Posted by Joel Weiss on Jul. 31, 2009, at 11:39 am
Shitty concert etiquette can destroy what could otherwise be an out-of-this-world concert experience. I’ve attended hundreds of metal, rock, and punk shows and witnessed all manner of drunken douchebaggery. The more intense the show, the more idiocy you’ll have to put up with.
I’m not a people person. I don’t go to shows to get shitfaced. I don’t go to shows to intentionally collide with people galloping in a sloppy circle while shadowboxing. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, and I have no problem putting up with people who engage in them — I just want to enjoy an awesome live show.
Gogol Bordello played the Ritz Ybor last Monday. They were just as amazing as their last Bay Area appearance at the State Theatre, and I had an awesome time. Early on, however, I feared my evening would be ruined by the most egregious concert etiquette faux pas. An error so heinous it transcends rock shows and infringes upon normal everyday life: exceptionally awful body odor. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 30, 2009, at 10:40 am
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 Starw/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.
Maxwellw/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 »
Rumor has it that Drew Street Mary has a fill in bass player, as bassist Chris Cale is helping fight Malaria in parts of Africa for the summer.
“We are looking forward to this show,” stated Drew Street Mary’s Vocalist/Guitarist Todd Fulmino. “We have a short, yet powerful set including ‘Barfly‘, ‘Final Approach‘ and many other DSM favorites. Plus, we have a mystery bass player, so you have to come see who it is.”
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jul. 22, 2009, at 2:25 pm
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 23 Nightmare Of You (pictured) w/Plushgun/Brian Bonz/Aushua In Nightmare of You’s single, “I Think I’m Getting Older,” frontman Brandon Reilly laments about aging against jangly guitars and post-punk bounce, and right before it peters to an end, there’s a brief breakdown of lazy, watery dub. Haven’t heard the rest of the Long Island, NY, four-piece quartet’s just-released second album, Infomaniac (Bevonshire), but my curiosity is piqued. Plushgun and Brian Bonz are both Brooklynites; Plushgun does cloying electro-pop (oft-described as “infectious”) while Bonz has a husky vocals and a pleasant ambience to his organic experimental rock. Thurs., July 23, 9 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $10 in advance/$12 dos (18 and up).
Ex-Norwegianw/The Lighthouse and the Whaler/PemberleyWhile the name may imply far away origins (or an appreciation of Monty Python’s Flying Circus), Ex-Norwegian hails from Miami Beach and their music has the bright and shiny quality you’d expect with hand-claps, acoustic guitar and cheery vocals. Ohio’s Lighthouse and the Whaler make airy folk rock with percussive trimmings and multi-voice harmonizing that give the music a tender, rustic feel. Thurs., July 23, 9 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City, $7. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jun. 16, 2009, at 11:27 am
This just in from No Clubs Productions:
ATMOSPHERE w/Special Guest TBA
Saturday, August 1, 2009
THE STATE THEATRE
Doors: 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $21 in advance/ $23 Day of Show
ON SALE SATURDAY 6/20/09 Ticket Link
Atmosphere is a hip-hop group from Minneapolis that centers around rapper Slug (aka Sean Daley). The son of a black father and a white mother who divorced when he was a teenager, Slug became entranced with hip-hop, graffiti, and breakdancing, and formed the Rhyme Sayers Collective with two high school friends — Siddiq Ali (Stress) and Derek Turner (Spawn). (VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP)Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Eric Snider on Jun. 10, 2009, at 10:13 am
For nearly an hour last night, the New York Dolls played to type as an aging, reunited rock ‘n’ roll band living off their legacy: solid but not inspired, willing but a little fatigued. Then something kicked in. “Muddy Bones,” from their new album Cause I Sez So, a song pulled from the early Stones playbook, seemed to energize David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain and the other, newer, Dolls. The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd on the floor of the State Theatre picked up on it. (Photo by Tracy May)
For the show’s remaining 40-or-so minutes, the New York Dolls conjured up their rambunctious early-’70s selves, sans the drag attire and the heroin and with far better chops. Extended versions of early tunes “Jet Boy,” “Personality Crisis” and “Trash” — which alternated between the early punk version and the reggae take on Sez So — brought the set to a loud, satisfying crescendo.
(The show’s latter portion was powerful enough that only once did I slip out into the lobby to check on the Magic/Lakers game, and thanks to the Dolls hitting the stage just after 9, I was able to catch the fourth quarter on my couch in front of the 57-inch.) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Leilani Polk on Jun. 9, 2009, at 12:58 pm
Let me preface this by saying I’m a huge fan of Animal Collective. I’ve followed them since 2005’s Feels, which mystified, intrigued and ultimately turned me onto the the experimental trio, and I think the new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is among this year’s best. Where other people find their experimental music abrasive and hard to understand, I dig the collages of chaotic electronics, the repetition, the fickle melodies, the whooped-chanted-sung lyrics. But while last night’s show had some pretty great moments, the overall performance wasn’t quite as dynamic as I’d expected, the subtleties didn’t translate very well in State Theatre’s high frequency-swallowing room, and the repetition that I normally enjoy was almost exhausting in a live setting. (Photos by Phil Bardi.)
The band had a pretty visually appealing stage set-up: two tall towers of speakers on either side of the stage covered in white sheets, a huge white ball hanging in the center over the stage, with animated projections and electro-lights playing against it (did these guys see Phish’s Hampton set up or what?), a huge backdrop featuring Merriweather’s dizzying optical illusion cover art, soundboard tables covered with white sheets that lit up in a rainbow of neon colors at various musical cues. (MORE PICS AFTER THE BREAK) Read the rest of this entry »
Rock history is rife with bands whose legendary status is all out of proportion with the amount of tangible success they had in their heyday.
New York Dolls @ State Theatre, Tues., July 9. $25.
There is no better example of this trope than the New York Dolls. They are revered as proto-punks, early players on the lower Manhattan scene that produced The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads et al. Their look fell somewhere between androgynous and full-out drag, and for that they are credited as a major influence on glam-metal.
The Dolls released only two albums during their initial run: 1973’s self-titled LP and the following year’s Too Much Too Soon. Both were critical darlings and commercial stiffs. The band broke up in ’75.
The original Dolls were plagued by abject drug abuse — the late guitarist Johnny Thunders was a classic junkie — and dysfunction, but, according to frontman David Johansen, the main reason the Dolls packed it in was that they were broke and hungry. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Eric Snider on May. 15, 2009, at 9:04 am
My sleeper concert of the weekend is War, the Southern California band, formed in the late 1960s that blends flowing funk, Latin, Afrobeat and rock into a sound that has held up extremely well over the years. Case in point: Who doesn’t get a little kick in their step when they hear “Low Rider.”
Posted by Eric Snider on Apr. 25, 2009, at 10:17 am
This just in:
New York Dolls Announce May US Tour Dates!
Play the State Theatre on Tues., June 9
Legendary NYC proto-punk glam rockers the NEW YORK DOLLS announce the first dates of the US tour starting in May. The band that kick-started the NYC rock scene with their self-titled debut back in 1973 reunited with producer Todd Rundgren for their May 5 release, Cause I Sez So, on the newly revived Atco imprint.
The album comes roaring out of the gate with a classic Dolls riff on the title track and ends 12 tracks later with “Exorcism of Despair,” an anarchic rocker that’s vintage Dolls. The quintessential NYC band performs a private show on Tuesday, May 5 at the John Varvatos store on Bowery, the site of landmark punk club CBGBs.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Apr. 10, 2009, at 10:28 am
Got an email from State Media with their updated concert announcements and I literally gasped aloud when I saw that Bon Iver(the moniker of Wisconsin singer/songwriter Justin Vernon) will be making his way down to FLA before hitting Bonarroo, and will play State Theatre Wednesday, June 10. Bon Iver’s stunning, austerely beautiful For Emma Forever Ago was No. 2 on my top 10 album of ‘08 list, Vernon a vocalist who takes your breathe away with his delicate, soulful falsetto.
Of course, as these things go, I won’t actually be in town to see the show (and yes, realizing that did make me cry a tiny tear of ultimate sadness). But if you, dear readers, happen to be around, this is a musician you sure as hell don’t want to miss.
Here he is performing “Flume” in the studios of 89.3-FM The Current.
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 »
In the hip-hop community, no one really wants to be labeled a hater. While I don’t hate Lil Wayne, I am far from a fan. I respect the fact that he has put out more music than any other major hip-hop artist in the last five years and probably has the best work ethic of any rapper not named Tupac Shakur. But is doing your job really worth the iconic status he seems to have achieved? I’m going to have to say no. So at the risk of earning the not-so-superlative hater label, I present to you my Top 3 reasons why a dead Biggie Smalls is better than a living Lil Wayne.
Lil Wayne has been successful but is he really a worthy successor?
Coattails
Sean Combs might be the owner, but Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., is responsible for the Bad Boy Entertainment empire. The considerable wealth Combs amassed thanks to Mr. Wallace’s efforts funded his Sean John clothing line and propelled Puff Daddy to stardom. Diddy got a Grammy for his No Way Out album that featured Biggie on five songs. He also gave Lil Kim, the most popular female rapper of her time, her start.
Posted by Leilani Polk on Feb. 24, 2009, at 1:00 am
Canadian/American singer/songwriter Justin Nozuka, 20, writes poppy tunes and sings them in an effete tenor. Missy Higgins (pictured at right), a more substantial artist than Nozuka, hails from Australia; her music alternates between moody, intimate post-folk and livelier acoustic pop. Also on the bill is cutie Aussie folkie Lenka. 8 p.m., State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $25. (Text by Eric Snider)
Posted by Leilani Polk on Feb. 11, 2009, at 12:34 pm
Hot off his tour serving as lead axeman for the Black Crowes, Luther Dickinson returns to the band he calls home, the North Mississippi Allstars with drumming/percussionist brother Cody and bassist Chris Chew, for a tour in support of Do It Like We Used to Do. The two-disc retrospective (out Jan. 20 on Red) traces the evolution of NMA’s blues-soaked rock n’ roll via a dozen years worth of live performances, from the start to the present; the release also includes a full-length DVD that documents the history of the band with live footage and various appropos interviews. The band brings its show to Tampa; Hill Country Revue, Cody and Chew’s side project with Garry Burnside, Daniel Coburn, Duwayne Burnside and Kirk Smithart, provides support. The show is Sat., March 28, at State Theatre in St. Petersburg; tickets are $21.
Posted by Eric Snider on Jan. 18, 2009, at 1:42 pm
It looked like a real rock concert.
Geri X held a CD release party for her new Anthems of a Mended Heart (24 Hour Service Station) last night at the State Theatre and people showed up. A decent amount of them (depending on your point of view). She and three other acts — Will Quinlan and the Diviners, The Beauvilles and Have Gun, Will Travel — put on tight, committed sets that provided an evening of strong entertainment. But the night’s real issue was not how the bands would perform, but how well the show would draw with a major local media blitz supporting it.
Two hundred and twenty-five paid ($8). Another 50-75 in comps. Total: An attendance hovering close to 300. That’s according to CL marketing director Joran Oppelt, a tireless booster of the local scene. He wasn’t devastated, but he wasn’t thrilled either. “It just seems impossible to get into the 300s and above,” he said this morning. “With all the media, I had expected more of a turnout.”
Posted by Leilani Polk on Dec. 28, 2008, at 1:47 pm
Veteran guitar-playing songstress Bonnie Raitt (pictured at right) adds some Florida stops for her upcoming tour, including a show at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Sun., March 15, $59-$100, Clearwater.
Bay area reggae makers Variety Workshop stage a CD Release Party in honor of their self-titled debut album, available for free to all release party attendees. Sat., Jan. 17, $9, Big Shots, Clearwater, 727-723-1091.
Suncoast Blues Society welcomes Delta Moon for its Jook Joint Night series. Sat., Jan. 17, $7, Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg, 727-576-1091.
Shitty concert etiquette can destroy what could otherwise be an out-of-this-world concert experience. I’ve attended hundreds of metal, rock, and punk shows and witnessed all manner of drunken douchebaggery. The more intense the show, the more idiocy you’ll have to put up with.
