As mentioned over at our usual Five Things to Do writeup, weäó»re experimenting with adding an occasional listing focusing on smaller, edgier events around Pinellas. Thereäó»s a great haul of weird and cool stuff this week äóñ mostly music-related äóñ so we thought weäó»d give it a try.
Weäó»re hoping itäó»ll appeal to youths of all ages, and give a little bit of love to up-and-coming artists in the area. If you like the idea, or have an event youäó»d like to share, let us know!
Merchandise, with Chain of Flowers and Soapbox Soliloqy, Friday March 10th
Merchandise are at once Tampaäó»s coolest and most conflicted sons äóñ you might remember a dustup a few years back after they said some vaguely not-nice things about their hometown. The band has gone in a more polished goth/pop direction since their noisier early records, and here theyäó»re bringing along fellow äóÖ80s postpunk nostalgics Chain of Flowers, all the way from the U.K. Also a great chance to check out the newish bar/rehearsal space/other thing Paper Crane.
8pm, $10
Paper Crane, 910 5th Ave N., St. Petersburg
Pinellas County Record Show, Saturday March 11th
This is a monthly event that invites record dealers and collectors from around the Bay to buy and sell vinyl. The shop, which opened just about a year ago, is big enough to warrant a visit on its own, and is truly beloved by its customers. Vendor tables are reportedly FREE for this event as well, so if youäó»ve got a basement stash and fantasies of living out High Fidelity, hereäó»s your chance.
Free, 11am-5pm
Clearwater Record Shop, 1610 North Hercules Avenue, Clearwater
Liläó» Debbie, Saturday March 11th
You may vaguely remember Liläó» Debbie as a feature on Kreayshawnäó»s 2011 internet smash hit äóìGucci Gucciäó. It turns out Debbie was the sleeper on that project: sheäó»s gone on to be much more prolific and consistent than Kreayshawn herself, with a clubby electro-rap style and collaborators including Riff Raff.
8 pm, $15-20
The Local 662, 662 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg
Billy Mays III Ambient Tour
Billy Maysäó» dad, the badly missed Billy Mays II, deserves a spot in some sort of Florida Cultural Hall of Fame. Until we can make that happen, his son has been setting up a series of ambient guitar sessions at sites around St. Pete. Theyäó»re slow, immersive melodic explorations that work equally well as background study music and focus-worthy meditative trips. Upcoming stops include Creative Clay on March 11th and the Studio @620 on March 6th, but the series continues at least into April, with a full schedule here.
H.P. Lovecraft 80th Death-Day Reading, Wednesday March 15th
H.P. Lovecraft has come over the last twenty years to be seen as perhaps the single most important horror writer of the 20th century, and his influence over culture has never been bigger äóñ which is all the more surprising since he died a full 80 year ago next week, on March 15th, 1937, in his hometown of Providence. But if youäó»re a fan of anything from Hellboy to the Dark Souls video games to True Detective –æall deeply influenced by Lovecraft – thisäó»ll be a great chance to get to know some area authors carrying on the tradition. Readers will include Jeffrey Hess, Angela Parkhurst, and Nathan Robert Brown.
6-8pm, Free.
Books at Park Place, 10468 Roosevelt Blvd. North, St. Petersburg
