Tampa Calling

You know the economy’s bad when musicians get robbed, and the two recent occurrences in what seems to be a new trend are Jeff Ament and Gliss vocalist/guitarist Martin Klingman.

A few weeks ago, some assholes broke into the van of LA psyche rockers Gliss (who stopped here a few weeks ago) and made off with all manner of gear, including a flight case, microphones, tour shirts, several copies of their new album, Devotion Implosion, and most importantly, vocalist Martin Klingman ’70s Fender P Bass, an instrument he got from his grandfather when he was a kid.

The latest musician to suffer caught it first hand. According to reports from DeKalb County Police, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was leaving Atlanta’s Southern Tracks recording studio on April 27 when he and another man were jumped by three masked goons with knives who’d been lurking in the nearby woods. Ament was cleaned out — the robbers took $3,000, his passport and $4,320 worth of goods. When Ament attempted escape, he was knocked down and split his head open, but didn’t require hospitalization. The robbers fled the scene in a black Nissan Maxima.

Luckily for Ament, he was only injured, not kilt. That would’ve sucked.

Friday, April 24
Bay Area Beat presents Adrianne w/Francilla Two stylistically contrasting artists take to the acoustically impeccable Pro Star Sound Stage. Adrianne (pictured), who claims Atlanta and Los Angeles as bases, is a singer/songwriter who favors cozy melodies and spacey arrangements often built around acoustic guitar. Francilla — Tampa by way of the Virgin Islands — has a more beat-oriented dance sound, although it seems unlikely that the show will turn into a rave. Fri., April 24, 8 p.m., Pro Star Sound Stage, St. Petersburg, $10. —ES

Those Legendary Shackshakers w/Nervous Turkey/Tailgunner Joe. For more on the Shackshakers and MP3’s, check out Autopsy IV’s post here. Fri., April 24, 8 p.m., The Garage, St. Petersburg, $12.

Arturo Sandoval A predominant figure on the Cuban jazz scene, Sandoval formed Irakere with Chucho Valdes and Paquito D’Rivera, and was mentored by Dizzy Gillespie in the U.S. His post-bop trumpet style is also spiced by flavors of his homeland, where he still resides. Sandoval is a gregarious performer who knows how to please a crowd. Fri., April 24, 2 and 8 p.m., Largo Cultural Center, Largo, $30 in advance/$35 dos. —ES Read the rest of this entry »

A selection of CDs, EPs, LPs, Digital Releases, DVDs and Box Sets that dropped today.

Arcade Fire, Miroir Noir DVD (Merge)
The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, When Sweet Sleep Returned (Tee Pee)
Bat for Lashes, Two Suns (Astralwerks)
Black Dice, Repo (Paw Tracks)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Vs. Children (Tomlab)
Crystal Antlers, Tentacles (Touch & Go)
Del the Funky Homosapien, Funk Man: The Stimulus Package (digital self-release)
Doves, Kingdom of Rust (Astralwerks)
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, A Stranger Here (Anti-)
Erasure, Total Pop! (Rhino) [box set]
The Felice Brothers, Yonder Is the Clock (Team Love) Read the rest of this entry »