All the best live music on the Suncoast and around Tampa Bay this week

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

GATORZ Sudden Impact

THE IRISH ROVER Kraig Kenning

JANNUS LANDING CONCERTS -- GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC Not much has changed with the four-decades-old pioneering funk collective. The band plays hardcore, ass-shakin' funk hits -- "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)," "One Nation Under a Groove," et al -- and Clinton leads, though I've heard he's not always all there, if you know what I mean. --Leilani Polk

KROAKY'S Kroaky's Rock Band Challenge

LEBARGE Dan Crawford

MATTISON'S FORTY ONE Studio 41

PASTIMES PUB The Legendary Shack Shakers

SHARKY'S David Moore

THE STATE THEATRE Cold/Killer and The Star/The Drama Club/The Dood/Sobriety

VAN WEZEL PERFORMING ARTS HALL Chris Botti

FRIDAY, APRIL 24

ACE'S Paul Cebar

CABANA INN & LOUNGE KoKo Ray & The Soul Providers

CAFÉ RUELLE Michael Hirst

CHA CHA COCONUTS Steel Pan Dan/Fremont John

CROWBAR -- DEAD CONFEDERATE/SUMMERBIRDS IN THE CELLAR/THE BEAUVILLES The latest Athens buzz band is Dead Confederate, a newish psychedelic Southern grunge five-piece with a sound marked by much heavy reverb, growling-gritty vocals and slow, brooding moments of darkness. The band released its full-length debut, Wrecking Ball, last September. --LP

D. COY DUCKS KoKo Ray & The Soul Providers

THE DISTILLERY Big Daddy

THE FIVE O'CLOCK CLUB Seven2Seven

FLYING DOG CAFÉ Main Street Station

THE GATOR CLUB The Boneshakers

GATORZ Pros From Dover

THE HAYE LOFT AT EUPHEMIA HAYE Ray Biscoglia and Glenn Stevenson

HONOLUANA ISLAND GRILL Badd JuJu

THE IRISH ROVER Irish Pub Songs w/Paul Duffy

JANNUS LANDING -- CANDLEBOX/JET BLACK STARE/ROYAL BLISS Formed in Seattle in '91, Candlebox was a peripheral member of the city's grunge movement. A pretty good theory has it that when the band's debut album went four times platinum in '93, it sounded the death knell for the groundbreaking alt-rock genre. --Eric Snider

LARGO CULTURAL CENTER -- ARTURO SANDOVAL A predominant figure on the Cuban jazz scene, Sandoval formed Irakere with Chucho Valdes and Paquito D'Rivera, and was mentored by Dizzy Gillespie in the U.S. His post-bop trumpet style is also spiced by flavors of his homeland, where he still resides. Sandoval is a gregarious performer who knows how to please a crowd. --ES

LEBARGE Rich McKee

MATTISON'S FORTY ONE Glass Onion

MOTHER'S MUSICAL BAKERY Dennis Brock

THE ORPHEUM Sing it Loud/The Summer Set/Artist vs Poet/The Friday Night Boys/The Morning Light

RINGSIDE CAFÉ Sean Chambers

SHARKY'S Take 2 with Rene

SKIPPER'S SMOKEHOUSE Tinsley Ellis w/The John Henry's

THE STATE THEATRE HED P.E./Dirtball/Mower/DGAF

STEEL CAN ALLEY -- THE SPEARS/BONEY FIEND A night of mayhem will ensue with a trio of punk bands. The Spears, a new group featuring members from D.R.I., Down by Law, Pink Lincolns and Hated Youth, will punk you up. Natural Light enthusiasts Naddy and the Hangovers will pour their heavy punk rock all over your eardrums. And Tampa's horror movie-inspired Boney Fiend will rock your shocks off to round out the bill. --Tim Sukits

SATURDAY, APRIL 25

ACE'S Bad with Names

BIG SUGAR RUM BAR Tucci

CABANA INN & LOUNGE Twenty 12

CAFÉ RUELLE Heather Straw

CHA CHA COCONUTS Steel Pan Dan/Dan Crawford

D. COY DUCKS Kettle of Fish

THE DISTILLERY Democracy

ESCA DJ Shambala w/DJ Joe Bond & DJ Haze

THE FIVE O'CLOCK CLUB My Friend Scott

FORD AMPHITHEATRE -- JIMMY BUFFETT Parrotheads are some of the most dedicated fans of them all, and seem to comprise mostly nostalgia-loving baby-boomers and the children of baby-boomers who let their parents have too much influence on their musical taste. Buffett's bouncy, Island-flavored music never really did it for me, and I'm not too keen on shows that are little more than sing-alongs, but each to his own, right? --LP

THE HAYE LOFT AT EUPHEMIA HAYE Dick Reynolds

HONOLUANA ISLAND GRILL Alternator Blues Band

THE IRISH ROVER Irish Pub Songs w/Bobby Vesey

JANNUS LANDING CONCERTS Donna the Buffalo

MATTISON'S CITY GRILLE TC & The Troublemakers

MATTISON'S RIVERSIDE Al Fuller

RINGSIDE CAFÉ Sean Chambers

RUTH ECKERD HALL -- REO SPEEDWAGON W/NIGHT RANGER REO Speedwagon is one of those power-ballad-loving rock bands you know, but are never really sure how you know 'em. I'll tell ya -- it's every classic rock station across America embedding that shit into your gray matter so thoroughly that you can inevitably sing every word to their greatest hits catalog, and not by choice. I mean, would you really listen to "Can't Fight This Feeling" on purpose? --LP

SHARKY'S Moving Target

SIESTA KEY OYSTER BAR 31st Annual Siesta Fiesta

SKIPPER'S SMOKEHOUSE Halcyon w/Someday Souvenir

THE STATE THEATRE Murdok/Situation Mine/Male Order Brides/Thrown Alive

VINO LOCO Jill Killian

WILL'S HONKY TONK Open Mic w/The Velvet Hammer Band

WOODY'S RIVER ROO Straight Up

SUNDAY, APRIL 26

ACE'S Jive Divers Blues Jam

DAIQUIRI DECK -- STEPHEN COCHRAN Stephen Cochran overcame severe combat injuries after serving as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan. He returned to the stage, signed with Aria Records and has now become a rising country star after the release of his acclaimed, self-titled debut. Between tour stops, Cochran works as a board member for the Independence Fund, an organization that buys wheelchairs for injured veterans, and also The Coalition to Salute Heroes, which helps wounded veterans rebuild their lives. Cochran is currently preparing to release his highly anticipated follow-up album featuring the single "Wal-Mart Flowers." --TS

THE FIVE O'CLOCK CLUB American Rock Band Local Talent Search

FORD AMPHITHEATRE -- NICKELBACK/SEETHER/SAVING ABEL This middling-talented Canadian rock band is living proof of success by way of mainstream radio support. You can thank Clear Channel for this one. --LP

GATORZ EZ Street/KoKo Ray & The Soul Providers

JANNUS LANDING Cross Canadian Ragweed/Shawn Fisher

LEBARGE Max McCann

THE ORPHEUM Peelander-Z/Silas/Party Time/Paranoia Dance Party

RINGSIDE CAFÉ Sarasota Slim

RUTH ECKERD HALL 311

SHARKY'S Cool Breeze

SALTWATER CAFÉ G.B. and his Sound Machine

SKIPPER'S SMOKEHOUSE Steve Kimock Crazy Engine

THE STATE THEATRE Dredg/Torche/Monument To Masses

WOODY'S RIVER ROO Good By Eddie/DT's

MONDAY, APRIL 27

ACE'S Strange Ways

GATORZ Tim & Rosanne

LEBARGE BC Hathaway

PADDY WAGON -- PEELANDER-Z/SPANKIN' FRESH You will not want to miss the bizarre yet strangely fulfilling Japanese comic super hero punks Peelander-Z. This Japanese anime-inspired color coordinated high-energy trio has performed at Bonnaroo, SXSW, and CMJ and on TV shows such as Best Week Ever, Upright Citizens Brigade and, of course, MXC: Most Extreme Challenge. This show isn't all music; there will also be some crowd participation including human bowling, wrestling, kung-fu and "funny dance at the punk rock show." Bradenton punk rockers Spankin' Fresh will open up the show. This just may turn out to be the best Monday you have ever had. --TS

RINGSIDE CAFÉ Steve Arvey

RUTH ECKERD HALL James Taylor

TAMPA BAY PERFOMING ARTS CENTER Chris Nathan

TUESDAY, APRIL 28

ACE'S The John Henry's

THE GATOR CLUB Ladies Night w/Chameleon

GATORZ High Gear

HONOLUANA ISLAND GRILL Jimi Banks

JANNUS LANDING CONCERTS -- KATY PERRY/THE DAYLIGHTS Every year, mainstream media picks a pop tart to feel the heat of the MTV spotlight, though 2008's rising star was not a Mickey Mouse Club or American Idol outcast nor was it some annoying bleached-blonde virginity-claiming bombshell. Instead, we saw the rise of a doll-faced, naughty-girl-next-door singer/musician Katy Perry, who brought the nauseatingly catchy yet somehow edgy "I Kissed a Girl" to suburbia and to the Warped Tour, all in one fell swoop. Her certified-platinum album, One of the Boys, sold 2 million copies worldwide, and though she seems to have some staying power (she just performed on the Grammys in February), tickets for the 1,500-capacity show that's been lined up for months were still available (read: not sold out) by the time of this printing. --LP

PASTIMES PUB Sons of Hippies/Acho Brothers/Big Blu House

RINGSIDE CAFÉ Rob Tyre

RUTH ECKERD HALL Chris Botti

SKIPPER'S SMOKEHOUSE The Marys/Morgan and Wildflower/Ashley Jones

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

ACE'S Blues Jam w/The Highwaymen

CHA CHA COCONUTS The Chris Otto Band

GATORZ Sammy J

LEBARGE Dan Crawford

RASHER TIERNEY'S Walter McDonagh/DJ Rafferty

RINGSIDE CAFÉ Josephine's Machine

SHARKY'S David Moore

THE STATE THEATRE Sleepytime Gorilla Museum/Primitive Astronauts

SKIPPER'S SMOKEHOUSE Island Night w/Impulse

WOODY'S RIVER ROO T Bone