Tampa Calling

A quick breakdown of this weekend’s most worthy concerts beginning with Thursday, ’cause that’s when the weekend really starts, right? For a more comprehensive schedule of concerts, check out our Upcoming Events page.

Thursday, July 30
Jeffree Star w/Artist VS Poet/Watch Out! Theres Ghosts/Lets Get It Jeffree Star is conversely ambiguous and flamboyant ­— he could be a woman or a man with his long, bright pink hair, dragtastic make-up and swaths of rock star tattoos. The LA-based self-proclaimed “Queen of the Internet” is a dance music recording artist and Internet phenom who has more than a million MySpace friends and more than 12 million hits on his most played song, “Eyelashes Curlers & Butcher Knives.” Thurs., July 30, 8 p.m., Orpheum, Ybor City, $10, all ages.

Maxwell w/Chrisette Michele Neo-soul singer Maxwell — the Grammy-nominated artist who hits the high notes in his seductive, made-for-making-looove serenades — is currently touring in support of his fourth studio album and first new effort in eight years, BLACKsummers’night. The Brookyn native’s latest features a 10-piece band that brings a lush feel to the album’s supple grooves. Soul support act Chrisette Michele actually won a Grammy for “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” in 2009 for her up-tempo “I Will Survive”-style single, “Be OK.” Thurs., July 30, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; last time I looked this show was SOLD OUT, although I’m sure you can find tickets floating around outside. Read the rest of this entry »

Pennsylvania experimental rock ensemble Black Moth Super Rainbow (pictured, photo by Jae Rumberto) hit retro and modern notes all at once with their day-glo vibrant electro-dance melodies, fizzadelic folk shambles and made-for-space jams. It’s some of the headiest music you’ll find out there right now, but songwriter/frontman/creative conscience Tobacco (real name Tom Fec) doesn’t consider his music psychedelic at all.

“I think everything I do is pop,” he told me a few weeks ago during a phone interview before the second leg of the band’s two-part tour. “I don’t like psychedelic music and I never set out to do it. It just sort of comes out that way. I might be the only person who thinks this, but Eating Us … it seems like a pop album to me.”

Eating Us, his band’s fourth and latest full-length, is not the sort of name that makes me think pop. The black-and-white album cover, with its smeary sad face superimposed onto the back of a hand, doesn’t make me think of pop music, either. And the limited edition “hairy” version of Eating Us (with synthetic hair in its inner sleeve) is probably as far from pop packaging as you can feasibly get. (VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP) Read the rest of this entry »

Was just updating the concert listings when I came upon this listing on the Crowbar website:

Pittsburgh experimental rock ensemble Black Moth Super Rainbow produces some of the headiest psychedelic electro-fizz you’ll hear around right now, day-glow vibrant and spaced-out like an acid trip to the moon.

The band tones down the face-melting mania and turns wistfully surreal for its fourth full-length, Eating Us (Graveface), setting blotter paper lyricism against a rich and dreamy orchestra of synthesized sound — dense, swirling textures of synthi-chord, synth-strings, synth-flute and synth everything else. Read the rest of this entry »

VINYL:

Brian Jonestown Massacre - Smoking Acid EP

Elvis Costello – Secret Profane & Sugarcane
Features a strong collection of country and bluegrass session musicians; produced by T Bone Burnett. Vinyl has two bonus tracks not on the CD. Compact Disc out NEXT week.

Karen Dalton – It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best
The 1969 re-issue of her Capitol Records debut, including two Neil compositions alongside material by Tim Hardin, Leadbelly and Eddie Floyd/Booker T. Jones. One of the great, overlooked talents of the New York folk scene of the early ’60s, no less than Bob Dylan and Nick Cave have called her an influence.

Steve Earle – Townes

Eminem – Relapse

Faust – So Far
9.6 Pitchfork rating;
9.9 Brian Repetto rating

Holly Golightly reissues

• Down Gina’s at 3
• Painted On

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
2-LP and booklet

Method Man & Redman - Blackout 2 Read the rest of this entry »

Black Moth Super Rainbow makes some of the most tripped-out experimental music you’ll hear around these days, psychedelic electro-rock that belongs in a sci-fi space odyssey done in the 1970’s. And it’s not like that hard to sit through, hard to appreciate experi stuff — Black Moth’s music is vibrant, a rainbow of flavors that practically jumps out of the speakers to get your notice. I saw them open for Aesop Rock in ‘07 and was impressed at how well their music translated live. (The visuals helped.)

The band has recently announced the May 26 Graveface Records release of their fourth full-length, Eating Us (cover pictured at left). A medly from the album is currently streaming on the band’s MySpace page. It’s pretty good and I’m intrigued.

Here’s the release and track listing: Read the rest of this entry »

There are plenty of albums I listened to incessantly (or not so incessantly but still enjoyed) this past year that didn’t make my top ten, but are still worthy enough of mention. I’ve also included a few I missed all together when they came out and am just now really digging on — there’s just too much music out there, people. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Part One (4th World War) [Universal Motown]
I only heard Badu’s fourth studio effort for the first time a couple days ago, and kicked my self profusely for not listening sooner. Love it, gives me an automatic head bob, and the only reason I ever avoided it was because I’d heard it was too political. It’s political, all right, but in a blacksploitation film sort of way, all hot funk meets justified rage.

Black Moth Super Rainbow, Drippers EP [The 70's Gymnastics Recording Company]
The five-member experimental ensemble released another album of colorful, synthified, psychedelic fizz – the sort of music you’d expect from the soundtrack to a 1970’s space odyssey. The album includes songs produced over the past year that won’t be on the next album, and each limited edition release comes with one of five scratch n’ sniff scents: fruit punch, campfire, firecracker, tomato and dirt.

Phish, At the Roxy CD Box Set [Jemp]
It’s just not fair to pit a three-night show performed by a band more than 15 years ago against new music, even if said shows do include one of the best versions of “Tweezer” ever known to Phish kind. A truly great box set that anyone who considers themselves a Phan should own.

Panther, 14kt. God [Kill Rock Stars]
Spastic fun rock music with big beats and a Mick Jagger swagger. This album is just a great time.

Beach House, Devotion [Car Park]
The second dream pop album by Baltimore duo Beach House is simple and elegant, each song leisurely, achingly lovely and marked by the soft, sweetly ethereal vocals of singer Victoria Legran. Read the rest of this entry »