Saturday Night's For Exploring! Ybor City, First Exposure to the Florida Music Scene

New World Brewery Show – Ybor City
Dear Old Liar – Ryan Wendell Bauer - Mes Music –King of Spain

Alright, I must confess that I snuck in one “first Florida” show before my St. Pete Times Forum/ Green Day experience. Stickmartin performed at Skipper’s Smokehouse in July, and it was a great introduction to the Tampa music scene, but the line-up at The New World Brewery in Ybor City August 15, 2009 was indeed the actual initiation.

As a veteran Northwest concert-goer who moved from Oregon to Tampa, a place my sister described as “not being able to get any further away,” I had my suspicions that perhaps the music, the performers, the bands, the whole scene could also be “further away” from anything I was used to. Unaware as to whether or not those differences would be good or bad, I walked into the New World Brewery, with the “Ybor Square” sign looming in the backdrop, and I felt completely comfortable, which was a surprise and delight.

First of all, it was my only and my grand entrance into Ybor City. I’d heard many people say I needed to go there but the closest I’d made it was IKEA, which so doesn’t count. The NWB was tucked in and pretty quiet when I arrived. I walked past a few people running around the stage area and a DJ setting up. A quick scan of the place left no indication of who was performing and who was just grabbing a drink or ordering pizza that smelled really good. It was still early.
As far as Florida versus Oregon venues, Tampa has Eugene beat by a long shot. The relaxed, inviting vibe of the NWB, not to mention the indoor/outdoor setup and new wave of locals to mingle and observe wins over the hot, packed and claustrophobic vintage venues of the Northwest.

True to good, local show form, the line-up started an hour later than the time listed on the bill and people really started rolling in around 9:30pm. The audience was incredibly diverse, but the appearance of dreadlocks made me feel instantly at home. I watched people hug, be introduced to one another and chat, slowly realizing that this was the type of place that had avid regulars, and these were the kinds of bands who had very loyal followers.

The DJ was set up spinning everything from The Smiths to random oldies to warm up the crowd and get the audience settled. Soon enough, a gorgeous and classic looking blonde, accompanied by two women guitarists and a lanky male percussionist took the stage and commanded attention immediately. She held a 50’s looking microphone in her hand and belted out these jazz meets alt-roots, folky tunes like nobody’s business. She then announced the foursome as “Dear Old Liar.” The melancholy, sensual ballads made the crown swoon, or was it just the overpowering “chicks rocking” essence? The lead singer, who occasionally turned over to the keyboard to play a few melodies, said “We’re going to play a song for you to talk over.” The audience followed suit, but Dear Old Liar still had the attention of most of the NWB patrons.

Later the singer asked “Are you entertained? If you’re not, you should get a beer.” It was then that ambience of the evening set, and the audience was wanting more. I looked again and seemingly out of nowhere, the place was packed. The area that was initially half empty now had people filing in one by one and weaving through the planted audience members to get to the bar.

Dear Old Liar prepped the crowd for the rest of the eclectic evening ahead and played a great set. The walking base lines, sweet and sultry guitar riffs, jazzy drum beats and appeal of the lyrics with complimenting harmonies coming from that old-school microphone and the lead singer left crowd anxious for the next act, and another drink.
Shortly after Dear Old Liar tore down their stage set-up, a double-decker keyboard, microphone and amp were arranged as the one-man show was being put into action. Ryan Wendell Bauer introduced the keyboards as “The Mini 16,” and then said “Sometimes I play these keyboards; sometimes these keyboards play me.” I had no idea what I was in for.

After dedicating the set to Michael Jackson, Bauer started a keyboard/synth beat as background to a conversational intro with him making puppet-like hand gestures and mixing a kind of rap/poetry-slam/haiku singing style that I had never seen or heard. It was then I heard a girl proclaim “I love this guy! I just wanna hug him;” my thoughts exactly.
With crazy dance moves, clapping, audience participation and hilarious lyrics, Bauer had everyone in the place at least stopping to see what the hell was going on, if not thoroughly enjoying themselves. His set was about thirty minutes and the next act shuffled in to keep the audience interested.

MES Music took the stage as third in the line-up. The suburban, PG version of freestyling had a great following within the audience. The fans took over the area closest to the stage and a few friends of the lead hip-hop artist, accompanied him onstage and also added to the hip-hop beats. The crowd was into it, and MES Music said “This is when we get amped and have a little hip-hop party.” The party was a hit, and with such a diverse array of musicians, I’d lost grip of any expectations for the headliner, “King of Spain.”

The man, with his Mac book and guitar, sat down at the very edge of the stage and introduced himself to be “King of Spain.” He then commented on how much he enjoyed being a part of such “eclectic bills.” It was midnight and the crowd was moving in and out a bit more as King of Spain took things down into a very chill, calming mood. The audience was seemingly appreciative.
The music of King of Spain was filled with fast, complex lyrics and some of what he said was hard to catch. The feedback of the sound system took a lot away from the performance but the music was very sentimental, emotional, soft and soothing through it all. King of Spain was very in tune to every note, every harmony and every lyric. The Mac hooked up to the amp provided a lot of effects on his voice, background vocals, and harmonies.

The crowd mellowed out with the shift in music, but the place was still buzzing. The performance was good but almost felt a little too calm for the end of the night, like a lullaby willing you to go home and go to bed. It was almost 1:00am when the King of Spain ended his reign on the crowd and I was satisfied with this first Ybor City, New World Brewery, and local music experience. It wasn’t until I was halfway down the street that I realized there was another band playing, and that a last minute add-in was put on the line-up. I missed Florida Night Heat, but figured - not that I really needed to after such a great Saturday night - but now I have an excuse to go back if they play at the New World Brewery. Or, I could have them be my new local act to follow.

Overall, the line-up was great, the atmosphere amazing, and my first foray into Tampa nightlife and it’s music was a success. I went back to the apartment and, for the first time since we moved, felt like I’d had a real Saturday night and I was finally home. Local music can do that to you!