Groups will be appearing at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa.

-

Black-and-white candid photo of Johnny Winter in a wide-brim hat and denim jacket, leaning over a glossy bar counter, smiling broadly with a strap over his shoulder, a woman partly visible behind him in a dim club setting - https://vinyl-records.nl/

Black-and-white, mid-laugh and half out of his seat, Johnny leans across a polished bar like the night just told him a private joke. Wide-brim hat tilted back, denim jacket open, guitar strap cutting diagonally across his chest.

The room feels tight and low-lit, wood paneling climbing the walls, a drink sweating on the counter. Someone’s shoulder presses in from the side, a woman just behind him, caught in the spill of stage-afterglow. It’s not arena thunder—more after-hours mischief. A Texas bluesman off-duty, still wired, still glowing.

This weekend, St. Petersburg and Tampa are rocking with two major concerts. Saturday night, genre-bending artist Todd Rundgren, known for his recent hit "Hello, It's Me" and work producing bands like The Band and Grand Funk, will play at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa. His show promises an abstract sound and showcases his latest album, "Todd." Sunday night, legendary rock and roll guitarist Johnny Winter will bring his energetic performance to St. Petersburg's Bayfront Center, alongside rock and roll band Brownsville Station. Winter's musical journey started at age five and has seen him rise to fame with his powerful blues and rock sound.

Groups will be appearing at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa.

Friday 1 March 1974 St. Petersburg Evening Independent

If you are ready for the weekend the weekend is ready for you Saturday night Todd Rundgren will be appearing at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa. Sunday night Johnny Winter will be at St Petersburg's Bayfront Center. Todd Rundgren has wandered the "underground" music world for quite a while, with-standing the popularity urge to surface until recently. The song most heard on the radio lately. "Hello. It's Me," was initially done several years back when Rundgren was with a group called "Nazz" Rundgren has found a niche for himself in producing, as well as making records. He has engineered recordings for The Band (Bob Dylan's back-up group).

Grand Funk and an avante garde group called New York Dolls. His engineering prowess came brightly into light when he produced mixed and performed a solo album called "Runt." His latest album. "Todd." features more musicians but still the ever changing ever specifically abstract sound of Rundgren. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $5 for a limited advance or $6 at the door. Tickets may be bought at Rasputins, Budget Tapes and The Stereo Shop in Tampa: Stereo Tape and Bellas Hess in Clearwater; Slipped Disc if Largo; and Music Odyssey and The Real Place in St. Petersburg. Johnny Winter is rock and roll incarnate He will be appearing with another rock 'n roll group, Brownsville Station.

Winter although thrown into the recording limelight quite suddenly, wasn't quite an overnight success. He worked at it and he still works hard at bringing life to his music. Winter started when he was about 5 years old, playing the clarinet. When his dentist suggested he stop to prevent an overbite he switched to a ukelele until his hands were big enough to hold a guitar. With his brother Edgar. Johnny started a slow Texas route to fame. Edgar took a jazz turn along the line, while Johnny stayed with his rhythm and blues and rock. Now the two only occasionally perform together, as Edgar and Johnny both have reached high levels of success, fame and talent.

Brownsville Station is a '70s band with a '50s rock and roll flair. The group has been described as the cumulative development of rock music as it is today . . . Once four members the (vacancy left by departing Tony Driggins was not filled) the three remaining — Henry Week, Mike Lutz and Cub Koda — rock on. Tickets for the Winter-Brownsville show are $6 and are on sale at: Bellas Hess and Stereo Tapes in Clearwater: Slipped Disc in Largo: Music Odyssey and The Real Place in St. Petersburg and the Bayfront box office Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

PHIL ROGERS

Source: 74-03-01 St. Petersburg Evening Independent

Collector’s Note: Curtis Hixon Hall – 1974 The Year It Roared

Curtis Hixon Hall wasn’t glamorous. Concrete bones, civic-center lighting, river humidity sneaking in through every door. But in the 1970s it turned into Tampa’s amplifier—where British prog, Southern boogie, and Texas blues collided under one municipal roof. The acoustics weren’t polite. The crowds weren’t either. That friction is exactly why it mattered.

1974 – The Year It Roared

  • 2 March 1974 – Todd Rundgren
    Brainy pop architect meets Florida heat. Hooks, harmonies, and that slightly eccentric sparkle he carried like a lab coat.
  • 3 March 1974 – Johnny Winter
    Firebird blazing, Texas sting in every bend. Winter brought sharp, clean attack and that high-voltage vibrato that could shave paint off the back wall. Tampa got gasoline that night.
  • 19 April 1974 – King Crimson / Robin Trower / Poco
    A triple bill that makes no logical sense—and total 1974 sense. Angular prog, molten blues-rock, and country-tinged harmony sharing the same concrete echo.

Curtis Hixon didn’t pretend to be Madison Square Garden. It was rawer than that. In ’74 the room felt like it was sweating—amps wide open, longnecks clinking, and Tampa discovering that a city hall could double as a juke joint if you simply turned it up loud enough.