael G. Meyers.

The St. Pete Pride weekend kicked off last night with A Taste of Pride, a reception at Nova 535, where I got a chance to talk with Janice Langbehn, the grand marshal of Saturday’s parade. Langbehn seems a bit abashed by the lofty title, but her story needs to be told, and the Pride organizers made a brilliant political decision in helping to draw renewed attention to that story this week.

In Miami last year, Langbehn was about to embark on a cruise with her partner of 18 years, Lisa Marie Pond, and three of their four adopted children, when Pond suffered a brain aneurysm and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the hospital, the staff “refused to accept information from Langbehn regarding Pond’s medical history, informing her that she was in an antigay city and state and that she could expect to receive no information or acknowledgment as family.” Langbehn and her children were denied access to Pond for nearly eight hours. When the family was finally allowed to see her, the priest was administering last rites. Langbehn, with the help of Lambda Legal, is now suing the hospital and staffers for “negligent infliction of emotional distress.”

What happened to Langbehn — a heartless, by-the-book bureaucratic foul-up if there ever was one — could become even more commonplace after November’s election. If demagogues convince Florida voters that a same-sex marriage ban, already a law, should also be enshrined in the state constitution, the same thing could happen to anyone in Florida who defines family as other than one man/ one woman in a state-approved union. Unmarried heterosexual couples, senior citizens living together as companions, committed same-sex partners raising a family in relationships lasting 10, 20, 50 years — all of them would be at risk of being treated the same way as Janice Langbehn was treated.

Only if Amendment 2 passes, it won’t be just boneheaded hospital staffers denying people their civil rights. It’ll be the Florida Constitution.

If for no other reason than to show the world that you don’t want that to happen, march in the Pride parade Saturday and show your support for a grand marshal who deserves all the support we can give.

Later this week, I’ll be posting my interview, captured on ImGay.TV, with Lambda Legal’s Beth Littrell, who’s handling Langbehn’s case. And on Saturday, look for Creative Loafing staffers, including myself, riding the Azalea fire truck in the parade and handing out copies of the Openly Gay Issue and special CL “branded” condoms — much better than “beeeeaaaads.” And check out CL’s booth at 25th & Central.

1. Maserati (pictured) hails from Athens, Ga., and produces a hard post rockin’ sort of progressive psychedelia. It’s pretty hot shit. They play Crowbar tonight; Summerbirds in the Cellar, Red Room Cinema, and Clock Hands Strangle provide support.

2. Sip samples of select Barefoot Wines, nibble on eats by Café Alma, and kick off St. Pete Pride at tonight’s A Taste of Pride fundraiser at Nova 535 Art Lounge.

3. The Steve Carell-ified Get Smart continues its run at local theaters.

4. Tampa’s own  jazz saxophonist Eric Darius celebrates the release of his new CD with a release party and live broadcast hosted by Smooth Jazz WSJT-94.1 at The Venue in Clearwater. The festivities kick off at 4 p.m., with the free concert by Darius and his band to begin at 7:30 p.m.

5. University of Tampa welcomes two-time Oscar winning director John Hughes for a workshop at Reeves Theater today from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Hughes shows the animation and special effects that won him Visual Effects awards for The Golden Compass and Babe, and offers info about the secrets behind the animation process.

1. St. Pete for Peace continues its free screening series with Cocalero, an award-winning documentary that focuses on Bolivian farmers, the union they formed in response to their government’s U.S.-prompted efforts to get rid of coca crops, and Evo Morales (pictured), the native Aymara Indian man who comes to represent them and eventually become the country’s first indigenous president. The film begins at 8:30 p.m. and is presented in the outdoor courtyard at Café Bohemia.

2. Convergence 2008 – the bienniel fiber arts conference of the Handweaver’s Guild of America – opens to the public today. Locals are invited to the Tampa Convention Center to come check out exhibits and demos, and shop for a variety of fiber merchandise.

3. LA’s Rooney produces music that’s been likened to a marriage of British Invasion rock and 1980’s pop. The band plays State Theatre with support provided by Locksley, a Brooklyn garage-rock ensemble.

4. Tampa Independent Business Alliance launches a local celebration of Independents Week, a nationwide observance – which officially occurs July 1-7 – that encourages communities to make an effort to shop at locally-owned independent businesses.

5.  Another screening event, this one at Muvico Baywalk and to benefit St. Pete Pride. The “Pride and a Movie” selection is the detective drama, On the Other Hand, Death.

Wipeout on ABC.

1. If it’s as good as its Japanese counterpart, Ninja Warrior/Sasuke, ABC’s Wipeout could turn out to be an outrageously hilarious reality competition show. See the first group of contestants bumble through the extreme obstacle course when Wipeout premieres tonight.

2. Anti-aging and aesthetic institute a3 hosts “Party Like a Rock Star,” a fundraising event featuring a private concert by California’s MIGGS, celeb guests and plenty else, with proceeds to benefit the DeBartolo Family Foundation.

3. In celebration of the upcoming Independence Day holiday, the City of Dunedin Concert Band puts on a concert of patriotic music.

4. Salvador Dali Museum stages the next installment of its Spanish appreciation series. Wine & Song XI spotlights the wines of Spain’s pioneer established-by-a-woman winemaker, Telmo Rodriquez.

5. The Burnin’ Smyrnans – a fun reggaefied jam rock band from New Smyrna Beach – plays Skipper’s Smokehouse.

 
Courtesy of Matt & Kim.

1. The Fuck Yeah Fest Tour brings its experimental electro rock and dance fun sounds to Transitions Gallery at Skatepark of Tampa, with sets of music by Matt & Kim (pictured), The Death Set, Monotonix and Team Robespierre, and comedy by Josh Fadem and Reggie Watts.

2. CBS affiliate Tampa Bay’s 10 hosts Survivor 18 auditions today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Venue in St. Petersburg. All contestant hopefuls must complete an online application at TampaBays10.com and bring the completed form to the audition.

3. The Studio@620 opens Alterations: An Exhibition of Art Cloth by the Members of the Art Cloth Network with an opening reception tonight from 6 to 9 p.m.

4. Before the Rains – which is presented tonight through Thursday at Tampa Theatre – is a 1930’s period piece by Indian director Santosh Sivan about a tea plantation owner who has an affair with a young servant, with tragic consequences.

5. PBS premieres Emile Norman: By His Own Design, a program about the self-taught California artist.

1. Toubab Krewe (pictured) bring their West African rhythms to State Theatre.

2. Beach Theatre screens the latest batch of alternative animations from Spike and Mike’s Twisted Animation Festival.

3. African Students’ Association of USF-Tampa presents a “World Refugee Day” celebration at USF-Tampa.

4. New World Brewery and Crowbar co-host Summer Jam 4, a summertime music fest featuring primarily regional acts.

5. Check out a display of original “Speed Racers” – classic American hot rods – at MOSI from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday. Then, enjoy a screening of the new Speed Racer film on the colossal IMAX Dome Theatre screen.

“High Country Champion,” a new giclee by John Seerey-Lester featured at Plainsmen Gallery.

1. Plainsmen Gallery’s Summer Renewal exhibit of western, wildlife and Florida-inspired art draws to a close.

2. Missouri’s Jah Roots headline a reggae show at Push Ultra Lounge; Tribal Style, Badda Skat & Ras Kana, and Blackstone Sound System provide support.

3. New York Times best-selling author/Florida resident Lisa Unger appears for a launch party at Inkwood Books in celebration of her latest psychological thriller, Black Out.

4. The Salvador Dalí Museum presents a screening of 2002’s French murder-mystery musical, 8 Femmes, as part of its Dalí & Beyond Film Series.

5. A variety of guest musicians join the FloriMezzo Orchestra for its FloriMezzo Music Festival finale chamber concert.

“Painted Dancers,” by photographer Bill Williams, on display at HCC-Dale Mabry Art Gallery.

1. A new photography exhibit, Chihuahua: The Land of Ancient Wonders, opens today at HCC-Dale Mabry Art Gallery.

2. Night II: Tampa Bay Rays versus Chicago Cubs at the Trop.

3. DINOSAURS! The Exhibition  transforms a 5,000-square-foot space at Museum of Science and Industry into Mesozoic-era digs for 10 giant animatronic dinosaurs. See the robotic reptilian beasts, then watch an accompanying IMAX film, Dinosaurs Alive!.

4. The Tampa Downtown Partnership presents its 22nd Annual Meeting & Luncheon; the topic of discussion – “What makes cities succeed?”

5. Last day to reap the benefits of Restaurant Week. Today’s featured establishment: Mise en Place.

Well, I had to go a couple of weeks without my beloved pay cable shows, but last night Weeds kicked back in (10 p.m., Showtime) , so the world is getting back to normal.

I also got a nice surprise from Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a half-hour import from England that follows. I expected Call Girl to be little more than a set-up for a plethora of star Billie Piper’s sex scenes — not altogether a bad thing — but instead I discovered an intriguing character study about a high-price whore with two discreet personae: call girl and regular girl.

Piper routinely breaks the third wall to tell her story. And the sex scenes are far less explicit than I expected. In the first episode, Piper does not so much as shed her top. (Although she does ride on the back of a horse-loving john with a small saddle).

The first episode of Weeds finds Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) and her clan on the lam, landing in a beach town where her late husband Judah’s grandmother lived. As it turns out, Grandma is shriveling away, comatose in a bed in her living room. In walks Judah’s (and brother Andy’s) father — played by Albert Brooks in a hilariously snarky turn. (He can’t stand Nancy, essentially because she’s a gentile.

Nancy has not been chastened by the infernal disaster of last season, and plans to start over in the drug trade along the Mexican border.
If anything, Weeds looks like it might be even better this season.

Gogol Bordello at State Theatre; photo by Philip Bardi.

The floor was overcrowded with a seething mass of bodies, arms alternately waving and pumping to the vigorous musical spectacle that shook the State Theatre stage last night. The band, NYC’s Gogol Bordello, played the sweaty sold-out show with such amped-up enthusiasm that the audience responded in kind, pushing and moshing and crowd surfing like it was the end of the gypsy punk world. 

With his thick but charming Ukrainian accent, clad in tight and garishly colored trousers, shirtless and with sweat pouring down his pale chest and dripping from his thick handlebar mustache, frontman/Gogol visionary Eugene Hütz encouraged the unruliness, flirting and dancing with the young ladies who surfed onto the stage, good-naturedly tolerating the young men who inevitably followed, and leading everyone through boisterous sing-alongs that lasted throughout the night.  

The multi-ethnic ensemble played a supercharged 80-minute set and 35-minute encore of lively numbers that set ska, punk-metal, rap and even some funkified grooves against brisk gyspy two-step rhythms marked by lively accordion and some of the most fast and furious fiddle-playing I’ve ever seen by a man who was old enough to be the grandfather of most of the people in the room. The spectacle was topped off by the energetic performances of Gogol’s pair of attractive lady entertainers, who alternately sang, danced, and played marching band-style percussion throughout the show. 

Overall, a dynamic, highly enjoyable concert with a surprisingly large turnout for a Monday night, seeming proof that an interesting and multi-layered genre of music is successfully making its way to mainstream (read: young) audiences. 

–Cross-posted from TampaCalling.com.

In honor of Gogol Bordello’s show at State Theatre tonight, I decided to pay tribute to lead singer Eugene Hütz’s luxurious handlebar mustache. But my ruminations got me thinking about other great mustaches in music, and then it got me thinking about how a mustache can truly define a man (and in many instances, his music), and then it got me to wondering if everyone else pays as much attention to mustaches as me. So, for those who share my mustache musings, I have created this fun matching game, where you match the mustache to its musician and waste away a few monotonous Monday minutes. Enjoy!

Django Reinhardt

Frank Zappa

John Oates (of Hall & Oates)

Freddie Mercury

David Crosby

Stevie Wonder

Duane Allman

Serj Tankian (of System of a Down)

GG Allin

Franz Nicolay (of The Hold Steady)

Little Richard

Jim Croce

Alan Jackson

Sgt. Floyd Pepper (of The Muppet Show Band)

[Answers after the jump]

(more…)

1. Mike Myers sits down with James Lipton at 8 p.m. tonight on Inside the Actors Studio (photo by Caroline Bonarde Ucci, from Wikipedia.com).

2. NYC gypsy punk purveyors Gogol Bordello plays State Theatre.

3. Support a local charity and enjoy a Night of Alternative Theatre, Prelude to Pride at American Stage.

4. More from Restaurant Week! Eat an affordable three-course or more meal at a Bay area restaurant! Today’s featured establishment: Café Alma.

5. Tampa Tribune outdoors correspondent Mike Dewitt talks about the 1,078 miles he’s travelled on the Florida Trail, and presents images from his photo journal at the Seffner-Mango Branch Library tonight.

“Plate 49 (Pygmalion),” by Len Prince, from his Jessie Mann Self Possessed Series.

1. Masks & Identity: Len Prince in the Collection of William K. Zewadski is the latest exhibit of fine art images at Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Prince leads a gallery tour of his photos and offers an insiders perspective. 

2. Restaurant Week continues! Dine at any of the 21 participating restaurants and enjoy a special “Prix fixe” menu of three or more courses for $25 per person. This weekend’s featured establishments are: Fly Bar and Restaurant, La Fogota Churrascaria and Savannah’s.

3. Tampa alt-country  faves Will Quinlan & The Diviners play a CD release party at New World Brewery in support of their new album, Navasota. Have Gun, Will Travel and Matt Butcher also perform.

4. Attention all beer lovers: Creative Loafing continues its Beer Club regional tasting series tonight at The Retreat. The brews in the spotlight are Shocktop Belgian White, Landshark Lager, Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen and Michelob Porter.

5. The Salvador Dalí Museum opens Women: Dalí’s View, a new exhibit that explores Dalí’s creative fascination with the female form via more than 70 works. The reception takes place tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. and features fashions by House of Ska, live music, complimentary cava and Spanish-style hors d’oeuvres.

Pearl Jam; courtesy PearlJam.com.

1. Pearl Jam plays the St. Pete Times Forum.

2. Creative Loafing launches Restaurant Week, a celebration of the Bay area culinary scene with special “Prix fixe” menus put together for the occasion. Today’s featured restaurant is: Pacific Wave.

3. Comedian Doug Benson (Last Comic Standing 5, The Marijuana-logues, Best Week Ever) kicks off a four-night (seven-show) run of stand-up at the Tampa Improv in support of his new DVD, Super High Me.

4. Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority hosts a live web conference at 1 p.m. The public is invited to join the conference and see TBARTA board members figure out where new road and transit corridors may go in Tampa Bay, a possibly controversial process given how some activists believe that it will lead to new roads in rural areas and further sprawl.

 5. USF presents its second annual International Jazz Composer’s Symposium, three-days worth of workshops, panel discussions and evening performances.

World renowned Broadway soprano Sarah Brightman has announced a many-date solo world tour in support of her first studio album in five years, Symphony, released this past January on Manhattan Records.

The Symphony Tour stops at the St. Pete Times Forum on Sunday, November 16.

From the release:

“…Brightman is a pioneer in transcending and melding mainstream musical genres, from pop and Broadway showstoppers to operatic and classical arias. Her unique crossover style has helped pave the way for superstar singers, such as Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo and Josh Groban. Symphony features all new songs and is created with Sarah’s long-time producer Frank Peterson. On this album, she reunites with Andrea Bocelli on the sweeping, romantic “Canto Della Terra,” as well as singing duets with Spanish sensation Fernando Lima on “Pasión” and rock superstar Paul Stanley (Kiss), on “I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go).” Sarah will be performing songs from Symphony, as well as many of her classic hits on this tour.”

This could be growing in your back yard. Mmmmm…

1. Worried about all those potentially salmonella-infected tomatoes? Learn how to grow your own.

2. Dance to the New Wave industrial electro rock of UK’s Ladytron tonight at Czar, where they play with Norwegian labelmates Datarock.

3. Take a walk through Boca Ciega Millennium Park in Seminole and marvel at Leslie Fry’s sculptural installations, which are scattered along the park’s trails and boardwalk.

4. Dine on Eastern European fare and enjoy an “Arabian Nights Belly Dance Show” by Hip Expressions in St. Pete Beach.

5. Read “Garfield Minus Garfield,” a funny and intriguing new take on an old classic.

Steely Dan; photo credit Danny Clinch

1. Steely Dan returns to Ruth Eckerd Hall.

2. Michael Winslow brings his sound effects comedy to Floyd’s at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

3. Former Citrus County truck driver Charles Spaide is riding his electric bicycle all the way to California to protest the high cost of fuel – which put him out of work – and to prove there are ways around it. Give him a call of encouragement at 727-247-7067.

4. Take an evening walking tour of the haunted spots in John’s Pass Village with a pirate from Tampa Bay Ghost Tours.

5. Listen to the Stick Martin Show’s new album, Thrilla, which is streaming live on MySpace throughout the day and is due out on Crafty Records June 28.

“In Threes,” an original work by Noah Deledda on display at his Ybor City studio.

1. Pick up a map of Ybor City’s creative district from Brad Cooper Gallery and take a self-guided tour of art galleries, artists’ studios, museums and more during the First Saturday Art Walk.

2. Shake what your mama gave ya to Little Brother’s alterna hip-hop at Crowbar.

3. Attend free presentations and performances that are held throughout the day at HCC-Ybor, and into the evening at New World Brewery as part of “Homemade: A Symposium on the Art, Business and Culture of Making Music.”

4. Throw back a few brewskies and watch Kung Fu Panda at Centro Ybor 20.

5. See Bogus Pomp break in the stage, Zappa-style, at The Ritz (formerly the Masquerade).