Big-name comics at McCurdy’s and Scorpions in Tampa

Unless you follow the world of stand-up-comedy more closely than most of us, you probably look at the schedule of upcoming performers at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre in Sarasota and see a bunch of people you’ve never heard of, with the occasional big name popping up. The unknowns may be every bit as funny as the stars, of course, but you may not know what you’re going to get for your comedy dollar.

But the coming weeks at McCurdy’s are impressive, with three big-time comedians from TV and movies coming between now and mid-May, and fourth scheduled for June.

Carlos Mencia hit the big time with “The Mind of Mencia” in 2005 on Comedy Central, but left sketch comedy to return to stand-up. He’ll be at McCurdy’s April 28-30. Chris Kattan of “Saturday Night Live” fame comes to McCurdy’s the next week, May 5-6, and fellow “SNL” alum Rob Schneider, who went on to a career in famously low-brow films, will be there one week later, May 12-13. There’s a break from all that stardom, and then another “SNL” graduate, Kevin Nealon (also known for “Weeds” and a bunch of other TV shows) will be at McCurdy’s June 30-July 1.

McCurdy’s is at 1923 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. Call 941-925-3869 or go to mccurdyscomedy.com.

All the latest cassettes and 8-tracks

The Sarasota Music Archive has been around for more than 35 years, and its collection of classical, opera, jazz, popular, folk and international music recordings numbers in the hundreds of thousands. It’s been part of the Special Collections Department at the Selby Public Library since 2000.

Every year, Sarasota Music Archive holds a sale to raise money by selling donated stuff it doesn’t need for its collection. There’s always lots of recorded music, both vinyl records and CDs, plus stereo and studio equipment, mixers, microphones, instruments, unique musical artifacts and collectibles, autographed items and posters. You might even find stuff like Edison wax cylinders, one or two-sided shellac disks, cassette tapes and eight-track tapes.

It’s pretty cool to just look through, even if you’re not buying, but there are usually some impressive bargains. (CDs are four for $1. You can’t beat that.)

This year’s sale is set for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday in the Geldbart Auditorium at the Selby Library. It’s cash only.

Call 941-861-1168 or go to sarasotamusicarchive.org.

Rock you like a really old hurricane

It’s hard to imagine that a metal band could have been around for more then 50 years and still have most of its classic lineup intact. But that’s the case with Scorpions, the German hard rock giants behind such hits as “Rock You Like a hurricane” and “There’s No One Like You.”

The Scorps are embarking on a new North American tour in September, and on Oct. 15 they’ll make a stop at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Singer Klaus Meine and guitarist Rudolf Schenker are still in the band — they’ve been Scorpions since the 1960s — as is guitarist Matthias Jabs, who came on board in 1978.

The show was just recently announced, and tickets didn’t go on sale until Friday, so there should be great seats still available. Tickets are $35.50, $45.50, $69.50, $89.50 and $129.50 plus service charges, and you can get them by calling 813-301-2500 or through the arena’s website, amaliearena.com.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Big-name comics at McCurdy’s and Scorpions in Tampa."