Pop music notebook

By GINA VIVINETTO, Times mop music critic

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 2, 2000

[Photo: Columbia] Roger Waters

WATERS AT ICE PALACE -- Former Pink Floyd front guy Roger Waters kicks off his "In the Flesh" world tour by bringing the hits -- both Floyd's and his solo stuff -- to the Ice Palace in Tampa at 8 tonight. Waters became Floyd's primary songwriter after original lyricist Syd Barrett wigged out in 1968. From '73's Dark Side of The Moon on, you can thank Mr. Waters for the hits, however solipsistic. And hey, why is it okay for guys to make double concept albums about their crummy childhoods and prickly relationships with their mothers, but if chicks like Alanis, Fiona and Tori sing about their personal stuff, they are "whiny" and "confessional"?

Anyway, the hits, right -- that means Money, Wish You Were Here, Another Brick In The Wall (Part II), Comfortably Numb. That means tonight's show will be non-stop classic rock favorites. Tickets are $35 to $50, available through Ticketmaster.

TROUT AT SKIPPER'S -- Blues guitarist Walter Trout helps the Suncoast Blues Society celebrate its third birthday at Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, at 8 p.m. today.

Trout is out on his own after a career playing sideman to blues luminaries such as John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton and John Mayall. Trout, who has a huge following in Great Britain, used to play with Canned Heat and ranked just behind Jimmy Page in a BBC Poll of the greatest guitarists of all time.

In his live shows, Trout varies from raucous blues stompers to heart-swelling ballads. Think he's just a soulful axe man? Nope. Check out Trout's stellar voice, which sweeps from gutsy, impassioned belt-outs to the sweetest falsetto you've ever heard. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Call (813) 971-0666.

DISTURBING THE PEACE -- Celebrate brash loud music at the Disturbing the Peace Fest with Against All Authority, Car Bomb Driver, Function 13, Shot Heard 'Round the World and others at 7 tonight at Jannus Landing in downtown St. Petersburg.

Against All Authority got its start in Miami back in 1992 and is a big name in the non-conformist political punk rock world, speaking out against racism and classism. According to the band's official website, AAA is interested in "questioning our economic differences and promoting our human similarities."

The band's aggressive sound is ska-influenced thanks to guitarist Joe Koontz's Latin leanings. Tickets are $10. Call (727) 896-1244.

DO IT FOR THE DOGGIES -- Do a good thing and blow $7 on the Quivering Rhythm Hounds, who play a Scratch My Back Benefit for the Tampa Humane Society at 5 p.m. Sunday at Skipper's Smokehouse.

Since 1981, QRH has played party music with an emphasis on rock, soul and R&B, influenced by Wilson Pickett, Motown, the Doors, you name it.

This is a show for the whole family with kids under 10 admitted free. Openers include the Garaj Gurus and the All-Star Media Band. Call (813) 876-4150.

ORPHEUM SHOWS -- Check out Austin, Texas' Gloria Record, which features singer/guitarist Chris Simpson and bassist Jeremy Gomez, former members of Austin emo outfit Mineral. The show starts at 9 tonight at the Orpheum, 1902 Republica de Cuba (Eighth and 14th), Ybor City.

Gloria Record has stayed with the emo aesthetic but opts for a more organic, acoustic approach. What's "emo," you say? It's just a genre of punk that concentrates on visceral gut-wrenching emotion over some pretty heavy duty guitars. The lyrics aren't bratty, they're personal. Expect a lot o' wailing.

National Skyline and Isobella open the gig. Tickets are $5.

Gainesville's Mercury Program brings its cool jazzy indie-rock -- think the Chicago scene: Tortoise, June of 44 -- to the Orpheum at 9 p.m. Saturday Openers are Polline and Tampa's own Versailles. Tickets are $5. Call (813) 248-9500.

YOUTH GONE POP -- Young folks rock, too. Don't believe me? Get a load of Lorna Bracewell and Cross-Eyed, the neat band from Largo featuring Bracewell, a 16-year-old Largo High student who sings and plays a mean set of drums. The band plays at 7:30 tonight as part of the Get Down Town Summer Street Party series featuring live music on the first Friday of every month.

The party is free, starting at 5:30 in downtown St. Petersburg on Central Avenue between Second and Third streets.

Prymary Colorz is another bunch of young'uns doing music. From North Carolina, now residing in Tampa, the all-guy quartet with the "matinee idol good looks" (according to their manager) features harmony-heavy tunes evoking eras gone by. Think the Temptations, the Beatles, the Righteous Brothers.

Catch the act for free at 9 tonight at the Taste of Pinellas in St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park.

GROOVEWELL CONCERT SERIES -- The Strangeways and Nueve Lunas kick off the Groovewell Concert Series, which celebrates cross-cultural musical diversity, at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Orpheum, 1902 Republica de Cuba Avenue (14th Street and Eighh Avenue), Ybor City. (Doors open at 8 p.m.)

The Strangeways, from Sarasota, plays rootsy ska the way the English Beat used to, with tasty horns blending a bit of reggae, jazz and R&B. The high-energy band gets folks dancing and skanking and sometimes throws in a Miles Davis cover.

Nueve Lunas is a promising new Latin jazz rock outfit featuring longtime local musician Frank Martinez, who sings and plays percussion. I caught their very first gig at the Globe last fall and was wowed. Tickets are $5. Call (813) 254-0759 or visit the series' Web site at http://www.groovewell.com.

TEAM POP TRIVIA -- The winner of last week's random drawing for the oh-so-coveted Times T-shirt is William E. Lane of Largo. Lane knew that Fortunate Son, the bitter anti-establishment anthem now getting attention from a new generation with a cover by all-chick punk rockers Sleater-Kinney, was written by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION -- To get your name in the random drawing for the super-fab, all-cotton Times T-shirt in the color of your choice, answer this: In honor of Roger Waters, who kicks off his world tour tonight in Tampa, tell me how many weeks Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon was on the Billboard charts. It's a whopper.

Fax entries to Team Pop Trivia, (727) 892-2327, send e-mail to gina@sptimes.com or send your entry in an envelope as our ancestors used to: Team Pop Trivia, c/o Weekend, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33713. All mailed entries must be postmarked by Saturday (the day after we ask the question). Faxes and e-mail can come as late as Monday morning. Please include your full name and phone number.