Metal Monday came early this week with Sunday evening’s show at Czar’s Imperial Palace featuring Torche, House of Lightning and Averkiou. Death Metal, one of Tampa’s more unqiue claims to fame, has influenced a plethora of subgenres including the hardcore scene I grew up in. It was awesome to see how many old school hardcore kids made it out on a Sunday night along with a whole new group of metal afficiandos.
Torche
Hailing from Miami, Torche has a rabid fan base hooked on their unique sound – part thrash with a twist of melodic hardcore, and dare I say a bit of twang, all against a solid metal foundation. Decibel Magazine called Torche’s music a “whole new beast built from the DNA up.” Ever since Torche’s Meanderthal (Hydrahead Records) took the No. 1 spot on Decibel’s 2008 Top 40 Extreme Albums list, the band’s fan base has rapidly expanded. Thankfully, their intensity remains intact. (MORE PICS AFTER THE JUMP) Read the rest of this entry »
In three short years, the Reax/ThxMgmtHot Dog Show has established itself as a must-attend event of the summer, providing a great opportunity to see a diverse group of bands, catch up with old friends, make some new ones, and of course, witness a hot dog-eating contest. This year, the Hot Dog Show took place on Friday, July 3, at Crowbar. I arrived just in time to see the first female victory in the hot dog eating contest (sorry – I didn’t catch her name!), which was followed by an animated performance by Bealsville/Plant City-based Shunda K of Yo Majesty! Bringing the evening to a dance party conclusion was Sunbears! (Jacksonville).
“There’s so much joy in what we do up here…” Craig Finn of The Hold Steady exclaimed to fans near the end of their set at The Ritz on July 2, 2009, “…we are all the Hold Steady!“
The joy rang loud and proud throughout their set. Fans of The Hold Steady don’t just come and watch the band — they participate and follow along with the band antics.
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).
With three new songs and a Tom Petty cover, Have Gun, Will Travel (HGWT) continues to innovate at each show. Accordingly, HGWT’s set had New World Brewery dancing up a storm and singing their hearts out to old favorites like “When We Were Kings” and “Blessing and a Curse” (affectionately know by fans as “Bop Ba Da” after the chorus that stays in your head all the way home). Read the rest of this entry »
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!
Dead Confederate, which hails from Athens, Ga., is hard to describe … their stage set-up suggests metal while their stage presence more like grunge, but the music itself is decidedly clever. The Onion suggests that Dead Confederate is forging a new genre of music … check them out and decide for yourself! Read the rest of this entry »
One of my favorite rock bands of the last coupla years, these Georgia sons are playing a coupla one-off headlining gigs after a run of dates opening for the almighty Dinosaur Jr. (and a co-headlining European tour w/ A Place To Bury Strangers directly before that) … and we were lucky enough to land one!
I didn’t get to see Dead Confederate’s set in support of Manchester Orchestra in late ‘08 at Orpheum … but I do know they absolutely laid waste to a New World Brewery crowd the day after their Langerado set earlier last year.
The band’s sound: an intoxicating blend of alt-country, grunge, psych, etc; think My Morning Jacket meets Nirvana meets Pink Floyd. Sure, you’ll dig their authentically Southern (ie: slide geetars, trucker hats, unpretentious stage presence, etc.) vibe … but that’s probably not what you’ll focus on. Instead, you’ll just get lost in the ROCK.
