One of the joys of concert reviewing is traveling far out beyond my comfort zone and seeing a performance of someone who is not normally on my radar. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m pretty narrow in my music tastes. I’ve got a couple of things that I really like and everything else gets a big, fat “meh” in my book. It’s not that I don’t want to listen to new and different things, I just never seem to get around to it. Attending the Sade show at the Power Balance Pavillion on Wednesday evening, I gleefully threw caution to the wind and stepped into an unfamiliar musical landscape.  Admittedly, I did enter with some preconceptions about Sade’s music. In my mind, Sade is to melancholy sl

In the late 1800s, a guy by the name of Nikola Tesla was busy inventing a new kind of transformer, not realizing the level of energy his name would carry into the future. I’m not going to go into a lot of history since Tesla is a Sacramento band and most readers know who the hell these guys are. They started in the ’80s and, for the most part, were labeled a hair, metal, or glam band. As history has proven, those labels didn’t come close to describing their mix of soulful blues and metal. While many “hair” bands of the ’80s are balding, gray and pretty much forgotten, Tesla remains one of the few ’80s bands still producing great music, both collectively and as solo artists. Yes, they’ve

Walking up to the venue, the thumping sounds of the opening act were clearly audible from half a block away. Clustered at the front entrance, a small swarm of well-dressed clubbers attempted to talk their way onto the VIP list as the line of ticket-holders stretched out past to the left, waiting patiently for the bouncers to take aside the rope and usher them into District 30 for the much-anticipated appearance of legendary DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold. Upon entry to the club, the place was already full to capacity with a crowd that would more likely fill a place like this on Friday or Saturday than a Thursday night. The openers, local DJs three b, treated the early arrivals to an expe

Sunday nights at Shady Lady Saloon are usually a quiet affair. A few dozen patrons, sipping drinks and chatting while listening to the band play, are the norm. This was not so this May Day, which saw the triumphant homecoming of local favorites Blvd Park and Musical Charis from their two-month, cross-country “New American Dream” Tour. The Afterlife was the first to take the stage at a quarter after eight. They played to an already sizable crowd, one that you would normally see on Friday or Saturday evening, rather than on a “school night” like Sunday. Tyson Graf on guitar and Zack Sapunor on upright bass warmed up the early arriving patrons and a small group of listeners that included a m

Human Soup: the mixture of dancing bodies, exhausted deodorant, sweat and frenetic stirred lovingly by an artisan DJ that is the signature of any good dance club experience… Entering the District 30 on Thursday night the usual early-evening club atmosphere presented itself as the crowd milled around the bar, ordering drinks and preening in the see-and-be-seen milleu of Sacramento’s newest trendy nightclub. Local spinner DJ Benji worked the booth in anticipation of the headlining act, coaxing people on to the dance floor with a selection of club-friendly hits. At first, patrons’ directed their focus on the bar with the exception of a few intrepid girls dancing it up on the floor. Although

The first impression concertgoers had upon approaching the Power Balance Pavilion on Wednesday evening for the Sacramento stop of Lady GaGa’s Monster Ball World Tour was of fantastical scale. A herd of semis corralled on either side of the arena, 24 of them, quietly announcing that this was to be above and beyond your typical rock show. The crowd was populated with the expected hordes of spangled women (and not a few men) dressed in their favorite imitation of the Lady Herself, mixed with bewildered suburban dads being dragged to the merchandise table by their teen daughters. What shouldn’t have been surprising was, in keeping with Lady GaGa’s message of inclusiveness, there were just as

G. Love and Special Sauce brought summer early to Harlow's Wednesday night. A packed house of several hundred people crammed into the nightclub, body heat permeating an otherwise chilly winter night. Button-up T-shirts and hats were popular among the mostly 20- and 30-something crowd, most of whom were ironically watching a Winter Olympics ski event by the bar. Redeye Empire, a Vancouver-based rock group, left the stage a little after 9 p.m. Anticipation grew for T-shirt clad Garrett "G. Love" and his laid-back, summertime-blues band Special Sauce, while images on TV of a snowy Vancouver mountain captivated the crowd, drawing collective "oohs" and "aahs." At about 10 p.m., G. Love kicke

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

A family atmosphere pervaded Raley Field Friday night as neo-soul artists Vaughn Anthony, India Arie and John Legend performed to a crowd of thousands. The diverse audience of fans who attended the show varied in age; much of the audience was made up of young and old couples and families. Around 7 p.m. Anthony, Legend's younger brother, opened the show with a 20-minute set. As people were still finding their seats, he brought a self-proclaimed "old-school R&B" sound to the Sacramento audience, but he essentially sounded like a poppier version of his older brother. Arie took the stage for the next hour, dressed in a wig, colorful scarves and bright makeup. She started off with a prayer so

By Andrew Thomas Fans from all over Northern California gathered to see Bay Area rap legend Too Short perform Friday night at former Sacramento Kings Chris Webber's club Center Court in Natomas. Patrons were in good spirits all night long with hip hop music filling the air as the drinks poured from the bar. TV screens wrapped the walls showing music videos, many of which were from Too Short to get the crowd ready for the legend's appearance. “I’ve been a fan of Too Short since ‘Don’t Fight the Feelin,’” said club promoter Tina Cris from Keen Management. “Don’t Fight the Feelin” was a single off of the rapper's 1988 album “Life Is… Too Short.” This shows how loyal Too Short fans are in Nor