Nightlife

Ace of Spades realizes the dreams of Empire

2011-03-24T20:58:30Z

The new Ace of Spades Music Venue on R Street has been open for a few weeks, and in typical fashion, rumors have been flying around town that they are in trouble already. Sacramento Press reporter Suzanne Hurt went out last week and got the truth of the matter on the record, and I encourage you to read her story here.

Aside from some limitations on the liquor license, imposed by a cautious ABC, Ace of Spades is most certainly open for business, and apparently doing well with its chosen audience.

But the business angle is only half the story. The other half is: What's it like to go to a show there? How is it different from Empire and Venue, which previously occupied the space?

The main booker, Eric Rushing, formerly of the hard rock venue the Boardwalk in Orangevale, isn't booking my sort of bands. The emphasis, true to a venue named after a Motorhead song, is all the various "-cores": Hardcore, Emocore, Metalcore, Grindcore and other fast-and-loud types. It is working, and according to several employees of the venue, the crowds are frequent, large and enthusiastic. The place is booked nearly solid into July.

But Wednesday night, Swell Productions brought classic rock guitarist and singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, an old Baby Boom favorite, to the venue. This was my opportunity to check out and judge in light of the music I'd like to hear there.

The evening was promising: Thompson had sold out the venue. That was relatively easy: Swell has a devoted following, and Thompson has played Sacramento many times and has had a devoted international audience since he first appeared the same year as Jimi Hendrix, 1967. And since Swell Productions' Boomer-centric audience wants chairs, the usual capacity of just under 900 was reduced to just over 500.

But not only did the show sell out, the venue itself is looking, and more importantly, sounding, good.

The new, improved Venue layout works well. There is a large seated area (usually standing room) in front of the stage, and while there are four bars total, most of the bar action during the show shifted to the back bar, which is away from the music.

That back bar, which now also has a large window facing outside, feels open and cozy at the same time. It has been decorated in the same quasi-antique feel, with embossed red wallpaper and lots of chandeliers, like Shady Lady Saloon down the block. It is also reminiscent of the venerable Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

The back bar worked for those who wanted to hang back and talk, but still take in the music. Likewise, the raised area on the south side of the room, above the sound board (see picture) also has a bar, and great sight lines. With only 500 people there, the place felt comfortable. And the always-crucial bathrooms are large and nicely-decorated – a far cry from the nasty bathrooms one often gets in black box venues.

The main improvement of the room's very brief time as Venue was the raised seating areas added behind the floor on the west and south sides of the room. Here, banquettes and chairs offer great views of the room and the stage. There are really very few bad spots in the house from what I could tell.

But how does it SOUND? Empire had notoriously bad sound, a black box built more as a disco than a concert space, and I heard some real horrorshows there. I'm sure there are still issues, despite the large bass traps that have been suspended around the room (note to Harlow's management: bass traps).

Sound is still often a matter of the sound man rather than the room itself, and sound men are a varied lot. But at least they seem to have a better room to work with now.

Wednesday night, the place sounded good. Thompson only had a trio – guitar, bass and drums, all of them stellar – so that made it easier. But we've all heard trios that sounded like hell, and this most definitely didn't.

There was crispness and clarity, and enough bass to keep it driving and engaging. I always hesitate to talk about sound, because it is so often so bad, and because many people often don't seem to care much about it, or hear what I hear. But to my own subjective ears, things sounded pretty good.

Getting even decent sound is a constant battle, but Ace of Spades is apparently willing to wage it. That's what is so encouraging about Ace of Spades: Management seems to me to be really working at it. That is in itself a huge victory for Sacramento music fans.

The bar was nice, too. There's Guinness on tap (Lemmy would approve), and bar food is available until 9 p.m. I didn't try anything, but the chicken wings and mac 'n' cheese were only $5 each, which seems pretty reasonable.

In short, Ace of Spades fills the huge hole in Sacramento's music scene that Empire and Venue aimed to fill, but never adequately addressed. Ace of Spades and its audience benefits greatly from the work done by the previous two operators, though, so the whole thing strikes me as the victory of if-at-first-you-don't-succeed business acumen.

The management still has to work out its differences with the ABC, which wants to keep the place a concert venue rather than a nightclub. I'm fine with that – we need concert venues far more than we need more nightclubs – but I also hope that the ABC and city leaders make it possible for Ace of Spades to succeed as a business.

They are still working out some kinks, and booking a wider variety of bands would build an active supporter base beyond the core of various "-core"s. But one visit to Ace of Spades makes me optimistic that we are going to have more and better small concerts in Sacramento, beyond the main central city venues of Harlow's, Marylin's on K and the Crest.

Sacramento needs venues like this, and Rushing, partner Brett Bair and their crew are working hard on providing it. At long last.

Tuesday is National Night Out

2009-08-04T02:46:49Z

Now in its 26th year, National Night Out is a celebration of community - and a symbolic blow against the crime that dominates some neighborhoods.

Celebrated with everything from ice cream socials and block parties to barbeques and "flashlight parades," National Night Out is a way for folks to show that they're ready to go out at night, free of fear.

Now, many people go out at night all the time, particularly in the downtown core, where yes, crime is an issue at times, but rarely stops those who want to go out. Thus, National Night Out has a vaguely suburban feel, as though the notion of going out is a bold step. In some places, particularly the more crime-ridden areas of South and North Sacramento, it may well be.

Founded in 1984 as an outgrowth of the vigilance movement National Association of Town Watch, a sort of Neighborhood Watch organization, the event is heavily promoted by local police, who see it as a chance to educate citizens about police activities and encourage vigilance about drug crimes. Sacramento's Police Department sent out a press release Monday to encourage participation, citing 80 different neighborhoods in our area that are hold events.

"Send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and illegal activity will not be tolerated," says the Sac PD press release.

Nearly all of the 80 neighborhoods participating are outside the central city. The exception is a potluck picnic on 19th St. Neighborhood Garden in Boulevard Park, in Midtown, from 6-9 p.m.

Other events around the Grid are:

- 1st Avenue between Freeport & 18th Street, a potluck, 6-8:30 p.m.

- 32nd Street/X Street Block Party from 7-9 p.m.

- 2nd Ave/ 32nd St, an ice cream social from 6:30-8 p.m.

- 3555 3rd Avenue, a barbeque from 6-8 p.m.

Check with Sac PD for more details, at (916) 808.0808

de Vere's Irish Pub - a sneak preview

2009-01-18T21:36:21Z

The speed with which development in the downtown/midtown grid takes place can be snail’s pace slow, or lightning fast. Here’s an example of the latter.

One week ago, I drove past the corner of 15th and L and checked out the progress on that corner, where the old Firestone tires store used to be. There is going to be a California Pizza Kitchen on the corner, and upstairs, Mason Wong has already quietly opened his gorgeous new lounge, Mix.

But downstairs, one week ago, the commercial space to the left of those two businesses was bare bones, construction workers doing all that behind the scenes work that civilians can’t really fathom. Electrical, plumbing, etc.

But last night, on my way to a party downtown, I drove past 16th and L, and in that just-recently empty space was…a party! Lights, people…the new de Vere’s Irish Pub was open. Just like that.

So, I stopped in and met several members of the de Vere White family, whose first venture into bar-owning this is. And what a venture – and what a family – this is.

I met the three brothers, Simon, Henry and Mark de Vere White, who are behind this place, along with their parents and other family members. Affable, smart and obviously ambitious, the three de Vere White siblings (and “adopted sister” Josie) gave me an overview of what is going to become the new must-patronize place in Sacramento’s booming nightlife nexus (nearby: Mikuni, Bistro 33, PF Chang, Lucca, Spataro, Dream Ultra Lounge, The Park (Mason’s), Capitol Garage, Zocalo, 58 Degrees and Holding, Old Soul…this downtown is on FIRE).

Saturday night’s event was a private friends and family party – they don’t officially open to the public until Jan. 30 - but after a very short time, I felt like a friend. And that made it that much more fun to peruse the family art work – including a painting done by a way-back relative of a navy ship he painted from the deck of the ship HE captained – that fills the walls. This is one interesting family. They’re local, but I’d never heard of them. But with the opening of de Vere’s, they are set to become much more public. And they are apparently ready for that.

I won’t go on and on about the family itself, though I may in the future. Let me just say that this place is gorgeous, and with good reason: The de Vere White family contracted with a pub builder in Ireland to construct an entire pub to their specifications – gorgeous dark wood bars (two), a hundred-year-old cast iron mantle, dozens of chandeliers and heavy wooden chairs and tables, book shelves and leather-upholstered banquettes – and then had the whole thing shipped to Sacramento.

Then they brought the craftsmen who built the pub in Ireland over as well, and had them assemble the whole thing in their new space at 16th and L - in a week!

They also laid an amazing cement floor, which looks very faux wood – wood planks are pressed into the concrete to mimmick actual wood - but feels very much like…a wood floor! Covered in a slick lacquered surface, of course, it looks and feels wonderful. It is also off-gassing like crazy, so if you’re environmentally-sensitive or even just have a very acute schnozz like me, you might want to give it a few weeks.

But with all the little nooks and snugs the family has built into the place – just inside the front door, there’s a hutch with a small counter built into it and two stools, the better to watch the gathered crowd discretely through the glass hutch – this place already feels like it’s been there for many years.

And they have about 50 different Scotches and Irish whiskeys, and will start serving food on Tuesday. This is instantly one of my favorite places in town, and I plan to go back as soon as possible.

The Fox and Goose and Streets of London suddenly have some very high-class competition – or let’s just think of it as company – a place that’ll is making a big contribution to the almost weekly raising-of-the-bar of Sacramento’s nightlife.

Comedian John Ross writes The Set List

2009-01-13T00:45:26Z

You might not think that one of the first babies in California born addicted to methadone would grow up to be a comedian.

You’d be wrong.

You might also think that a guy who’d just lost his job, with two young kids and another on the way, would rush out and get a real job.
Wrong again.

You might also think that Sacramento has no comedy scene.
Strike three. Well, maybe.

John Ross, 31, swears that Sacramento has a great comedy scene, and he’s determined that it not become a punch line. Unless, of course, he’s the one getting the laugh.

So this month, Ross is launching The Set List, his free monthly tabloid magazine that aims to cover Sacramento’s comedy scene. And if it helps his own career, well, that’s lucky, isn’t it?

Still, it seems he can’t help but knock down a couple of set up lines. Like, ask him why he started a magazine instead of getting a real job, and he says, “I wanted to cover the comedy scene because it sucks.”

But he’s not kidding. “There’s not a lot of support for local comics from the clubs. I’m not saying the comedians suck, but the scene is horrible.”

Born in 1977, Ross came by his comedy the old-fashioned way: Pain. He was indeed born addicted to methadone, to two heroin-addicted parents. His father is still an addict; his mother died of an overdose when he was 17. He’s matter-of-fact about it, but he has enough experience with tragedy, and comedy, to see not just the tragedy, but also the humor.

“You know the best thing about having a heroin-addict in your family die?” he asks rhetorically.

“You don’t have to eat your cereal with a fork.” (Bah-da-bump!)

Ross’ first response to his difficult life circumstances - he was raised by a variety of people, including his parents - was to get religion.

“I was “saved’ when I was 14,” he says. “Given my experiences, that's not really surprising. But I really fell away from Christian culture over the years, so I have a lot of jokes making fun of things. And with my parents being heroin addicts, I always had a real dark side to what I do.”

But Ross, who is tall and amiable, evinces little of the darkness one might expect. He works as an opener at Laughs Unlimited in Old Sacramento, and he ran the open mike night at the True Love Coffeehouse before that shut down.

As for that local scene, Ross has no trouble rattling off the names of some local comics: Ray Molina, Mike E. Winfield, who just shot a pilot with Bobby Lee for MadTV, Tapan Trivedi, who just did a special for HBO, “Comics Without Borders,” and shared the stage with Ross and other local comedians in the Coexist? Comedy Tour.

But when it comes to the local scene, there’s not so much to write about.

“A buddy of mine just moved to LA, and he said, ‘Dude, there are 17 open mikes on Tuesday night.’ And I thought, We ought to be able to do one a night in different venues. We have to quality-control them, do more showcases, get five or six comics who have 10 minutes of material.”

But then he can’t resist getting real. “Not very many comics in town have that material. The guys who’ve been around for a year have 10 minutes that has potential. Other guys who think they have 45, well...there’s a rule that if you have an hour of material, you’ve got 15 minutes of funny.”

So, the scene sucks, but the comedians are good? With a handful of guys with 10 minutes of “funny”? Sounds like a short evening.

“Well, when I said the comedy scene sucks, I meant the stand-up scene,” he backpedals. “But the improv scene is amazing. The Comedy Spot on Broadway, they turn people away there, every Friday and every other Saturday they’re packed. Long-form improv can be really good, and they do some sketch there. So I see a lot of potential in the talent here, and people need to know that.

“And there’s a guy here named Mark G., he does crowd work,” he adds. “So you can sit through his act six times in a week and see all new stuff.”

To get it across, The Set List features columns, essays, reviews of comedy records old and new, some comics, a calendar and interviews, including one with this month’s cover girl, Maria Bamford, who has done a lot of voice over work on Adult Swim, appeared on the Comedians of Comedy Tour, and is not, it should be noted, local.

“She’s a great ‘get’ for us,” he notes. “I think it was a mistake that she spoke to us.”

As for the local scene, he’s ambivalent, but hopeful. Given, you know, the relative appeal of live, local comedy.

“Sometimes, I’d just rather watch ‘em on TV, too,” he admits. “Then I don’t have to do the two-drink minimum or buy dinner. I’ve heard a statistic that the average comedy fan - comedy fan - goes out to see comedy twice a year.” He shakes his head at the odds, and grimaces slightly.

But he’s optimistic - really, he is. And he’s already hard at work on the second issue.

“It’s aimed at supporting comics, but it’s also giving us an outlet, somewhere to put our comedic energy,” he says. “And with the scene so dead, you’re not even getting five minutes to see what’s funny.”

But surely, there’s the local community of comics, who can support each other the way musicians do in local clubs. Another wry look.

“Yeah, you can do it for other comics,” he says. “But those guys don’t laugh at anything.”

Badda-boom!

What's your Second Saturday plan?

2009-01-02T22:46:29Z

Second Saturday is just a week away, and we at SacramentoPress.com are already hearing about interesting events for this, the first Art Walk of the year.

The new offshoot of the Bike Kitchen will host its "grand re-opening" at 5 p.m. at 1915 I Street, its new shop. For those who aren't familiar, the Bike Kitchen allows people to come fix their own bikes with the Kitchen's tools and experts. See the story posted by John Boyer here.

Another show is an exploration of Birds in art, called Aves. It's going to be at Body Tribe, the artful gym at 920 21st Strett from 6-10 p.m.

And the Crocker's new show of Disney art will be introduced by an opera concert at the Sierra II Center at noon and 2 p.m. on Second Saturday. See what was posted about that on SacPress.com.

Beyond that, though, we must be frank: As much fun as it is, we're a bit bored with the SecSat epicenter at 20th and J Streets. There is art all over the city, and we know that those in our community who are really into art know where THEY are going on Second Saturday. We've love to have you share where you're going and what you're excited about seeing.

So please comment below, or write your own story about which galleries you're going to try to hit this Second Saturday, and post it on SacramentoPress.com!