A friend of mine sent me a link to this Soul Train clip featuring Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie.” While the quality of the video isn’t great, the dancing is effing classic. I want to bust moves like this. I do bust moves like this, in my mind.
Lots of new concert announcements arrived in my email box over the past three days. I’ve paired the new with a few that slipped through the cracks for your concert planning convenience. For a complete breakdown of area shows, visit our Upcoming Concerts page.
Saturday, Aug. 8 Sons of Bill, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa, $7 in advance/$10 dos; ON SALE NOW.
Friday, Aug. 14 Tracy Byrd, Dallas Bull, Tampa, $9.95 in advance, $15 at the door; ON SALE NOW.
Sunday, Aug. 23: White Rabbits w/The Fiery Furnaces, The Social, Orlando, $13 in advance, $15 dos; ON SALE NOW.
Friday, Sept. 04: Soja w/The Movement, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $15; ON SALE NOW.
Friday, Sept. 04 Lee “Scratch” Perry, The Social, Orlando, $20 in advance, $25 dos; ON SALE NOW.
Wednesday, Sept. 16: Living Colour (pictured above), Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, $15 in advance, $18 dos; ON SALE NOW. Read the rest of this entry »
As I said with my last post about Nerdapalooza, I wasn’t really familiar with the whole genre (or its fan base) until mere weeks before attending the festival, but I had a short list of people I wanted to see as Trevor and I shoved off from St. Petersburg last Saturday morning.
Now, I’m typing this a little under 24 hours after getting home from the festival. Showered, rested, and fed, I’m still not sure how I want to cover it. There were plenty of disappointments, such as Kabuto The Python (the #1 thing I wanted to see) not thinking to try the rapping with a mask thing out before stepping out onto a stage, which resulted in Kabuto the Mime. There was The Protomen’s set so mired in feedback that you would have thought they brought it along as a special guest. Then there was the most frustrating part of all, the festival’s complete and utter inability to stay anywhere close to the schedule (more on that later).
But this isn’t meant to be a diatribe from some outsider coming in to point at the nerds and talk about how shitty their convention was. And as I drove home, I reflected on some of the cool shit we saw. The first band we caught, Captain Dan & the Scurvy Crew, were quite entertaining both sonically and visually as they took the stage in complete pirate garb. Kabuto aside, the rest of the Scrub Club showcase was phenomenal. As a “crew” they seem to embrace a “hiphop first, nerd second” approach to their music and stage show that really appealed to me.
Then there was the out of left field “holy shit I am gonna talk about that for months” set by Schaffer The Darklord. I’d listened to his material on Myspace in preparation for the festival and was lukewarm to it at best. However, live … live is where it was at. Those lazy beats and rhyme delivery were pushed aside for an uptempo, high energy tight stage show that captivated the entire room. Watching him on stage I kept thinking, this dude is like nerdcore’s version of Col. J.D. Wilkes (for those who don’t know, read about JD here). I don’t think there is any doubt that Schaffer stole the entire festival with his shortened performance. Read the rest of this entry »
“Don’t stop, believing — hold on to the feeyayaling!”
“‘Cause I can’t fight this feeling anymore, I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for! And if I have to crawl upon the floor, come crashing through your door, baby, I cant fight this feeling anymore!”
“Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me!” (Think of Cartman singing it. Makes it twice as great.)
All right, enough of that. Just wanted to introduce two concert announcements I received over the weekend about two upcoming shows featuring ’70s classic rock bands known for their epic power balladry.
Journey (the current incarnation pictured at right, in case you didn’t recognize) stops at the Amway Arena in Orlando Wed., Sept. 23, with Night Ranger to open. Tickets are $126, $66 and $36, and go on sale this Sat., July 18 at 10 a.m.
And the “Cant Stop Rockin’ Tour 2009″ with REO Speedwagon and Styx (also featuring special guest opener Night Ranger) play a pavilion only Ford Amphitheatre Fri., Oct. 30. The reserved seat tickets are $59.50, $39.50, $29.50 and $19.50, with four-packs available for $60. Sales this Sat., July 18 at 10 a.m.
Scotland’s indie rock foursome Frightened Rabbit, fronted by brothers Scott and Grant Hutchison, hits several festivals (including Pitchfork) and makes a few solo stops this July. The band (pictured at left, photo by Dave Gourley at Kelvingrove Museum) has just announced that it will return to the states for a late summer-early fall tour that kicks off in Morrison, Colo., and ends at The Social in Orlando. They also debuted a new song and played some intriguing covers at Off the Beaten Track, an ongoing video music project (check that out HERE). Here are some highlights from the release (tour dates after the jump):
The foursome will team up with friends and countrymen, The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks for a raucous Scottish invasion of the States. The band will headline the anthemic rock-filled jaunt, which kicks off in Salt Lake City on September 14, following their appearance at the Monolith Festival in Colorado, alongside Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Girl Talk and the Walkmen. Read the rest of this entry »
by Denis Baldwin
This year’s Homemade Music Symposium played out over the weekend at the Ybor HCC campus, bringing together musicians, singer-songwriters, music industry professionals, entertainers, writers, photographers and most every other aspect of the music industry to discuss the state of music, the nature of creating and marketing musicians and give a taste of things to come.
Overall, the symposium was a great success. Saturday opened with “Poets of Popular Song, The Lyrics and Lyric Writers of the Great American Songbook,” featuring the piano work of Paul Wilborn and the 107-year-old Rosa Rio. After their performance, many of the attendees broke for the lunch while the rest of us sat at our tables and handed out free swag and met with people.
More pics after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
The Killers will play UCF Arena in Orlando on Thursday, October 1.
Tickets are $52.00 for the General Admission Dance Floor, $38.00 for Reserved Lower Bowl Seating and $35.00 for Reserved Upper Bowl seating. They go on sale Saturday, June 27 at 10 am at LiveNation.com, charge by phone 877-598-8698 and all TicketMaster outlets. Day of show the price increases to $55.00 for GA Dance Floor, $41.00 for Lower Bowl and $38.00 for Upper Bowl.
Frodus Conglomerate International (1993-1999) resurrected on June 18, 2009 at Redlight Redlight, Orlando, FL, continuing what has been an outstanding ’90s hardcore reunion year (most recently the unbroken/split lip reunion at burning fight). Supporting the resurrection was Tampa’s Guiltmaker and Orlando’s Hurrah.
Thx Mgmt brought an all-star Florida rock n’ roll show to New World Brewery last Friday, June 5, featuring Tampa darlings The Beauvilles, Orlando-based Thomas Wynn & The Believers and Jacksonville’s Shawn Fisher & The Jukebox Gypsies. The master plan was a mini-weekend tour with stops at each of the bands’ hometowns while rotating the headliner spot and introducing the out-of-town bands to new audiences. A grand idea!
Ever since the phrase “pull a Radiohead” entered the music blogosphere’s lexicon, we’ve watched as a diverse list of acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Saul Williams, Pennywise, and Portishead explore ways to reinvent the music business wheel. One of the highest-profile free agents is Pearl Jam – a group unafraid to fight corporate giants like Ticketmaster head-on. But Eddie Vedder and company don’t fear partnering up with a big box store either.
Billboard reports:
[Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis] confirmed that deals were also finished or in the works with an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and with a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores. “Target ended up allowing us to have other partners. We’ll be able to take care of all levels of the Pearl Jam fan…We wish we could tell the whole story right now, but all the deals aren’t done. Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition.”
Pearl Jam will follow in the footsteps of AC/DC, Prince, Guns n’ Roses, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and many other famous names that granted exclusivity deals with big box retailers. But Pearl Jam’s deal with Target is not quite as odious. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
In the hours after penning my little fuck you to the Tampa/St. Pete music fan base, I got to thinking. There’s a line in the Outkast song, “Git Up, Git Out,” that says; “You need to git up, git out and git somethin’ / Cuz you and I got to do for you and I.” I thought, instead of bitching about how lazy Bay Area music fans have become, instead of railing against the DJ culture of Tampa, instead of being a whiny bitch about it, why not try and help the people who are trying to change things in the area. And we’re going, too. Just as soon as we finish this other thing … None of this has anything to do with the Thx Mgmt show Friday night at New World Brewery except that the two subjects are in the same spirit…
So, on with the show.
Following my rant, Shawn Beauville from the Beauvilles emailed me to inform me about a little tour his band was taking part in. The idea was to get a collection of bands together who can pull within their own markets and put them all on the road together with the “home band” headlining their respective market. In this case, the bands are: The Beauvilles (Tampa), Thomas Wynn & The Believers (Orlando) and Shawn Fisher and the Jukebox Gypsies (Jacksonville). Joining them on the Tampa date is The Junkyard Kings. Not only is the spirit of this show something I can get behind, but the lineup has something for everyone who likes their music played live and loud and right in front of them. Seems Thx Mgmt might be coming to the same conclusions as I am cause right on the tails of this show comes The Citrus Circuit Tour featuring a whole other slew of Florida bands. But more on that later this month.
Anyhow. Come on Tampa. Come on St. Pete. Get out to New World on Friday night and celebrate/support your local musicians. ‘Til then, here’s a sampling of what you’ll hear: Read the rest of this entry »
Last time Miley Cyrus played Tampa Bay it set off a Ticketgate, with moms of young daughters up in arms about being screwed out of the opportunity to buy tickets. Many of them dropped several hundreds of dollars as to not run afoul with their progeny.
Let’s hope there’s not another ticket fiasco this time. Actually, the best thing that could happen is that Miley-mania has calmed down the extent that MILFs aren’t breaking the household budget to take 11-year-old young Brittany to see her heroine.
Here we go:
Miley Cyrus will perform at the St. Pete Times Forum on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.
More important, though:
Tickets for this event go on sale next Saturday, June 13th at 10am only at www.ticketmaster.com/mileycyrus and by Ticketmaster’s charge-by-phone number 800-745-3000. Tickets are priced at $39.50, $59.50, and $79.50. Prices do not include service charges.
What’s probably the coolest electronic show of the summer is going down tonight at the Crowbar in Ybor. Soft Rock Renegades, CL’s Best of the Bay winner for Best DJ Night, are celebrating their one-year anniversary with live performances from two well-respected electronic artists — The Juan Maclean (DFA/NYC) and The Field (Kompakt/Sweden).
The Juan Maclean are touring in support of their new album, The Future Will Come. You can expect a full-on live show, somewhat reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem (and not just because Nancy Whang is also in the band). With The Field it’ll be a little different as Axel Willner creates huge soundscapes via a minimalist approach from behind his set-up. The Field just released a new album, Yesterday and Today, though hopefully, Willner won’t forget about material from the standout 2007 release, From Here We Go Sublime.
As always, the price is right for Tuesday nights at Crowbar: $5 liters, $10 cover, all ages kids; showtime is 9 p.m.
Check out a David Lynch/The Field video mash-up after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
MayDay Festival was conceived a few years ago by Ted Morgan and Ben Wavel in Houston, TX, with the hopes of creating an exposure outlet for their favorite local bands. On May 23, they will bring the rock to Orlando. Through the festival, they have helped many bands get bigger followings and gotten the local community to take more notice of their local crop of bands.
Its official: Billy Corgan has lost his mind. What once was a name of stature and notoriety in the music world, and our playlists, has become nothing more than dirt and tarnish. Some of you may be familiar with the Smashing Pumpkins’ headmaster and his various eccentricities as of late. For those who are not, I’ll give a little recap… Read the rest of this entry »
After eight years, I’m still trying to find my identity in the Tampa Bay area. I’ve got the “you’ve got to drive everywhere all the time if you want to have any fun and be a part of anything” vibe down, but there’s something missing in my overall music-making and living experiences in St. Petersburg. The latest rash of confused feelings came to me Saturday night, when I found a review of my band Blast & the Detergents CD in the April issue of MAXIMUMROCKNROLL.
A great, short and earnest review, I was as giddy as a little 12-year-old whose parents finally let him get a cotton candy. This nationally distributed, punk-as-fuck, San Francisco-based ‘zine spent the time listening to and reviewing my CD. They even chose my hand-drawn album art to be displayed for eternity in the review section of their April 2009.
But wait, there’s more!
Where to begin? Last Thursday seems like so long ago, the start of a very long weekend of incredible music. With the Harvest Of Hope festival bringing bands by the boatload to Florida, many of them played shows throughout the state before and after the weekend. I (with my girlfriend and a few other friends) went to four shows in six days across the state. I did my best to document all of this with pictures and video; and even managed to score a short video interview with Bryce Dessner of The National. Read the rest of this entry »
U2 persists as the biggest rock band in the world. No Line on the Horizon will likely flirt with platinum status in its first week of release — quite an accomplishment in these dire times for the music biz. There aren’t many acts left for whom pressing a new album is akin to printing money. When U2 hitched their wagon with concert behemoth Live Nation, the band received a load of company stock as part of the 12-year, $120 million deal. So confident they are in their continued success, I wonder if they’ve even checked Live Nation’s stock quote since the deal? (I did! It’s down about 75%!) I can only imagine how the Irish rockers feel about the proposed merger with Ticketmaster!
Given the mansions upon castles of cash this band raked in over the past few decades, there’s a certain understandable reluctance to revolutionize the way things are done. But music fans with even the most primitive knowledge of the health of the recording industry will laugh at U2 guitarist the Edge’s justification as to why the old business model is the way to go.
If you are currently drinking anything, I advise you put down your glass. Your ensuing spit-take may ruin your computer. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s been this new sound swirling around; it sounds like hip hop but with an electro beat … I’m no music critic and my vocabulary to breakdown the proper terminology is laughable. All I know is this sound is propped up by new female “alternative” artists, and they all have a killer style.
In our first Fusionistas podcast (embedded below, check it) my guest is Shunda K, creator of the group Yo! Majesty. We have a candid conversation about where she’s been and where shes going, and how she was a forerunner of this new sound. Shunda has been collaborating with many artists on different tracks and we’ll link you some so you can hear for yourself. (check ‘em down below)
Was there ever any question the trio’s collaboration would be anything but golden? The proof is in the 418,000 download sales for its opening week, which surpasses T.I. and Rihanna’s record of 335,000 for their single, “Live Your Life.” For details, numbers and more info, click here.
So, is “Crack a Bottle” fantastic or what? I’d post a video but there isn’t one yet. Just alot of YouTube amateurs pairing pictures with the song. But I’m curious to hear what other people think about it. To hear the song in its entirety, check out Eminem’s MySpace. I’ve listened to it a few times and I’m digging it a little, but I’m not sure the lyrics are up to Eminem’s usual clever standard. Here’s the chorus:
“So crack a bottle, let your body waddle / Don’t act like a snobby model, you just hit the lotto / O-oh o-oh, bitches hopping in my Tahoe / Got one riding shotgun, and no not one of them got gloves / Now wheres the rubbers? Whose got the rubbers? / I noticed theres so many of them, and theres really not that many of us / and ladies love us and my posses kicking up dust / Its on till the break of dawn/ and were starting this party from dus”
Creative Loafing’s annual arts, music, film, etc. event goes digital this year. It will be held on Saturday, March 28 at the Honey Pot in Ybor City and will feature interactive installations by Santiago Echeverry, Giancarlo Giusti and Deon Blackwell. Music (*subject to change) will be some heavies in electronic/IDM (*intelligent dance music): Eliot Lipp, Michna, Daedalus and more.
Ticket info coming soon – KEEP CHECKING BACK!
For a taste, check out this mix courtesy of Jack over at AES>>>
2critical – 020909: 1030AMish Miniature Mix
(click the plus sign to play)
“something from earlier today, inspired by & including artists soon to be confirmed for the Sensory Overload 4.0 jam. stay tuned for more info on that.”
tracklisting:
Secret Frequency Crew – Deep Blue
Eliot Lipp – Rap Tight
Eliot Lipp – Street
Michna – Swiss Glide
Daedelus – Touchtone (Jimmy Edgar Remix)
Daedelus – Touchtone (Original)
Dert ft. Jose Gonzalez & The Game – Dreams / Crosses
Goodie Mob – Fly Away
Dam Funk – Indigo
Afta-1 – The Time In Between
New Zealand acoustic guitar-playing comedy duo Flight of the Conchords will no doubt be decked out in a slick new pair of business socks when they land at Orlando’s UCF Arena on Wednesday, April 4. These socks (I’m picturing argyle) will run you upwards of $50 a ticket after all the charges and tax. That’s steep. I’m a big fan of their HBO show and last year’s album, but it’s hard to rationalize paying that much to see two guys and no light show.
The internet pre-sale started up today at Ticketbastard via the password: SUGALUMPS
| Tickets (Flight of the Conchords) | |
| Internet Presale | US $36.50 x 1 |
| Total Building Facility Charge(s) | US $2.00 x 1 |
| Total Convenience Charge(s) | US $9.85 x 1 |
| Order Processing Charge(s) | US $5.15 |
| Standard Mail | No Charge |
| TOTAL CHARGES | US $53.50 |
Mohawk Bomb Records, the award-winning, Clearwater-based independent record label, announces its release schedule for spring 2009.
Soulfound “Live at Zen Recording”: features 5 songs performed live at Zen Recording from their “Is a Rock Band” album, released in September 2008. There are 5 video companions to the songs available on Soulfound’s YouTube channel. The EP will be available as a digital release on February 17, 2009.
No Lip Vol. 2 Compilation: This 14-song eclectic mixed bag of Rock music anthems is the second release in Mohawk Bomb’s No Lip series. Although leaning towards Punk and Pop Rock, No Lip pulls samples from the Florida, California, Texas, Ontario (Canada), UK and Australian music scenes as a survey course of the caliber of independent music. Profiles on each of the contributing bands will be posted on the label’s Website at www.mohawkbomb.com over the next month. The compilation will be available for sale online after February 24, 2009. Physical CDs will be passed out as free giveaways and sent to music press around the USA.
Mohawk Bomb Records is a new kind of record label, focused on sharing all music with the World using social networking and Web 2.0 technologies.
Once upon a time, I thought …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead was an amazing metal band name wasted on some Austin indie rockers. Then I heard Worlds Apart, the band’s ambitious, anthemic, self-indulgent yet criminally underrated 2005 album, and I realized these guys rule. I finally caught them live in November of 2006. To say they left me wanting more would be too kind.
Disappointment set in when I happened upon their upcoming tour dates. February 23 at The Social over in Orlando. Nothing in our vicinity.
Why am I so disappointed? Well, I’m of the opinion that …Trail of Dead owes us a decent concert.
What happened on-stage at Jannus Landing on November 18, 2006?
Doug Grean is ready for his moment in the sun – and after putting up with the unpredictable antics of a songwriting partner like Scott Weiland, I can’t really blame him. The Los Angeles producer/musician and the erratic Stone Temple Pilots frontman began collaborating back in 1998, and sixteen of their co-written songs appear on Weiland’s latest solo album Happy In Galoshes. He wears the ridiculous (self-imposed?) title of “musical director” in Weiland’s band. I have no problem admitting I’ve never heard of the guy, and I’m betting you haven’t either. But Grean’s blog post recapping Weiland’s recent solo tour irritates me as a music fan
Read it after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Here are some shots from last nights show at New World Brewery. Despite the colder temperatures, about 100 folks came out to see the biggest full moon in 15 years and some good bands: Pielos, Super Secret Best Friends, Inertia! and the Unitards.
Lily of Inertia! welcomed Ryann Slauson and Nikki Navarro of Giddy-Up Helicopter!,for her set. I then found out Giddy-Up are calling it quits in the spring when Nikki plans to leave for Chicago.
Super Secret Best Friends played their first show at New World since their first-ever show early this year. SSBF drummer Alex told me it’s their favorite venue. Agreed.
Inertia!
More pics below: Read the rest of this entry »
An otherwise ordinary Monday evening was transformed into a fantastic inferno of colors, costumes and characters at The Ritz featuring Of Montreal, Fiery Furnaces, and Fire Zuave. It was impressive how many people were in attendance given the competition with the Bucs game and it being a Monday. Proof positive that the Tampa area has a plethora of indie music fans.
See photos after the break. Click here for Leilani’s in-depth review and killer video.
Read the rest of this entry »
Friday night, Orlando’s Matt Butcher debuted his new album, Me and My Friends, with a perfomance at Ybor’s New World Brewery with support from Will Quinlin and the Diviners and North Carolina-based Bombadil.
The diminutive troubadour Butcher (who sounds more like a young Neil Young with each listen) and crew of six knocked out some great harmonies, especially on the title track. Lead guitar and pedal steel work filled things out nicely. As a friend commented, “it’s just enough country, but never too much country.”
Bombadil overcame some questionable wardobe choices to knock out really tight set of twee pop/Indie/Irish sea chanties for children.
Matt Butcher:
Warning: explicit language to follow.
I know, I know — we’ve heard it all before: Ticketmaster(bastard) sucks big fat donkey dick. But I feel the need to bring this matter to light again because I just finished purchasing my Modest Mouse tickets and am (as per usual) fuming over the service charges.
