Randy Paragary, Bob Simpson, and Rick and Earl Lobley opened Empire Event Center in 2004. It was almost alone on the R Street Corridor for four years, before being joined by, among others, Shady Lady Saloon, Magpie Catering, Burgers and Brew, Space 07 Salon and Top This Yogurt. With all of these businesses opening in the past year, it was time for the space to undergo a facelift - to the tune of $2 million. Well, not just a facelift - a complete change. Today, all that remains of Empire are memories of past performers, including The Roots, Muse and David Garibaldi, Sacramento's own performance painter. According to its managers, from now on there will be no more 18-and-over club nights,

It's hard to describe the sensory overload: Cologne, body odor, marijuana. Flashing lights, minor skirmishes barely contained by dozens of bouncers. Not unsafe, but too much "swagger" and body heat. Why would Grammy-nominated rapper Fabolous want to perform at a nightclub instead of a larger venue for his first visit to Sacramento? Why would hundreds hang out in a less-than-savory atmosphere until after midnight to welcome Fabolous? It's hard to recall why much of Thursday night, or early Friday was unique, but it's clear that when Brooklyn rapper Fabolous talks, it makes you want to party. "F-a-b-o-l-o-u-s," as he refers to himself, rocked a mostly-drunk dance party at Azukar, performin

High energy and fun brought Old Sacramento to life at the Second Annual Sacramento World Music and Dance Festival.  The two-day festival kicked off Saturday at the Benvenuti Performing Arts Center, which featured Angentine tango champions Miriam and Leonardo.  Festivities continued Sunday in Old Sacramento. Both days were a celebration of international cultures through ethnic dancing, musical performances, historical storytelling and traditional reenactments of stories and folktales from all over the world. Despite the sweltering Sacramento heat, close to 5,000 attendees managed to stay cool under the shade of large tents and trees, and with the aid of popsicles and cold drinks sold by s

Before this week, he could have been best described as your average, typical 23-year-old male. A love of cars, technology and fashion is evident from the photos and descriptions that litter his online MySpace and Facebook profiles. Comments from friends show he was much loved and adored, but now those same friends are showing signs of solidarity and support for a man accused of murder. "My heart goes out to you," friend Christopher Williams wrote Michael "Mykel" Weisz's MySpace profile. "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt someone on purpose." But that's exactly what authorities say Weisz did Wednesday morning when he allegedly ran down 64-year-old security guard Leroy Fisher with hi

The Park put its "no tennis shoe" rule on hold Thursday night. The club's dress code normally requires shoes to be "polishable," but hundreds of Sacramentans came together in all kinds of footwear to celebrate the life of Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM. AM, a celebrity DJ, died August 28 of an apparent Oxycontin overdose. He also was known for his love of Nike sneakers. In addition to owning more than 700 pair, he was designing a signature shoe for Nike at the time of his death. At about 10 p.m., a crowd filled the lounge/club to dance to tunes played by DJ AM's friends. As part of the "Get Loud 4 DJ AM" celebration, a slideshow depicted him with celebrity friends such as actress Mandy Moore

Local hip-hop artists performed to a packed house at the Silk Bar & Cafe Friday night. The show was a promotion of local artists in the hip-hop community. They came with original beats and rhymes to showcase themselves for a chance to open for Bay Area rapper E-40 during a performance later this year. The performers will be contacted by the club managers with the details for the show and if they are performing. It was unclear how the judging was taking place. R&B singer Adam Aldama aka Sizzle, who has been around the Sacramento hip-hop scene for about three years, sang two of his newest songs while the dance floor let loose. "It's a pretty cool show," Sizzle said. "Cool artists too. I'm

You better run for your spandex, because Club Lyfestile is an epidemic dancing the nation. Bravado night at Mix, a rooftop lounge and bar downtown, hosted a 13-person dance troupe from Philadelphia on Thursday. Bravado is a party held at Mix every Thursday night. Past guest DJs include Nick Catchdubs, Designer Drugs, and Treasure Fingers. I was able to follow the dancers around town for the night, and had the pleasure to know fun as I had never known before, the Club Lyfestile method. The dancers are Versastile, Bumble Bees, RazzMaTazz, Champagne, Señor Sexweed, Jovius, Blackout, Miracle, Aquamarine, Marvey, Zephyr and Azimuth. They are followed by a videographer, Autofocus. Videos of

The other day I was talking with some friends who were concerned about new nightclubs being planned in Sacramento. One of us remarked that we may crossed a line with too many "top 40 playing" nightclubs and not enough patrons. Many current restaurant and nightclub owners are already concerned that we have reached our limit. On The Sacramento Press there has been plenty of discussion about nightlife in the central city: here, here, and here. Many local residents in conversations on the site point out that diversity is the real problem. Nightlife should not mean the same club, the same music, more and more alcohol. Perhaps we have reached the limit for one kind of nightlife but not anothe