A rather diverse showing of live music on this Thurs., Feb. 12. Take a look below.Hank & Cupcakes with GreyMarket, Lions After Dark From the spacious dusty-sexy simmer of “Cocaina” with its tribal-percussive chorus and addiction-fueled verses (“Down on the floor but the devil wants more”; “Hand on your head while you keep the demon fed”), to the pounding fuzz-punk drive and cheerleading commands of “Relax,” to the flirty cooing pop-bounce and fatty ripping grooves of “Bat Your Eyelids,” Hank & Cupcakes reveal a broad palette of dance rock sounds minus synthesizers and guitars in 2014 sophomore LP, Ca$h for Gold. The explosively vibrant NYC-by-way-of-Tel Aviv hubbie-and-wife team made up of Ariel "Hank" Scherbacovsky (bass, effects) and Sagit "Cupcakes" Shir (drums, vocals, keys) parted ways with major label BMG to release the record independently and throw a release show in their home-away-from-home to celebrate on this night. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
Gordon Lightfoot A Canadian folkie who delivered a string of ’70s-era AC hits, all mellow rambling numbers dosed in twanginess and carried by Lightfoot’s earnest, easy-on-the-ears baritone –“If I Could Read Your Mind,”“Sundown” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” among them. (Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)
Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra It can’t be cheap to hit the road with 18 instrumentalists but Grammy-winning trumpeter Irvin Mayfield lands in 12 cities on the current tour with his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO). Mayfield is the founder, artistic director and bandleader of the orchestra-cum-performing arts institution, which strives to strengthen and develop the industry of jazz; he’s also his native city’s official Cultural Ambassador and an active participant in its continued vivacity. The sounds he produces with NOJO (which also features esteemed musicians like pianoman Victor Atkins and sax player Ed “Sweetbread” Petersen) are distinctively Big Easy with soaring multi-toned brass harmonies and rhythms that trade between classy shuffle and jubilant march. Complimentary tastes of bourbon butterscotch bread pudding, café au lait, Cajun popcorn and other New Orleans fare provided by Tampa’s own Rue. (Ferguson Hall at Straz Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Tampa)
Blue Cross with Breaking Blues, Relentless, Azzitizz, 3 Killer Buds, Aaron Loveless A far cry from the aggro alt metal of their day jobs, Blue Cross finds Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola (who both reside in Cape Coral) flexing roadhouse blues rock chops with gritty-voiced Cape-area singer-songwriter "Sir Rafer John" Cerbone and Blackfoot bassist Brian Carpenter. (State Theatre, Ybor City)
Into It. Over It. & Kevin Devine with Laura Stevenson A leader of Chicago’s emo revival, Into It. Over It. is the solo project of indie rocker Evan Weiss. Brooklyn-based Kevin Devine plies introspective, acoustic guitar-driven indie folk rock. The twosome pair for a co-headlining tour with support from Long Island indie roots songstress Laura Stevenson. (Local 662, St. Petersburg)
ALSO TONIGHT
The Only Daddys with CJ Harding Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg
Danfield Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg
Second Thursday on the Plaza with The Greg Billings Band [MOVED TO ATRIUM] Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg
Singer-Songwriter Night @ The Bunker: Ronny Elliott, The Cruz Brothers, Jenny Flory Tre Amici @ The Bunker, Ybor City
Marvelous Funkshun Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin
The New Christy Minstrels Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa
Dre Day The Ritz Ybor, Ybor City