Concert picks

By Julie Garisto
Published January 25, 2008

The Pine Box Boys

With Blind Buddy Moody and Some Dancing Skeleton

FRIDAY 9:30 p.m. Dave's Aqua Lounge 10820 Gandy Blvd. St. Petersburg. $7. (727) 576-1091.

CDBaby.com describes the Pine Box Boys as "swampobilly" and a "cut-loose jangle that occasionally waltzes through a taste of jazz, bluegrass and country folk." The San Francisco act tours in support of its CD Arkansas Killing Time, which has rocking murder ballads that evoke the mysterious and perverse. Blind Buddy Moody, who was discovered playing for tips at a local flea market, has released a live CD, See No Evil, which earned him beaucoup accolades from local media. Some Dancing Skeleton, a.k.a. 22-year-old singer/songwriter Marlee Flanagan, performs a type of "country noir" influenced by Van Morrison, the Velvet Underground and Hank Williams.

Joran Slane CD Release Party

With Poetry 'N Lotion, Acho Brother, and Aaron Lepley and Channing Deren

FRIDAY 9 p.m. New World Brewery, 1313 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $6. (813) 248-4969.

These offbeat, original and rootsy styles will wrap you up all cozy like grandma's blanket. First off, congratulate Joran Slane. The Auditorium frontman and Southeast Music Alliance founder releases his solo CD, Martyr, this week. It's a sincere, rocking and dynamic assemblage of tunes, a little more assertive than your typical singer-songwriter stuff. Acho Brother is a local iconoclast, with tunes both in Latin and Spanish. November Foxtrot Whiskey frontman Aaron Lepley teams up with honey-voiced chanteuse Channing Deren for a duet, and instrumental band Poetry 'n' Lotion is somewhere between the Ozarks and outer space.

The Vera Violets CD Release Party

With Kingsbury, Military Junior, Dry County and New Lands

FRIDAY 9 p.m. $6. 18 and older. Crowbar, 1812 N 17th St., Ybor City. (813) 241-8600.

The well-heeled and sexy guys and gals of Tampa's Vera Violets are a favorite of art shows and other events frequented by the gorgeous and the fabulous. Congrats on the Violets' addition of Kevin Pytlak (Dumbwaiters) on drums - quite a coup. The band's new CD, Dirty Rainbow, conjures '60s acid parties, the Stone Roses, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Kingsbury kicks it with a more subdued T-shirts-and-jeans comfort, appealing to fans of Ida and Low. Military Junior is a muscular, angular St. Pete band that has as much melodic appeal as it does music-geek cred. Tampa's Dry County is drunk on eclectic musical influences ranging from Thin Lizzy to the Replacements to Sonic Youth. New Lands is an experimental soundscape project of Vera Violets' bassist Neal McCamis.

Natural Blend

SATURDAY 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. La Maison, 471 Main St., Dunedin. Free. All ages. (727) 736-3070.

Dunedin's La Maison features wine, tapas, fresh sushi, appetizers and entrees. What a great date night this event offers: You can eat a top-notch meal and then kick back to the melodic, easy-going pop of Clearwater's Natural Blend. Sounds tres pleasant.

Wu-Tang Clan

With Aych and DJs Deacon and Sandman

SATURDAY 8 p.m. Jannus Landing, 16 N Second St., St. Petersburg. $39.59, $45. (727) 895-8045.

Did the Shaolin monks have as many beefs as members of hip-hop's Wu-Tang do? One's mad 'cause he thinks the current CD, 8 Diagrams, is too "hippie-hop." Another is mad he didn't get enough of a cut and is suing, and another is ticked off that the album was released too close to his solo CD (insert infant whine). Maybe they all need to do time in a Buddhist monastery to live up to their honorable name. Still, the eight-member Clan continues to be relevant, slicing and dicing the rhymes since the death of ODB in 2004. All of them are supposed to show up at the St. Pete show, but concert reviews this month report the RZA will be absent due to a movie score he's working on. At recent shows, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Method Man dominated the set.

Pop Goes the World: WMNF Covers the '80s

Featuring Never Project; Mind Static; Brent Rademaker of Beachwood Sparks; the Crash Mitchell Quartet; Giddy-up, Helicopter! and host Jeremy Gloff

SATURDAY 8 p.m. Crowbar, 1812 N 17th St., Ybor City. $7. (813) 241-8600.

Popular alternative local acts play tunes from the Reagan Era. Expect to hear the Cure, Culture Club, the Clash, Frankie Goes to Hollywood - the list goes on. Should be a hoot.

Also playing

Worldwide Zoo Fri. 9 p.m. Dunedin Brewery, 937 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. Free. (727) 736-0606.

Smokestack & The Foothill Fury Fri. With David George DeBlois 9 p.m. Kelly's Pub, 206 Morgan St., downtown Tampa. $2. (813) 228-0870.

Voyeurs Fri. With Doll Parts and Waterdigger. 10 p.m. Emerald Bar, 550 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $3. (727) 898-6054.

David Allan Coe Fri. With Blind Buddy Moody. 8 p.m. Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg. $20, $25. (727) 895-8045.

Music from the Poopdeck: Gasparilla DJ Party Sat. 7 p.m. Features Brian Oblivion, Swim Bottoms, Glyph and Julie G. Kelly's Pub, Tampa. Free until 9 p.m.; $2 after 9.

Matchbox Twenty Sat. With Alanis Morissette and Mute Math. 7:30 p.m. St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa. See Page 24 for details.

Taylor Swift Sat. 8 p.m. Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa. See Page 29 for details.

Tampa Blues Festival Sun. With Shirley Brown, Marvin Sease, Theodis Ealey, Latimore, Bobby Rush, Mel Waiters, Bobby Blue Band, Sir Charles Jones and Floyd Taylor. 6 p.m. St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa. $42.50-$49.50.

Sick of It All Sun. 6:30 p.m. State Theater, 687 Central Ave. St. Petersburg. $16. (727) 895-3045.

OneRepublic Tues. With Eric Hutchinson and the Daylights. 8 p.m. State Theatre. $16, $18.

Aych Birthday Bash and CD Release Party Wed. 10 p.m. Empire, 1902 E Seventh Ave., Ybor City. $5, $10. (813) 247-2582.

Mike Doughty Thur. The Orpheum, 1902 Republica de Cuba Ave., Ybor City. $15. (813) 248-9500.

[Last modified January 25, 2008, 09:04:40]