Kings of Leon
With Band of Horses
Details: Tuesday 7 p.m. 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, 4802 U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $39.50-$70.50. (813) 740-2446.
The Kings of Leon story plays out like an awesome episode of Behind the Music. Children of a divorced Pentecostal preacher grow up in the Deep South. They travel from town to town in a purple Oldsmobile, sneaking in listens to the Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin. They fear God, but they love rock 'n' roll. Fast-forward to 2011 and you'll find that these backwoods boys are bona fide rock stars, writing cavernous, confessional tunes that fill arenas and anger pigeons, but never forgetting their roots. (In my interview with drummer Nathan Followill a few years back, he confessed he'd never wear his slim-fit "concert pants" to his local hardware store.) On Tuesday, the bulk of KOL material will come from latest Come Around Sundown, a disc that combines some of the scruff and spooky undertones of Because of the Times with the stadium soar of Only By the Night.
Lil Wayne
With Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement, Lloyd
Details: Wednesday 7 p.m. 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, 4802 U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $38.75-$106.45. (813) 740-2446.
After serving an eight-month prison term on Rikers Island, Weezy's free and ready to rap, rock and ramble on deliciously about Andre the Giant, NPR programming and Sweet'N Low. And some say he might just be in the best shape of his career. Signed to his first label at the tender age of 9, Dwayne Carter admits his missteps. But he's promising sobriety and a whole lot of love and action on this tour. In fact, the I Am Still Music Tour is panning out to be the rap tour Michael Bay would do if Michael Bay did rap tours. The show brings more muscle, a bigger band, video accompaniment, fireworks, pyrotechnics and a large scaffolding for Weezy to race around on. He'll debut tunes off Tha Carter IV (due out at the end of August), as well as tracks from new mixtape Sorry 4 the Wait, all in that signature tone that resembles a half-awake bullfrog. Birdman will host a party at Club Underground after the show.
Selena Gomez
With Allstar Weekend
Details: Saturday 7 p.m. Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. Sold out. (727) 791-7400.
Ever since her relationship with Justin Bieber went public, Selena Gomez has taken her share of torment from jealous tweens. But rather than spew back the hate via social media, the Wizards of Waverly Place star did what any mild-mannered, kind-spirited young celeb would do. (They do exist!) She took the high road with Who Says, a bubblegum empowerment tune in the vein of Pink's Perfect, Katy Perry's Firework and Lady Gaga's Born This Way. The hit single is one of the many reasons this concert is sold out Saturday. But your chance to give Gomez girl-power props at a meet and greet before the show is still on. Visit 933flz.com for details.
Peelander-Z
With Party Time, Neglected Superhero
Details: Saturday 6 p.m. Orpheum, 1915 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $10-$13. theorpheum.com.
It's like Comic-Con rolled into a traveling rock show. NYC-based nerd-punk band Peelander-Z incorporates Japanese comics and sci-fi themes into its music. Audience interaction is always encouraged.
Alien Ant Farm
Details: Sunday 7 p.m. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $16. (727) 895-3045.
In 2001, Alien Ant Farm joined the likes of the Animals (House of the Rising Sun), Soft Cell (Tainted Love) and Dynamite Hack (Boyz in the Hood) by charting with a cover song that would endure as the band's best-known work. Their rock rendition of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal still gets spins on alternative radio, but there's a lot of other gold to be had in tunes like These Days and Glow.
100 Monkeys
With Kissing Club, November Rush
Details: Tonight at 7. Orpheum, 1915 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $10.50-$12.50. theorpheum.com.
After enduring Potter mania over the last few weeks, the Twi-hards will have their turn tonight when Jackson Rathbone, left, the actor who plays Jasper Hale in the Twilight series, fronts 100 Monkeys. Sometimes the improv-rock group sounds like the Strokes with a thirst for blood. The rest of the time they're making it up as they go. In short, the only predictable thing about a 100 Monkeys show is its unpredictability. We'd call it a gimmick, but the last time we underestimated a concert with a Twilight connection, folkie and Robert Pattinson pal Bobby Long blew us away.
Donavon Frankenreiter
Details: Friday 8 p.m. Jannus Live, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. $22. (727) 565-0551.
If you're looking for an "anti-anti" Warped occasion this weekend, away from punky misfits and indie acts, check out soft-rock daydreamer and unobtrusive strummer Donavon Frankenreiter. Like friend and fellow surfer Jack Johnson, Frankenreiter delivers a Salt-Life-and-Teva-Sandals kind of time, playing cool-it-down anthems for endless summers (It Don't Matter, Free).
Beres Hammond
With Wayne Wonder
Details: Sunday 8 p.m. Jannus Live, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. $35 advance, $45 day of. (727) 565-0551.
The smoky-voiced singer brings his Caribbean babymakers to the Tampa Bay area for the fourth summer in a row. (Apparently the admiration is mutual.) Hammond's seductive island-R&B style suggests he's the Jamaican Marvin Gaye. And All Music calls him "one of the most underappreciated reggae artists of his time."
Laws Homecoming party
With Mason Caine, more
Details: Saturday 10 p.m. Bar Envy, 11060 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill. $5-$10. (352) 686-5171.
Spring Hill's rising hip-hop artist Laws has been holed up in a recording studio in Atlanta working on a project that incorporates two of our favorite things: big beats and the Beatles. He has dubbed the Paul McCartney-inspired project Yesterday's Future. He's also got single Lady Hip Hop up on iTunes and is working on Your Future Favorite Rapper 2 with Southern Smoke mixtape maestro DJ Smallz.
Times correspondent Carole Liparoto can be reached at carole.liparoto@gmail.com.
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