This Hump Day proves to be a rather eclectic one, as far as live music goes. Check out what's happening tonight...Creative Loafing Music Issue Launch Party with Zulu Wave, Funny Bunny, Primitive Campers feat. Rich Whitely & Fil Pate, Mountain Holler x Ophelia CL’s annual Music Issue is right around the corner (it comes out tomorrow!!), and we’re throwing a shindiggy at New World tonight with a specially curated lineup of bands playing in honor of its launch. Included in the lineup: a mash-up of two solo folk-hewn artists, Mountain Holler with Ophelia; a newer roots-jammy outfit driven by the guitar and mandolin of Rich Whiteley and Fil Pate; sweetly psychedelic trio Funny Bunny, featuring co-vocals by husband-and-wife team Aaron Lepley (bass) and Kim Stein Lepley (guitar); and a stripped-back (less a member) but still fiery and bombastic version of Zulu Wave. The first 50 people in the door will get a CL tote bag (what?!?), we'll be hosting a drawing with prizes that include a pair of tickets to Interpol (courtesy of No Clubs) and a $50 Microgroove Gift Certificate
Come out early and enjoy some barbecue. Then get ready to party. For free. Here's the Facebook event invite so you can confirm. 7-11 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City. [More events after the jump...]
KISS with Def Leppard, Kobra and the Lotus Two bands spawned in the 1970s come together for a mega tour and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t have at least passing interest in one or the other. There’s a whole 1999 comedy about four luckless teens trying to get into a KISS concert, and even if it Detroit Rock City didn’t do so well at the box office, it earned cult-beloved status from real fans of the hard-rock vets and new Rock & Roll Hall of fame inductees, which are still known for putting on elaborate eye-dazzling stage shows in full iconic black-and-white make-up and skin-tight comic book/sci-fi regalia. Def Leppard brings the British flavor, glam-splashed pop-metal grind and a hits catalog that includes classic rock radio staples like “Love Bites,”“Hysteria,”“Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “Photograph.”7 p.m., MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa.
Virgil Donati with Art Ilect, John Wesley Australia’s prog leader Virgil Donati is a technically inclined jazz-trained beat master who got his first pair of drumsticks at age 3 and signed to his first major label by 15. His best known band is metal-jazz fusion group Planet X, but Donati — whose unique high-speed chops and versatile polyrhythmic capabilities are frequently featured in Modern Drummer — also rolls solo, and on this tour backs his third LP, the self-released In This Life. He’s joined by three young players — bassist Anthony Crawford, keysman Isamu McGregor and guitarist André Nieri. 7 .m., Brass Mug, Tampa.