Tampa Calling

It’s road trip time. If all goes as planned, I’ll arrive Thursday in the Big Easy for the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, my favorite music event of the year. Headliners include Stevie Wonder, The Raconteurs, Randy Newman, The Neville Brothers (making their first Crescent City performance post-Katrina), Widespread Panic, The Roots, John Prine, Richard Thompson, Alejandro Escovedo, Santana, The Derek Trucks Band, Trombone Shorty, Soul Rebels (they play Tropical Heatwave May 17) and a slew of other killer Louisiana acts. In addition to 10 stages featuring live music daily May 1-4, there are rows of food stands featuring the finest in Bayou State cuisine, which means I’ll be loading up on pheasant gumbo. In between catching as many bands as possible and stuffing my face, I’ll also be blogging about the fest.

The 10-hour drive to New Orleans starts tonight. I’ll be riding with Creative Loafing Events Editor Leilani Polk, her husband/CL photog Phil Bardi and their pal Alex. Leilani and Phil will probably repay me for leaving Phish off my “Greatest rock band of past 20 years?” list by playing Phish the entire trip. In case they do let me play DJ for an hour or so, here’s the Crescent City CD I made:

Ultimate New Orleans Mix

1. “When The Saints Go Marching In,” Louis Armstrong
2. “The Pearls,” Jelly Roll Morton
3. “Tipitina,” Professor Longhair
4. “Frankie & Johnny,” Champion Jack Dupree
5. “Walking To New Orleans,” Fats Domino
6. “Iko Iko,” The Dixie Cups
7. “Tell It Like It Is,” Aaron Neville
8. “Time Is On My Side,” Irma Thomas
9. “Junco Partner,” James Booker
10. “Right Place Wrong Time,” Dr. John
11. “Fire On The Bayou,” The Meters
12. “Southern Nights,” Allen Toussaint
13. “Brother John,” The Wild Tchoupitoulas
14. “Hey Pocky Way,” Neville Brothers
15. “Hot Tamale Baby,” Buckwheat Zydeco
16. “Mardi Gras Mambo,” Zachary Richard
17. “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
18. “Soon All Will Know,” Wynton Marsalis
19. “Louisiana 1927,” Randy Newman
20. “When the Levee Breaks,” Galactic
21. “Feel Me,” Lil Wayne
22. “Basin Street Blues,” Harry Connick, Jr.

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The Material Girl recently surpassed The King of Rock ’n’ Roll on the list of most Top 10 singles with her ditty “4 Minutes,” reports Billboard.com, giving Madonna 37 to Elvis Presley’s 36. Justin Timberlake is featured on the Madge number and Timbaland co-wrote it, which means the track could have been a smash for just about anybody — even Elvis , whose resurrected vocal worked nicely for the hit 2002 Junkie XL remix of his song “A Little Less Conversation.” But I digress. The point of this blog post is to see if anyone would pick Madonna over Elvis on a list of most important pop stars of all time. Consider:

• Cultural impact: Elvis came first, started rock ‘n’ roll (if you believe the simpletons writing such nonsense), influenced everyone from Dylan to The Beatles, altered history, etc. But it took the Material Girl to destroy the double standard applied to women, who were allowed mostly to only be girl-in-a-cage sexy before the whip-wielding Madonna came along.

• Sex symbol: Both were the most sexually brazen artists of their era. Both were hot. Seriously. Young Elvis might have been the sexiest man to ever walk the earth other than maybe a young Marlon Brando. Madonna wasn’t born with his natural beauty, but she’s known how to work it, and keep her body immaculate, since the get-go, making many adolescent boys like me stay up late into the morning in the 1980s hoping to catch her latest video on MTV.

• Vocal talent: Elvis is about 100 times better than Madonna as a singer. There’s no debate on this one. If you think Madonna can hold her own with Elvis in the vocal department it might best serve you to jam pencils in both ears.

• Songwriting: Despite what the crooked, Colonel Parker-dictated songwriting credits might read, Elvis, by most reports, never wrote a verse. Madonna, on the other hand, has played a significant role in the songwriting and production of her entire output. For instance, she wrote or co-wrote every track but one on her 1983 self-titled debut album. Yeah, her new disc, Hard Candy, relies on more outsourcing than perhaps any release in her career, but at age 49 she’s allowed to let some young bucks lend a hand. (Presley was dead at age 42).

Madonna vs. Elvis: Most important pop star?

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Here’s a rough draft of my Robyn review:

Robyn
ROBYN
Konichiwa/Cherry Tree/Interscope
Robyn’s self-titled disc comes with a back-story nearly worthy of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The Swedish pop album was independently recorded by a former major label artist, took three years to finally make its stateside debut, and now, thanks to tracks being highly touted on hip MP3 blogs since 2005, is being distributed by, you guessed it, a major label. More importantly, Robyn is a near flawless pop gem.

Formerly seen as the Britney Spears of Europe, Sweden’s Robyn had lightweight international hits in the mid-’90s such as ’97’s “Show Me Love,” which cracked the U.S. Top 10. But the woman born Robin Miriam Carlsson in 1979 wanted to break free from the Lolita role and take the sophomoric R&B dictated by her label in a more mature, electronica direction. In order to do so, Robyn bought herself out of her Sony BMG contract, formed Konichiwa records and with the help of Swedish electronic duo The Knife and the rock band Teddybears made her excellent self-titled album. The disc features mostly songs co-written by Robyn and shows just how gripping dance pop can be when freed from lowest-common-denominator record label logic.

Robyn brims with intelligent, sassy and sensitive lyrics delivered in a spellbindingly expressive voice that’s alternately assured and vulnerable. Sonically, vibrant beats are interspersed with live instrumentation, resulting in a progressive club vibe that even an indie diehard could appreciate. For instance, songs don’t get much more simultaneously catchy and poignant than “Be Mine,” a synth and string breakup ballad replete with an adorable spoken word bridge. Self-released by Robyn in 2005, the disc finally hit U.S. shelves several weeks ago, with Interscope getting behind it — something Sony should have had the good sense to do back in ’03 when their little starlet first voiced plans to take her music down a brilliantly bold new path. 4 stars

To hear sound clips click here.

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Here’s what we have running in the current Creative Loafing:

• Bar Tab: Ultimate bar (part two). Readers weigh in on the perfect watering hole.

• Senior Editor Eric Snider’s interview with Santana (read and listen).

• Anti-Flag bearers: A mahor-label signing hasn’t diluted the punk band’s message.

• Spins: Reviews of new CDs by Firewater, Gnarls Barkley and The Gibson Brothers.

• Talib Kweli: In the eardrum.

• Clutch puts a tight grip on State Theatre.

• The Turtle Island Quartet does Coltrane.

• Leon Russell, Tribal Style, Woodsboss and more in Music Week.

• Complete Music Section.

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The much-anticipated new Portishead album, Third — the duo’s first in more than a decade — is streaming here. So far, I’ve listened to a few tracks and am pretty stoked, which is a relief since I found their CurrentTV Portishead in Portishead premiere performance a bit dull and uninspired.

They’ve built upon the sound they perfected in the ’90’s; it’s brooding and hypnotic, but heavier and more lively at the same time, and Beth Gibbons’ voice is just as I remember, haunting and beautiful and capable of inducing goosebumps.

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When The Masquerade in Ybor City closed a couple of years ago, it had degenerated into a scary place: dark and tomb-like, with couches that only the bravest dared sit on. If memory serves, the men’s room had a hole where a urinal had once been. You pissed in the hole. I think it’s safe to say that most of us miss the events that Masquerade brought in, but don’t much miss the place itself.

Here’s some good news: The venue has reopened — under its original name, the Ritz Theatre.

And the place is nice. Really. $2 million renovation nice.

The building has been owned by the Capitano family for a long time, and is being run by Nicole Capitano as an event facility, not a nightclub. The Ritz’s first major concert event will be Bogus Pomp on Sat., June 7. The Bay area band plays the music of Frank Zappa with the kind of expertise and zeal that’s truly remarkable.

As for the Ritz’s interior, well, old denizens of the Masquerade will hardly recognize it. It’s been opened up and is now square-shaped. The feel is lighter and brighter. There’s a new, higher stage, an in-house lighting rig. The room can be configured to include tables and chairs or open space; there are no fixed seats. The brick walls are covered by huge velour curtains for better sound quality. The bare concrete floor has been upgraded: It’s now tiled in large black-and-white checks. The two front rooms have been spiffed up and will feature full bars.

While I wouldn’t call the refurbished Ritz opulent, it has been significantly upgraded, having kept historic Ybor City style in mind.

Frank Zaccaro has booked Bogus Pomp, and plans on doing more shows. “I’m looking at national acts,” he said. “My objective is to bring in high-end blues, jazz and pop acts, maybe some classic rock acts. When Queensryche last came to Tampa Theatre they did less than a thousand people. The show was too small for Tampa Theatre, too big for a nightclub, would’ve been perfect for us.”

Zaccaro said that the revamped Ritz will hold around a thousand for concerts.

Promoters, it’s available for rental.

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Arielle Stevenson went to Ministry at Jannus Landing on Wednesday night. She came back with this:

I got my first tattoo while Ministry’s “Lay Lady Lay” played in the background. So naturally I had to watch the masses of black-studded industrial metalheads cheer the now-50-year-old Al Jorgensen last night at Jannus. The iconic mic stand, cattle head, handle bars etc. were placed behind three chain-link fences.

Jorgensen’s performance was studded with the signature multimedia affects, including wild video clips that targeted the Bush administration. One showed Dick Cheney hunting. A young guy, maybe 22, was carried out by security, his freshly punched face oozing blood, proving that Ministry can still bring the mayhem.

The lineup may not be entirely original Ministry men, but guitarist Tommy Victor played some incredibly face-melting solos. Also noteworthy was bassist Tony Campos.

For the first encore, the band busted out with “N.W.O.” The crowd went wild. The second encore kicked off with a cover of ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid” off of 2008’s Cover Up. The show ended with a Ministrized version of the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb,” and sent concertgoers off with a ringing in their ears.

I have to wonder though: On Ministry’s next “final” world tour, will Jorgensen’s famous mic stand be his walker?

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Here’s a review (and photo) by Amanda Schurr, events editor/arts writer for Creative Loafing Sarasota.

Honda Civic Tour: Panic at the Disco w/Motion City Soundtrack/The Hush Sound/Phantom Planet, 7 p.m. Tues., April 22, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater

By the time I got to Clearwater for the corporate fun fest Honda Civic Tour, I’d already missed Phantom Planet, those “Cal-i-FORN-YA” crooners who once called actor Jason Schwartzman a band member. Drat. That was the only opener for the Panic-headlining bill I was curious about, and I was still two bands out before the Las Vegas dreamo quartet (A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out) and unfortunate-for-them Pete Wentz “discovery” would go on.

Hordes of teens, custodial units, and the occasional beer drinker were trickling into Ruth Eckerd Hall to catch second act, The Hush Sound. A promising Illinois (and fellow Wentz find) foursome whose Donny-and-Marie duo, Bob Morris and Greta Salpeter, worked the frenzied crowd with Afterschool Special aplomb. Singer/pianist Salpeter’s dulcet pipes brought to mind The Sundays’ Harriet Wheeler, all quirky pop affect and head-bobbing fun. The kids ate it up, but never more so than when hottie Panic frontman Brendon Urie snuck out to sing a refrain.

Minneapolis’ Motion City Soundtrack was next, tearing through the kind of nondescript “indie” power pop that adolescents feel cool listening to and parents don’t find threatening. I was mesmerized by Moog synth player Jesse Johnson’s ass-tingling charisma. His hair buzzed close except for a long swatch in the middle, perfect for tossing about dramatically, he’d plunk down a few notes and then flail over his keyboard as though he was giving himself a spinal tap. “Here’s a new song,” introduced lead singer Justin Pierre, sporting a wonky white-boy afro. “It’s kinda sad… but totally happy.” Cue the patented Blink 182-styled vocals, straight-up major key harmonies, and ferosh four-chord rhythm guitar formula. Terribly earnest, competently performed, perfectly inoffensive (even with the occasional F-bomb), utterly forgettable.
(more…)

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While 16,000 fans at the St. Pete Times Forum stood on their feet, silent, basking in Bruce Springsteen’s ballad “Racing in the Street,” I was sitting with my face in my hands, pleading for the song to end. Several times he finished that dreary chorus and I’d think “Racing” was coming to a merciful close, only for Bruce and company to creep back into another verse. “Does everything have to be an epic?” I wondered, cringing.

Just so you know: I never drank the Kool-Aid — which, I hasten to add, is not the same as being a hater. I’ve had my periods of appreciation for Springsteen, but over the years it’s more been an admiration for some of his better work than genuine fandom.

And just so you know: I’m not looking down on Brooooooce fans who commune with their hero. I have a similar relationship with a handful of other acts.

That said, the show demonstrated how redundant Springsteen’s songs are. (I’ve seen him maybe six or seven times previously, and this is the first time it hit me.) He has maybe four basic compositional conceits that he returns to again and again. (What is “Livin’ in the Future” if not “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out” 30 years on?)

So, yes, the concert got dull.

But it’s also why “The Rising” is such a great tune, Springsteen’s best in, oh, two decades. It’s a roof-raiser that sets itself apart from the others — a respite from the doldrums, if you will. The ensemble’s performance of the song Tuesday was particularly spirited.

One more complaint and I’m out: Springsteen has always favored a wall of sound, but his on-stage instrumentation of four guitarists, two keyboardists, bassist, violinist, saxophonist and drummer turned crescendos into sludge.

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Tue., April 22, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa

Springsteen, Danny Federici, and Roy Bittan, Nov. 18, 2007, Boston. Photo by A.M. Saddler/Backstreets.

A preacher of hope and compassion, Bruce Springsteen lifts peoples’ spirits more effectively than any other rocker. Featuring anthemic songs largely focused on redemption, his live performances are marked by a gospel fervor that can transform 20,000 concertgoers into true believers. Following 9/11, Springsteen helped heal an entire nation with his cathartic masterstroke The Rising. After Katrina, The Boss brought his wildly eclectic Seeger Sessions Band to the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, delivering a momentous performance that gloriously addressed both the frustration and perseverance of a populace largely abandoned by its own government. On Tuesday, at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Springsteen and his E Street Band honored one of their own, keyboardist/organist Danny Federici, who passed away after losing a three-year battle with melanoma April 17. Originally scheduled for Monday, Tuesday’s show was Sprinsgteen’s first since his 40-year-long pal and bandmates’ untimely death.

The concert began on a somber note with a video montage of Federici displayed on a large screen draped above the stage. The musicians, all dressed in black, stood like statues with their backs to the audience and watched. Accompanying the archival footage was a recording of Springsteen’s moving tribute to friendship, “Blood Brothers,” which debuted as a new track added on his 1995 Greatest Hits album.

Following the Federici homage, the band launched into a fiery “Backstreets.” From the 1975 classic Born to Run, it’s an emotive tale of boys spending time together on the Jersey shore in the summer, which found Springsteen looking teary eyed at the song’s conclusion. The set list largely eschewed hits, and songs from the new album Magic, for deep tracks and fan favorites like “Backstreets,” “No Surrender,” “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” “Growin’ Up,” “She’s the One,” “The Promised Land” and “Racing in the Streets.” The performances varied little from the original recordings — save for “Atlantic City, which was transformed from an acoustic solo number, the version heard on 1982’s Nebraska, into a full-tilt E Street barn-burner — but were injected with abounding power and glory, even by Springsteen’s high standards. Popular singles such as “Hungry Heart,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” “Glory Days,” “I’m on Fire,” and “Streets of Philadelphia” were shelved. Judging by the at times deafening audience reaction, the 20,000-seat Forum appeared filled to capacity, few went home feeling shorted. In addition to spot-on, supercharged treatments of the old stuff, Springsteen offered strong renditions of newer material like The Rising title-track and Magic’s “Radio Nowhere” and “Livin’ In the Future,” a song that resembles and ranks with his best-known work of the 1970s and ’80s.

In honor of Federici, the band also debuted a stirring cover of the traditional hymn “I’ll Fly Away.” Casual fans hoping for a “Glory Days” sing-along may have been disappointed but for the rest of us, it was an evening of rock ’n’ roll salvation, an opportunity to witness Springsteen and his band honor their friend the best way they know how — by delivering a soulful performance of which Federici would have surely been proud.

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