Saturdays are such a conundrum around here. It sometimes seems like a challenge to get people out of the house on non-weekend days (maybe itäó»s all that driving), which means a lot of great stuff clusters on Saturday. But in turn, that means thereäó»s consistently too much stuff to do on that one day äóñ including, this week, an essential art opening and two amazing concerts. God bless those of you who try to cram it all in äóñ but also those organizers who take the risk of spreading out to the occasional Thursday: We salute you.
Ashley Gillam: Dysgeusia, Opening Reception — Saturday, Sept. 30
This is the first solo show by recent USF grad Ashley Gillam, and the pitch is a damn doozy. According to the artist, her smearing, pink-rimed canvasses represent human bodies subjected to the same gruesome transformations as factory-farmed animals. But donäó»t come for the heavyhanded moralizing äóñ come for the feeling deep in your gut when confronted by the fact that you are made of meat.
Worth crossing the bridge, and if you plan your evening right, you can slide out of this event and into one of a couple of great concerts (see below).
7-9 p.m., Free
Tempus Projects, 4636 N. Florida Ave., Tampa
Lycka Till w/Piss Ghost, Scumbag Dad — Saturday, Sept. 30
This oneäó»s for the good-natured rager in all of us. Lycka Till is here all the way from Sweden (!!!) to deliver their twangy, rockabilly pop-punk, backed up by a gang of area heavyweights. Piss Ghost (hey, I donäó»t name ’em) is a frenetic, ultra lo-fi project including Permanent Makeup drummer Susan Nadeau. Scumbag Dad is a kind of folk-punk Woodie Guthrie from Tallahassee.
8 p.m., $8, all ages
Lucky You Tattoo, 9633 Bay Pines Blvd, St. Pete
Rebekah Pulley — Saturday, Sept. 30
Alternately, if youäó»d rather have your heart ripped right out of your chest, this is your Saturday night. Pulley is a country-folkie in the neighborhood of Joni Mitchell or Tracy Chapman, but thereäó»s a fragility to both her repertoire, her guitar work, and her wavering voice thatäó»s just wrenching. Sheäó»s been at this for a decade, yet inexplicably remains a bit of a local secret.
8 p.m., free
1933 Pub and Grill, 2245 Nursery Road, Clearwater
Chris Isaak – Tuesday, Oct. 3
Itäó»s hard to think of a rock musician from the late ’80s/early ’90s whose music feels more current today than Chris Isaakäó»s. Lana Del Rey has built a solid career with minor variations on his formula of bleak, icy rockabilly. And David Lynch has shown that the premise of Americana shot through with cynicism and grit hasnäó»t lost any appeal. Then again, why bother getting meta äóñ the guy is a stunning, transporting singer, and thatäó»s plenty.
8-11 p.m., $89-$99
Capitol Theare, 405 Cleveland St., Clearwater
Ringling Underground: Ethereal Cosmos – Thursday, Oct. 5
We are all flawed human beings, and one of the great flaws of my tenure writing this column has been my neglect of the monthly Ringling Underground event. Yes, itäó»s technically outside Pinellas, but itäó»s one of the Bay Areaäó»s most exciting to-dos, combining up and coming, adventurous art with area bands, all in the great setting of the Ringling Museumäó»s sculpture garden. This monthäó»s lineup includes otherworldly lobrow pop art from Rachel Zucker and Kierra Boyd, glowing future-synths from Miamiäó»s Firstworld, and beardy psych rock from Sarasotaäó»s Physical Plant.
Worth crossing the (other) bridge. Oh, and hat tip to Sarasota Visual Art, an excellent listings page that drew our attention to this event.
8 p.m., $15, free for Students
The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
