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)

Tobacco explains his definition of “pop”: songs that get their point across in two or three minutes, that have catchy vocals and instrumentals, that are influenced by experimental techniques used in pop music of the ’60s and ‘70s. “If everyone could just get over the fact that it’s not what they’re used to hearing…” he muses.

But while Black Moth’s music is sticky, glittery and bright like pop, it’s too off-kilter and sonically adventurous to have true mainstream appeal. And the songs have titles like “Fields Are Breathing” and “Born on a Day the Sun Didn’t Rise,” and blotter paper lyrics (“Iron lemonade, wash my friends away / Neon lemonade, eat my face away”) delivered via whispery-warm vocoderfied vocals set against a swirling symphony of synthesized sound. It’s hard to think anything but hallucinatory thoughts when listening.

Surprisingly, Black Moth has toned down the face-melting mania and glitchy noise of their previous three albums. Eating Us is more wistful, dreamy and laid-back than Black Moth has ever sounded. Tobacco admits he made a concentrated effort to steer clear of his really gritty “coming over the speaker system at a public pool” sound. “I thought it would be better to just focus on making the songs as clear as possible, just to see if they could hold up under a more traditional type of treatment.”

The album was recorded at Tarbox Road Studios and marks the first time Black Moth has ventured into a modern recording studio and made a hi-fi album. “Everything I do is normally at home over years,” says Tobacco, who writes the music solo and brings his finished ideas to the band. Eating Us is also the first Black Moth album to feature live drumming instead of drum machine fills as well as in-studio assistance and tracking by Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann.

Bass, drums and a collection of vintage analog synthesizers and keyboards paired with Tobacco’s vocoder-processed vocals help the band achieve their distinctive antique electronica feel. “They are the sound.”

Nothing is sequenced or sampled or pre-recorded in a live setting, and Tobacco admits the band doesn’t really attempt to engage the audience. The visuals projected onto a screen behind the band are created by Tobacco himself and play throughout each performance “to entertain people, and also to distract from the fact that we are sort of just concentrating on what we are doing.”

Black Moth initially evolved from a series of musical projects by Tobacco and his bassist cousin Power Pill Fist (real name Ken Fec). The two played together for several years before teaming up with some other Pittsburgh-area musicians ­— Seven Fields of Aphelion (Maureen Boyle), Father Hummingbird (Seth Ciotti) and IFfernaut (Donna Kyler) — to form Black Moth Super Rainbow in 2003. They put out two albums before getting picked up by Graveface Records in 2005, which were re-released shortly thereafter along with a new EP, Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods. Black Moth brewed up a fresh electro-rock record with The Octopus Project in 2006, kept the indie buzz going with a successful SXSW debut in 2007, and went on to release a much-lauded candy-coated third full-length, Dandelion Gum, also in 2007, which led to opening slots later that year for Aesop Rock and the Flaming Lips.

Black Moth was mostly quiet in 2008 while Tobacco and Power Pill Fist did the solo thing, though they satiated fans in November with The Drippers EP, a compilation of lost tracks from the Dandelion Gum era among other odds and ends. The fivesome re-converged to record Eating Us in early 2009.

Tobacco has no real plans for any future recordings with Black Moth, and says that after this tour, “I think I just want to do something else for a minute and stop thinking about all this Black Moth stuff.”

Black Moth Super Rainbow w/Serengeti and Polyphonic, Fri., July 31, 9 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $10 (ages 18 & up)

Video, “Born on a Day the Sun Didn’t Rise,” from Eating Us

BMSR

Video, “Sun Lips,” from Dandelion Gum. Out there shit, with rodents.

Black Moth Super Rainbow: Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods during SXSW 2007 at the Graveface Records Showcase at the Ritz.

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.

Friday, Sept. 25: The Queers “Go Pop” Tour w/The Leftovers/TA80, Orpheum, Ybor City, $15; ON SALE NOW.

Saturday, Sept. 26 Victor Wooten, Plaza Theatre, Orlando, $22 in advance, $25 dos; ON SALE NOW.

Wednesday, Sept. 30: The Decemberists “A Short Fazed Hovel” tour w/Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames, Hard Rock Live, Orlando, ON SALE NOW.

Wednesday, October 14: Teenage Bottlerocket w/Cobra Skulls/Red Scare, Orpheum, Ybor City Doors, $8 in advance/$10 dos; ON SALE NOW.

Friday, October 16: Dear and the Headlights w/Kinch, Orpheum, Ybor City, $10, ON SALE NOW.

Sunday, Oct. 18: DJ Tiësto, The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City, $35; ON SALE NOW.

Friday, Oct. 23 Blues Traveler, House of Blues, Orlando, ticket info not available yet.

Thursday, Oct. 29: Ghostland Observatory (pictured, photo by Daniel Perlaky), Hard Rock Live, Orlando; ticket info not available yet.

Sunday, Nov. 01: Brother Ali, The Social, Orlando, $13 in advance, $15 dos; tickets on sale Saturday, August 1

Tuesday, Nov. 10: Joshua Radin w/The Watson Twins, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $16 in advance, $18 dos; ON SALE NOW.

Saturday, Nov. 14: The Get Up Kids w/Kevin Devine/Mansions, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $19.99 in advance/$24 do; ON SALE NOW.

Saturday, Nov. 21: The Revival Tour feat. Chuck Ragan (of Hot Water Music) w/Jim Ward/Frank Turner/John Snodgrass/Chad Price/The Zydepunks, State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $16.

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.

Frontman Brandon Reilly (formerly of The Movielife) sang in a somewhat nasally falsetto, but it was a surprisingly pleasant. His vocals took me to another place and put me in a near trance when paired with the band’s overall sound, which combined elements of classic rock, pop, and alt rock. All of the songs had their own twist and were laced with intricate melodies and enchanting lyrics. Bassist Brandon Meyer threw down some badass basslines (at one point, Reilly actually commented “That is nasty!“) and drummer Michael Fleichmann dropped some serious beats, sometimes flavored with a hint of hip-hop. And guitarist Jospeh McCaffery blew my mind. He played so fast that his hand was a virtual blur!

Nightmare of You put out their self-titled debut in 2005, released videos for three of their singles, and soon became popular on FUSE TV’s Steven’s Untitled Rock Show and Oven Fresh. Currently, the band is gearing up to release their sophmore effort, Infomaniac, on August 4. If you enjoy music that is creepy, but in a good way — a more upbeat Shins mixed with Radiohead and a dash of The Matches — I would suggest picking up a copy.

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.

So Eleanor had to hide her likes and dislikes until he left. It was a beautiful day. She stood at a second-floor window, watching as Dad drove Matt off, and roughly, excitedly, triumphantly put Houses of the Holy into the CD player, turning up the volume on what used to be her brother’s stereo.

You see Matthew had only liked the Who. He had Who records and videotapes, and as a youth, down in the basement, he tried to make Who noises. But he failed, miserably, and with black jealousy guarded the scene of his humiliation and insufficiency, that basement, where he kept the tape recorder. In fact, Eleanor was hit over the head, stabbed in the knee and smashed on the foot for coming down in the basement. But that didn’t make his songs any better.

Years later, when Matthew—his pride gone, his spirit, such as it was, crushed—encouraged Eleanor to come down in the basement to make their first Fiery Furnaces music together, maybe he should have hit and stabbed and smashed at her. But he just swore. Things had changed.

For in the meantime, while plagiarizing her way to a University of Texas B.A., Eleanor worked as a telemarketer for the Texas Republican Party. Her subsequent adventurous life—think of the courage these expeditions required—included a year spent in London and trips with her mother to Italy, Greece, and the south of France. Her enthusiasm for restaurants, shopping and like-minded people led her to come help, in her small way, gentrify the north end of Brooklyn. And there she lives, with a surprisingly well-developed and wholly undeserved sense of self-righteousness, no observable interests except her own enjoyment of such sophisticated things as cookery and movies, an impressive ability to aggrandize herself at the expense of her already unappealing older brother, taking very long walks, her mind completely blank. Her musical expertise extends so far as to include buying and listening to records and having boyfriends who were, once were, or wanted to be in musical groups. And her greatest achievement remains hitting a 3-run triple, which earned her a headline in the Chicago Sun-Times, “Friedberger’s Big Day Powers Oak Park.” But in the story beneath she was misquoted.

Her older brother went to Germany at 17 and managed to learn not a word of German or even have a good time – apparently pining for mommy and daddy, and doggy, and the comforts of home, which he was incapable of enjoying in the first place. After failing repeatedly at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he cleverly stayed in that fascinating metropolis until he was 26. He then moved back in with his mother, sealing his fate and cementing his status as parasite and waster of indulgence and advantage. Looking for further opportunities to squander goodwill and embarrass himself, he later imposed upon a high school friend to help him move to New York (because his sister made it clear he couldn’t stay with her). He was, you see, the proud author of such works as Spider Spite, Toad King Land and Banobazus Persian Prince. But certainly those things are terrible, and only give evidence of no-talent and periods of excess sponging. No one doing a good job and paying the rent could ever have time for something as stupid and illiterate as Toad King Land. By the way, he has musical ability only as compared to his sister. His only achievement, in fact, is a series of short videos, made with a student he worked with in Urbana, Illinois. But Matthew never bothered to do the obviously needed narration he promised to the student’s mother. And the poor student is now dead. God rest his soul.

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!

This year will be my fourth time attending (missed it last summer), and my first time (loosely) covering it for Creative Loafing. I’ll be Tweeting up a storm all weekend, plus I’ll be writing a wrap-up piece after I return. Also … one of my best friends and photographer, R. Kevin Rose, will be snapping pics throughout the event and will contribute some imagery (of bands, fans, friends, and whatever else we get into) for that aforementioned wrap-up post.

Beyond simply letting you gals and guys know that I’m on the case and to remind you to follow my blow-by-blow on Twitter (@aestheticized, with all my Tweets posted to the live feed on the CL Music Site homepage), I’ve also put together some blurbs about the bands I consider essential. So, without further ado, here they are: 2Crit’s Pitchfork (Fest) Picks:

1. Yeasayer – Pretty much the only band I haven’t seen live before and one that I HAVE to see this weekend. Their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, still kills nearly two years since its release. And here’s hoping they play the majority of that album and not some “Hey guys, check out our heady new tunes” set. Not that I don’t wanna hear their new stuff. It’s just, you know … I wanna hear my jams.

2. Grizzly Bear – I saw them at Pitchfork two years ago in the middle of the afternoon and they just blew my head off. I expected the subtlety and mystery like their sound on Yellow House … I got it and much, much more. Grizzly Bear was far more muscular than I would’ve imagined and I wasn’t even nearly prepared for the Big Rock they bring to their live sound. Anyway — I really need to cram Veckatimest this week, as I think I’ve only listened to it all the way thru three or four times now. I bet they’ll have bonus players to flesh out the new tunes. Can’t wait to see them at night!!!

3. Tortoise – My dudes. I’ve honestly seen these guys more than any other national act and for good reason … they are one of the smartest, most skilled groups of musicians you’ll ever find. They’re scary talented, basically. Kinda pissed they get the shit spot (5 p.m. on Friday — they’re playing first!), but excited to see what they play as it’s an all-request performance. I’m hoping for “Djed” and/or “Gamera/Cliff Dweller Society”… and maybe a few of the hotter tunes from their excellent new full-length, Beacons of Ancestorship.

…and that’s about it, as far as what I’m REALLY looking forward to.

To a lesser extent… I’m also pumped for whatever shenanigans David Yow might muster for The Jesus Lizard reunion, and Lindstrom’s cosmic disco vibes, and to see whether or not (MF) Doom actually shows up, and I’m obviously hoping Fucked Up tears everyone a new asshole, and I’ve actually never seen Built To Spill, and I haven’t seen The Walkmen in years, and The Flaming Lips never disappoint, and DJ/Rupture will probably confound … anyway, you get the picture. Stay tuned for the crazy, drunken tweets and my synopsis spiel next week.

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.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE LEGENDARY E STREET BAND 2009 US TOUR DATES

19-Aug Hartford, CT Comcast Theater On Sale Now
22-Aug Mansfield, MA Comcast Center On Sale Now
23-Aug Mansfield, MA Comcast Center On Sale Now
25-Aug Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center On Sale Now
10-Sep Nashville, TN Sommett Center 25-Jul
12-Sep Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre 24-Jul
13-Sep Ft. Lauderdale, FL Bank Atlantic Center 24-Jul
16-Sep Greenville, SC Bi-Lo Center 31-Jul
20-Sep Chicago, IL United Center 1-Aug
30-Sep East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium Sold out
2-Oct East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium Sold out
3-Oct East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium Sold out
8-Oct East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium On Sale Now
9-Oct East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium Sold out
13-Oct Philadelphia, PA Spectrum 27-Jul
14-Oct Philadelphia, PA Spectrum 27-Jul
25-Oct St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center 8-Aug
26-Oct Kansas City, MO Sprint Center 8-Aug
2-Nov Washington, D.C. Verizon Center TBA
3-Nov Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena 28-Aug
7-Nov New York, NY Madison Square Garden TBA
8-Nov New York, NY Madison Square Garden TBA
10-Nov Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 22-Aug
13-Nov Auburn Hills, MI Palace At Auburn Hills 22-Aug
15-Nov Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center 1-Aug

On June 27, Springsteen played to 135,000 fans, his largest audience in over 20 years as the Glastonbury Festival’s headliner. Footage of the Glastonbury performance of “The River” posted below; for more, visit Bruce’s website.

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.

Thomas Wynn & The Believers

As typical on summer days in the lighting capital of the world (Tampa really does mean “sticks of fire”), downpours threatened throughout the day. In spite of inclement weather, Americana Fest was packed with folks eager to see the array of homegrown talent with music lovers of all ages in attendance.

Kids building sandcastles at Skipper’s smokehouse

According to Wikipedia, Americana is the “amalgam of roots music fused by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, rhythm & blues, rock & roll and other external influential styles.” In the absence of individual set reviews, suffice to say that each of these alt country bands delivered inspired performances tapping into the full range of musical influences of the Americana genre. It was common to see band members making guest appearances during other sets to add a harmony here and there, or provide some necessary instrumentation. The sense of community among these musicians was inspiring.

Missed out on this show? Next up for Americana fans in Tampa: WMNF presents The Avett Brothers (with Matt Butcher and The Revolvers) at The Cuban Club on Saturday, July 18.

The Nine Volts

The Nine Volts are Larry Fulford (drums), James Mitchell (guitar/ mandolin), Adam Wheeler (bass) and Conrad Wilson (vocals/ guitar).

Matt Butcher

Black Finger

Black Finger is Greg Lovell, Andy McAusland, Sean Fernandez, and Jesse Dalton.

Mike Dunn & The Kings of New England

Mike Dunn and The Kings of New England is Mike Dunn (Vocals, Guitar, Piano) and depending on the performace an assortment of the following regal players: Jacob Kaplan (Bass Guitar), Joey Bradshaw (Rhythm Guitar, Vocals), Cannon Lee (Drums), Kyle Pierce (Guitar, Pedal Steel), Andy Simmonds (B3 Organ, Vocals), Chris Martin (Drums, Bass Guitar, Vocals), Daniel “Bones” Anderson (Drums, Smiles), C.J. Mask (Lead Guitar, Vocals), Jeff Snow (Drums, Metal History), Dean Lorenz (Shred) and Susan “Soon to be” Snow (Violin).

Roppongi’s Ace

Roppongi’s Ace is Alex Spoto (Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle), Max Norton (Drums, Hootin’), Jesse Norton (Bass, Harmonica, Hollerin’), and Rob Pastore (Pedal Steel).

Nervous Turkey

Nervous Turkey is Ernie Locke (Vocals, Harp, Guitar), Aaron Fowler (Drums), and Mark Cunningham (Organ).

Thomas Wynn & The Believers

Thomas Wynn & The Believers is Thomas Wynn (lead vocals/guitar), Olivia Wynn (vocals/organ-piano/tambo), Justin Beckler (guitar), John Hembree (bass), Thom Damon (drums) and Chris Bell (harmonica).

Have Gun, Will Travel

Have Gun, Will Travel is Scott Anderson (elec. guitar, lap steel), Jean-Paul Beaubien (drums), Matthew Burke (voice, accoustic guitar), Daniel Burke (bass guitar, voice) and Joshua Hernandez (viola)

Will Quinlan & The Diviners

For this performance, Will Quinlan & The Diviners was Will Quinlan (Vox/Guitar), Soraya Zaumeyer (vox/keys), Daniel Burke (upright bass), Scott Anderson (electric & lap steel guitars), Alex Spoto (Fiddle) and Jesse Martin (drums).

Ted Lukas & The Misled

Ted Lukas & The Misled is Ted Lukas (guitar/vocals), Mark Tinker (bass), Sonny John Sundstrom (guitar/vocals), and Sean Doyle (drums/vocals)

Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain is Cary Hudson (Guitar, vox), Laurie Stirratt (bass, vox) and Frank Coutch (drums,vox).

For more photos, please visit the following links:

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.

What the first set lacked in melody, intricacy and improvisation, however, was almost made up for in the second set.

On this night, the band didn’t execute these three key elements with enough intensity to create the sort of truly transcendent sets that great improvisational music possess. Too often, the rest of the band members looked for cues from very talented guitarist Brock Butler instead of allowing another instrument — or the band itself — to push the jam. Newish keyboardist John Hruby waited almost the entire show before taking a serious lead.

But don’t get me wrong — despite these short comings, it was still a really good time, although, something else was missing. If I’m going to pay north of $15 to see a borderline second-tier jamband, then I at least expect some kind of visuals. Admittedly, there were a few lights fading in and out — but only a few. The band is known for infusing their sets with vibrant memorable light shows, but perhaps they left the rig back in Athens. Or more likely, they had logistics issues with the low ceilings of Crowbar.

At the show’s peak, there were upwards of 300 in attendance, but more than half had bailed before PGroove re-took the stage around 2 a.m. for the predictable cover-song-encore, Fatboy Slim’s 1998 hit “Praise You.”

Here’s a video clip of the climactic end of “Sun Dog” (video by Phil Bardi, too).

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

Sadly, Scrog elected not to play a reunion show on this night. Luckily, Light Yourself on Fire, Tampa’s metalcore darlings, stepped in. Read more LYOF commentary from their recent show at New World Brewery.

Light Yourself on Fire are John Allen (guitar), Robert Winslow (bass), Ken Karg (drums), and Matt Coplon (vocals).

Wetnurse

What I like best about hardcore shows is the energy that emanates from the band permeating through to the audience. The audience participation becomes a critical component of the show. Wetnurse’s set was a perfect example: an explosive set delivering their special sauce of death metal, hardcore, grindcore and classic rock tied up just right in razorwire. If you don’t already own Invisible City, which was on a plethora of must-have 2008 music mag lists, there is still time to see the light.

Wetnurse is Gene Fowler (vox), Greg Kramer (guitar), Garett Bussanick (guitar), Ryan Jones (bass) and Curran Reynolds (drums).

For more photos please visit the links below: