So much to do, so little time: Rev. Horton Heat at Jannus tonight! Red Elvises, Zappaween 13, Deerhoof, Joni Mitchell Tribute show and more in Music Week. Bobby Rush headlines Sarsota Blues Fest.
Thursday was a busy night for the Tampa music scene with pre-Gainesville Fest shows taking place at New World Brewery, Crowbar, Transitions Art Gallery at SPOT and The Springs Theater… it was tough to choose just one show but Drag The River, Two Cow Garage, Nessie and Brahm Bones at New World Brewery won out.
Drag the River
Two Cow Garage
The horror holiday was significantly more stimulating when my teenage friends and I would spend the night vandalizing the streets of Northdale.
I still enjoy Halloween, though. And will be attending 13 Ugly Men’s kick ass costume party tonight.
Here are the songs I’ll be rocking while driving around this afternoon, trying to accessorize my last-minute costume.
My Halloween Mix CD
1. Halloween Head, Ryan Adams
2. Welcome to My Nightmare, Alice Cooper
3. Egg Man, Beastie Boys
4. Children of the Grave, Black Sabbath
5. I Put a Spell on You, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
6. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), AC/DC
7. Zombie Zoo, Tom Petty
8. Psycho Killer, Talking Heads
9. Living After Midnight, Judas Priest
10. Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon
Atlanta-based Mastodon, the only metal band that really matters these days, has dubbed their upcoming record … Crack the Skye. Works for me. Can’t wait to hear it. Details via the press release:
Burbank, CA- Atlanta-based heavy rock masters MASTODON have confirmed details behind their upcoming Reprise Records album scheduled for release in early 2009.
The seven-song strong, 50 minute tour de force entitled CRACK THE SKYE, was recorded at Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta and produced/mixed by Brendan O’Brien (Rage Against The Machine, Springsteen, Pearl Jam, AC/DC, etc.). CRACK THE SKYE follows their massively acclaimed 2006 epic BLOOD MOUNTAIN, which was voted the #9 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Top 50 Album’s of 2007″ and the #1 Album of The Year in Decibel Magazine. Greater accolades were bestowed upon them last year when MASTODON were named “Best Metal Band” in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Annual poll, and “Best Band On The Planet” by the UK’s Kerrang! Magazine.
Tracklisting for CRACK THE SKYE is as follows:
1. Oblivion
2. Divinations
3. Quintessence
4. The Czar
(I) Usurper
(II) Escape
(III) Martyr
(IV) Spiral
5. Ghost of Karelia
6. Crack The Skye
7. The Last Baron
As with each of their previous releases, the packaging for the new album will be as bold and breathtaking and the music contained within. Multiple packaging formats are expected. Details to be revealed in the near future. Until then, MASTODON has been asked to support label-mates Metallica in Europe this coming Summer 2009.
Internationally known, St. Pete-based singer/songwriter Lorna Bracewell is not one to cram politics down the throats of her fans.
But she feels especially passionate about Amendment 2 and we couldn’t agree with her more on the issue.
Here’s the email Bracewell’s manager sent this morning:
A personal note from Lorna:
Dear Florida fans, supporters, friends and associates,
Over the years I have enthusiastically used the platform I have access to as a musician to draw attention to important social issues such as domestic violence and sex discrimination. I have never used that platform to take sides in a political debate. Today, however, I am doing just that. I am writing to ask you to vote NO on Amendment 2, which will be on the Florida ballot in just a few days - November 4th…
My Bar Tab column this week is an instructional piece about obscuring the fact that you’ve just entered the workplace hung the fuck over, perhaps with plans to continue your buzz. Yep, bender time. I’m kinda on one right now. Whiskey Joe’s had an awesome, highly attended private party bash yesterday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. We — as in me and my fellow felons — arrived around 6:15 and stayed well into the pay-for-your-drinks time. The food — burger sliders, pulled pork, oysters, calamari, chicken pizza, ribs and some other stuff I can’t recall — was excellent, especially after all the free sparkling wine, cabernet, chardonnay, rum runners, pear martinis, beer and some steaming coffee-vodka combo that rocked. Anyway, here’s a snippet from my latest Bar Tab:
Days like these separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls, the amateurs from the ombibulous pros. Because even seasoned drinkers surpass their stop sign on occasion. But, like the great high-ball warriors of old, we rise in the morning, start the coffee machine, jump in the shower and make sure we arrive at work on time. Because the first rule of hiding a hangover is not showing up late. That only draws added attention to the fact that your face looks like it just spent the night sandwiched between Kirstie Alley’s ass cheeks.
CL political editor Wayne Garcia broke the news yesterday that Jimmy Buffett will be performing gratis at a Barack Obama rally scheduled to take place Sun., Nov. 2 at Ford Amphitheatre (follow the link for free ticket info and all that good stuff). I plan to attend. Should be a good time. I’m no Parrothead but Buffett knows how to host a party (and sell mad merch). Plus, I haven’t seen Obama rock the house since he played the Cuban Club in Ybor City way back on April 15, 2007! ( Anyone else still have their “I’m an Obama fan!” fan from that day? Mine is on my cubicle wall. That’s how I knew the exact date without googling it or anything.
Anyhow, here’s my super corny list of tunes Buffett should play for Obama.
Top 10: Tunes Buffett should play at Obama rally
1. Changes in Attitudes, Obama’s a Rad Dude
2. Come Tuesday
3. Son of a Son of a Kenyan
4. Why Don’t We Get Drunk (and vote Obama)
5. Obama Daydreamin’
6. A Politician Looks at Victory
7. Cheeseburger in the Oval Office
8. RepubliFins
9. Trying to Reason with Campaign Season
10. O-Bam-o
I’ve always had a soft spot for Bocephus, especially his early material. For instance, his 1976 album Hank Williams Jr. & Friends is a genuine classic. But now he’s turned into a rich bloated, redneck — hanging with Kid Rock and stuffing his face with a steady diet of filet mignons and retard sandwiches.
Listening to this ridiculously erroneous pro-McCain song he penned (a rewrite of my beloved “Family Tradition”), I can no longer call myself a fan of the man — and I own a half-dozen of his CDs. “Wow, I’m saddened and embarrassed by this,” reads one comment. I couldn’t agree with it more. Or the broadcaster who calls Junior a “fake populist.” Go back to you mansion, Bocephus, and go suck on one those Cuban cigars you adore, you fucking fraud!
Hank Williams Jr. making an ass clown of himself
She has settled into a life of motherhood and domestic bliss but that doesn’t stop Ani DiFranco from opening her new album with a killer line. “New year’s Eve we dropped mushrooms and danced round the house,” she sings, creating a clever metaphor for the surreal horror of life under the Bush administration. A resident of New Orleans, DiFranco employs the Crescent City’s famed Rebirth Brass Band to offer simmering horns that, along with a subtle string section, reinforce the song’s pathos. Most of Red Letter Year follows the title track’s richly orchestrated template, with the singer/songwriter covering topical and personal material.
Shelton Hank Williams III continues his reign as the ultimate death-defying Nashville bad ass/head case. The antithesis of pop country acts such as Tim McGraw, the hellbilly renegade’s fourth album proper finds him melodiously yelping about fighting, fucking, drinking, suicide, broken hearts, Satanism and snorting coke over hopped-up honk tonk and the occasional spooky sound effect. A serious rarity among Music City releases, Damn Right, Rebel Proud earned the singer/songwriter a Parental Advisory badge of honor for the second album in a row, making faux outlaws such as Toby Keith look like pussies in comparison.
Austin-based singer/songwriter, and former grunge wunderkind Ben Kweller brings his new stoner country sound to the Crowbar in Ybor City tonight. Here’s an excerpt from a feature I did on him for the current issue of Creative Loafing:
“I mean, life is life; everybody has their own journey, and I feel real fortunate,” Kweller says from a tour stop in Chicago. “I had such a head start at this music thing. I learned a lot at an early age and through my experiences as a teenager was able to start a successful solo career at 18. Once I moved to New York from Texas, I knew all the bad shit to stay away from and good shit to keep with me. It was a good thing. I’m one of those believers in the ‘if it’s meant to be’ philosophy.”
The presidential election is lurking around the corner, and if the devil has his way, Sarah Palin will be one-heartbeat away from the Oval Office come Jan. 20, 2009. Don’t get me wrong, I would totally do her. But the thought of this pit bull with lip stick — who couldn’t name one newspaper she reads or correctly define the role of the Vice President to an elementary school student — running the country, or any part of the continental U.S., has me scared shitless. I’ve created a Top 10 song tally to help me cope with anxiety. Enjoy.
Top 10: Songs for Sarah Palin
10. North to Alaska, Johnny Horton
9. The Lady in Red, Chris de Burgh
8. Lipstick Lies, Pat Benatar
7. Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song), Warren Zevon
6. Pistol Packin’ Mama, Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters
5. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game, The Marvelettes
4. What Do You Do For Money Honey, AC/DC
3. Evil Woman, Electric Light Orchestra
2. Stupid Girl, The Rolling Stones/Garbage
1. Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother, Jerry Jeff Walker
Sarah Palin on foreign policy
Hardcore troubadour Steve Earle (pictured) wields his ukulele along with famed rock journalist Sylvie Simmons, singer/songwriter Chuck Prophet, Tampa’s own Ronny Elliott, and others in a virtual Million Ukulele March in support of Obama. Huh? Read more about the online rally in my previous post.
“Steve Earle just signed up [this past Saturday],” Simmons told me. “I saw him do a gig in a little barn on the outskirts of San Francisco, a private party, and he posed with a uke for a picture. [Earle] told me he’d already voted for Obama in Nashville since he’s going to be in Australia on election day.”
