From the rock 'n' roll of Blue Oyster Cult to rap, electronica and the hip-hop of Tone Loc, Guavaween is a treat for music lovers.
By GINA VIVINETTO
Published October 23, 2003
[Publicity photos]
Blue Oyster Cult
Brace yourself: Guavaween gets mellow
To celebrate the often-raucous Halloween event's 20th anniversary, a masquerade ball has been added to the night before. It's supposed to be "good old-fashioned fun."
Hot Ticket: A festival for every taste
If the mayhem of Guavaween isn't your style, check out one of the half-dozen other festivals around the Tampa Bay area this weekend that celebrate everything from history to grouper:
Tone Loc
Always an eclectic affair, this year's musical entertainment for Guavaween on Saturday is another doozy of diversity with classic rock icons Blue Oyster Cult, white boy rapper Bubba Sparxxx and electronica wizard BT commanding stages.
Ybor City's spooky street celebration annually finds revelers rocking to a hodgepodge of talent on stages hosted by local media outlets.
Let's check out the stages:
WTBT-FM 103.5 (Thunder): Team Pop can't think of a better band than the mighty Blue Oyster Cult, headliners of Thunder's platform. The classic rock station chose wisely when it summoned the Long Island boys who in 1976 gave us the solid seasonal advice, "Don't fear the reaper." (Did you know the band has real arty farty roots? Yep. B.O.C. got started as an art rock band by a bunch of music critics who hung out with punk poet/singer Patti Smith - with Smith penning lyrics for the band.) (Don't Fear) The Reaper made the classic horror film Halloween even scarier. Demand the band perform the monster hit Burnin' For You!
WFLZ-FM 93.3: 93.3's stage is uber hip with electronica whiz kid BT, a dance music innovator and DJ. BT's set is going to be part of his "Laptop Symphony" tour, promoting his new Emotional Technology disc. BT's set is described as a cross between a live performance and a mix set. In other words, he's going to use a Macintosh laptop and keyboards and mix multiple tracks while playing live tracks and bass line, creating something cutting edge and fresh.
On the same stage: Bubba Sparxxx, the Southern white boy who gets props in the Dirty South rap genre for 2001's Ugly, the smash collab with Timbaland. The single wasn't a fluke. Turns out this big ol' 26-year-old Georgia boy has the goods, proved by this year's Deliverance, filled with clever rhymes, slick beats and fiddle and harmonica. Late 1980s hip-hop has-been Tone Loc would like you to enjoy a Funky Cold Medina with him. Or, do the Wild Thing. And, why not? Stacey Orrico brings her gospel songs to the bill. Gospel? At Guavaween? Willa Ford also performs. Let's see if this pretty lady merits all the attention she got back when she was the target of scorn and much hate mail when little girls thought she should be drawn and quartered for dating Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys.
WXTB-FM 97.9 (98 Rock): Headliner Static X will make your ears hurt with its nu-metal aggression all done up with industrial rock flourishes. Critics were cruel to this year's Shadow Zone, one suggesting leader and guitarist Wayne Static spent more time growing his "scary beard" than writing good tunes. Ouch! When the band's got its groove on, it's a thrashfest that gets the kids' heads bopping into whiplash territory. Also on this stage: Skrape from Orlando, another nu-metal band featuring a teensy bit of melody and song craft, and Jacksonville's Shinedown and San Diego's alterna-rockers Switchfoot - yes, it's a Christian band, and it sounds refreshingly different from all the other monster riffers on this stage.
WSSR-FM 95.7 (Star): The Star folks offer Georgia rock trio Shinebox, Scooby Dubes, Tantrum and Tallahassee rockers the Razor Mephistos.
"WEEKLY PLANET' LOCAL STAGE: The Planet has a terrific lineup of local talent. Headliner Saturn 5 promises a fun and funky set. The Semis promise good fast rock, and jangly Rebekah Pulley provides the more introspective approach with a lovely, lilting voice that hints of Emmylou Harris and a backing band that includes pedal steel guitar.
Entertainment begins about 5 p.m. Saturday on all stages. All performances will be in order as follows:
98 Rock stage (Seventh Avenue between 14th & 15th streets)
Shinedown
Switchfoot
Cinder
Soil
Skrape
Static X
93.3 WFLZ stage (Ninth Avenue between 13th and 14th streets)
Stacey Orrico
Bubba Sparxxx
Natural
Roc Projec
Willa Ford
Aja
Tone Loc
Weekly Planet local stage (Centennial Park on Eighth Avenue between 18th and 19th streets)
Double Helix
The Semis
The Downshifters
The Nuevos
Rebekah Pulley
Life of Pi
Saturn 5
Star 95.7 stage (Centro Ybor on Eighth Avenue between 15th and 17th streets)
Groovy Cool
Scooby Dubes
Tantrum
Shinebox
Razor Mephistos
Thunder 103.5 stage (Seventh Avenue between 17th and 18th streets)
