Okay, I’ll be 100% honest. I’m not nearly as familiar with Malcolm Holcombe as I should be. He’s always been an artist I’ve meant to delve into but for what ever reason, have never gotten around to checking out. However, after reading the following quote from leftofthedial I dunno how I could miss the chance to see him live:
“Holcombe played with a scary intensity. I didn’t want to take my eyes away for fear that he’d sneak up behind me and pull out a knife. His voice sounds a thousand years old (I mean that in a good way), probably the result of decades spent smoking and singing. His acoustic fingerpicking was just as hypnotic as his crazy hobo stare. What stood out about his performance even more than the music was his semi-coherent rambling between songs. He just kind of lapsed into and out of stories – I now know all about his wife, his false teeth, and about the $23.50 he made playing in Georgia, among other things.”
I mean, seriously … I think we’re in for something special. Join me will you?
Any other readers out there ever seen Malcolm? How was it?
Posted by Eric Snider on Feb. 23, 2009, at 4:42 pm
Giddy-Up, Helicopter!: Something that Needs Nothing
A surprising warmth pervades Giddy-Up, Helicopter!’s new CD — surprising in light of the quintet’s propensity for shoegaze and general outward aloofness, in light of a vocal approach that favors a matter-of-fact delivery over emoting. “Tiny Moon,” five tracks in, brushes closest to warm ‘n’ fuzzy with its loping rhythm, luxuriant melody and the cozy vocal interplay of male singer Conner and female counterpart Nikki. Then a crescendo — built around a soaring vocal chant and swell of instruments — that’ll raise the hairs on your neck.
Something that Needs Nothing becomes even more gregarious with the ensuing “Cub Jr.,” an uptempo track that rises and falls in intensity, but never stops climbing toward a climax. “Bones” veers into Brit-style dream-pop, with drummer Ryann lending propulsion and bassist M To The D letting her fingers loose during an instrumental break.
Longtime fans of the Tampa Bay band shouldn’t fret, though. While GUH! has embraced some pop and art-rock elements, they haven’t abandoned their stock-in-trade of droning, hypnotic sequences.
The music’s most beguiling aspect is the layered guitar arrangements imagined and executed by Conner and Nikki: intertwined parts that meld ringing long tones with cascading arpeggios, echo-drenched chords, blasts of fuzz and Edge-esque flourishes. One of the band’s signature conceits is to pull back on the reins, delve into a thoughtful, even pensive, guitar interlude, and then re-marshal the energy, gradually revving back into the song structure. These sequences can be considerably more interesting than standard-issue guitar solos.
Something that Needs Nothing does occasionally lapse into numbing repetitiveness, and sometimes the band’s overall remove can come off as just a tad precious, but in the end this 11-song set shows maturity, growth and, probably best of all, artistic ambition.
Version 1.1 – WITH MORE BASSISTS! – I’ve always wanted to write a post like this. I have been a student of the Bass Guitar for around 15 years and have always fought the “apparent unimportance” of bass players in contemporary music. Through this post I hope to once and for all assert the position of bassists everywhere in the highest echelons of cool.
On the way to the show, I kept thinking that I needed to keep my wits about me. This was the first show that I’d acquired the tickets through Creative Loafing and it would be nice to impress them with lucid recollections on our first shot at this show review thing. Kind of like dating, you know, give them the angelic version of Autopsy for the first few weeks, let them get attached a little and then show them the rambling, incoherent “what? I saw a show tonight? Did I like it?” version. Everything was going according to plan. I was stone sober (mostly) and we were on schedule to get to the venue and walk in just in time for Old Crow to start. Then, everything went to hell. When we got to Tampa Theatre, we found out that Old Crow was a little over an hour from playing. A professional would have went in and watched the opening act but Creative Loafing fired most of their professionals and now they’re stuck with a lush like me. So, while one of those many professionals CL used to employ would have gone on in … I headed to The Hub. And the rest, as they say, is history … My head was wet with whiskey and about 10 people were in front of me in the beer line when I heard the show start; one-and-a-half songs later, I took my seat and this is my story.
The last time Old Crow Medicine Show came through Tampa, they played to a sold-out crowd at the legendary Skipperdome. This time through, the band switched it up and took the stage at the historic Tampa Theater. Going to the show, I knew two things for certain. One, this would be a much mellower crowd and two, it would be almost perfect sound wise.
The show was broken up into two sets with a 20-minute break in between. The first set was enjoyable enough but it was lacking the energy I’d feared it might. The crowd was flat and the band, both in song selection as well as stage performance, was mellow. I was dead-on about the sound, though. Tampa Theatre never disappoints on that front unless you’re there to see a movie. I’m not saying the first set was bad … it was just a little lackluster. Had the entire show gone on at that pace, I would have probably gotten bored before the end.
This was a stark contrast from their previous show at Skipper’s and as the band walked off the stage after the first set, I was worried that the more formal venue was dictating a more stuffy performance.
Maybe I needed more whiskey to help me find their groove. Fortunately, due to state smoking laws, Tampa Theatre now allows re-entry and The Hub is a mere 20 (yes, I counted) steps away. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Eric Snider on Feb. 6, 2009, at 12:22 pm
John Wesley darts into his rehearsal room at a warehouse in an industrial section of Ybor City hunting for one of his $3,000 Paul Reed Smith guitars. “Ugh,” he groans. “I thought it was in here. I guess it must be at home.”
Most guitarists fortunate enough to own a PRS might be panicked if it wasn’t within arm’s length, but not Wesley — he has eight of them, courtesy of an endorsement deal with the manufacturer.
Nice perk if you can get it.
John Wesley on stage with Porcupine Tree
John Wesley is not a rock star, but he’s one of the more successful musicians that Tampa Bay has produced. The 46-year-old guitarist/singer/songwriter flies under the local radar for the most part. That’s because his main gig — the one that affords him those gaudy axes and a salary that provides a comfortable living — is as a hired-gun guitarist for the British art-rock band Porcupine Tree.
In seven years with the group, Wesley has toured all over the U.S., Europe, Mexico, Australia and Japan. Porcupine Tree routinely plays shows to crowds in excess of 2,000 — more overseas. Wesley performs out front, stage right, covering intricate guitar parts, background vocals and a handful of solos during the band’s two-hour sets. With a split signal and special pickup, he uses his Paul Reed Smiths to play both acoustic and electric parts.
But Wesley also has other musical outlets beyond his role as sideman. “I remember we closed a tour at the Millennium Dome in London in front of several thousand people and three days later I was playing solo in a [local] restaurant in front of three people who weren’t sure they wanted me there,” he says with a chuckle. “So, it can be humbling.”
Comfortably packed and full of sweet hipster coats, the Orpheum hosted a Tuesday night show with New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus (see Gabe’s review and pics below) and from across the Atlantic, the Welsh band Los Campesinos!.
Two lead singers, Gareth and Aleksandra, each played a small glockenspiel and microKorg synths – Gareth’s with a floor tom and snare. Neil and Tom shared guitar duties, volleying chords, leads and noise in a Pavement-inspired ethos, though Ollie, the bare-chested and pasty Ron Weasley look-a-like behind the drum kit, kept the tempos faster than typical ’90s indie rock. Read the rest of this entry »
With temperatures in the 30’s, a steady stream filed into Ybor’sNew World Brewery for the release of Tampa-based alternative-country band Roppongis Ace’s first CD, Into the Night.
The album was recorded this December at Steve Connonely’sZen studios while Drummer Max Norton and Singer/Guitarist Alex Spoto were on break from college. Spoto says the title simply stemmed from what their recording experience included. “Not much sleep and we went into the night,” he said.
And last night’s performance had the crowd there into the night as well. Many of them have watched the band grow since they were in high school, playing small shows around town.
They were joined by Max’s older brother Jessie on bass and harmonica.
It would seem a salty blues man in his sixties has crawled into Spoto’s vocal chords and made a happy home there. Spoto wrote all the songs on the album, but noted how vital collaboration from the Norton Bros. was to making the sound a complete package.
A new addition to the band was Rebekah Pulley’s bassist, Rob Pastore holding down the steel pedal.
Right off the bat, Roppongi’s Ace had the crowd pumped, but when the speakers filled with a ‘thickfreakness‘ dense version of ”So it goes”, it seemed that even the most modest of attendees took to stompin‘ without a moments thought. That included Norton and Spoto’s family, who can only beam with pride at the turnout and support for the young band’s talent. More below the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
The annual New Granada Christmas Show at New World Brewery featuring King of Spain, Davey von Bohlen, Hankshaw and Jarvik 7 was a splendid night of reunions with a grand soundtrack. The show has a reputation for unique elements (including in past years the reunions of Scrog, Pohgoh and appearances by elusive bands like The Blackwoods Orchestra) and it’s a place to meet up with friends from near and far.
AC/DC, which plays the St. Pete Times Forum on Sun. Dec. 21, is one of the few classic rock acts that steadfastly refuses to peddle the obligatory “greatest hits” CD — or offer their music as digital downloads, for that matter. And I’m proud of my hard rock heroes for not selling out … Well, for not selling out to anybody except Walmart, with which the band did do a most dirty deed.
Anyway, if AC/DC ever OKs a best-of CD, I want to produce the compilation. Here’s how it would go: 18 tracks in chronological order spanning the years 1976 to 2008, with nine songs each for singers Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. The disc has been quite popular with my friends and coworkers — yes, I’ve made several. The Johnson tracks and greatest 1970s promo music video ever(!) after the jump.
AC/DC: Greatest Hits
1. “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N Roll)”
2. “T.N.T.”
3. “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
4. “Big Balls”
5. “Let There Be Rock”
6. “Whole Lotta Rosie”
7. “Rock ‘N Roll Damnation”
8. “Highway to Hell”
9. “Girls Got Rhythm”
Jacksonville’s Derek Trucks, 29, has established himself as the greatest guitarist of his generation: He’s a genre-hopping band leader/solo artist, key Allman Brother and while on tour with Eric Clapton a couple years back the kid named after Derek and the Dominos helped Slow Hand wonderfully recreate classics from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Yeah, Trucks is the shit.
And so is his wife, Susan Tedeschi. She’s a feisty blues guitarist, an accomplished songwriter and excellent soul singer. Her new album, Back to the River, features her crushing on emotive originals – several cowritten with Trucks, who also lends his slide guitar fineness to the disc – steeped in the sounds of the Deep South. Tedeschi’s also a master interpreter of classic rock gems. One of the many highlights of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2008 was during the final moments when Tedeschi joined Derek Truck’s group for a tent-raising rendition of The Band’s “The Weight.” I get chills and a smile comes to my face just thinking about that very special performance.
So you think you want to be a rapper, eh? It’s more hard work and hustle than Hennessy and hoes. Gone is the time where you create a little buzz and then sit back and wait for a label/lottery ticket to come and rescue you from your day job. In fact, these days you might want to keep that 9 to 5 even if the majors do come calling. In order to survive, let alone thrive, as an emcee these days, you have to be more and do more than just move the crowd…
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.
Posted by Eric Snider on Dec. 2, 2008, at 12:54 pm
The twin pianos — one black, one white — stationed in the St. Pete Forum conference room should’ve offered a pretty solid clue. But the rumor at the news conference was that the Forum was unveiling a Britney Spears tour date.
Instead, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Oren Koules stood at the podium just past 11 a.m. and announced that the venue would host Billy Joel and Elton John’s Face 2 Face Tour on Thurs., March 5, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster, livenation.com or the Forum box office. They range in price from $179 to $54.
The Joel/John touring collaboration, which dates back to 1994, has been called by Billboard magazine, “the most successful touring package of all time.”
This tour will follow the familiar pattern: The two titans will open shows with a series of duets on twin pianos, then each artist performs a set with his own band, after which the entire aggregation joins for a big encore.
Nude women have always been a favorite thing of mine. Writing this blog post here about how jiggle joints are recession proof got me thinking about the almighty pole, and the hotties who gleefully swing from it in all their naked glory. I haven’t frequented a strip club in over a year. That’s far too long of a titty bar break. Another one of my pals needs to have a bachelor party, soon, so I have an excuse to soak up some awesomely X-rated Tampa nightlife.
Top 10 stripper songs
1. You Can Leave Your Hat On, Randy Newman/Joe Cocker
2. Stripper, Lords of Acid
3. Girls, Girls, Girls, Motley Crue
4. Pop That Pussy, 2 Live Crew
5. Nude, Radiohead
6. Live Nude Cabaret, Jackson Browne
7. Nude Night, Chemical Brothers
8. Clothes Off!, Gym Class Heroes
9. Club Action, Yo Majesty
10. Cajun Stripper, Belton Richard & The Musical Aces
Version 1.1 – WITH MORE BASSISTS! – I’ve always wanted to write a post like this. I have been a student of the Bass Guitar for around 15 years and have always fought the “apparent unimportance” of bass players in contemporary music. Through this post I hope to once and for all assert the position of bassists everywhere in the highest echelons of cool.
With temperatures in the 30’s, a steady stream filed into 
