Editor's local music picks this week

By JULIE GARISTO, Local music critic
Published July 20, 2007

Richard Buckner

With Six Parts Seven, Zillionaire and Have Gun, Will Travel

FRIDAY 9 p.m. New World Brewery, 1313 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $8. (813) 248-4969.

The show's nomadic headliner is all over the map with his background and living situation, but he has streamlined his experiences into a unique, heartfelt style of nouveau folk. His most recent LP, Meadow (2006), is on the Merge label, same as Spoon, M. Ward and other indie artists of the moment. The stirring and musically tight Six Parts Seven performs as Buckner's backing band, apart from its own set. You think bands come through and forget about us? Well, once in a while something besides Mons Venus makes an impression. (Incidentally, Athens, Ga., band Zoroaster, who plays Thursday night, has a song called Mons Venus. Hmm.) Promoter Jack Spatafora says the folks in Six Parts Seven love Tampa Bay fans - just check their MySpace profile for further proof. The group's latest LP, Casually Smashed To Pieces, includes trumpet, clarinet and strings. Have Gun, Will Travel used to be a one-man-operation/side project led by Matt Burke. Once known as the guy from Chase Theory, Burke has earned even more prestige with his newer act. He's truly come into his own as a rootsy singer-songwriter, with gentle strength, a great voice and effortless sincerity, and now he plays in an honest-to-goodness band, which includes his brother, Danny Burke, on bass; J.P. Beaubien on drums; Nate Oliver on guitar; and Josh Hernandez on viola. Zillionaire, who just mixed and mastered its new album, are fresh from intense playing. Folks like Zillionaire's sound for its great triple threat: atmospheric, rocking and catchy.

Candye Kane

SUNDAY 5 p.m. Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa. $7, $10. (813) 971-0666.

Candye Kane started out in life with a messed-up childhood. As a teen, she hung out with So-Cal gangs and became associated with the L.A. punk scene of the early '80s. She shared lineups with famous L.A figures of the time, such as Fear, X, Black Flag, Social Distortion and Circle Jerks. That life didn't pan out for her. Things came together later in the early '90s, when she discovered her female blues muses: Maybelle, Ruth Brown, Big Mama Thornton, Etta James and Bessie Smith. Since then, she's led a successful under-the-radar music career built mostly by her engaging live act that's a hodgepodge of vintage styles. According to her bio, Big Mommy Kane appeals to "a mixture of the disenfranchised." They include bikers, blues fans, plus-size gals, gays, porn enthusiasts, feminists, rockabilly kids and some who don't let their freak flag fly so high. She's a true diva who says she is here to help us celebrate our sexuality, shatter stereotypes, live our dreams and have a damn good time. Thanks, Candye. Backing her up will be her son, Evan, on drums; on guitar, Heine Andersen; on bass, Bill Stuve; and on piano, a dude who goes by the name Smedley B.

Neece and Supa Man Mixtape Release Party

With Jersey and Black Reign

WEDNESDAY 11 p.m. Full Moon Saloon, 1613 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. Admission free for women; (813) 248-3309.

The Umbrella Corporation unites artists and behind-the-scenes folks in local hip-hop all under one, uh, umbrella. Part of its mission has been to present quality hip-hop to the public at large, instead of focusing on narrow niches and scenes. This dual-mixtape/birthday celebration for Neece is such a show. Neither Neece, pictured, nor Supa Man try to be some cartoon gangsta fly dude. They're honest in their rhymes, talking about subjects listeners can relate to. Available will be free copies of Neece's The Campaign and Supa Man's Fly, Flashy, & Flossin.

Tim McGraw with Faith Hill

WEDNESDAY 7:30 p.m. St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $30.25-$97.50. (727) 898-2100; (813) 287-8844.

McGraw released Let It Go this year to much praise. His backing players have been called the E Street Band of country music, and based on Nielsen Soundscan record sales for the first half of 2007, McGraw is the top selling country artist of the year to date. He's done more than most other mainstream artists to help country evolve with authenticity intact. He and Hill just did this Soul 2 Soul thing last year, and she hasn't put out anything new in two years. So why is he on tour with wifey? (Insert whipping sound.) You can pay $30.25 to sit in the nosebleeds and find out, or pay the arm and leg they're asking for a decent seat. (Insert whipping sound again.)

Des Ark

With Giddy-Up, Helicopter!, Inertia! and Verde

THURSDAY 8:30 p.m. Skatepark of Tampa, 4215 E Columbus Drive, Tampa. All ages. $6. (813) 382-3477.

"I saw Des Ark a few years ago when I was living in D.C., and they are incredible," says Transitions manager Matt Welch. The North Carolina co-ed band performs a raw but full sound, mustering up a whole lot of emotion for being such cute young musicians. Angular jams and indie lo-fi rambling vocals mix with the blues, folk and other stuff. And you know declarative punctuation is in when you have two exclamation points in a row in a band lineup. Sounds like we're really angry or excited about Giddy-up, Helicopter! and Inertia! (The former atmospheric indie-style rock; the latter, modern folk.) Verde is a mellow act from St. Augustine. The show also has a visual side. The Girlfriend Sweatshop busts out some knitting and crafty art in a one-night exhibition, "Tumble Dry: Low." Inspired by the group Knitta Please, our local girlfriends put a different spin on the traditionally domestic craft, displaying it as a form of graffiti.

Also playing

Zoroaster Thurs. With Christine, Cutman and Palantine. 9 p.m. Crowbar, 1812 N 17th St., Ybor City. $7, 18 and older. (813) 241-8600.

Red Room Cinema Sat. 9 p.m. 4110 Henderson Blvd., Tampa. Free. (813) 289-8399.

Bluegrass Jam Thurs. 8 p.m. Tranquilo, 10024 N 30th St, Tampa. Free. (813) 977-0109. Note: New coffeehouse venue for the longtime jam at Bluegrass Parlor on Busch Boulevard (now closed).

[Last modified July 19, 2007, 16:39:32]