Tampa Calling

Here a few concert announcements I received this past weekend.

No Clubs Presents sci-fi horror metal makers GWAR with special like-minded guests Job for a Cowboy and The Red Chord Sunday, October 4, at The Ritz in Ybor City. Tickets are $19 in advance/$22 day of show, and go on sale this Saturday, August 8, beginning at 10 a.m. The 25th anniversary tour marks of the band’s “re-awakening on planet Earth” celebrates their most “sonically devouring, instrumentally challenging” album to date, Lust In Space, due out August 18 on Metal Blade Records.

Tastemakers and THX Management have finally revealed part of the lineup for Summer Jam 5 on Saturday, August 29; The Honorary Title, featuring singer-songwriter/frontman Jarrod Gorbel, will headline the show at Crowbar in Ybor City with Cory Branan. Tickets are $10 in advance/$12 dos, and can be purchased by clicking here. Confirmed local acts include The Beauvilles, The Sheaks, Guiltmaker, Shunda K of Yo Majesty, Mogul Street Reserve, How Dare You, Blind Man’s Colour and many others, though there hasn’t been any word about which of the bands will perform at New World Brewery, the other venue hosting Summer Jam 5.

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 »

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 »

Looking over my notes from Thursday night’s show, I’m inclined to call Nightmare of You unique. Words like “nuts,” “dub” and “sultry” jump off the page, infiltrating my consciousness and recreating the music of this NYC band.

The four-piece put on an incredible show. After a little bit of gambling with members of other bands (Plushgun, Brian Bonz, and Aushua), these guys jumped on stage and rocked it. There was no need for onstage shenanigans — the music said it all. Read the rest of this entry »

This time, instead of opening for of Montreal, brother-and-sister indie pop duo The Fiery Furnaces bring their own headlining tour back to town. No Clubs Presents the band at Orpheum Saturday, August 22; tickets are $13 in advance and can be purchased at Daddy Kool ($15 day of show). Here’s the full Fiery Furnaces release/bio:

Eleanor was constantly ridiculed in the crudest and least interesting manner by her brother Matthew. He, for his part, had to suffer such things as her coming in the room, and various other affronts, for instance talking, or watching the TV show she wanted, or putting on a record she might like to hear. Read the rest of this entry »

Some of you might be surprised that music isn’t my primary motivation for going to this weekend’s fifth annual Pitchfork Music Festival, but seriously, folks … that’s the god’s honest truth. I mean, I’m definitely hyped about going and checking out a handful of the bands playing there, but what has me most excited is a get-together with a group of old friends who’ll be congregating in Chi-town for the fest. A motley crew to say the absolute least. Let’s just hope none of us get arrested this weekend – unlike that other Chicago adventure that ended with my boy getting thrown in the pokey for public nudity! Three-plus days chock full o’ friends, libations, hot dogs (not really, well, kinda … I’ve never been to Hot Dougs!) and music … it just can’t come soon enough! Read the rest of this entry »

This just in from the Bruce Springsteen newsite: The Boss had added 25 dates to his current U.S. tour, including a stop at Tampa’s Ford Amphitheatre on Sept. 12; tickets go on sale July 24. Here’s the complete details, with the fluffery (gushing quotes from European press) edited out:

Bruce Springsteen & The Legendary E Street Band have added 25 new US concert dates to their 2009 ‘Workin’ On a Dream’ tour. Springsteen has now sold over 1.5 million concert tickets in 2009 alone, with the new dates expected to push that number over the two million mark. (Video of the band performing “The River” at 2009’s Glastonbury and complete schedule of tour dates after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been many weeks since I’ve made it out to a show in Tampa. I blame travels, nonspecific busyness and a lack of excitable summer concerts in the Tampa Bay area. It took Georgia’s Perpetual Groove (pictured, photo by Phil Bardi) — a band I’ve always somehow managed to miss even though they play the area frequently — to get me out of the house.

By the time the four-piece (drums, bass, guitar, synth/keys) took the stage just after 10 pm on Friday, July 10, a few hundred of Tampa’s finest heady brahs and chicks in sundresses crowded Ybor’s Crowbar Friday night. PGroove’s first set held true to their name — flowing from one disco rock groove to the next. It worked for most of the set, but I grew bored, craving more interplay, energy and stronger melodies. Read the rest of this entry »

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 Read the rest of this entry »

Audio Visions South, the Tampa Bay area’s premiere, locally owned, high-end stereo and video store, will throw the second edition of its two-part event called “The Future of Music All Age Access Audio” on Sat., July 25, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The store’s acoustically exquisite listening rooms will buzz with activities.

The gathering will give music lovers a bunch of useful tips on gear, vinyl, accessories and more, and focus on how to maximize your music experience: AVS invites you to bring your digital media, CDs, LPs, iPod and laptop with you. Here are some of the event’s features:

• A Nitty Gritty LP cleaning station will be set up so your albums will be at peak performance levels when you learn to rip them to your computer.

• You will also learn the best way to rip CDs. Once ripped, you can load all your favorite tunes to your iPod and then we’ll help you figure out how to integrate your iTunes library with your in-home Hi-Fi system.

• We’ll go over streaming video and the best download method for your set up. Read the rest of this entry »

If you and three to five of your friends plan on attending a Live Nation show this summer at Ford Amphitheatre, the company waves the service fees this Wednesday, July 1. So, basically, you save money on four- and six-packs of tickets for the following shows: blink-182, Coldplay, Crue Fest 2, Def Leppard with Poison and Cheap Trick, Depeche Mode, Incubus, Rascal Flats with Darius Rucker, and the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Tour featuring Marilyn Manson and Slayer. Here’s the release: Read the rest of this entry »

A delightful and talented band of troubadours, Cory Branan, Jon Snodgrass (of Drag the River/Armchair Martian) and Joey Cape (of Lagwagon), stopped in at New World Brewery on a balmy Thursday evening last June 25. The concept behind this tour was to get these three alt-country musicians together on a stage and see what happens in a casual format, kinda like the Revival Tour.

Jon Snodgrass and Cory Branan (pictured above) kicked off the festivities by alternating songs and occasionally performing duets – check out “Born Apart.” The audience enthusiastically joined in on their performance, singing along to their favorite tunes like Sondgrass’ “Song for Gibson” and Branan’s “Prettiest Waitress In Memphis.” (MORE PICS AFTER THE JUMP.) Read the rest of this entry »

You know what they say, “when it rains, it pours,” and such is the case this week with three shows in four days. While I don’t expect anyone else to adhere to such a rigorous schedule, I do think you can find something you like in one (or more) of these shows. If you do make it out to any, find me and we’ll tell fish tales over a beer.

Wednesday, June 24 @ The Ritz Ybor: Grayson Capps

———–>THIS IS A FREE SHOW<——-—-

I am so excited about this show. Honestly, I just assumed Grayson Capps would never come to Florida. BUT! Here he is and he’s bringing his full band, The Stumppknockers, with him. If the sound of Southern soul mixed with back-country stomp with a little road-house blues sounds like something that might tickle your fancy, you need to get to The Ritz on Thursday night for this show.

When I last wrote about Grayson I said, “I find myself drawn to the drunks, whores and vagabonds that haunt Grayson’s songs. They’re like old friends you keep up with via letters in the mail, and with a new album comes new updates.” It’ll be nice to finally meet this motley crew of characters in person.

Grayson Capps – Going Back To The Country
Grayson Capps – Ike
Grayson Capps – Mermaid
Grayson Capps – Junior & The Old African Queen
(MORE SHOW INFO + MP3s AFTER THE JUMP)
Read the rest of this entry »

Pontiak galloped into New World Brewery this past Thursday, June 11, the exceptional headliner of History’s last show in Tampa supported by King of Spain and Glasgow. Another splendid Thx Mgmt show – thanks Joe.

Pontiak

To get the downlow on Pontiak, check out Eric Snider’s interview with the brothers who make up this band. Live, Pontiak delivers a constantly evolving performance, its members switching instruments (who doesn’t love the impact of double drum sets?) and keeping even the most jaded scenester interested. These mistral brothers are a talented family garnering positive media attention from sources as diverse as Pitchfork and Wired. Read the rest of this entry »

Just got this press release from Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center announcing that British dance music twosome Pet Shop Boys will be stopping at the center’s Carol Morsani Hall Thursday, Sept. 10. Here’s the release details:

One of the most iconic and influential pop acts in the world, the English pop duo Pet Shop Boys has reemerged on the music scene with their ninth album, Yes. Filled with sparkling state of the art pop songs, Yes is an affirmation of the duo’s knack for mixing innovative artistry with exuberant commercial appeal.

In a career spanning more than two decades, the duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have created some of the most beloved and recognizable hits in the world including their signature song “West End Girls” as well as “It’s A Sin,” “Always on My Mind,” “Go West” and “New York City Boy.” They’ve sold more than 30 million records and have worked with artists like Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Liza Minnelli, Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Electronic and Madonna.

Regularly priced tickets are $39.75 to $69.75 and go on sale June 12, at noon. Tickets may be purchased by calling 813.229.STAR (7827) or 800.955.1045 outside Tampa Bay, in person at the TBPAC Ticket Office or online at www.tbpac.org.

For more information about the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and its upcoming events, please visit www.tbpac.org.

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!

Read the rest of this entry »

Listen to “Radiate,” from the band PontiakListen to “Radite” now.

Imagine you’re one of three brothers four years apart who ride around the country in a van that’s tricked out with a sleeping loft. You stay at campgrounds and cook out most nights. You pull the van over on a whim for a hike or to check out whatever catches your attention, be it the Grand Canyon or a roadside taco stand. Now imagine that most nights you get to turn your instruments up real loud and play your own heavy music in front of people who paid to see you.

That’s touring the Pontiak way, and doesn’t it sound like a pretty good time?

Pontiak @ New World Brewery, Thurs., June 11. $7

Somehow van tours have become synonymous with misery, but the three Carney brothers — drummer Lane, 26, aptly named guitarist Van, 29, and bassist Jennings, 30 — see it more as a chance for nonstop discovery. And fun.

“We get along really well,” says Lain by cell phone while driving the van. “There’s the usual bickering. Any time you get three men in a moving capsule, you might fight over the last four Cheetos. But we get on real well. And we smell pretty good.”

Video after the jump

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s free. It’s for & about musicians and the business of making of music. It’s all happening next weekend. Here’s the full schedule for Homemade Music Symposium.

This second annual FREE symposium for Tampa Bay musicians & the music-loving general public offers seminars and workshops on the business of music-making to explore how to nurture and develop careers in the modern commercial environment. Wade through to see what floats your boat. And please, come check it out. Event info @ www.artistsandwritersgroup.com

Homemade Music Symposium: Preview Event June 10 FREE (details below)

Homemade Music Symposium Weekend: June 13 & 14 FREE starting at noon until 7pm (details below)

Mohawk Bomb Showcase @ Crowbar starting at 8pm, $5 or Included with VIP Wristband featuring Mohawk Bomb Recording Artists Rise of Saturn and Ascending to Avalon

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 »

Photos by Phil Bardi.

Let’s put this in perspective: when Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails toured together for the first Lollapalooza in 1991, current high-school seniors were just being born, crying for their momma’s milk. Now NIN and Jane’s have returned to milk the cash cow one more time. Though never officially declared a reunion tour, the fact that the original four members of Jane’s Addiction – singer Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Steven Perkins – have only occasionally been in the same room together, let alone played a show,  certainly made it feel like one. And that’s OK by me.  Jane’s pulled the plug at the peak of their success, leaving many fans and soon-to-be-fans craving a live show.

Trent Reznor is a different story. The reclusive god of goth has been releasing albums once every five years or so and touring about the same. Then he dropped the news that this tour would be NIN’s last. Maybe that’s so, but rock stars have a penchant for breaking such promises.

So, what can you expect when two powerhouse bands schedule a big reunion/farewell tour? Overworked fog machines? Yep. Tons of faded black t-shirts? Yep. Power-packed shows filled with the greatest hits? Err..  Not so much, at least for the NIN set.

Catching many of the crowd off guard, a four-piece NIN took the stage rather early, just before 8 p.m.  Reznor –  dressed in a green t-shirt, black jorts and combat boots — led the band through a spirited five-song run to open to the set: “Now I’m Nothing,” “Terrible Lie,” “SIN,” “March of the Pigs” and “Piggy.”  The performance lost steam as the band trudged through tracks from all over the NIN catalog. It seemed like most of the crowd — many attending their one concert of the year — were waiting for “Closer.” They didn’t get it, and seemed to be even more confused that the band chose to play an Adam Ant cover so late in the set. Reznor finally won the crowd back when he ended the set with great nostalgia (but no tripped out video) with “Head Like a Hole” and “Hurt.” (More text, pictures, setlists, and video after the jump) Read the rest of this entry »

From today until the end of May, bands can submit their EPKs through Sonicbids for a slot to play the Mohawk Bomb Records showcase during the 2nd Annual Homemade Music Symposium in Tampa, FL on June 13.

The showcase will take place at The Crowbar starting at 8pm and will feature Rise of Saturn and Ascending to Avalon, among others. The winner will get a 30-minute slot and will have a chance to meet Mohawk Bomb Records CEO Ivan Pena. Also, the winning bands will have one of their tracks featured on the upcoming No Lip Vol. 3 compilation due out this Fall.

Talk about a homecoming.

Drummer Jonathan Priest visits Tampa bay this weekend, but it’s not just to drop in on Pop and catch up with pals at The Hub. He has three gigs on Friday night and one on Saturday — all of them, thankfully, under the same roof at Yeoman’s Road Pub on Davis Islands.

The big night is Friday (starting at 9 p.m.), when he mans the kit with three bands he helped found or establish in the Bay area: the ska/reggae ensemble Rocksteady@8; Infinite Groove Orchestra, a space-funk jazz outfit; and the marquee event, the reunion of Ghetto Love Sugar, a jam-jazz quartet that burned brightly for less than two years in the early 2000s. Bassist Philip Booth, keyboardist/EFX guy Raulton Reichel and guitarist Joel Lisi round out the unit.

It should be a freewheeling night with lots of movable parts, as the musicians in each of the bands are friends and collaborators. Expect robust jamming. For the capper on Saturday, Priest will join in on the CD Release Party for singer/songwriter Dan Kincaid’s The Walk Within.

Read the rest of this entry »

I came about my musical addiction naturally. When I was a young-un my parents had an extensive vinyl collection. I can remember weekend trips from Plant City into Tampa to buy a new record and long nights with my parents and their friends sitting around listening to music. Once I finally reached and age where I could be trusted, my father let me sift through the albums and play DJ on some of those nights.

One of the albums they had was The Amazing Rhythm Aces album Too Stuffed To Jump, and as a kid I loved this album — at the time not so much for its content as its cover:

Read the rest of this entry »

Man, it’s been a while since we had a “To Do” and, I ain’t gonna lie, the break has been nice. Having done one to two shows a week for a month-plus, I was ready for some time off. Now, having had said time off, I need to go to a fucking show. Luckily for me and the rest of you Tampa/’Burg-ians, we got a weekend loaded with the awesome. So let’s go through it:

Thursday @ New World: The Woodsboss

There is no shortage of people who’ve danced a shit-ton of nights away at New World to the live blessings of The Weary Boys. Those were the kinds of nights that stories are made of. A band without a label relentlessly touring enough to build huge followings, in enough towns they could play packed houses in every state of the union. Then reality came crawling and The Weary Boys disbanded.

Wha? Why? What’s gonna? WTFingF?
Shock, rage, sadness.
Enter The Woodsboss. Which, FYI, is basically The Weary Boys minus Darren and plus Brian’s wife.

So, all you Weary Boy fans needs to get your asses up off the couch and get out to New World Thursday night and we’ll dance again to the fine fine sounds of Mario, The Woodsboss and a few Weary Boys faves.

Mario Matteoli – Hard Luck Hittin’
Mario Matteoli – Sun Keeps On Beating Down

The Weary Boys – Another Song, Another Drink
The Weary Boys – Cruel Corrina
The Weary Boys – Freight Train Blues Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome aboard new Tampa Calling Contributor, Vinyl Fever’s Lee Wolfson, who will taking over on each week’s new music releases and other such interesting music tidbits, from what it’s like running an indie music store, to offering info on the latest in new music, to giving the inside scoop on any special promos or giveaways his store may be offering. Here’s his inaugural post, a list of new releases you may or may not be aware of.

Terry Adams (of NRBQ), Holy Tweet

Maria Bamford, Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome

Buju Banton, Rasta Got Soul

Behemoth, The Art of Rebelling Live (CD/DVD)

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway (ahahahahahaha! yeah, really!)

Brian Blade, Mama Rosa

Booker T., Potato Hole (with Drive By Truckers and Neil Young, too — it’s REAL SWEET!)

The Boxmasters and Billy Bob Thornton, The Boxmasters

Braid, Frankie Welfare Boy Age Five (a re-release of the 1995 debut album comprised 26 tracks, each one named using a different letter of the alphabet.) Read the rest of this entry »

On Sunday, April 19, Skipper’s Smokehouse will host the 4th annual Alchemy Fest – an all-ages, family-friendly, outdoor event that’s like Easter, Earth Day and 4:20 all rolled into one.

This year, the concert will feature performances from Thomas Wynn and the Believers, Geri X, The Sheaks, Sons of Hippies and The Jim Morey Band.

There will also be face painting, tarot card reading by Natty Moss Bond, henna tattoos by Aleka Phoenix, arts and crafts activities for the kids and “many more surprises.”

The event starts at 2 p.m. and goes until 6 p.m. Admission is $10. Children 10 and under get in free. Skipper’s Smokehouse is also a restaurant that serves some of the best Florida/Cajun staples around such as hush puppies, crawfish and gator tail bites.

What: Alchemy Fest 4
When: Sunday, April 19
Where: Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Rd. Tampa
More: 2 – 6 p.m. | $10 | All Ages | 10 and under free

WIN TICKETS: Send MIXTAPE to 50618 for your chance to win a pair of tickets to Alchemy Fest 4.
Congratulations to our winners!

TWO VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP …

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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!

Read the rest of this entry »

Our guy Woody at Live Nation sent us this fresh info:

Tickets are $253.50, $98.50, $58.50 & $33.50, and go on sale Monday April 6 at 10 a.m. through livenation.com, 877-598-8698 (the toll free Live Nation ticketing phone number), and all TicketMaster outlets.

Long-time U2 Show Director Willie Williams has worked again with architect Mark Fisher (ZooTV, PopMart, Elevation and Vertigo), to create an innovative 360? design which affords an unobstructed view for the audience.  U2 360° also marks the first time a band has toured in stadiums with such a unique and original structure (which can be viewed at U2.com).

“U2 has always been at their best when surrounded by their audience, this staging takes a giant leap forward. With 85 percent of the tickets priced at less than $95.00, general admission floor tickets priced at $55.00 and at least 10,000 tickets at every venue priced at the $30.00 price range, we have worked very hard to ensure that U2 fans can purchase a great priced ticket with a guaranteed great view” says U2’s manager Paul McGuinness.

Read the rest of this entry »

This just in! Submit for your chance to play The “Kia Kevin Says” Stage on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour. This is an opportunity for a Tampa band to get noticed and maybe even sell a few CDs.

Sonicbids has partnered with Warped Tour to bring bands this opportunity. The Kia Kevin Says Stage is a stage on the Warped Tour that features hand-picked local, regional, and independent bands in every market. There is one performance slot in each market reserved for a Sonicbids artist.

Confirmed bands for the 2009 Warped Tour include: Thrice, 3OH!3, The Ataris, Chiodos, The Devil Wears Prada, Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, NOFX, Anti-Flag, Bouncing Souls, Silverstein, Underoath and many more.

Deadline is April 1. To register, go to www.sonicbids.com/warpedtour

As part of our upcoming Urban Explorer’s Handbook, we mapped out the Bay area’s own Internet community and spotlighted a variety of blogs and websites that cover local arts, news, politics, film, music and food. Here is a profile I wrote about Bryan Childs, a Tampa Calling contributor and the man behind ninebullets.net.

Bryan Childs, aka Autopsy IV, isn’t trying to be a music writer or a critic or even a go-to source for music news and information. But the 35-year-old electrical designer has single-handedly become all three. The St. Petersburg-based owner and operator of ninebullets.net brings so much knowledge and raw talent to the table that Creative Loafing recruited him as a contributor to our own music blog, Tampa Calling, last year.

Via ninebullets.net, Childs shines a light on Americana, bluegrass, newgrass, psychobilly, alt-country, folk, deep blues and any other genre with a downhome, rootsy feel, though you’re as likely to find posts about Tori Amos or Slayer as you will Old Crow Medicine Show and The Black Keys. His site includes interviews, MP3s, live show previews and reviews, commentary on CDs and DVDs, music news, and posts about Childs’ own whisky-soaked adventures. He also has a few guest bloggers to help spread the flavor.

Childs has no professional experience writing or playing music, though he dabbled in both while growing up in Plant City. His formative years were spent exploring the Bay area’s goth industrial music scene, where he became a regular at The Castle and joined its online community message board, Underground Tampa.

Then he discovered the Drive-By Truckers. “I heard them and I was done,” Childs says of his love-at-first-listen awakening. Soon enough, he was digging up more alterna-twang artists and contacting local radio DJs for recommendations. Read the rest of this entry »

Black Lips play Orpheum in Ybor City next Thursday, March 26. Here’s my feature/interview with the band:

“I want other bands like us to become as successful as we are so they can stay as shitty as we are,” says Jared Swilley, bass player for Black Lips, talking on a cell phone as the band rolls out of Omaha in a van.
So why is Swilley standing up for shitty music? You have to understand his definition of such: music that comes from a raw, unfiltered place, that’s not recorded using the latest computer technology, that doesn’t concern itself with whether the vocals and guitars are exactly in tune or the rhythms are perfectly in time.

“I like the human side of music,” he says. “I love imperfections and mistakes. Otherwise the cyborgs win. Look at ‘Louie Louie.’ It was No. 1 hit [actually a No. 2 in 1963] and it was sloppy and had the biggest vocal flub.”

“Louie Louie” would be a fair reference point for the music of Black Lips, an Atlanta quartet that’s been together since the early part of this decade. It sounds like the stuff made in basements and garages by self-taught kids in the 1960s, recorded off-the-cuff with lots of reverb and little regard for squeaky-clean sonics. Black Lips have dubbed their music “flower punk.”

“When me and [guitarist] Cole [Alexander] were pretending to be in a band early on, we listened to The Germs and they couldn’t play their instruments at all,” Swilley says. “When we really started playing guitar, we emulated Link Wray. He had these guitar riffs that were cool and tough and easy to play. We were into the punk stuff, but we were always into the ’60s stuff.”

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Just in from our pal Woody at Live Nation, a couple of rock shows at the Ford Amphitheatre. Both go on sale Sat., March 21.:

• Rock ‘n’ Rebels Tours w/Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd

Sat., June 27. $126, $76, $56 and $46 for reserved seats and $26 for the festival lawn.

• Crue Fest 2 w/Motley Crue, Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool, Charm City Devils

Fri., Aug. 28. $95 general admission dance floor; $95, $65, $39.50 reserved seats; $29.50 festival lawn

$10 festival lawn special, first day of sale only, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

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 »

Ybor’s Czar bar is set to host a promising indie rock show tonight with Atlanta’s stellar Deerhunter headlining. Also on the bill are the highly underrated Orlando band Summerbirds in the Cellar and the final show for local faves Giddy-up, Helicopter!

Deerhunter was all over the best-of lists with 2008’s wonderful Microcastle – an often ambient, but gorgeous indie/post-rock album.

It’s a shame that Giddy-up Helicopter! is ending.  They just released an album (see the review here) and truly have an authentic style hard to come by in so many local bands.

$12, 9 p.m.