A nice fatty calendar for this post-Thanksgiving Friday. Breakdown below.Cracker with Megan Jean & The KFB, Have Gun, Will Travel The post-grungy alt rock project co-led by Camper Van Beethoven primary David Lowery with childhood friend/guitarist Johnny Hickman, Cracker came up in 1993 with single “Low” (remember that video with Sandra Bernhard being all crazy and wailing on Lowery in a boxing ring?), and have continued to record and tour despite little chart success since. Upcoming Berkeley to Bakersfield (out Dec. 9 via 429 Records) is their 10th overall but first in five years, a double LP partially recorded with the Kerosene Hat-era Cracker lineup (bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Michael Urbano); Sal Maida and Frank Funaro are still full-time members on the road. Charleston, S.C.’s Megan Jean & The KFB is married duo Megan Jean and Byrne Klay, she singing in a lucious croon and playing washboard and the odd percussion, he accompanying on banjo or upright bass, the resulting sounds kitchen sink-exotic Americana. (Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa) —Leilani Polk
Luxury Mane, Golden Coastal Grizzlies, Broken Things, UFO Sex Scene Feed your head after emptying your pocketbook at this post-Black Friday throwdown touching on shoegaze-y psychedelia and surf-stained garage rock (Luxury Mane), jangly ‘90s-tinged pop with Strokes-flavored post-punk appeal (Golden Coastal Grizzlies), reverb-dosed guitar-grinding alt rock (Broken Things) and squealing, raging spaced-out tripped-out noise (UFO Sex Scene). (The Fuzz Factory, Gulfport)—LP
Christian Martin with Brian Busto The deep bass-rattling sounds of California producer/DJ Christian Martin score this latest edition of Serious Soul. Martin is among the founders of dirtybird records and its legendary Sunday afternoon dirtybird BBQ parties in Golden Gate Park, which have become a dance music institute over more than 11 years of making bodies move under the San Francisco sun. (Hyde Park Café, Tampa)—LP
Fifth Annual Brandon Reunion Party ft. Down By Law & Radarmen This show coincides with the annual informal get-together of folks that grew up skating, playing and listening to fringe music and generally coming of age on the outskirts of mainstream culture around Brandon during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. There’s a slew of activities surrounding the tradition, but this one is by far the most high-profile (and open to the public!), including a set by veteran melodic-punk touring act Down By Law and the somewhat quirkier local Radarmen. (The Bricks Ybor, Ybor City)—Scott Harrell
Record Store Day Black Friday To commemorate the double-whammy of retail opportunity, two indie music shops carry special RSD Black Friday releases – not the bounty of April’s main event but definitely noteworthy, nonetheless – and stage smaller-scale celebrations. In Tampa, Mojo Books & Records offers more than 100 vinyl and cassette releases along with special used collectible vinyl saved up for the date, and the first 20 folks in line a free coffee; doors open at 9 a.m. Bananas in St. Petersburg has its own stock of RSD releases in addition to live accordion serenades by local instrumentalist Nick Boutwell, special giveaways throughout the day and sales on select used goods. (Mojo Books & Records, Tampa; Bananas Music, St. Petersburg)—LP
X-THIRT13N CD Release with Sgt. Shredder Rocking to Heal Veterans, War of Thrones, Crush Tone Two former players in Circle II Circle – American drummer Johnny Osborn and German guitarist Rollie Feldman – came together to form XTHIRT13N, bringing on Pharaoh/Control Denied vocalist Tim Aymar, bassist Taz Gardner and guitarist Joey Torres to round out the lineup. Debut full-length A Taste of the Light dropped in October and showcases a heavy sound combining progressive technicality, industrial soundscapes and metallic grinding power. The dual guitars vary between chunky distorted riffs and wailing fret-dancing solos, and Aymar’s rusty high-pitched howls have that Jesse James Dupree/Angus Young quality. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)—LP
Danfield Following “Fan Friday”– an afternoon of anti-Black Friday festivities and gift-of-local-music shopping – Hideaway welcomes Danfield back to its intimate standing room stage. The sweetly harmonizing, bumping and swaying reggae-rock quartet from St. Pete Beach took some time off in 2014 to work on material for a forthcoming six-track EP; this is their third gig since returning in September, though first as the featured act. (Hideaway Café& Recording Studio, St. Petersburg) —LP
Teach Me Equals with Gino and the Goons, Mave’s Arcade Intense, passionate, captivating – all these words describe the music of Teach Me Equals, one of several innovative indie acts to froth up from Sarasota in the past few years. The twosome have laid claim to a new genre, scrape rock, their style employing chamber, electro and rock music instrumentation (cello, violin, guitars, sequencing) into a dark and potent brew of frantic bowing, string-plucking and novel pedal use, Erin Murphy’s deep rich intones balancing partner/bandmate Greg Bortnichak’s husky tenor. A Kickstarter campaign that raised more than 10k helped the twosome release their full-length debut, Knives in the Hope Chest, this September, and the album is currently available in 14 countries via Minorlit Records. (New World Brewery, Ybor City) —LP
For a full breakdown of concerts for tonight and the next week, click here.