Concert picks

By Julie Garisto
Published October 19, 2007

Cream Abdul Babar

With Light Yourself on Fire, Khannand 100 Car Pile Up

FRIDAY (10/19) 9 p.m. Crowbar, 1813 N 17th St., $7. Ybor City. $7. (813) 241-8600.

Can you go wrong with band names that evoke legendary dairy products, basketball players, literary elephants, self-immolation, Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek and a rubbernecker's fantasy? Nope, you can't. The brainy-meets-brawny musicians, with testosterone to spare, channel their angst and bravado into chunky metallic rock and punk. Bring your earplugs if you're sensitive to high decibels, 'cause this will be a loud one - but in a good way. All of the bands do their own thing and don't follow formulas. Cream Abdul Babar, from Tallahassee, is one disjointed and demented beast of a band. Their gear includes some nontraditional instruments; keyboards, horns and do-dads that distinguish their songs from the long-haired, tattooed pack. Tampa's Light Yourself on Fire has feverish intensity to match its incendiary name, and Khann, from Orlando, is calculated and menacing but a little more stripped down. Tampa's 100 Car Pile Up will make you look - and might be the most melodic and palatable of the bands on this bill - but no less twisted.

Hot Hot Heat

With Bedoin Soundclash, De Novo Dahl

SATURDAY (10/20) 7 p.m. State Theater, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $15, $17. (727) 821-8153.

You can track the cooling of Hot Hot Heat's sound with taming of singer Steve Bays' hair. Both the Canadian band's sound and its frontman's 'do have gotten less shaggy. He and his British Columbia cohorts started as a noisy synth band in 1999, went through some lineup changes, then hit their stride with the catchy, frenetic Make Up the Breakdown in 2002, which includes the dance hit Bandages. It conjoined the best of accessible pop and edgy mischief. Since then, things have gradually toned down, the lineup changed again, the scope broadened and Hot Hot Heat veered toward the mainstream, which is especially evident on this year's Happiness LTD. Fellow Canucks, Bedouin Soundclash is a Toronto pop band that collides of '60s and '80s influences, reggae and even a smattering of jaunty Vaudeville. Nashville, co-ed act De Novo Dahl smacks you with bouncy exuberance and keyboard-guitar pop. If you miss the old spazzy Hot Hot Heat, De Novo Dahl goes a ways in filling the void. All in all, a fun, spirited concert.

Cat Power and the Dirty Delta Blues Blues Band

SUNDAY (10/21) 9 p.m., State Theater, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $25.50, $30. (727) 821-8153.

Chan Marshall, the stark and smoldering singer, guitarist and pianist who goes by Cat Power, is on the last of her nine lives, and she's making this one count. She is healthier, saner and happier, having survived a soul-crippling break-up, alcoholism and the humiliation of losing it on stage. Was a time when you heard about a Cat Power show and wondered if the gig would be canceled or abruptly end a couple of songs in. Things seem to be going more smoothly on her most recent tour in support of The Greatest -- her earthiest work to date. It's got twang, blues and more traditional arrangements. Less pronounced is the hollow ambience, but it's still there in more subtle places. Her well-adjustment hasn't made her music boring. Backing Marshall is the Dirty Delta Blues Band, with whom she recently wrapped up a second CD of covers, Jukebox. The band is made up of indie power-hitters Judah Bauer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Erik Paparazzi of the Glass, Jim White of the Dirty Three and Gregg Foreman, former frontman for '90s mod-rock band the Delta 72, on piano, organ, back-up vocals, tambourines and handclaps.

Eliza Gilkyson

SATURDAY (10/20) 8 p.m. Friday Morning Musicale, 809 Horatio St., Tampa. $20. (813) 238-8001.

Grammy nominee, Austin Music Hall of Famer Eliza Gilkyson performs a WMNF Community Radio concert. Gilkyson brings a purity of talent and refreshing honesty to the Americana singer-songwriter cavalcade. She has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Air America Radio and toured with Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter. She sold out the Friday show at Beach Theater in St. Pete Beach, so if you're inspired by rustic warmth and strong female performers, Indigo Girls and Michelle Shocked, this will be a must-attend performance, all happening in a low-key intimate theater setting.

Justin Townes Earle

with Ted Wray

TUESDAY (10/23) 8 p.m. Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa. $10. (813) 971-0666.

I can see the ad now. It's on a front porch with wind chimes. A couple of retired dudes in flannel joints are sparking up a doobie and listening to mellow tunes. They look at each other, bewildered. One says, "Somebody put Steve Earle in my Townes Van Zandt. The other counters, "Somebody put Townes Van Zandt in my Steve Earle." Actually, we don't have a DNA splice here, but the closest thing to it. The headliner is the son of alt-country great Steve Earle and his apple doesn't fall far from the tree. His lyrical style, however, is closer to Van Zandt, with a knack for characters and setting. Ted Wray is one of the founding members of the Tampa Bay Fingerstyle Guitar Guild. He's been compared to Leo Kottke and Lindsey Buckingham.

Also Playing

Music in the Park Fri. featuring blues music by T.C. Carr and the Catch. 7 p.m. Seminole City Free. (727) 391-8345.

Solo-ish Sessions: 01 Sat. featuring Will Quinlan, The Aloha Model, Acho Brother and Matt 9 p.m. $5. New World Brewery, Ybor City. (813) 248-4969.

Russian Surf Party Sat. Featuring Vodkanauts and Red Elvises (right). 8 p.m. Skipper's Smokehouse Tampa; 21 and older or with parent.

Rancid Polecats Sat. With Knowing Stu and Soulfound. 9 p.m. Crowbar, Ybor City. $5.

The Bugs Sat. With Din Perdiem and the Gaslight Addition. 10 p.m. Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg. $3.

Benefit for All Children's Hospital's Cardiac Care Program Sat. With Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult), Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad) and Five Star Iris. $100 gets you a three-course dinner, beer and wine. 6 p.m. Tradewinds Island Resort, 5500 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach. (727) 363-2200.

B-Side Players Sun. With Cipes and the People and Salvador Santana. 6 p.m. Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa. $9, $12; all ages.

REO Speedwagon Tue. With .38 Special. 7:30 p.m. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. $49.75-$85.

[Last modified October 18, 2007, 17:41:17]