Tampa Calling

WMNF’s 2009 Tropical Heatwave managed to be a scorcher in spite of torrential downpours. The best thing about Heatwave is the ability to see a wide variety of genres in one evening in close proximity. I managed to catch 10 bands this year on 5 stages: The Beauvilles, David Dondero, James Intveld, Johnny Cakes & The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso, Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa, Magadog, Modern Skirts, Will Quinlan & The Diviners, Roppongi’s Ace and Thomas Wynn & The Believers.

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Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa

Camera in hand, I gently elbowed my way to the front of the crowd as Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa were setting up in the Cuban Club Cantina. If it wasn’t for the camera I probably would not have made it that close to the stage ’cause so many had already staked out that prime real estate, for what one woman informed me was, “the most cultural,” band at this year’s Tropical Heatwave.

I will spare you dictonary.com’s definition of the word cultural. But the comment made me smile, after a few songs I headed upstairs to the ballroom to check out Blair Carman and the Bellview Boys. In less than two minutes, three flights of stairs, I had gone from the rapt attention of beautiful laid back African jams to piano pounding swing dancing rockabilly. That variety is why I love Heatwave, and why it cracks me up when one person will tell me that one band is more, “cultural,” than another.

More pics after the jump:

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The early evening monsoon that struck Saturday had the bands at New World Brewery running late. No worries, the music never really stopped, and though the rains would let up, the crowd would not. Packed in on the porch, those in attendance witnessed some of the best central Florida music.

The first set I caught was by the so-called “folk experimental” threesome of Lauris Vidal. The instruments may have been experimental and folk based — Vidal played everything from a homemade, wooden slide guitar to an electric banjo — but these guys are a crisp, blues-rock band. What sets them apart, though, is their use of dub & reggae influences to create a more syncopated sound.

Roppongi’s Ace rocked the mustaches off faces with their style of southern rock. I missed Ted Lukas and the Misled for some Cuban Club acts, but got back to catch the start of Will Quinlan and the Diviners’ set. These guys — simply put — are good shit. GreyMarket changed the pace, breaking out a light show & laptops to turn in a quite excellent guitar & drum driven electro rock set. (Pictured: GreyMarket guitarist Cave McCoy; photo by Phil Bardi, no glow added.)

The Sheiks played a solid, but ultimately unmemorable post-rock set giving way to a surprise late-night show featuring Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apacolypso. They opened up Heatwave at the Ballroom stage — I’m not sure how that set went over, but 1:30 a.m. at a still raging New World felt like a better time slot for the high-energy — and highly dirty — ska band. Read the rest of this entry »

@autopsy4: Made it to Ybor. Have I mentioned how much I hate driving to Tampa?

I arrived to Ybor late and famished due to the traffic jam the rest of the world refers to as Tampa. After getting my access secured and a whiskey inside of me I started to settle down and headed to the Cantina for some of the Southern rock sounds of Mojo Gurus. I only managed to catch their last 3 songs but that was all I needed. The blistering rock mixed with the whiskey were getting me where I need it to be and all I needed at this point was a hot dog and I was gonna be fixed.

On my way out of the Cantina I bumped into some old friends and decided a double whiskey and catching up was gonna have to suffice as food. While the double put a beating on my wallet, it was exactly what the head was wanting and I was exactly where I needed to be as Thomas Wynn & The Believers took the stage. Read the rest of this entry »

So — right off the bat I wasn’t there on time to see the Mojo Gurus. Sorry gurus. Then, as the rain poured down, the next band went on. That band was Thomas Wynn & the Believers, and they had a real good time at Tropical Heatwave. I didn’t get to see them have that good time because the fire Marshall wouldn’t let me in.

Sigh. But Mr. Wynn said the folks at WMNF were nothing but nice, the crowd was responsive & “wonderful”, and that it was really great to be able to play in an environment that was so supportive of the occassional 7-minute-long version of a regularly 3-minute song. Sure wish I would have caught ‘em. Actually, this is the second time in as many months that I have accidentally missed them. Lucky for me they’ll be back on June 5 at New World Brewery with the Beauvilles & Shawn Fisher. Read the rest of this entry »

NOTE: I originally posted this on ninebullets.net last month. Eilen will be on the Cuban Club Cantina stage at Tropical Heatwave tomorrow. Her set time is 7:45 to 8:45. She gets the ninebullets.net seal of approval.

When I started ninebullets.net I really didn’t listen to too many woman singers. It wasn’t a conscious decision, really, just how it played out. Eilen Jewell was one of the singers who helped break that habit with her 2008 effort, Letters From Sinners And Strangers.

When I read on songs:illinois that she was changing her sound on Sea Of Tears I got a little worried. Why mess with a good thing, I wondered. Her last CD was perfect for damned near every mood and occasion.

With great trepidation I put the new one in my car stereo. Read the rest of this entry »

WMNF Tropical Heatwave, Saturday, May 16, 5 p.m. $30 adv./$30 door.

Cuban Club Bandshell on the Patio
This is the hallowed stage where so much Heatwave history has been made — including the mammoth Sun Ra orchestra’s landmark set in the late ’80s. I think of singer/songwriter Chuck Prophet (10:05), a WMNF and Heatwave (this is his fourth appearance) favorite, as making avant-roots music — he injects agreeable amounts of weirdness and wry humor into his grabby tunes.

Also rootsy, but more poppy, is Boston-based Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles (video below) (6:35). Her best stuff reminds me of Joan Jett with the slightest touch of twang. And if her photos are any indication, she’s easy on the eyes. Bluesman Michael Burks (8:10) hails from Little Rock and brings plenty of muscle and a wild hair. The bandshell is bookended by a couple of reggae/ska/Caribbean-style acts from Tampa Bay: Johukames Posse (5:10) and Magadog (11:55), which reconstituted not all that long ago and has greeted with open arms by the locals.  —Eric Snider
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As elusive as the concept of African unity may be, Kinobe Herbert is doing his part to realize it. The 25-year-old singer/multi-instrumentalist from Uganda rejects the fragmentation of the continent’s often tradition-bound musical landscape, and instead actively seeks to incorporate influences and instruments from throughout Africa and beyond. Kinobe his band, Soul Beat Africa, play the Cuban Club Cantina Stage at Tropical Heatwave, 9:05 p.m., Saturday. (Video clips below)

“Most people in Uganda know more about America than even countries next door to them in Africa,” Kinobe (pronounced Chi-no-BAY) says by phone from a tour stop in North Carolina. “It’s because that’s what they see on TV. Ugandan education does not teach about other African cultures. And not many of the musicians are into the pan-African thing.”

Uganda is a smallish, landlocked country in east central Africa probably best known to Westerners as the one time killing grounds for dictator Idi Amin, whose brutal regime lasted most of the 1970s. The country has been relatively stable since the mid ’80s, but has not established the musical identity of countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Mali. While Kinobe employs the traditional styles of his homeland, he is by no means a nationalist. Read the rest of this entry »