Daily Loaf

Some shots from the Monday, November 2 show at State Theatre.

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A veritable dance party erupted at Crowbar this past Tuesday evening during and between splendid sets by Vivian Girls (NYC), and Tampa’s Sleepy Vikings and Hippodrome.

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After last night’s brawl following the controversial St. Petersburg City Council vote on vacating the sidewalk of BayWalk, St. Pete for Peace says they’ll demonstrate tonight.

The Public Service Commission today rules on whether to impose a $200 million front end hit to ratepayers in the state.

And the Wall Street Journal blasts the National Football League for rejecting Rush Limbaugh.

Also in the news, as Congressional Republicans continue to criticize President Obama for ‘dithering’ in his deliberations regarding a new strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan, now comes word that there’s a good chance that there will be a run-off in the disputed presidential election there.

That report comes as the deaths of 4 Americans in Afghanistan are announced today.

Oh, and Florida’s unemployment rate is now at 11%.

Download the report here.

All photos by Phil Bardi.

Upwards of 70,000 people were crammed into Raymond James Stadium, waiting for musical liftoff, and were rewarded with a colossal production spectacle steered by the voices, instruments and magnetic charismas of the Irish mega-foursome.

The stage was a four-legged spaceship and U2 was central command.

I was among the thousands, a diverse crowd composed of every sort imaginable from families (kids included) to groups of ladies in their night-on-the-town best, some in heels I’d never wear out, let alone to a concert, to jocks and goths and tattooed types, to fathers and their adult sons, to scattered groups of non-English speaking tourist types (which made me wonder how many people had flown in from other countries to see the show, and why they chose Tampa), to middle-age couples attending their sole concert of the year. Some were mega-fans, other curiosity seekers and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

The 360 Tour four-legged spaceship monstrosity (which had a huge spire in its very middle that reached into the sky and had a disco ball at its very top) was set-up at the Galley end of the stadium. A huge 360-degree screen hung over the round main stage, which was located in the very middle and was encircled by an outer platform connected to the round with moving bridges for crossing back and forth, and a crowd jammed in between the platform and stage in a half-circle of bodies where the “front” of the stage was set up. (I imagine these were the $250 tickets.) Rather than try and clumsily explain the layout in any detail, I’ve included pictures and some interesting facts at the end of this post. (In case you’re wondering, the 360 Tour has its own comprehensive Wiki page. For real.)

U2 set the mood for the evening with David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” the song blasting through the sound system speakers and heralding the band’s entrance — drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. coming across one of the “bridges” to sit behind the drums in the round, bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge appearing through “holes” in the round, and Bono bursting onto the round with much fanfare and to a screaming, enthusiastic crowd. Read the rest of this entry »

A series of shots from the Sunday, October 4 GWAR show at The Ritz Ybor.

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Three bands, one out-of-towner and two locals, hit the standing-room stage at New World Brewery last night (Wednesday, October 7). And even if Will Quinlan wasn’t a fan of the humidity, his band showed promise. “But wait!” you say, “I didn’t hear about a Will Quinlan and the Diviners show.” That’s because Quinlan was playing with a new Diviners side project, The Holy Slow Train [pictured below; all photos by elawgrrl].

Among the palm trees and Pilsners, Holy Slow Train played a series of numbers the audience seemed to enjoy. Although indie-rock crowds are usually full of people that could pass for statues, fans in the pit of New World were freely swaying and moving to the group’s music despite the heat. Read the rest of this entry »

An evening of something new (Chris Tolan), something borrowed (Mr. Vidal and Mr. Zipf) and something blue (stage lighting – though in truth it was mainly pink) was enjoyed by all at Crowbar on Friday, October 2, the bill featuring Chris Tolan & Friends (pictured below), Lauris Vidal, Andy Zipf (who replaced Old North East) and Philip Pietri & the Manatees. (I was running late so I missed out on their set!)

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The fourth annual Tuesday night jazz-flavored fundraiser at Ruth Eckerd Hall (to raise funds for the Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute’s jazz program) was headlined by The Rippingtons, which are led by guitarist Russ Freeman.

Saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa

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Rocktober started off with a bit of twang with tunes by Greenland is Melting, Rebekah Pulley and Jon Gaunt at New World Brewery this past Thursday, October 1.

Greenland is Melting with Jon Gaunt

Greenland is Melting

Greenland is Melting plays simply splendid soulful roots rock, music meant for listening to while you’re kicking back on the front porch or sitting around the kitchen table. Greenland is Melting channels old timey bluegrass with lines like “My grass is blue,” but with a chorus of “I know, I know, if there’s blood on the banjo tonight, then I really must have done something right,” you know they also bring a bit of ruckus. Read the rest of this entry »

Some shots from the Metallica show this past Saturday, October 3, at the St. Pete Times Forum; more pics and photo gallery (including shots of support act Gojira) after the jump.

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Many groups are trying to make their voices heard over the issue of climate change, trying to get world leaders to attend the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December. Some groups are taking more extreme approaches than others. For instance, a group of 700 volunteers in Burgundy, France, stripped down and posed for the photographer Spencer Tunick to illustrate the threat of global warming, especially its effects on wine and agriculture in France, through art.

I’m guessing that living in a tree for months on end or chaining themselves to heavy machinery wasn’t getting the message across. According to Greenpeace’s website:
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Some shots and photo galleries featuring dance rock sextet Foxy Shazam and Swedish New Wave synth pop fivesome The Sounds, fronted by Maja Ivarsson, who was deemed by Blender as one of the “Hottest Women in Rock.”

See full galleries after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2010 collections of 15 local and regional  designers were featured in this years Fashion Week Tampa Bay 2009. The event, held at the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk, was packed full of  fabulous fashion, VIP soirees, after parties, vendor and exhibitor boutiques, and two nights of runway couture. The organizers have a two-fold mission: to bring together emerging and established fashion and accessory designers for the bay area to enjoy, and to raise funds for non-profit organizations. This year’s beneficiary was Best Buddies, an organization dedicated to enhancing lives of those with intellectual disabilities.

Hit the jump for more drool-worthy designs from local haute heroes like Ben Chmura, Ivanka Ska, Sana Hassan and more. Read the rest of this entry »

New Granada Presents hosted a fine Friday evening of indie rock featuring The Tape Delay, Slow Claw and The Tenant at New World Brewery this past Friday, September 18.

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And now for something completely different … An anomalous evening of music was presented by ThxMgmt at New World Brewery featuring Orlando’s Vasti (pictured below), and Tampa’s Acho Brother and Chris Tolan this past Saturday, September 12.

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Here are some pics of British electro music duo Pet Shop Boys from their show at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s Carol Morsani Hall last Thursday, September 10.

Neil Tennant; check out the full gallery after the jump.

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Have Gun, Will Travel (pictured below), Matt Butcher, John Ralston, and Mike Dunn & The Kings of New England created a mini-Americana fest at New World Brewery this past Friday, September 11, a show brought to you by New Granada Presents.

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American pop music icons The Beach Boys (sans Brian Wilson) took the field this past Saturday, September 5, closing the post-Rays game concert series.

The Beach Boys Read the rest of this entry »

ThxMgmt’s Summer Jam 5 was a resounding success with a plethora of diverse bands, acts and DJs — The Honorary Title, Cory Branan, Damion Suomi, Carter Hulsey, The Beauvilles, Shunda K (formerly of Yo Majesty!), Da Goldminerz, How Dare You, S.L.I.M.M. H.U.S.T.L.E, Blind Man’s Colour, Larcen, GreyMarket, The Tape Delay, The Sheaks, Deficit, Alexander & The Grapes, StereoType & The Treble Makers, DJ Sandman, DJ Mega, DJ Deacon, DJ Colonic, and DJ Chris Golden — at two Ybor City venues, New World Brewery and Crowbar this past Saturday, August 29.

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Parachute Musical and The Winter Sounds descended on New World Brewery in Ybor City this past Friday, August 28, for a New Granada Presents show.

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Comedian-actor-singer Jamie Foxx at TBPAC’s Carol Morsani Hall on Monday, August 31, where he performed to a near-capacity crowd.

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Mogul Street Reserve pictured at right; all photos by Phil Bardi.

Despite being bone-weary and mentally exhausted, I slagged my tired ass down to Ybor City and made it to Summer Jam 5 just before sunset to enjoy the mini-fest’s variety of musical offerings, a huge roster of quality local acts as well as the few necessary nationals (The Honorary Title, Cory Branan, Carter Hulsey) to round things out.

We cruised into Crowbar just in time to see Blind Man’s Colour (pictured after the jump), a new experimental outfit made up of some young and green but super skilled musicians who are so hot that Kanye West gave the little known St. Petersburg outfit some love with a “Some Dope Shit for My Apartment” post on his blog this past January, and Grizzly Bear’s Edward Droste followed suit with a tweet about the band around the same time. BMC was also featured recently on NPR’s All Things Considered for a “Music from the Sublime to the Old Time” artist spotlight a few weeks ago, so it appears like they’re on the upswing. Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday evening at Ruth Eckerd Hall, legendary folk rock trio Crosby, Still and Nash took the stage to a standing ovation and I was able to snap photos of the first few songs. They opened the sold-out show with “Helplessly Hoping,” a track from their 1969 debut, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and followed it with the classic sing-along, “Teach Your Children from 1970’s Déjà Vu, which was originally recorded with Neil Young and featured Jerry Garcia on pedal steel.

Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby are CSN.
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Some shots from last night’s Tuesday, August 18 show at the St. Pete Times Forum featuring The Jonas Brothers and support acts Jordin Sparks (who won the sixth season of American Idol) and South Korean girl group the Wonder Girls.

The Jonas Brothers

(See more pics plus my complete gallery from the evening after the jump.)

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Here’s some shots of Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd from the band’s show this past Saturday, August 15, at Ford Amphitheatre.

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Couture and craft collided in the fifth Wearable Art Fashion Show at the Dunedin Fine Art Center Saturday night. Nine design houses created dozens of different wearable art ensembles to the thrill of the packed house. See all the fashion festivities (and a few faux pas?) after the break…

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Candy Bars are darlings of the Tampa indie music scene and things have been, well, a bit sour since they’ve been on hiatus. Sweetness returned this past Saturday, August 8, at New World Brewery with a New Granada Presents show featuring Candy Bars, Venice is Sinking and The Pauses.

Candy Bars
Frequently, scene darlings don’t deliver when push comes to shove. Happily, Candy Bars trashes that stereotype. Both recorded and live, Candy Bars play a beautiful sort of dream pop with a note of something a bit dark resonating in their introspective lyrics and instrumentation. Their record, On Cutting Ti-Gers in Half and Understanding Narravation (New Granada Records) earned positive reviews from lots of national music publications including Pitchfork.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Aug. 1 marked the opening of Creative Loafing’s new multi-use facility with an event welcoming members of the Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA).

Two winners were announced as part of the “Shop Local & Fill Your Passport” contest (customers spent money at locally-owned businesses during the summer to be eligible).

The Brett Alan Trio also performed. Video and more pics below the jump:

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We (CL) opened up our doors Wednesday night for about 50 potential new contributors. There was wine, beer, pizza and a micro-symposium on 21st-century community journalism. We got a chance to recruit some new voices and our guests got to feel out our site editors. Look for their contributions in the coming days.

One of our newbies, Robin Miller, captured the whole thing on video, which you can see below the jump:

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The 2009 TRA’shion Fashion and Art Show was a big hit again this year. Held Saturday night at the ARTpool Co-op Gallerie and Boutique, the fashion was wonderfully trashy, made from recycled and other found objects. The show included over 20 trashionistas working with newspaper, aluminium foil, duct tape, recycled Coke 12-pack packages, and the perennial favorite Skittles dress worn by the host Marina Williams. Recycled inspired fine ARTwork was also featured at this 2nd annual event. More photos after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday I joined the Creative Loafing staff at their booth at St. Pete’s annual Pride Festival.  I was there as a photographer for their Big Gay Wedding/Honeymoon contest, but I also had time to view and photograph the crowd as well as the parade.  The weather that day was everything from breezy to rainy, to our usual — hot and humid, a typical Florida day.  But despite that,  everyone was in good spirits.  The crowd was even more diverse than I’d expected — all shapes, sizes, genders, colors (expected), families, churches (wonderful) and corporations (excellent).  There were also protesters, but I guess that’s part of what makes this country great, the fact that we all had the right and the freedom to be there.

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Last night, Dereck and I attended the SuperNova Sunday event at NOVA 535 (535 Dr. M. L. King Jr Street N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701, (727) 821-6682). I’ve been spending a lot of time at NOVA lately, and when I heard they were putting on a weekly party that was part Gong Show and part social gathering, I decided it was time to go do a photo shoot.

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Phil Spector was photographed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in June 2009 after his arrest on murder charges (Spector was sentenced to 19 years in prison following his conviction for murdering actress Lana Clarkson, whom he shot to death in his Los Angeles home in February 2003) . And it turns out that crazy hairdo he sported in court (seen here) was not actually his real hair. Why would a man wear such a strange looking wig? Maybe because without it, he resembles Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

See the horror below:

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Since I was a kid I’ve always had a weakness for hula-hooping; I even bought my own a few years ago. Little did I know that hooping is more that just rolling the hoop hula-style around your waist.

I started noticing hoop dancers at  shows and festivals. These girls could wind the hoops over their bodies so that they’d flow like water, from head to ankle, out to their arms, and back again.

Abby is one of those girls; I met her at the St. Pete Saturday Market. She is a certified Hoop dancing Instructor, and is president and founder of St Pete’s own Hoola Monsters. She invited me to photograph some of her Hooping classes. Read the rest of this entry »

In celebration of J. J. Abrams’ bold decision to bring back the boots and mini skirts in the new Star Trek film, here’s a collection of retro pin-up-girl photos featuring current Hollywood actresses. Enjoy:

Scarlett Johansson:

Alexis Bledel:

More pics below the jump:

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