m Brad Paisley
With Dierks Bentley, Jimmy Wayne, Suite Caroline
Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday. Ford Amphitheatre, 4802 US 301 N, Tampa. $25.50-$49. (813) 740-2446.
Contemporary country's most skilled guitarist and main mud trudger Brad Paisley hits the Ford Amp with fresh fret board maneuvers and witty new country-rock songs. Last year, an always-smiling Paisley outsold AC/DC, Coldplay and Kanye West on tour, but because he insisted ticket prices stay below $40, he ranked lower in the revenue tallies. What a guy! He might also be the only man in Nashville to have a mostly instrumental album (Play) go No. 1 on the charts. Often, Paisley recalls his hero George Jones with man's man quips — i.e., "You can't grip a tackle box with a spray-on tan."
Bonham
Details: 8 p.m. Friday. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $16-$19. (727) 895-3045.
Jason Bonham's extraordinary pummeling of the skins would have made his late father and quintessential hard rock drummer John Bonham proud, no doubt. Jason and his band will perform originals, Led Zeppelin covers and material from recent projects UFO and Foreigner.
Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso CD Release
With 20WT, Mogul Street Reserve, In Fireworks
Details: 8:30 p.m. Friday. Market on 7th, 1816 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $7. (813) 248-2356.
A top local band with an admittedly terrible band name, Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso take ska, punk, calypso, rock, reggae and standup comedy, throw it on spin cycle and let the good times roll. On stage, the gutter-style ska blend and steel drumming get the backing of the Johnny Cakes Jellyfish Dancers, a wildly entertaining interpretive dance bunch.
DJ Tiesto
Details: 10 p.m. Sunday. The Ritz Ybor, 1503 Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $45. (813) 247-2555.
Before artists like Tiesto or Paul Oakenfold hit the decks, DJs were never international superstars. (Now, you can wear a "God is a DJ" T-shirt without fear of ridicule.) The Dutchman's flight to the top came in the early '00s with a chilling, melodic-trance remix of Sarah McLachlan's Silence. Since then, Tiesto has performed at the Olympics, sold out arenas across the world and quashed lowly "knob twiddler" critiques. New Kaleidoscope is more experimental (Feel It In My Bones features rockers Tegan and Sara), but it's not without the sweeping arrangements, cathartic crescendos and sultry voices that made Tiesto an electronic dance star in the first place.
Vivian Girls
With Sleepy Vikings
Details: 8 p.m. Tuesday. Czar, 1420 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $8. (813) 247-2664.
The Vivian Girls can't decide who they want to be when they grow up — the Ronettes, the Ramones or the Jesus and Mary Chain. And that's just fine. The Brooklyn trio's blend of girl-group harmonies, primal punk rock chords and fuzzy shoegaze has earned them all kinds of hipster cred and Web hype. Not that they seem to care about that part. Droning track No offers a single lyric (you guessed it, "no") throughout. This is quirky, vintage rock done with indie swagger. Sleater-Kinney fans might go for it.
Thursday
With Fall of Troy, the Dearhunter, Midnight Masses
Details: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $19-$20. (727) 895-3045.
Like a post-hard-core band for academics, Thursday draws lyrical inspiration from novelists like Cormac McCarthy, then pounds them out on hard, winding rock songs. Over their 11-year career, they've toured with everyone from the Cure to Cursive and AFI and have worked hard to avoid pesky genre labeling with a constantly changing sound. As He Climbed the Mountain might be the first distortion-drenched hard-core song to feature a slide-guitar break, they claim.
Times correspondent Carole Giambalvo can be reached at carole.giambalvo@gmail.com.
. More music, please
The SoundCheck blog rocks, with the latest news, concert reviews and profiles from the local music scene. Visit blogs.tampabay.com/tbt
m The Bravery
Details: 9 p.m. Saturday. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $16. (727) 895-3045.
The Bravery singer and guitarist Sam Endicott, pictured, is recovering from swine flu. He's likely better by now, but what will this show sound like? Probably like the Bravery on cold medicine. Often compared to the Killers, the band specializes in dark yet dance-worthy jams like the cavernous Believe and New Wave throwback An Honest Mistake. New album Stir the Blood is due out in November.
Loading...