Daily Loaf

If Radiohead and the Beatles had a lovechild that grew up to kick your ass and take your girlfriend, it would be Harry Dash.

Everyone can remember one moment that he/she felt alive, where that one spark fueled a true passion. My personal catalyst was an oddly-named band called Harry Dash.

Harry Dash is a local New Port Richey band that means “flash” or “cool” in British cockney slang. I had heard of the band quite a bit growing up, since they’ve been on the local Tampa band scene since the mid ’90s. Their amazing covers of songs such as Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” and “Muscle Museum” by Muse, and the high energy sound of original songs like “Spies.” Not to forget the soulful, powerhouse vocals behind lullaby ballads and inspirational “get off your butt and do something” anthems such as “Tank.”

I was 16 and like many teenagers, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

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Ritz Ybor’s website boasts a capacity of 1,150 for its concert hall. I would call that a conservative estimate for Brand New and Thrice as I politely pushed through the throng of mostly teenage girls clogging the stairways leading to the pit. All the ”Excuse Me’s” I could muster made no difference when I bumped a girl’s flip-flopped foot and received a flat, condescending “Ow” in reply. Here’s a novel idea — don’t wear flip-flops to rock concerts and don’t stop in the middle of a stairway to watch a band. Unless you’ll permit the rest of us to pee on you instead of pushing through to the facilities.

Following a false start, Thrice (pictured right, all photos by Mike Wilson) hit the stage around eight and overcame some early technical problems to deliver a ten-song set of competent, mostly mid-tempo post-rock with intermittent lite-hardcore breakdowns. Guitarist Teppei Teranishi’s backup vocals created some pleasant harmonies with frontman Dustin Kensrue’s otherwise bland leads. Thrice didn’t perform as if very excited, and aside from a pinch of hardcore fans singing every word they elicited little more than head-bobbing from the crowd. It took a cover of “Helter Skelter” — a song that pre-dates the birth of every bandmember and most of the audience — to finally evoke some movement. “Silhouette” off their major label debut, The Artist In The Ambulance, received the best fan reaction, and enough people caught onto the “We are beggars, all” chant from their new LP’s title-track as Thrice finally forged a connection before ending their set. I heard more than a few Thrice supporters object the lack of ‘hits.’

Thankfully, Brand New (pictured below) left little room for similar complaints. (Setlists for both bands after the jump!) Read the rest of this entry »

Routes Music is a documentary film acting as a roving music census, taking in the true musical passions (and disgusts) of the American people. We’re traveling all across the country, stopping along the way to interview local bands, take footage of live performances and chat with anyone and everyone. Learn more about the documentary here; check out all previous entries here.

“Where eeez yer pipe?”

A 6’4 security guard towered over me, glaring.

“Where eeez yer pipe?” he repeated in a thick Islands accent.

“What?” I replied, not sure he really just asked me what I think he just asked me.

“Where eeez yer pipe?” he asked again.

“My what?” I said again, still shocked.

“Yer pipe. Yer pipe.”

Now he was aggravated. I’m enjoying feigning ignorance.

“I don’t know what you’re saying, man.”

The guard switches tactics.

“Drugs?”

I smile.

“No, no drugs.”

“OK, go ahead.”

So began my very first experience at an extended-day music festival, and only my second time ever seeing the seminal jam band, Phish. Luckily, the rest of the three-day fest at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif. went smoother than my entry.

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Dee Snider of Twisted Sister

The last time that I saw Dee Snider was during breakfast at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando. While I was forced to make small talk with some Backstreet Boy (don’t ask me which one), Dee discussed high finance with my wife, who is a bank vice-president. Lacking Dee’s usual makeup and rampant abuse of the English language, breakfast was a less-than-surreal affair. I spent most of the time asking Lance or Kirk or Brad or whatever his name was, why he was wearing fake tattoo sleeves, instead of getting the real thing. He finally got tired of my badgering and left me to enjoy my coffee, while Dee went off to cook omelets or something.

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Before judging their latest album The Resistance too harshly, I wanted to hear how Muse’s poppiest, most ambitious album to date would sound live. The Devon, England quartet (lately touring with a fourth member so frontman Matt Bellamy can focus on guitar and vocals, and not worry about keyboards anymore) wasted no time launching into the bass-driven protest anthem and current single, “Uprising.” (Video after the jump.)

Whenever I like the opening band more than the headliner, I worry about several factors. How long will they play? Will the sound be mixed right? If it’s an arena or stadium show, will there be video screens? In Muse’s case, I wondered if U2 would share their high-tech toys with the other children. In this respect, U2 and their the 360 Tour management deserve lots of credit. Muse sounded home stereo-clear and made liberal use of the giant videoscreen attached to U2’s “spaceship.” In fact, Muse sounded even better than U2 because Bono’s vocals were distorted throughout the entire evening.

The only other time Muse hit Tampa, they played eight songs over 45 minutes in an opening slot, never hitting any material written before their U.S. breakthrough, Absolution. U2 alotted Muse the same timeframe and Muse drew from their past three albums evenly, again eschewing their first two records. Read the rest of this entry »

All photos by Tracy May.

I am a MASSIVE fan of The Killers. I love the Killers like the British love the Beatles. On my most existential days — when boys are infuriating and life in general doesn’t make sense — I can be found driving my car, blasting their music from my stereo, shouting, “You just get it, Brandon Flowers! You just get women!” And my friends know that if I’ve had a lousy day, all it takes to pick me up is a glass of wine and some tunes by the Vegas foursome. They’re all used to me randomly quoting Killers lyrics by now, because damn it, Brandon Flowers (pictured left on bass) does just get it.

I only bring this up because I want to emphasize the trickiness of going to a concert put on by a band that rocks your world. On the one hand, you really want to love it. It would feel sacrilegious not to. On the other, said band has to put on a near-perfect show in order to impress you, because when you’ve listened to their albums countless times, you know exactly how their songs should sound. And you can tell whether they’re really putting their hearts into their performance, or if it’s just another stop on a long, dragging tour.

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Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Today, we invite you to next Thursday’s screening about the wonders of Warped Tour — without all the sweat, mud and mosh pits. Don’t worry, it’ll still be fun.

If you thought Warped Tour was over, think again. Next Thursday, movie theaters across America screen the Vans Warped Tour 15th Anniversary Celebration, a two-hour tribute to the beloved music fest and its talented artists. Warped Tour is often associated with punk music and culture, but this showcases the diverse bands that have not only played the outdoor concert, but become known because of it. The screening includes live performances, red-carpet clips and behind the scenes footage from artists like NOFX, Bad Religion, Blink-182, Ice T, Katy Perry (pictured), All-American Rejects, The Aggrolites, Underoath and more. Warped fans can get a glimpse into the lives of their favorite bands, and all in the comfort of air conditioning. Now that’s what I’m talking about! Thurs., Sept. 17, 8 p.m., Citrus Park Stadium 20, 7999 Citrus Park Town Center Mall, Tampa, 12.50, visit fathomevents.com for a full list of participating theaters. – Lily Reisman

This summer, Depeche Mode and Aerosmith shared more in common than either the bands or their fans would probably care to admit. Both penciled in stops at the Ford Amphitheatre and were among the most anticipated big shows of the Bay area’s 2009 concert season. Both bands hit some pretty serious snags on the road. But where Aerosmith was de-railed by careless stage antics, Depeche Mode soldiered through throat problems, torn leg muscles, and even a malignant bladder tumor! This summer, the balls clearly belonged to the morose. (All photos by Tanya Taylor.)

A mostly-full Ford Amp cheered and sang along with Depeche Mode and a healthy, active Dave Gahan for nearly two hours this past Friday night. While the show didn’t offer the same people-watchers’ paradise as Slayer and Marilyn Manson did, there was a nonetheless interesting assortment of young hipsters, old DNA veterans clad in black vinyl, younger Castle-goers dressed similarly, and middle-aged women in mom-jeans who only wanted to hear the Violator singles.

I thought, however, the most interesting moment of the evening — the one that says the most about our music culture — came during the openers: Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John. Read the rest of this entry »

Sex and rock ‘n’ roll go hand in hand, and when it comes to rockin’ and lovin’, no one does it better than The Boss. Any number of Bruce Springsteen albums will send you zooming off in your car to the nearest body of water, to put your hands all over your lover’s engine.  Below are the Rabid One’s Top 5 Sex in Springsteen Songs. Read the rest of this entry »

Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces; all photos by Phil Bardi.

To satisfy the ravenous music-consuming beast inside me, I end up making the 90-minute trek to Orlando rather frequently. Far too many bands don’t or won’t stop in Tampa for whatever reason and some of these bands I simply have to see.

Yes, the Fiery Furnaces were headlining a show in Tampa on Saturday night. But they were also playing The Social in Orlando the Sunday after (August 23), and that particular bill featured the White Rabbits. I’m a big fan of both, so it seemed like a no brainer to set up review coverage for the O-town show. I made all the proper press arrangements with Thrill Jockey (the indie label that reps FF), jumped in a car with some like-minded friends, and set out to enjoy a night of great music and fun times.

Only, the night didn’t start out so fun. In fact, I had to deal with some authentic, grade-A machismo bullshit that has turned this concert review into a partial rant against the “Man In Charge” at The Social. Read the rest of this entry »

In a summer full of big concerts coming to the Tampa Bay area, one of the biggest never happened.

Aerosmith postponed their July 11 date at the Ford Amphitheatre due to Steven Tyler’s ripped quadricep. Eager ticketholders kept their fingers crossed for almost a month — until blown equipment and some uncoordinated dancing sent Tyler falling off a stage and onto his head and shoulder. Aerosmith canceled the rest of their tour, urging ticketholders to seek refunds.

Days after the cancellation announcement, video footage hit the internet showing Steven Tyler, arm in a sling, making a purchase at a liquor store in Massachusetts.

Tyler’s drug and alcohol addiction is a matter of public record. He and guitarist Joe Perry were nicknamed the Toxic Twins for their legendary on- and off-stage exploits before cleaning up and resurrecting the band’s stature in the late 80’s.

Is Tyler off the wagon? And if so, does that have anything to do with his fall in South Dakota? (Video of Tyler’s fall and liquor store purchase after the jump!). Read the rest of this entry »

The Dave Matthews Band played the Ford Amphitheatre on Wednesday night and CL has all the best photos.

See the full gallery of shots after the jump:
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When Dethklok — the cartoon metal band depicted in Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim series Metalocalypse — announced their forthcoming second album, I wrote about it with some measure of disbelief. How can a caricature of an entire vastly misunderstood subculture be not only musically competent, but legitimately good? I liked The Dethalbum far more than I ever expected. Somehow, creator, voice-actor, songwriter, and guitarist Brendon Small (Berklee College of Music, class of ‘97) makes it work. Can he capture lightning in a bottle a second time with The Dethalbum II out September 29?

Mastodon, however, inspires no disbelief or confusion. It only took an EP and two LPs before critics and fans lauded the Atlanta four-piece as metal’s next big thing. Two more albums beyond that and Mastodon finds themselves crowned by many as the Tool of this generation — deftly bending genres and smashing misconceptions with their latest opus Crack The Skye. I first caught Mastodon live following their debut EP Lifesblood, a brief, sludgy, post-hardcore affair that would bare little resemblance to their more recent progressive ambitions if not for their trademark crushing riffs, Brent Hinds’ and Troy Saunders’ growl-trading, and Brann Dailor’s coked-out drumming.

Despite the differences — one band being imaginary, and the other existing (at least somewhat) in reality — these bands have something wonderful in common. (Concert info and videos after the jump.) Read the rest of this entry »

You can’t beat an ass kicking rock concert with a female bombshell.  Monday night Green Day, the Rabid One and a Punk Rock Princess I met on Craigslist almost melted down the former Ice Palace. (CL PHOTO review here) The Grammy winning band, last in Tampa four years ago on the ‘American Idiot’ tour, showed us why we missed them so much.  And the stranger I took showed me just how much I miss wild nights without expectations.

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Dream Momma, In my dream my daughter Helen was living in Paris and my friend John and I went to visit her.  We went to a concert in someone’s home where John and I sat on the balcony to hear the music.  The next day I called the hostess to ask her a question, but by the time she got to the phone I forgot what I wanted to ask.  Instead I asked in which arrondisement she lived — I told her I wanted to look it up in my ‘plan de Paris.’   I felt very stupid asking such a lame question.

This dream is about aging. Sitting somewhere special to hear the music, forgetting the question, the plan de Paris that I suspect, is a plan for retirement.

Unsure what the last sentence is about, as the question doesn’t appear to be “lame.” Read the rest of this entry »

Most pop singers from the ’60s and ’70s who are fortunate enough to still be touring resort to what I call vocal cheats. That’s when they get to a point in an old hit that has a particularly high note they can’t hit — a note that especially resonates with the baby-boomer audience — so they either drop it an octave or turn it over to the background singers.

There’s nothing really shameful about these vocal cheats — it would be worse, for instance, if Daryl Hall tried to hit that big release note in “She’s Gone” and failed miserably. Or if Roger Daltrey attempted to render the big scream in “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and sounded like a frog.

I tell you all this because I saw Boz Scaggs last night at Ruth Eckerd Hall and he didn’t resort to any vocal cheats. He’s 65 years old. Very impressive. When, on “Lido Shuffle,” it came time for the “Lido, whoa, whoa” part, he was right on it — with the backup singers helping, yes, but not drowning him out and thus protecting him. Scaggs came up a little short or a little thin on some of the high notes, but he went for them all.

It wasn’t just the lack of vocal cheats that made Scaggs’ 75-minute set in front of a near-sold-out crowd a success. His voice still has that full, creamy texture of the old days, and his delivery and phrasing brimmed with nuance. (more photos below; all are by Tracy May)

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Last time Miley Cyrus played Tampa Bay it set off a Ticketgate, with moms of young daughters up in arms about being screwed out of the opportunity to buy tickets. Many of them dropped several hundreds of dollars as to not run afoul with their progeny.

Let’s hope there’s not another ticket fiasco this time. Actually, the best thing that could happen is that Miley-mania has calmed down the extent that MILFs aren’t breaking the household budget to take 11-year-old young Brittany to see her heroine.

Here we go:

Miley Cyrus will perform at the St. Pete Times Forum on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

More important, though:

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