Some shots from last night’s Green Day show at the forum. More will be featured in a follow-up review of the show that will be posted sometime tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Billie Joe Armstrong and 12-year-old fan Giovanni Sosto, from Costa Rica, share some stage time during “Know Your Enemy.”

Metal Monday came early this week with Sunday evening’s show at Czar’s Imperial Palace featuring Torche, House of Lightning and Averkiou. Death Metal, one of Tampa’s more unqiue claims to fame, has influenced a plethora of subgenres including the hardcore scene I grew up in. It was awesome to see how many old school hardcore kids made it out on a Sunday night along with a whole new group of metal afficiandos.

Torche

Hailing from Miami, Torche has a rabid fan base hooked on their unique sound – part thrash with a twist of melodic hardcore, and dare I say a bit of twang, all against a solid metal foundation. Decibel Magazine called Torche’s music a “whole new beast built from the DNA up.” Ever since Torche’s Meanderthal (Hydrahead Records) took the No. 1 spot on Decibel’s 2008 Top 40 Extreme Albums list, the band’s fan base has rapidly expanded. Thankfully, their intensity remains intact. (MORE PICS AFTER THE JUMP)

Live, the band exceeds expectations, drawing in the audience until everyone is at least nodding along if not full-on head-banging. You can see that these musicians love what they do and are having a party on stage to which the whole crowd is invited. As a gift to fans from back in the Floor days, the crowd went nuts when “Scimitar” was played. When the audience demanded an encore, the band requested a bit of patience while Rick re-assembled drums that had come undone in the intensity of Torche’s climactic conclusion. The audience happily obliged, waiting late on a Sunday night for the band to squeeze in just a couple more songs.

Their energetic stage presence had me capturing Steve and Jonathan nonchalantly hanging out in mid-air repetitively:

To really experience the mid-air nonchalance, click on the photo to view them in a larger size.

Torche’s 2009 EP (with DVD) Healer / Across the Shields (Hydrahead Records) is out now for your home enjoyment.

Torche is Steve Brooks (Guitars/Vocals), Jonathan Nuñez (Bass), and Rick Smith (Drums)

House of Lightning

The elusive and mysterious House of Lightning (ex-Dove) made one of their too rare appearances opening up for Torche. The crowd reveled as the waves of thrash crashed down upon them.

As a music photographer, few things are as entertaining to capture as the myriad faces of metal framed by hair swirling around like awful red lighting. As you can see, during House of Lightning’s set, the opportunities for capturing metal mugging were endless.

Word on the street is that House of Lightning has been recording, so hopefully a record will be coming soon!

Averkiou

In spite of being the only non-metal band of the evening, Gainesville’s Averikou did a good job of holding the attention of the mostly metal mania audience. Averkiou is, on the one hand, a prototypical shoegaze band, and are frequently compared to Swervedriver, Guided By Voices and, of course, My Bloody Valentine. Averkiou produces a delicious sound that is nearly tactile while at the same time, straight up indie pop. Check out their new album, Throwing Sparks (Clairecords/Barracuda Sound), which has received universal praise with the most common complaint from reviewers being that it is too short!

Averikou is Matt Brink, David Quarles, Chad Darby, James Hernandez and Jason Shusterman

Check out my shots from the Maxwell show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater this past Thursday, July 30. Apparently the neo-soul singer is bashful; the handful of photographers were granted access to shoot the first three songs, but only from the very back of the auditorium.

A series of shots from the Wednesday, July 22 show featuring Reel Big Fish, the English Beat and The Supervillains at The Ritz Theater in Ybor City.

Reel Big Fish

(More pics after the jump)

The English Beat

The Suppervillains’ guitarist Skart pictured below.

Pedals on our Pirate Ships finally sailed into Tampa on July 21! Which explains how I found myself out late on a Tuesday work night at Transitions Art Gallery to see Pedals on our Pirate Ships (Richmond), The Wild (Atlanta) and Regular Size People Fight (Tampa).

Pedals on our Pirate Ships

My friend Jeff made me some mix CDs last winter and the song that immediately caught my attention was “Peter Pan Syndrome,” with its chorus “Will you be my Wendy? Will you be my Tinkerbell? / Don’t be silly you can be my Tiger Lily still” and lines like “We don’t have goals but we have lots of fun” and “but secretly we all miss our mothers, we seek security in the arms of lovers.” When I couldn’t get the song out of my head, I looked up the band with a peculiar name, Pedals on our Pirate Ships, listened to the rest of the songs posted on their Myspace page, and was hooked.

Hailing from Richmond, VA, these folk punk rockers play extremely fun and catchy tunes with just a tinge of introspection. In “Reinventing Bryan Adams” Matt belts out “Why do they call it goodbye, doesn’t feel so good to me, why don’t we call a spade a spade, say what we really mean… look me in the eye and say loving you is fucking killing me” At the show, a small but enthusiastic crowd sang along at the top of their lungs to the crowd favorites, including “Peter Pan Syndrome” and “Night of the Living Wage.”

Originally, Pedals on our Pirate Ships was Matt Seymour’s solo acoustic project featuring an extensive guest and former member list including the following musicians: Michael Otley, Jameson Price, Tim Baker, Casey Martin, Lindsay Sisk, Tim Barry, Nick Bergheimer, Tim Carroll, Ian Cassidy, David Donaldson, Lindsey Driscoll, David Hughes, Joe Hunt, Joe Mager, Josh Small, Daniel Rickey, and Adam Thompson. It’s amazing how much more fun a show is when the band is having as much fun as the audience and that was certainly true at this show. Adding to the visual joy of Pedals on our Pirate Ships, the drummer uses a steamer trunk as a bass drum.

Pedals on our Pirate Ships currently are Matt Seymour (vocals/guitar) with Adrienne Brown (vocals/melodica/tambourine) and Louis Cyrtmus (drummer)

The Wild

We arrived during The Wild’s set. I liked them immediately and not just because they had a banjo in their punk rock band. Hailing from Atlanta, The Wild also plays music in the folk punk genre. Like Pedals on our Pirate Ships, they had a great time playing and as a consequence the audience had a great time listening. I look forward to checking out their recorded material.

The Wild is Kylee (drums), Ben (Bass), Dianna (Tambourine and vocals and more!) and Witt (guitar and vocals)

Regular Size People Fight

Regular Size People Fight features a group of talented Tampa musicians from Dukes of Hillsborough, Watson and The Tim Version playing post-punk. It was fun to see these guys doing something a bit different… I haven’t heard their record Yowza! (Fast Crowd Records) yet but No Idea Records describes it as “Smart lyrics and clever guitar riffs that will make you want to crack open a cold one and sing along.”

For more photos, please check out the following links:

WMNF’s 4th Annual Americana Fest at Skipper’s Smokehouse went off without a hitch this past Saturday, July 11, a hand clappin’, boot stompin’ good time that showcased the vast array of talent in Florida’s Americana scene.

Have Gun, Will Travel

Originally masterminded by Ted Lukas, Americana Fest is all grown up. This year featured ten outstanding Florida Americana bands: Ted Lukas & the Misled, Will Quinlan & the Diviners, Have Gun, Will Travel, Thomas Wynn & the Believers, Nervous Turkey, Black Finger, Roppongi’s Ace, Mike Dunn & the Kings of New England, Matt Butcher and The Nine Volts plus a national headliner: Blue Mountain.

Thomas Wynn & The Believers

As typical on summer days in the lighting capital of the world (Tampa really does mean “sticks of fire”), downpours threatened throughout the day. In spite of inclement weather, Americana Fest was packed with folks eager to see the array of homegrown talent with music lovers of all ages in attendance.

Kids building sandcastles at Skipper’s smokehouse

According to Wikipedia, Americana is the “amalgam of roots music fused by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, rhythm & blues, rock & roll and other external influential styles.” In the absence of individual set reviews, suffice to say that each of these alt country bands delivered inspired performances tapping into the full range of musical influences of the Americana genre. It was common to see band members making guest appearances during other sets to add a harmony here and there, or provide some necessary instrumentation. The sense of community among these musicians was inspiring.

Missed out on this show? Next up for Americana fans in Tampa: WMNF presents The Avett Brothers (with Matt Butcher and The Revolvers) at The Cuban Club on Saturday, July 18.

The Nine Volts

The Nine Volts are Larry Fulford (drums), James Mitchell (guitar/ mandolin), Adam Wheeler (bass) and Conrad Wilson (vocals/ guitar).

Matt Butcher

Black Finger

Black Finger is Greg Lovell, Andy McAusland, Sean Fernandez, and Jesse Dalton.

Mike Dunn & The Kings of New England

Mike Dunn and The Kings of New England is Mike Dunn (Vocals, Guitar, Piano) and depending on the performace an assortment of the following regal players: Jacob Kaplan (Bass Guitar), Joey Bradshaw (Rhythm Guitar, Vocals), Cannon Lee (Drums), Kyle Pierce (Guitar, Pedal Steel), Andy Simmonds (B3 Organ, Vocals), Chris Martin (Drums, Bass Guitar, Vocals), Daniel “Bones” Anderson (Drums, Smiles), C.J. Mask (Lead Guitar, Vocals), Jeff Snow (Drums, Metal History), Dean Lorenz (Shred) and Susan “Soon to be” Snow (Violin).

Roppongi’s Ace

Roppongi’s Ace is Alex Spoto (Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle), Max Norton (Drums, Hootin’), Jesse Norton (Bass, Harmonica, Hollerin’), and Rob Pastore (Pedal Steel).

Nervous Turkey

Nervous Turkey is Ernie Locke (Vocals, Harp, Guitar), Aaron Fowler (Drums), and Mark Cunningham (Organ).

Thomas Wynn & The Believers

Thomas Wynn & The Believers is Thomas Wynn (lead vocals/guitar), Olivia Wynn (vocals/organ-piano/tambo), Justin Beckler (guitar), John Hembree (bass), Thom Damon (drums) and Chris Bell (harmonica).

Have Gun, Will Travel

Have Gun, Will Travel is Scott Anderson (elec. guitar, lap steel), Jean-Paul Beaubien (drums), Matthew Burke (voice, accoustic guitar), Daniel Burke (bass guitar, voice) and Joshua Hernandez (viola)

Will Quinlan & The Diviners

For this performance, Will Quinlan & The Diviners was Will Quinlan (Vox/Guitar), Soraya Zaumeyer (vox/keys), Daniel Burke (upright bass), Scott Anderson (electric & lap steel guitars), Alex Spoto (Fiddle) and Jesse Martin (drums).

Ted Lukas & The Misled

Ted Lukas & The Misled is Ted Lukas (guitar/vocals), Mark Tinker (bass), Sonny John Sundstrom (guitar/vocals), and Sean Doyle (drums/vocals)

Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain is Cary Hudson (Guitar, vox), Laurie Stirratt (bass, vox) and Frank Coutch (drums,vox).

For more photos, please visit the following links:

In three short years, the Reax/ThxMgmt Hot Dog Show has established itself as a must-attend event of the summer, providing a great opportunity to see a diverse group of bands, catch up with old friends, make some new ones, and of course, witness a hot dog-eating contest. This year, the Hot Dog Show took place on Friday, July 3, at Crowbar. I arrived just in time to see the first female victory in the hot dog eating contest (sorry – I didn’t catch her name!), which was followed by an animated performance by Bealsville/Plant City-based Shunda K of Yo Majesty! Bringing the evening to a dance party conclusion was Sunbears! (Jacksonville).

Sunbears!

The last time I saw Sunbears! in November 2008, I was impressed by their ability to deliver a complete visual experience to go along with their sugary pop, even outside at New World Brewery. Sunbears! has enhanced their candyland set to greater dayglo heights with a variety of props, including a giant red balloon, bubbles and confetti, oh my! Recorded last fall, the Sunbears! cover of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” now adds a bit of unintentional poignancy to their act … at least until the shock of Michael Jackson’s death wears off. The audience danced up a storm to the Sunbears!’ happy-go-lucky pop tunes while throwing confetti to the beat. Sunbears! is also fun to listen to on disc and their current EP, Dream Happy Dreams, is a perfect summer dance soundtrack. Really, who couldn’t use a little auditory uplifting given the state of the world? I look forward to hearing and seeing what is next for this talented duo!

Sunbears! is Jonathan Berlin (keys, guitar and vox) and Jared Bowser (drums/vox)

Shunda K!

Shunda K, moniker of Lashunda Flowers, is a talented local hip hop artist who defies expectations by incorporating both spirituality and sexuality into her lightning fast rhymes. She is currently allowing fans to download her music for free so head over and check her out!

For more photos, please visit the following links:

“There’s so much joy in what we do up here…” Craig Finn of The Hold Steady exclaimed to fans near the end of their set at The Ritz on July 2, 2009, “…we are all the Hold Steady!”

The joy rang loud and proud throughout their set. Fans of The Hold Steady don’t just come and watch the band — they participate and follow along with the band antics.

As everyone knows by now (or should know), our little enclave Ybor City makes multiple appearances in Hold Steady lyrics including:

Ybor city is tres speedy but they throw such killer parties.
Killer parties almost killed me. – Almost Killed Me

The Hold Steady is Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (lead guitar), Franz Nicolay (keyboards, vocals, harmonica, accordion), Galen Polivka (bass) and Bobby Drake (drums).

The show was a Jim Beam sponsored soiree featuring lots of fun giveaways and prizes including a Hold Steady autographed guitar given away by Creative Loafing’s Joran Slane with the help of the Jim Beam girls.

GreyMarket

Straight from their wildly successful set at Heatwave, GreyMarket opened up the show in near darkness (reportedly at their request). I still managed to capture a few shots…

This electronic alt-duo have quite the buzz going at the moment with a slew of summer shows scheduled. Check out their website for dates!

GreyMarket is Michael Gargiulo (drums, laptop and backup vocals) and L. Cave McCoy (lead vocals, guitar and pedals).

For more photos, please visit the links below:

A rainy evening in Tampa couldn’t put out the metal fire at the Brass Mug on Wednesday, July 1. I caught the last two bands of the evening, Seventh Rule Records labelmates Light Yourself on Fire (Tampa) and Wetnurse (NYC).

Light Yourself on Fire

Sadly, Scrog elected not to play a reunion show on this night. Luckily, Light Yourself on Fire, Tampa’s metalcore darlings, stepped in. Read more LYOF commentary from their recent show at New World Brewery.

Light Yourself on Fire are John Allen (guitar), Robert Winslow (bass), Ken Karg (drums), and Matt Coplon (vocals).

Wetnurse

What I like best about hardcore shows is the energy that emanates from the band permeating through to the audience. The audience participation becomes a critical component of the show. Wetnurse’s set was a perfect example: an explosive set delivering their special sauce of death metal, hardcore, grindcore and classic rock tied up just right in razorwire. If you don’t already own Invisible City, which was on a plethora of must-have 2008 music mag lists, there is still time to see the light.

Wetnurse is Gene Fowler (vox), Greg Kramer (guitar), Garett Bussanick (guitar), Ryan Jones (bass) and Curran Reynolds (drums).

For more photos please visit the links below:

A band of Florida traveling bards and minstrels aka the Citrus Circuit Tour made a stop at New World Brewery on Saturday, featuring Lake Worth’s Truckstop Coffee, Daytona’s Lauris Vidal, Gainesville’s The Takers and Bradento-based Have Gun, Will Travel.

Have Gun, Will Travel

With three new songs and a Tom Petty cover, Have Gun, Will Travel (HGWT) continues to innovate at each show. Accordingly, HGWT’s set had New World Brewery dancing up a storm and singing their hearts out to old favorites like “When We Were Kings” and “Blessing and a Curse” (affectionately know by fans as “Bop Ba Da” after the chorus that stays in your head all the way home).

I am really looking forward to hearing the recorded versions of these new songs, particularly “Salad Days.”

Have Gun, Will Travel is Scott Anderson (elec. guitar, lap steel), Jean-Paul Beaubien (drums), Matthew Burke (voice, acoustic guitar), Daniel Burke (bass guitar, voice) and Joshua Hernandez (viola)

The Takers

Gainesville’s The Takers bring a wholly hogtown porch-based twist to Americana that gets the audience tapping their toes in a hot second. Taker Easy (Suburban Home Records) is out now so you can take a bit of hogtown honky tonk home with you.

The Takers are Devon Stuart Vlasin, Chad Smith, Ronnie Holmes, Jerome “Romy” Goodman, Jon “P-Nut” Reinertsen and Mike Collins.

Lauris Vidal

This was my first time seeing Lauris Vidal and I have definitely been missing out! From the first note, Vidal and his bandmates had the audience foot tapping and head bobbing, unable to sit still while listening to his swampy, bluesy slice of auditory heaven. For more on Mr. Vidal take a peek at Leilani Polk’s interview.

Truckstop Coffee

I first saw Trucktop Coffee at NWB about a year ago and was taken by their modern yet authentic take on alt-county. Though missing the stomp box at this show, these guys from the Space Coast managed to take the audience to new heights, setting the tone for a night of amazing Americana/roots rock.

Truckstop Coffee is Pete Stein (Guitar/Vocals), Caleb James (Guitar/Vocals), Larry Fulford (Drums/Vocals) and Bob Hershberger (Bass)

Thanks to Joe and Thx Mgmt for bringing another amazing Americana show to Tampa! Also a shout out to Autopsy IV, a fellow CL blogger who is behind the splendid music blog http://ninebullets.net/ for being sweet enough to let me stand in front of him to snap a few of these shots.

In summary, if you missed this show and call yourself a fan of Americana and/or local music, shame on you. Don’t worry … you have a chance at redemption by attending WMNF’s 4th Annual Americana Fest at Skipper’s Smokehouse on July 11th to see an amazing array of Florida Americana/folk acts, including Nine Volts (Cape Canaveral), Matt Butcher (Orlando), Roppongi’s Ace (Tampa), Mike Dunn & the Kings of New England (Winter Park), Black Finger (Lake Worth), Nervous Turkey (Tampa), Thomas Wynn & the Believers (Orlando), Have Gun, Will Travel (Bradenton), Will Quinlan & the Diviners (Tampa), Ted Lukas & the Misled (Tampa), along with Oxford, Miss.-based headliner, Blue Mountain.

For more photos, please visit the following links: