Tampa Calling

Here are the pick of the litter from our Upcoming Concerts pace. To see the complete list, click here.

Friday, April 03
The Zou w/Bang Bang Boom/The Pauses. The Youngstown, Ohio-brewed Zou (pictured) makes progressive alt-meets-art rock with a bluesy grittiness and dark lyrical stylings like “I will feel the same until they lower my pine box.” Fat n’ fuzzy basslines, two guitars alternating between heavy distorted riffs and thin, jagged ribbons of siren-piercing licks, a trill of keys or blast of synths, and a vocalist who alternately sings, rap-chants, and hits powerful, affected high notes ala Serj Tankian of System of a Down. Pretty great stuff. Fri., April 3, 8 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City, $7. —LP

Bay Area Beat Maiden Showcase feat. Ronny Elliot/Rebekah Pulley/Blind Buddy Moody. A local showcase presented in celebration of the release of a new local-centric music rag, Bay Area Beat. Fri., April 3, 8 p.m., Pro Star Soundstage, St. Petersburg, $6. —LP

Ben Folds W/Jukebox the Ghost Ben Folds has a knack for producing some of the most catchy-without-being-saccharine, dry-humored piano-driven pop ballads out there, though he has his share of maudlin and melancholy moments. He’s released three full-length solo albums since his amicable break from Ben Folds Five in 2000, including last year’s Way to Normal. Funny story about that album – it was leaked a few months before the actual release date on a fan site. All those who heard it thought it to be a legitimate copy, but the joke was on them; Folds revealed in a radio interview a few weeks later that he and the band had recorded fake versions of all the songs from Way to Normal in a single overnight session in Dublin and then “leaked” the fake to the public. (I’ve actually heard debates about whether the fake is better than the real.) Folds is one hell of a dynamic showman – I saw him hold a crowd of 10,000 in thrall at Langerado last year – and he hasn’t stopped in town solo for quite some time, so this is a performance you don’t want to miss. Folds-influenced upbeat indie pop rock trio Jukebox the Ghost opens. Fri., April 3, 8 p.m., The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City, $31.50. —LP

Saturday, April 04
FLA Ska Fest XI w/Magadog/The Duppies/The Brentford Sound/Tribal Style/Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypso/The Long Johns The show’s name pretty much says it all — a skankin’ good time (if you like that sorta thing). Recently reunited Magadog is more versatile than most bands of the ilk — they blend in plenty of reggae and rocksteady, as a general rule, but may focus more on uptempo bounce, given the context. Sat., April 4, 8 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $7. —ES

Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz With songs like “Crankenstein,” “Burlesque is Dead,” and “Tombstone Twist,” Big John Bates (pictured) fuses elements of psychobilly with surf rock, Big John’s vocals marked by an outrageous Elvis-style drawl. The trio’s live show features the sexy stage antics of hottie neo-burlesque troupe The Voodoo Dollz. Sat., April 4, 9:30 p.m., Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg, $8. —LP

Joe Popp Acoustic Show NYC-based Joe Popp has kept ties to Tampa Bay, where he fronted a pop-punk trio (called Joe Popp) that drew big crowds at local venues in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Popp will do a solo acoustic gig, but don’t expect him to get all sensitive and shit … OK, maybe a little bit, but he’ll still rock. Sat., April 4, Globe Coffee Lounge, St. Petersburg. —ES

Sunday, April 05
Old School Tampa Reunion Party and Concert feat. Beanstalk/Joe Popp/My Little Trotsky/Maggie Council Several acts that had good runs on the Tampa Bay music scene gather together for an old-home-night of eclectic sounds: BeanStalk — drummer Billy Carr, guitarist Joel Lisi and bassist Andy Irvine — do the jazz/funk/jam thing (for more in them, click here). Joe Popp des a solo acoustic set (for more on him, click here). Singer/songwriter Maggie Council, a long-time fixture on the scene, kickstarted her career with last year’s Not in the House, her first solo disc in 10 years. My Little Trotsky is a new indie quirk-pop band featuring Corey Holt, formerly of Clang, and Karen Collins of Monday Mornings. Sun., April 5, 5 p.m., Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa, $10. —ES

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