Friday Forecast: Will's Popsickle Injustice

[Charles] Looking for ways to spend your weekend on something other than Wii and Law and Order? Maybe you should peruse the short list. This just might get you out of the house...

I typically don't send folks on a road trip to kick off the weekend but if you are in the vicinity of Orlando or don't really care about the price of gas and all that then here's a good one. Tonight at Will's Pub in Orlando you can catch the CD release party that you missed last weekend at NWB. Sleepy Vikings are playing with The Pauses and Fever and it should be an awesome show. I really am digging the new tracks from the Vikings and the Pauses have a fresh new release as well.

Tomorrow night there is a couple of shows- The Popsickle show at CZAR with Hank and Cupcakes is gonna be a doozy. I saw them a few months ago at NWB and they definitely should do well in a more club and dance type atmosphere. That being said - they even got the hipsters at NWB shaking it a little bit. I'll be interested to see how they do with a little larger sound system and people that are ready to party. They have some fantastic pop stylings with this fresh aggressive pop mixed with the stark drum kit of of an 80's band.

Also tomorrow night is a house punk show for local faves New Bruises, Devout, Injustice System, Ink and Sweat. I only know Injustice System and all signs indicate this is gonna be a hard edged fast paced punk show knowing those guys. Its a house concert at what's called the Hold Tight House in the SH Hood. I have almost no details and so that means it could go either way but, well sometimes that's just what you need.

Have fun out there!

Friday Forecast: Pause Overload Ecolution

[Charles] So you can't go the Avett Bros because it's sold out and you're broke anyway well then here you go. You want to have fun in the bay and don't know where to start. Start here. Friday forecast is my little guide to three things every weekend in Tampa.

Tonight is the sold out show at Ruth Eckerd with the aforementioned Avetts. That's okay though, cause you saw them at the Cuban Club anyway before they were completely huge! So head over instead to catch Modern Skirts with The Pauses and Poetry N Lotion at New World Brewery. The Pauses and their sweet indie rock are returning from blowin it up at SXSW and Modern Skirts are another cool indie Athens rock group that has been to town before and is rumored to be really great. I'm digging the mix so head over and have some fun with all your buddies while the weather is still awesome for an outdoor show.

Saturday night is the annual Sensory Overload show and this year it's heading over to the new Children's Museum downtown. It's a big mix of art, music, and performance. There are bands like Infinite Groove Orchestra, the results from CL's Show Us Your Neighborhood contest, and always lots of craziness going on. It should be interesting to see it transition from a clubby setting like Ybor to a museum. It could be growing up or maybe growing apart - we'll have to check it out and see.

Also on Saturday is the Cigar City Criterium and Ecolution downtown. The criterium was interesting last year but as a vendor at Ecolution it seemed like it was lost on most Tampa folks why they should come to this thing at all. It's pretty cool to see the bike race and just get out and enjoy the vendors and music downtown. The folks at the Urban Charette work hard to put on a good event in a pretty harsh environment for sustainability and green mindedness. Cigar City stepped up to sponsor the Criterium so if bikes don't excite you, maybe awesome beers will get you going. I hope people continue to support it and in a time where bike accidents are at an all time high in Florida it is really important to get out and show how important bikers are to us.

There are tons of other things going on this weekend including especially the GIFF and Ybor Festival of the Moving Image for those movie buffs out there so get out and have some fun!

Friday Forecast: Hey Pauses Kale

Image from Last Year's Gasp!arilla Art Show at Cafe Hey
[Charles] Florida in January can be a little chilly but that's no reason to sit at home and wish you had a fireplace! Apparently it has something to do with too much snow in Siberia. Whatever it is, it means to wear layers when going to New World and Skipper's!

Before you go to the show at New World tonight, head over to Cafe Hey first and warm up with some fair trade coffee and a new songwriter's night. Tonight they have a couple of intriguing ladies Cuba Luna and Jun handling the music duties. You know how much I love Cafe Hey and it is a great place to start off for a long night of music. Load up on espresso or tea for the cold night out. Check out Cafe Hey's Facebook page for updates on what's in the oven and tasty. I would recommend getting dinner there or if you've never been - right around the corner at the Grass Root vegetarian restaurant.

Forecast: 70% Chance of an empty soup bowl in your future tonight! Get there too late and No Soup For You!

Tonight I would highly recommend heading to New World Brewery in Ybor to catch The Pauses with Sleepy Vikings, Gordon Withers, and Rec Center. Honestly, Sleepy Vikings would be enough to get me out and headed for an 8 Ball Stout at the New World, but adding in the eclectic indie rock folks in The Pauses from Orlando and you've got a do-not-miss show. In a strange interview with Curtis Ross this morning that seemed a bit too obsessed with making theme show music, they discussed their Kickstarter work and how it has funded the CD release. This show tonight is the first part of the CD release party which continues tomorrow in Orlando. Head over to the Creative Loafing article and check out the first single from Cautionary Tale called "Go North".

Forecast: 60% chance you'll wanna ditch your coat tonight after the music gets cranked!

Finally on Sunday don't forget to kick off the new year at the Sunday Morning Market at Hillsborough High School! Every time I visit I discover something new and always leave feeling energized and excited about the potential for our neighborhood. There will be prepared food, veggies - organic and conventional, and lots of local vendors selling their own creations. Last time at the market I ran into Magnolia Organics which is running an interesting type of CSA and making the most of the internet by emailing their weekly offerings and even allowing online ordering. That's pretty exciting stuff for Tampa and I'm glad to see people letting their entrepreneurial spirit drive new ideas for businesses like this. Check it out here or go talk to them in person at the market!

Forecast: 50% chance you'll be typing Kale into your Epicurous app this week!