Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "concert"

Getting Righteous at Thunder Valley

2012-01-30T01:30:28Z

Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member and legendary Righteous Brother Bill Medley brought a crew of extremely talented individuals to Thunder Valley Casino Resort Friday, including daughter McKenna.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Righteous Brothers. The second half of the duo, Bobby Hatfield, died of a heart attack back in 2003; Medley now tours with the 3 Bottle Band and McKenna.

Kicking off the show was a video showing Medley as he made appearances in various shows throughout his career, including the David Letterman Show and the hit television series, Cheers. As the video ended, Medley started to sing “A Song for You” while he was still offstage. After about a minute he started to make his way to the stage, providing for a nice dramatic entrance.

71 year old Medley’s voice has taken a beating over the years. While sounding coarser and a bit rough at times, he was able to make it work. The audience was enthralled with Medley from the start as he continued with “Ready, Willing and Able” and “Soul and Inspiration.” In between songs he would talk about life and joke with the crowd.

For his hit song, “Time of My Life,” from the movie “Dirty Dancing,” Medley brought out McKenna to perform Jennifer Warnes’ part. McKenna did an awesome job and has a very melodic voice with a bit of a country/blues flavor.

McKenna went on to perform solo, singing “Silk Flowers” and “Give Me One Reason.” When McKenna completed her set, Medley sat down at the keyboards and called on band member Bob Gulley to sing some songs with him and McKenna. This is where Medley shined, providing the audience a glimpse of what it’s like to jam with the best.

3 Bottle Band has been playing together with Medley for over 35 years, and it shows. This is a very talented group of musicians including Gabe Rabben (drums), Bob Gulley (bass), Tim Lee (keyboards) and Larry Hanson (lead guitar). Also a member of the band is America’s Got Talent winner Michael Grimm. However, Grimm was not present at Friday’s show.

Harlem Globetrotters at Power Balance

2012-01-16T20:41:51Z

The world renowned Harlem Globetrotters were at Power Balance Pavilion Sunday to take on the International Elite, as they went head-to-head to determine who would be the world champions.

Globie, the team mascot, came out before the show to entertain the crowd with a little bit of magic and some dance moves. As Globie strutted around like Michael Jackson the crowd went wild with some kids jumping up to dance along with Globie.

Even though the stadium was far from sold out, the audience members made up for it in enthusiasm. Throughout the game the crowd was cheering and clapping for the Globetrotters, with a few boos thrown in for team Elite.

As with all Globetrotter games this was an audience participation sport. One couple found out the hard way with the wife having her purse taken and then the husband being dragged out on the court to dance with Big Easy.

Kids joined in on the fun too, with several young kids competing for a team jersey. They had to dash across the court, shoot a basket and then head back to the other side of the court and get into a makeshift bed. The first to complete the task wins. In the end they all were winners.

Some of the Globetrotters were in town earlier to visit with fans. You can read all about their visit here.

Motown comes to Thunder Valley

2012-01-16T02:45:19Z

Armed with 20 vocalists, six band members and four crew members impersonating the legends of Motown, RPM Crown Productions brought their Hitsville USA Legends of Motown Tribute Show to Thunder Valley Casino Resort on Saturday.

There was a sold-out crowd of diehard Motown fans there to enjoy some of the greatest hits from the Motown era. It was perplexing that more people weren’t up on their feet during some of the performances. However, after each performer finished their set they were met with more than a few people giving them a standing ovation.

The all-star lineup included acts such as The Four Tops, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and even a brief break from Motown for a little bit of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

With the plethora of tribute shows currently playing across the country, it’s refreshing to see a solid lineup of talented individuals bringing not just one, but nine legendary acts to the stage in one spectacular show.

I was worried that with so many acts playing on one stage we’d be there all night slogging through hit after hit. That wasn’t the case. Each act played full versions as well as shortened versions of their respective hit songs, keeping the show moving at a pretty good clip.

Emceeing the event was Nick Harper, a radio personality from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. As he introduced each act he provided a brief history and highlighted some of their hits.

Kicking off the show was The Four Tops. Decked out in white suits and moving in perfect harmony, they sang their hits, “Sugar Pie Honeybunch,” “Standing in the Shadow of Love” and “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got.”

Following The Four Tops were The Supremes in evening dresses singing, “Just Keep Me Hanging On,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Love Child.”

Al Green was handing out roses to a number of the female audience members as he sang, “I’m so Tired of Being Alone,” “Let’s Stay Together,” and “Love and Happiness.”

And so it went throughout the evening as nine artists entertained the crowd bringing hit after hit.
Don’t miss the next tribute show at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, the Legends of Soul Tribute Show. These shows sell out fast, so get your tickets ahead of time.

Below is a complete list of artists and the songs performed.

The Four Tops
“I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”
“Standing in the Shadows of Love”
“Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)”

The Supremes
“You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
“You Can’t Hurry Love”
“Love Child”

Al Green
“Tired of Being Alone”
“Let’s Stay Together”

Smokey Robinson
“More Love”
“Ooo Baby Baby”
“Tears of a Clown”

The Spinners
Intro to “I’ll Be Around”
“Ghetto Child”
“Sadie”
“Rubberband Man”

Chaka Khan
“Sweet Thing”
“I’m Every Woman”

Prince
“Purple Rain”

Gladys Knight
Intro to “Use My Imagination”
“Save the Overtime”
“You’re Number One (in My Book)”
“Midnight Train to Georgia”
“Neither One of Us”

Stevie Wonder
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”
“My Cherie Amour”
“You Are the Sunshine of My Life”
“Superstition”

The Temptations
“Getting Ready”
“I Can’t Get Next to You”
“Cloud Nine”
“Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down”
Intro to “Super Star”

Photos: New Year's Eve with Mickey Avalon

2012-01-03T07:10:46Z

Hollywood rapper Mickey Avalon headlined a New Year's Eve show at Ace of Spades on Saturday.

Supporting Avalon on the bill were 2ME, Richard the Rockstar, and producer Big Chocolate.

Photos by Steven Chea.

Wallpaper. at Ace of Spades

2012-01-03T02:48:13Z

A couple hundred people wanting to get an early start on 2012 partying headed down to Ace of Spades on Friday, where Oakland musician and frequent Sacramento visitor, Wallpaper., headlined an eclectic bill.

Starting the show was Chaotic Fusion, a drummer and DJ duo. DJ Oasis spun radio hits – "Teach Me How To Dougie," "Ghosts 'n' Stuff," "Last Resort" – while Radio 94.7 on-air personality Casey Lewis drummed along to the beat.

Performing next was Oakland-by-way-of-Panama Latin rap duo Los Rakas. Rhyming in Spanish over dancehall and hip-hop beats, the up and coming young pair were well-received by the slowly growing crowd.

Headliner Wallpaper. took the stage next, with the men of the group dressed to the nines in cheap tuxedos.

Wallpaper. is the solo project of Eric Frederic, who performs as Wallpaper. vocalist Ricky Reed.

Frederic received a music degree with a focus in composition from the University of California, Berkeley and now creates poppy party songs with lowest common denominator lyrics.

"That's a grown ass woman with a grown ass," is one example from the song, "Butt2Butt” (feat. Too $hort).

Although his two LP’s are called "Doodoo Face" and "#STUPiDFACEDD," the songs are well-produced and have sharp hooks. MTV uses Wallpaper. songs on shows like Jersey Shore, and sometimes this type of music resonates with everyone (see: LMFAO).

Kicking things off with the song, "Shotgun," Reed worked to establish a connection with the Sac crowd early, referencing past visits to the city.

"We're gonna take you right back to Press Club, Town House, Luigi's!"

Flanked by two drummers, a standing percussionist in the back and a female vocalist/dance partner, Reed and Wallpaper stayed hyphy the whole set and made sure the crowd did too.

At one point Reed lamented the fact that it was the day before New Year's Eve, and had the crowd do a mock countdown before performing the catchy, "Okay."

Later it was a short cover of Prince's "1999," played with a ukulele, before another sing-along ditty, "FUCKING BEST SONG EVERRR."

After Wallpaper. came back on stage for the encore, Reed let the crowd know that the band has a tradition where they finish a bottle of Jameson before coming back on.

Stupid, but fun.

Not bad for New Year's Eve eve.

Photos by Steven Chea

Sinbad

2012-01-03T02:41:36Z

The purple one was in-the-house at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Friday.

Okay, not The Purple One (as in Prince), but the 55 year old standup comedian Sinbad, who was decked out in a freshly tailored purple shirt. I also wouldn’t say “in-the-house,” more like in-the-tent, since it was held in Thunder Valley’s Holiday Pavilion. While it’s a tent, it’s extremely spacious and exquisitely decorated, complete with several bars, restrooms and a whole lotta seats.

Sinbad put on a great show, playing to a full house of young and old alike. As soon as he hit the stage, he started talking about how this was such a great location for a casino like Thunder Valley.

There’s nothing around for miles except for cornfields and a landfill, he joked. He warned everyone that they should hold their breath when they walk outside and then come back inside and gamble some more, referring to the occasional minor aroma coming from the landfill a few miles down the road.

Continuing his rant about the location, he explained that after he put the address into his GPS, it asked him why he wanted to go there.

Sinbad wanted to know why it is 1200 Athens Road when there’s nothing around. Who came up with the number 1200, he wondered. There’s nothing around for miles, so why not a 1?

As he was going through his routine, bantering back and forth with audience members, he asked the ladies in the audience what made them angry. Several shouted out “Cheating!” To which he replied, if a man cheats or if he leaves the cabinet door open, you’re just as pissed. It’s the same thing, so why not cheat.

He’d rather not, but give us some options, he pleaded.

He also wanted to know why it is that everyone says it’s the man that’s cheating. There’s always a woman he’s cheating with. Sinbad used Herman Cain as his specific example for the evening.

Continuing with his questions for the ladies he asked them what they wanted and in time, dealt with a number of responses; money, communication, sleep and sex among them.

The best part of Sinbad’s shows will always be his interaction with the audience, responding without skipping a beat, and joking about real life situations. A fun time was definitely had by all in attendance.

As Sinbad ages like a fine wine (in his purple shirt), his jokes remain fresh. Add to the mix his quick wit and audience participation, and you end up with a very entertaining night out.

It’s refreshing to listen to a comedian who doesn’t believe he has to be crude to make people laugh. Sinbad is one of the few remaining comedians that puts on a clean and entertaining show.

Roaring into 2012 at the Crescent Club

2011-12-29T02:10:40Z

Earlier this year, Woody Allen allowed all those who desired to take a step back into Paris in the 20’s with his hypnotizing film, “Midnight in Paris.” This New Year’s Eve at midnight, an underground speakeasy in Sacramento will play host to another world as well. The Crescent Club Speakeasy in Old Sacramento will host a Roaring 20’s party from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Upon entering the concealed back door through the Firehouse alley, visitors will enter an enchanting underground world complete with prohibition era cocktails and appetizers.

Music for the evening will be the Crescent Katz. The six-piece group has performed in the past at events such as the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the French Quarter festival. Throughout the night a Burlesque dancer will perform as well, bringing vogue old and new to the evening, considering the recent popularity of Burlesque groups of all kinds.

The speakeasy will also serve as a speakeasy casino for the night. Visitors ringing in the New Year will receive $500 of gambling “cash” upon arrival and are encouraged to dress for the occasion by donning flapper or gangster attire. Prizes will be awarded for the best dressed flapper, the couple with the finest attire and the person who wins the most money at the casino. Champagne and appetizers will be served at midnight in celebration of the new year.

The Crescent Club is located at 1150 Firehouse Alley in Old Sacramento. The speakeasy shares its ownership and management with the Café Americain just up the stairs and hosts live music; namely gypsy swing, jazz and blues; every Friday and Saturday night.

Buy tickets for the New Year’s Eve event by visiting the Crescent Club website. Currently there are less than 20 tickets left at $50. If tickets remain on December 31, tickets will be sold at the door for $65. In addition, a New Year’s Eve dinner will be hosted by the Crescent Club Speakeasy and Café Americain starting at 6 p.m.

For those who dare to be involved in the illicit activities at the Crescent Club this Saturday night, be sure to read the fine print on your registration. Without the password, you may find entrance to this secret and exclusive night in the 20’s unattainable.

Jingle Bells Rock Thunder Valley

2011-12-17T02:39:29Z

Sixty-two-year-old veteran rocker Eddie Money brought his Jingle Bell Rock tour to Thunder Valley Casino Resort on Thursday. Scheduled to appear was former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm and former Jefferson Starship lead singer Mickey Thomas.

The day before their performance at Thunder Valley, it was announced that Gramm would not be performing for the remaining tour due to acute laryngitis, so Gramm was not in attendance.

As the concert kicked off with Money and Thomas taking the stage, the audience immediately started chanting, “Lou! Lou! Lou!” Money responded by explaining the situation and said they had added a couple of songs to their setlist to make up for the missing Gramm. This was followed by more than a few polite boos – is there really such a thing as a polite boo?

Money exited stage left while Thomas started singing “Jane.” Thomas wore a striped shirt with a loosely worn red Christmas tie, while he banged out “Sara,” “We Built This City,” “Nothings Going to Stop Us Now.” Thomas ended his set with “It’s Christmas Time Pretty Baby,” singing in the style of Elvis Presley.

The 62-year-old Thomas’ vocals really stood out throughout his set, sounding just as good as he did all those years ago, in particular when he sang Annie Lennox’s “Winter Wonderland.”

Backing Thomas was Money’s regular crew consisting of longtime band members Tommy Girvin (lead guitar) and Glenn Symmonds (drummer), with more recent additions Lee Beverly (bass) and Chris Groves (keyboards).

Following Thomas, Money came out singing “Baby Hold On” and “I Wanna Go Back.” As Money sang, he shuffled back and forth across the stage and even pulled out the saxophone to show everyone he can still play.

Rounding out the show, Money and Thomas took the stage together singing “Jingle Bell Rock” and a rocking version of “Jingle Bells.” For their encore they performed John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”

While Money’s vocals were not as pristine as Thomas’, he made up for it with his overall stage presence, sense of humor and kindness toward the audience, reaching out to shake hands with a few people in the front row.

Offstage, Money is extremely generous and cordial to all those around him, introducing himself to anyone standing near. His generosity doesn’t stop there.

Money is a strong supporter of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps support families of military personnel lost in service to our nation and for severely wounded service members and veterans.

Money is hoping fans will help bring some holiday cheer to heroic members of the armed forces by going to eddiemoney.com and purchasing his single “One More Soldier Coming Home.” All the proceeds will go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

Autumn Sky to Perform at the Crocker on December 15

2011-12-13T00:58:28Z

The Crocker Art Museum will host local indie darling Autumn Sky for a night of original folk and pop on Thursday, Dec. 15. Sky is an award-winning, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter from Sacramento. She will play songs from past releases and her soon-to-launch sophomore album, "The Hallelujah Chorus.” The concert will take place in the Museum’s Setzer Foundation Auditorium at 7 p.m.

At 23 years old, Sky has been playing for Sacramento crowds for over six years and has garnered much local acclaim for her lively and engaging shows. Her unique style mixes pitch-perfect and deeply emotive vocals with indie and pop sensibilities. She released “Diminutive, Petite EP” in 2007, followed by her debut album “All Which Isn't Singing” in 2008. Sky has performed at the California State Fair, Downtown Sacramento’s Concert in the Park series, and the Crest Theatre. Most recently, she received the Outstanding Singer-Songwriter and Readers’ Choice Artist of the Year awards at the 2010 and 2011 Sammie Block Party and Music Awards.

Tickets are $6 for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers. Tickets can be purchased at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

The Crocker Cafe will offer a themed drink special that evening in honor of the concert. The “Sky Crock-tail,” a Skyy Vodka dirty martini, will be available for $7 from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

Playlist is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups. For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

The Crocker Art Museum was the first art museum in the Western U.S. and is now one of the leading art museums in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday.” For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Blame Sally performs at KVIE

2011-12-07T02:30:05Z

Public Broadcasting’s KVIE studios in Sacramento was transformed into a concert venue Saturday night as Blame Sally took the stage for a fundraiser.

This was not your run of the mill fundraiser either. KVIE recorded the performance and will be using the footage to produce a PBS Special, which will ultimately be used in pledge drives across the country and made available in DVD format.

So why choose Blame Sally for such an event? KVIE is using Blame Sally to show women of all ages, middle age in particular, that you can accomplish so much more. In their 30’s and 40’s they put their individual careers on hold to start Blame Sally. As a role model, Blame Sally proves that women in their 30’s and 40’s can get together and form, of all things, a rock band. Let me add – a successful and great sounding rock band.

Not only are they an inspiration to women around the world, but to anyone out there who has thought about walking away from their career to pursue their bliss.

Blame Sally had a large contingent of diehard fans in attendance, with most traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area by car, train and bus. Okay, not so sure if anyone took a bus, but I did talk to someone who took the train from Berkley. It took her four cabs to finally find a driver who knew how to get to the KVIE studios.

This was my first Blame Sally concert, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had listened to some of their music prior to attending the show to see what I was in for, so I knew I was going to enjoy their sound, which I did – immensely.

What I didn’t expect was the relaxing back and forth banter amongst the group. They looked completely at home as no less than eight cameras were rolling, including a boom camera reaching out over the audience zooming in on unsuspecting band members and concert goers alike.

Blame Sally kicked it off with “Big Big Bed” off of their latest album, “A Speeding Ticket and a Valentine.” Pam Delgado was on percussions, Renee Harcourt on guitar/bass, Jeri Jones on guitar/bass and Monica Pasqual on piano and accordion. All band members share the responsibility of lead vocals and switch off as the song dictates.

I totally missed the fact that there was a man playing bass. Rob Strom, who recently joined Blame Sally, could be seen in the background. All I had to do was focus and look beyond all the stunning beauty at the front of the stage. Not to say Rob isn’t stunning, he is – at least when he’s playing with Blame Sally.

The only case of nerves I noticed? As they were a few chords into their second song, Pasqual shouted “Cut!” stating she started off with the wrong chords because she was just noticing all the cameras.

Pasqual didn’t leave it at that either. Just prior to “Orange,” she was ready to go with her accordion at the ready. Only problem was, the song called for keyboards. It was comical as the band members would exchange barbs back and forth during times like this.

They had plenty of time to exchange those barbs too. Why? In between songs Jones and Harcourt would tune their guitars. Okay, Harcourt would sometimes tune her guitar and then wait for Jones to finish tuning hers, but that was all good. During those times it was as if I was at a comedy club with the jokes going back and forth.

Let me see, there were comments about someone’s new hairdo, wardrobe malfunctions, instrument malfunctions and so much more. You’ll have to wait for the DVD.

For their last song, Delgado led the audience through a chorus of do-da’s and da-doo’s or some such nonsense. Did I say nonsense? I don’t think so. The result was nothing short of amazing. She taught the audience their part and explained that everyone was to start as soon as she signaled to them. The audience started right on cue. As the song started to come to a close, the instruments started to slowly die down with the audience still singing. It was a serious goosebump moment. The song? Again, you’re going to have to wait for the DVD!

If you’re in the Bay Area make sure you catch Blame Sally at Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse on December 9th. They will be touring out of state during January and February, returning to California in March. Their complete schedule can be viewed at http://blamesally.com/shows/

Give them a listen – you’ll be glad you did, and if for some reason you don’t like them? Blame Sally, not me.

Selena Gomez, Gym Class Heroes at Jingle Ball

2011-12-03T02:32:21Z

107.9 The End's Jingle Ball 2011 went down at Power Balance Pavilion on Thursday night.

The concert featured performances by JoJo, Breathe Carolina, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes, and Selena Gomez.

Photos by Steven Chea

KVIE PBS Teams up with Blame Sally

2011-11-29T04:17:06Z

I was recently approached by Todd Wagner at Ninth Street Opus to help publicize an upcoming event over at Public Television’s KVIE in Sacramento. Ninth Street Opus represents a San Francisco all-female group, Blame Sally, scheduled to perform at the KVIE TV station on Saturday, December 3.

KVIE and Blame Sally are working together to create a pledge program to help raise money for Public Television on a national level. KVIE will be filming Blame Sally during their performance and using the footage to produce a PBS special which will ultimately be used in their pledge drives across the country.

I don’t think I need to go on about the value of public television and what it means for the community as a whole, but I do want to make sure that everyone understands who Blame Sally is and why they were chosen to perform at KVIE.

PBS wants to use Blame Sally as a role model for women everywhere. They are an example of healthy, authentic women, proud of their age and defying the odds by forming a successful rock band in their 40’s and 50’s. What they have accomplished is an inspiration to women across America.

Blame Sally is a little bit country, a little bit of rock, a little bit of folk and a whole lot of heart. They have been compared to the Indigo Girls, Dixie Chicks and even Radiohead - but forget about all that, because one day some all-female band is going to come along and they will be compared to Blame Sally.

The band is made up of four young women, alright, let’s say four not-so-young women. They bring a lifetime of love, happiness, disappointment, trials and tribulations, and really just a whole lot of life to the table. It shows in their music, especially in their latest album, “A Speeding Ticket and a Valentine.”

A few tracks really stood out on their fifth album, “Living Without You,” named for a hard-rocking song about a woman uncertain whether to be devastated or exhilarated by a relationship’s end. “Countdown,” with its driving beat and “Big Big Bed,” which you gotta love simply because of the washboard playing in the background, are just a couple of them.

So who are these women of wisdom and why do they work together so well?

Pam Delgado, on percussion and vocals, wishes she still owned the family car from when she was just a kid. It was a Lavender Pontiac Bonneville complete with a Clamshell from Sears.

Renee Harcourt on guitar, bass and vocals is really the talented one out of the four, but don’t tell the others that. She can juggle, ride a unicycle and whistle loudly with or without fingers, though not all at the same time and hopefully not onstage.

Jeri Jones is on guitar, bass and vocals. I tried to call Jeri but never did get through. All I heard on the other end of the phone was, “Who the &$@%# is calling me before I’ve had my morning coffee!”

I did hear she’s prone to pre-coffee accidents. Luckily all their performances are late in the day.

Monica Pasqual, on piano, accordion and vocals, has started a billion songs and never finished them. There’s something about being superstitious when it comes to songwriting. She has to have at least two good verses and a chorus before she can walk away, otherwise it’s a lost cause.

All the other songs she’s completed? Perfection.

Together these women make up Blame Sally. Granted, they are an odd bunch and there’s not a Sally in the lot, but it doesn’t matter as long as they keep pumping out some really awesome tunes.

Get out there and show your support for Public Television and Blame Sally.

I'll see you there.

You can get more information here.

Where:
KVIE TV Station
2030 W. El Camino Ave. Sacramento, Calif. 95833

When:
Saturday, December 3
7:00-8:30 p.m. and 9:00-10:30 p.m.

Cost:
Regular Admission: Per Show: $25 / Both Shows: $45 (150 seats available)
VIP Seating: Per Show: $100 (Only 50 VIP seats available!)

Dirt Nasty at Ace of Spades

2011-11-28T05:15:20Z

If you don't know Dirt Nasty (aka ex-MTV VJ Simon Rex), take a look at some of his song titles and you'll know what you're getting into: "Suck My D***," "Baby D***" and "F*** Me I'm Famous."

It was all about the lowest common denominator at Ace of Spades on Saturday, as Nasty rapped for a crowd that was about half full. In addition to genitalia and sex, he also covered themes like cocaine use ("1980") and bestiality ("Animal Lover").

But that’s his shtick, so you were either there for the juvenile party raps or maybe to catch a glimpse of the actor who was in “Scary Movie 4” and an episode of “MTV Cribs.”

"He's hot! I don't even know his music. I came for him!" said Melissa Renee, 19.

Nasty had a lot of interaction with the crowd; making reference to the different drinking sections at Ace of Spades, talking about how drunk he was ("If I throw up on stage don't judge me!") and praising the quality of the females in Sacramento: "There's something in the water. Sacramento's got the hottest women ever. Why y'all have to have the hottest women in the Bay?”

Leaving the stage after a short 30-minute set with his DJ, Killer Cam, Nasty came back for a quick two-song encore, bringing a bunch of guys and girls on stage to dance and finish with the appropriately titled song "My D***."

Opening for Dirt Nasty were DJ Fedi, Status Goes, Richard the Rockstar and Rock & Rhyme.

Photos by Steven Chea

Christmas with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2011-11-21T03:25:35Z

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra mesmerized the audience Saturday afternoon at Power Balance Pavilion in the first of two Christmas shows.

For those of you who may not be familiar with TSO, they are a progressive rock band that incorporates classical, orchestral, symphonic and progressive elements into hard rock and heavy metal. They are famous for their series of rock operas and storytelling.

This was a high-energy show with a combination of lasers, lights, pyrotechnics and video screens all synchronized to TSO’s music.

Dressed in black, the orchestra made their way on stage while chimes were playing. As they were assembling onstage, there were clips of Martin Luther King Jr. from the famous "I Have a Dream" speech, as well as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and others, with each round of new faces drawing applause and cheers. Once onstage they started playing “Who I Am,” with video screens and lights blazing in perfect unison.

The talented storyteller Phillip Brandon started weaving a tale of an angel coming down to Earth on Christmas Eve. Brandon’s phenomenal voice, reminiscent of the famous James Earl Jones, drew the crowd into the tale as a hush came over the audience. After the introduction, the orchestra started playing “An Angel Came Down,” complete with lights and lasers.

As the orchestra began “First Snow,” it actually started to snow in the arena. OK, not really snow, but the pretend kind of snow. You know the one with tiny bubbles raining down? Couple that with all the video screens filled with snow added to the sensation of real snow. It was quite breathtaking, leaving the audience in complete awe as they listened to an extremely talented line-up of musicians.

A newcomer to TSO, violinist Asha Mevlana was off the charts rocking it with her purple high-tech violin. As she ended a solo routine, the crowd gasped in unison as she snapped her bow in half over her knee, ending the song. This was so much more dramatic than smashing a guitar to smithereens, since it was completely unexpected.

As they wrapped up the story, the orchestra treated the audience to a number of songs, including a mix from one of their albums, “Christmas Canon Rock,” at which point they brought out founder, composer and producer Paul O’Neill.

This was my first exposure to TSO, and I have to say they left me wanting more, even after a two-and-a-half-hour performance.

Chippendales seducing the ladies

2011-11-18T02:56:36Z

OMG! I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to write this after the Chippendale’s performance at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Wednesday night.

It was only after taking a cold shower and having a glass – scratch that – a bottle of wine that I was able to start thinking clearly.

What? No! The water heater went out and a “glass” of wine is how I like to end my day.

My intent on writing this is to warn any unsuspecting women who may decide to take in a show like the Chippendales’. Don’t. Seriously, nobody liked the show!

It was quite obvious that every woman in the place, which was around 99.9 percent of the people, couldn’t stand the show. I couldn’t believe it! I was completely dumbfounded. They were screaming “Get off!” almost the entire show. The Chippendales never got the message. They stayed onstage the whole time!

The strange thing is when they finally ended the show and did get off the stage, all the women started screaming “More, more, more.” I know, I find women confusing, too. They say one thing and mean another. (Come to think of it, they may have been screaming “Take it off!”)

As for the men onstage, I felt bad for these guys. It appeared to be a little chilly in the room, but that didn’t seem to dampen their enthusiasm. All I can say is I was feeling a tad inadequate at this point.

The biggest criticism I have of the show? It was the most disgusting display of pure animalistic behavior I have ever witnessed. It was really quite a sight to see. None of the women could keep it together. They were falling over in the aisles, standing on chairs, trying to get back stage, onstage, or anywhere close to those big hunks. Now hold on a minute! I’m only referring to them as big hunks because I know that’s how women refer to those large glistening bodies of pure muscle and all their gyrating ways.

I will say there was definitely an excitement in the air as the show progressed, but it’s difficult for me to explain the atmosphere. I liken it to when I receive a package from FedEx that I have to sign for because I know it’s got to be something really cool, otherwise I wouldn’t have to sign for it. Well, that’s the way all the ladies were acting, but I guess they weren’t interested in a FedEx package.

Speaking of packages – the Chippendales were the complete package, with eight of the most physically perfect male dancers all competing for the audience’s attention, all dressed in their trademark bow ties and shirt cuffs with bare torso, at least some of the time.

The opening was quite dramatic with the stage dark and ominous and smoke filling the air. One by one they took center stage with a lone spotlight lighting their muscular curves and superior physique. Is it getting hot in here?

The first few routines found these delectable morsels stripping down to pretty much nothing – why do I keep writing like this? Delectable morsels? Now I’m starting to worry.

As each layer came off, the decibel levels in Pano Hall rose exponentially. People were gathering outside trying to get a glimpse of the show. Quite the curious crowd.

A couple of times during the show, they danced around the audience, going down aisles and over chairs. One of the Chippendales was looking for someone to give an autographed poster to. He found her when he exclaimed she deserved it for grabbing his penis. Yes – there you have it. I said it, now it’s out there for all to see.

Several people had the opportunity to jump onstage. In one case three ladies were in a game show where they were told to complete a task. The first one had to perform her best lap dance on one of the Chippendales. The second had to demonstrate her favorite position when making love, and the third had to demonstrate her favorite way of putting on a condom. The third won due to her technique and the timely fashion of completing her task. Oh – I should clarify. She put it on a banana.

This was definitely ladies’ night out. There were a few men in attendance, and you could tell which ones were straight. They were carrying a ball and chain and didn’t look all too happy. I believe my count was two husbands/significant others in attendance.

The show was so successful that Thunder Valley had to provide additional seats to accommodate the larger-than-expected crowd.

After the show, the Chippendales remained onstage so audience members could have their photos taken with their favorites. I declined. They also announced they would be going to Thunder Valley’s Falls Bar for an after-party. [Insert loud cheers here.]

So at the end of the day I feel like I was able to embrace my inner gayness and survive. As I’m sitting here writing this, I’m convinced that I have no lingering side effects from the show.

British invasion causes riot at Thunder Valley

2011-11-15T02:29:40Z

Herman’s Hermits with Peter Noone played to a full house of old diehard Herman’s Hermits fans at Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s Pano Hall Sunday night. That’s not to say everyone in the audience was old, just older than most.

The Noonatics, those who carry around vinyl albums and old Herman’s Hermits 8-tracks, may have known what they were in for, but I sure as bloody hell wasn’t.

The 64 year old rocker joined the British band as the lead singer (Herman) at the young age of 15. You do the math.

I went to see Herman’s Hermits to relax and enjoy some oldies but goodies, so when Noone took the stage and started singing, “I’m Into Something Good,” I was thinking, “Ahhhh, this is perfect.”

Then the bloody bloke started yapping and from that point on there was no relaxing for anyone. All we could do was laugh at the bugger. He’s completely bollocks!

He explained to everyone that a friend told him that Sacramento, Yuba City and Clarksburg were way out in the country and if he wanted to make us happy he had to play some country music. He started singing Johnny Cash’s, “Ring of Fire,” resulting in the audience laughing throughout the song.

Noone was all over the map, singing songs from Johnny Horton, Tom Jones, Mick Jagger, and of course Herman’s Hermits hits as well.

At one point, one of the noonatics in the front row pulled out an old vinyl album cover from years and years ago. Noone, the mad hatter that he is, grabbed the album and stuck it over his face, displaying the old photo of himself. He then started singing and marching across the stage. It was quite comical.

Another rant was about looking like Nick Nolte. He said as he was coming through the casino someone stopped him and asked about the show. They got all excited, screaming as they pointed at him, “Hey! You’re Nick Nolte.”

In between jokes he actually did sing a hit or two. This guy has a great voice and as soon as the band started up any of their past hits, the audience erupted in cheers and clapping.

Those that could still stand did.

Noone sang most of their hits including "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter," "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am” and “There’s a Kind of Hush.”

Prior to the show, Noone went out of his way to engage people, shaking their hands and saying hi. You could tell he lives for this stuff and thoroughly enjoys it.

After the show, a path was cleared by the ever so diligent security staff at Thunder Valley to make way for Noone as he made his way to the exit. There he started signing autographs and chatting it up with anyone who would listen. The guy just can’t help himself – It’s who he is. After all, what do you expect from the son of an accountant!

Peter Noone is the real deal. Not only does he sing, but he entertains too – with a smile.

Sing-Along Messiah Tradition Returns to South Sacramento Dec. 11

2011-11-14T23:04:30Z

Singers and audience members are invited to a free "Sing-Along Messiah" concert Sunday, December 11, starting 4 p.m. at Bethany Presbyterian Church, 5625-24th Street, Sacramento (off Fruitridge Road between Freeport Boulevard and Highway 99). Ample free parking is available.

Choral conductors from area churches and schools will take turns leading the massed volunteer choir, which is expected to consist of more than 100 singers. Participants are encouraged to bring their own Messiah music scores; a limited quantity of Messiah scores will be available for purchase ($10) at the door.

"By popular demand, we are repeating last year's very successful event, says Dr. May Tuan Tucker, Bethany Church music director. "This year's concert will again offer the opportunity of singing solos to anyone and everyone wishing to perform them in group fashion at the front of the church." She points out that most Sing-Along Messiah events feature guest soloists, with participation by all others limited to chorus selections. The 2010 Sing-Along Messiah attracted participation by more than 200 people from throughout the region.

There is no charge to participate as a singer or audience member, and free refreshments will be served following the concert. A goodwill offering will be taken to benefit the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership Food Closet, which is struggling to provide emergency supplies of groceries to thousands of in-need area residents this holiday season.

The Messiah, composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is based on biblical passages that tell the story of Christ. This musical celebration has since become a Christmas tradition in many parts of the world. The December 11 concert will feature primarily the Christmas portions of the Messiah, and will include the triumphant "Hallelujah Chorus."

Singers of all ages and abilities are welcome to attend either or both of the informal "drop in" rehearsals prior to the December 11 concert. Rehearsals are set for Sundays at 4 p.m. at Bethany Church on November 20 and December 4. For more details, contact May Tucker at (916) 428-5281 or e-mail cathy@bethpres.com.

A downloadable flyer is available at www.bethpres.com.

The Sing-Along Messiah is presented by volunteers of Bethany Presbyterian Church, which is the oldest Presbyterian church in the South Sacramento/Land Park area. Bethany has long been known for its "welcoming" attitude and openness to all, regardless of background or faith tradition. The church's guiding vision affirms that in all things church members are to be "authentic, loving, caring, compassionate, courageous, accepting, and people of hope, joy and love." The Rev. Lorie Sprinkle has served as pastor since 2007. Bethany is the host site of the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership Food Closet and the Southeast Asian Assistance Center, as well as the venue for diverse community group gatherings such as the Sacramento Banjo Band, the Daughters of Scotia and the Capital City Squares square dance club. Bethany, which was founded in Oak Park and eventually relocated to South Sacramento due to freeway construction, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2014.

Disclosure: Cathy is Hospitality Commission Chairperson at Bethany Presbyterian Church.

Minus the Bear: Ten Year Anniversary Tour

2011-11-09T02:49:11Z

With the cover art pattern used on their seminal debut LP, "Highly Refined Pirates," as their backdrop, and a light show on acid, Seattle's Minus the Bear thrilled a packed house at Ace of Spades on Monday night.

The band is wrapping up their 10 Year Anniversary Tour, celebrating a decade of music and performing “Pirates,” released in 2002, in its entirety.

The popular math-rockers put on a tremendous performance for a very jazzed audience. Featuring guitarist Dave Knudson's signature complex finger-tapping guitar work - used on every song on “Pirates,” the band combined powerhouse indie band swagger with down-to-earth Northwestern charm.

Songs like "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse" and "Thanks for the Killer Game of Crisco Twister," which sound good and maybe even a little quirky when recorded, gained heft and intensity when played live. During "'Absinthe," a flashing light sequence kicked in when the verses turned into the more up-tempo choruses. This complemented the music perfectly, although for much of the show, three thin light panels backlighting the band were a bit much and a bit distracting.

"We've been playing our first album across the country," said Snider. "This is the third to last show of the tour. It's been a fucking awesome ten years and thank you Sacramento for being a part of it!"

Opening for Minus the Bear was Santa Rosa's, The Velvet Teen.

Photos by Steven Chea

Thrice tour stops at Ace of Spades

2011-11-08T06:40:20Z

It was a nearly sold-out show at Ace of Spades Sunday night. Thrice, hailing from Irvine, Calif., headlined an excellent post-hardcore bill.

Opening for a healthy-sized audience was the band, Moving Mountains, an intriguing group of musicians who captured the room's attention immediately. With a complex and multi-layered sound, their atmospheric rock songs set a great tone for the rest of the night.
Atlanta-based O'Brother was musically in the same vein; a melodic three-guitar sonic assault marrying the atmospheric with the distorted. A solid showing, but when they went ambient, they went ambient. At times they seemed to meander as some songs drifted slowly past the five minute mark.

Main support was La Dispute, a very impressive five-piece band from Grand Rapids, Mich.

"It's been about a year since we've been out to the West Coast, and that's an absolute crime, because I don't know if there's a place where we have a better time," said appreciative vocalist Jordan Dreyer.

Fist around microphone and microphone cable wrapped around fist, the barefoot and constantly moving Dreyer shouted his spoken-word style lyrics with raw intensity, complemented perfectly with delicately explosive rhythm and powerful, technical guitar work.
A comparison to defunct frenetic El Paso, Tex. band, At The Drive-In, is easy to make because of Dreyer's voice, delivery and the chaotic harmony of the music. On the other hand, the easier-to-swallow guitar melodies and Dreyer's realistic, confessional lyrics are a couple of areas that set this band apart.

"It’s only temporary, that fleeting feeling of warmth. Just a flash before the line gets blurry. Between a longing for more than what the body wants now and what the body wants now more than anything."
Thrice has been around for thirteen years and has a serious and passionate following. To a new fan, the anticipation was thick in the air and when the band took the stage the release from the crowd was palpable.

Opening strong with lead track, "Yellow Belly," from their new album “Major/Minor,” their set was heavy on critically well-received new material, including "Promises," "Call It In The Air" and "Treading Paper." They also played a number of tracks from 2009's “Beggars;” among them, "All The World Is Mad," "The Weight," "In Exile" and "Circles;" taking the audience on a journey through the different styles and nuances the band has experienced lyrically and musically up to this point in their career.

It was clear the older material was held in high regard; the frenzied crowd and their pumping fists were jolted with energy when the band played tracks from 2003's “The Artist in the Ambulance.”

Fans come and go as bands experiment and mature, and after hearing the music and speaking with some fans, Thrice is doing a good job of continuing to delight as they evolve musically.

"The music, the beats, everything," said Sara Molina, 25, of Dixon. "Everything meshes together; their music is amazing!"

The guys in Thrice are also humanitarians, and took a moment to raise awareness about Invisible Children, a group they support and one that is currently on tour with them.

Invisible Children is a movement seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers. The band specifically asked for support in building radio towers in the Congo for communication directly with the child soldiers in an effort to bring them home. Kudos to Thrice for using their platform to inspire change and educate others about a worthy cause.

Photos by Steven Chea

Photos: Foo Fighters at Power Balance Pavilion

2011-11-03T01:24:42Z

After an original Oct. 20 show date that had to be rescheduled, alt-rock powerhouse Foo Fighters performed at Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday night for about 10,000 fans.

Opening the show was fantastic L.A. punk band The Bronx, playing as their alter-ego Mariachi El Bronx, which is less a gimmick than you might think.

What started as a lark for the punk band has grown into a love that has seen the band release two mariachi albums and gain a following, and, yes, they stay true to the authentic mariachi style of music as well as wear black charro suits.

The band performs in a variety of ways, sometimes incorporating mariachi into their punk set, sometimes performing as a punk band and mariachi band on consecutive nights, and sometimes having one band open up for the other.

Following Mariachi El Bronx was Cage the Elephant from Bowling Green, Ky. The band found success with their 2009 single "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" and have been touring constantly since then. Vocalist Matthew Schultz is known for stage diving at Cage performances, and this night was no exception.

"Promise me one thing," Schultz told the crowd from the stage. "If I jump into the crowd and get knocked unconscious, I want you to promise to keep passing my body around and having a good time!"

And then it was time for the rock.

With seven studio albums and tons of singles to their credit, the Foo Fighters had plenty of popular material to draw from.

Excited fans in the house received a high-energy 23-song rock 'n' roll set that lasted over two hours and was worth the wait.

Photos by Steven Chea.

Midnight Star Shines on Thunder Valley

2011-10-31T03:17:55Z

Seventies musicmakers Midnight Star and A Taste of Honey packed Pano Hall at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Friday night, keeping the audience on their feet for most of the show.

A late start didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm as Grammy Award-winning A Taste of Honey, featuring original band member Janice Marie Johnson, stormed the stage. Johnson was decked out in a pink sequin dress and high heels and sporting her bass guitar.

As soon as the band kicked into gear, the audience was on their feet, as the band played all their hits like “I’m Talking About You” and “Disco Dancin’.”

After a quick wardrobe change into an orange kimono, Johnson sang her hit song “Sukiyaki” as the audience settled back in their seats.

The audience catapulted out of their seats as Johnson finished the set with their biggest hit, “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”
Prior to the show, Johnson was backstage meeting some of her fans. I’ve attended a number of meet-and-greets, and Johnson was one of the most down to earth artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. She asked everyone their name, repeating it back to ensure she got it right. She would give them a hug and then start asking them questions while they were getting their picture taken. Class act all the way!

After a longer than expected break to change out equipment, the audience was back up on their feet as founding Midnight Star members Belinda Lipscomb (vocals), Melvin Gentry (guitar/vocals), Bo Watson (keyboard/vocals) and Bill Simmons (keyboards) took the stage with longtime bandmates Kenneth Gant (bass) and Bobby Lovelace (drums).

Pumping out their signature R&B electro-funk sound, they had the crowd singing and cheering to “Electricity,” leading into a brief version of “Headlines,” “Wet My Whistle” and “Midas Touch.”

I thoroughly enjoy bands like Midnight Star that take the time to choreograph their moves for each song. It adds a completely different dynamic to the performance, and it just plain looks good. Obviously the crowd agreed, because as soon as the band started moving in sync with each other, the audience responded with a round of applause.

After ending their set with “Freak-A-Zoid” and “No Parking (On the Dance Floor),” it was obvious the crowd was quite satisfied with the night’s performances by both bands.

Halloween sizzles at Thunder Valley

2011-10-29T00:58:44Z

Thunder Valley Casino and Resort kicked off the Halloween spirit Thursday night with the sexy Lodi native and star of the reality TV show “The Girl Next Door,” Bridget Marquardt. DJ D-wrek from MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out” was — you guessed it — the DJ, and Tone Loc made a special guest appearance.

Pano Hall at Thunder Valley Casino was transformed into a nightclub, complete with semi-private lounge areas, a couple of dance floors, a popular DJ, a well-stocked bar and a few hot babes thrown in for good measure.

Most of the attendees dressed for the occasion. Some wore evening wear, while others wore their favorite Halloween costume. Myself: jeans and t-shirt (just thought you’d want to know).

Marquardt was a Playboy Playmate and one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends, which was the basis for the TV show. Luckily she brought a few of her close friends and playmates along to show off her new line of Halloween costumes called Bridget by Roma.

Marquardt wore her Peacock costume, which she designed with the help of fellow playmate and Hefner girlfriend Holly Madison.

Prior to the show, a number of the “girls” were working the room and taking pictures with audience members, while DJ Dwerk attacked the turntables. There was even a photo booth where people were taking their pictures and having them printed out.

Once the fashion show started, everyone crowded around the runway to take a gander at the new costumes — or should I say the ladies.

Starting off the show was Branae Whitney, a Playboy Live model wearing the Ring Master outfit. I won’t go into all the details of the ensemble other than to say it was red — hot.

There were 11 costumes in all ending with the Fruit Cup worn by Leticia.

Tone Loc took the stage armed with his deep, gravelly voice, a Nike T-shirt, sunglasses and a towel wrapped around his neck. I’m sure a large portion of the crowd was wondering how the rapper was doing in light of recent events.

A couple of weeks ago, Loc collapsed during a performance in Atlanta while singing “Funky Cold Medina.” He had a similar incident at a Pensacola, Fla. concert back in 2009 while singing the same hit.

If I’m not mistaken, Loc didn’t play “Funky Cold Medina” and ended his set with “Wild Thing.”

Loc’s voice has stood the test of time. He sounded just like he did all those years ago, and the audience ate it up. He walked up and down the runway shaking people’s hands while he belted out his hit songs.

He appeared to be in good health and spirits, joking around with the audience and remaining active most of his performance.

Continuing with the Halloween theme, Thunder Valley Casino is hosting a huge Sinners and Saints party on Saturday at 9 p.m. I have it on good authority that the photo booth will be back. Sorry, guys, the playmates won’t be there, but they will have go-go dancers!

Ryan Adams grows up — well, kinda

2011-10-21T04:47:09Z

Ryan Adams, in his usual black leather jacket and jeans, sat solo on the stage, his long, messy hair seemingly blinding him from his black book of sheet music and lyrics – a thick anthology of prolific work spanning from his first solo record “Heartbreaker” to his Oct. 11, 2011 release, “Ashes & Fire.”

The crowd applauded and whistled, and after an endearingly awkward pause, Adams grinned, saying, “Hello. Thanks for coming to the show. I’m just going to sing some songs about ‘the feelings.’”

Anyone who knows Adams’ music understands that Adams’ feelings are the unabashed, raw type – the kind that tells a relatable yet shocking and often painful story. And if he has no story to tell, you sure as hell will “feel” something nonetheless.

Tuesday night’s show at the Crest Theatre was no exception. In his opening song, “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” his voice flowed from raspy to pristine, masking all evidence that five years ago he was diagnosed with Ménière's disease, a congenital disease that caused partial hearing loss and threatened to end his music-making altogether. His hiatus from music and booze the last few years may have served as just the right anecdote.

“That’s the one that gets people in love with Ryan Adams,” a writer sitting next to me, Peter Zimmerman, said, referring to “Oh My Sweet Carolina.”

I nodded. That was certainly the case for me. I think it happened back in the early years of college, listening to “Heartbreaker” in a cozy uptown cafe, trying to harmonize like Emmylou Harris. With that said, hearing Adams on Tuesday night was like falling in love again with an old flame – comforting, familiar, nostalgic.

In his quintessential quirky way, Adams searched sloppily for a pick, patting down his pants and shaking his guitar until he finally found it wedged in his pocket. “Oh wait. Hello, my little friend,” he said, staring at his pick.

Adams, singing this song and losing picks, is the Adams of heartbreaking youth – the whiskey-slugging, dirty-hair-flowing, reckless Adams who could simultaneously send you to sleep with a quick smoke and a long lullaby.

But the Adams of now is an Adams that some might refer to as more “grown up," managing a marriage (to Mandy Moore), sobriety and his own record label PAX-AM.)

“Ashes & Fire” reflects that shift, which is made most evident in his lyrics to “Lucky Now,” where he asks, “Are we really who we used to be? Am I really who I was?”

But the next song of the night, the title track off of the new album, alludes to his still-youthful, untamed disposition. “This is a new song about walking around New York, being incredibly stoned,” he said. “Um... it’s also about nothing!”

Throughout the rest of the evening, Adams “worked the stage,” evenly weaving older classics with newer numbers -- “Sylvia Plath” on piano, “My Winding Wheel” standing, “Invisible Riverside” sitting and roughly 20 other tunes in various positions and with rather witty and whimsical intentions.

In “New York, New York,” he announced that he was going for a sound “like snow on a farmhouse when you have your parents over for Thanksgiving, and you’re playing Spyro Gyra records.” For one Cardinals song, he had “redneck Star Wars” in mind, commenting that the Crest Theatre could be “on the outskirts of Mordor!” With “Two,” Adams requested dimmer lighting “to go with the self-depreciating music.”

In a surprising encore, Adams, clad in a black cape and followed by two candle-lit gothic girls, dedicated an original death metal song to his tour opener, country singer Jason Isbell.

“He brings back my Southern accent,” Adams said of Isbell, who hails from Alabama. “It’s been such a pleasure to play with that dude...He lets me play my semi-satanic Norwegian black metal. It’s Halloween every day on the bus...Somebody has to be the Glenn Danzig of alternative country!”

Adams’ sardonic sense of humor didn’t scare Isbell one bit, nor did it scare the audience whose laughter mimicked the sound of a night at Laughs Unlimited.

“I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to make you laugh. It’s bad for my image," he said.

And like many artists, much of Adams’ humor holds in it a tinge of truth. In another candid act, Adams refused to play the shout-out request from an audience member for “La Cienega Just Smiled.”

"No. Ask me why. Because I said,” Adams bluntly put it.

“Actually, do you want to know why? A song is born the first time you play it all the way through,” he said. “But then 10 years later, they pick up their own identify, and I wonder, can I still bring it back to the day that it was born? Sometimes, you just can’t play it any more, because it’s become so much more.”

His statement made me wonder. Which of his songs have morphed for him mentally and which ones remain pure, if there are any at all? His performance brought me back to the early days, but what do those songs mean to him now? How does he feel about the birth of his new songs?

I was pondering this, wishing i had set up an interview, when he began playing the requested song - a stripped-down, beautifully shaky version. He paused at one point, creating silence as the audience absorbed the song. The woman who asked for the song shouted, "You don't know what this means to me!"

Turning back to his new work, Adams then unsuccessfully tried to tune his voice to his guitar in preparation for his new song, “Chains of Love,” a task that frustrated Adams to the point of pseudo-profanity.

“Crapola! Oh, did I just say ‘crapola?’ Oh, gosh darn it,” he said.

The crowd offered their support. “I love you!” one fan called out.

"I apologized to the audience for my “cussing problem. It goes along with my not-growing-up problem.”

To put it in his own words, perhaps the Adams of today has not “grown up” too much after all. Yes, he’s shown a more-settled, sober and softer side since the wild, whiskey-hound Adams of youth.

But as was illuminated at Tuesday night’s show, Adams has not lost his humor, his hearing or, most of all, his ability to make you “feel” something.

Crocker Art Museum Hosts Esteemed Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet

2011-10-19T20:30:53Z

The Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet will bring their award-winning sound to the Crocker Art Museum on Thursday, Oct. 20. The Quintet will perform select works inspired by the exhibition “Gardens and Grandeur: Porcelains and Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff,” on view through October 23. The concert will take place in the Museum’s Setzer Foundation Auditorium at 7 p.m.

The Quintet—comprised of Alec Watson, piano; Rane Roatta, tenor sax; Malachi Whitson, drums; Tree Palmedo, trumpet; and Bill Vonderhaar, bass—is the winner of numerous DownBeat awards, including the 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 awards for best collegiate jazz group in the country. The group has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Brubeck Festival, Detroit International Jazz Festival, and at jazz clubs such as Yoshi’s in Oakland, Herb Alpert’s club Vibrato in Los Angeles, and the Jamboree Jazz Club in Barcelona, Spain.

The Brubeck Institute was established by the University of the Pacific in 2000. Named in honor of the acclaimed American jazz pianist and University of the Pacific alumnus, the Institute’s mission is to promote creativity, education, and dedication to music, as well as advance important social issues. The members of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet are in the Institute's Fellowship Program for recent high school graduates.

Tickets are $6 for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers. Tickets can be purchased at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

Playlist is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series, sponsored by Bank of America. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups.

For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

The Crocker Art Museum was one of the first art museums in the U.S. and is now one of the leading art institutions in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Tuesday–Wednesday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays; 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday–Sunday. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday” sponsored by Bank of America.

Jim Brickman to perform at the Crest Theatre Nov. 4

2011-10-19T06:01:20Z

World-renowned pianist and songwriter Jim Brickman will perform at the Crest Theatre Nov. 4 with musical guests Anne Cochran and Benjamin Utecht. Brickman, who also sings at his concerts, said he will be performing romantic melodies, a few Christmas songs, but no breakup songs – that’s just not his style.

"The Gift," "Valentine” and "Love of My Life" are just some of his famous love song compositions.

He has collaborated with various musical talents, including Martina McBride, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Bolton and Lady Antebellum.

"You have to find your own voice, because if you sound like someone else, then there's nothing unique about you," Brickman said.

His distinct style of music comes in the form of inspiration, romance, calm and emotional moments. Something he does not do are breakup songs. He said he likes to promote hope in his music.
Brickman began playing piano at age 5 and did not come from a musically inclined family, but he said his family has always been supportive of his love for music.

In high school, he played with a band performing at weddings. It was not until he moved to California in his late 20s from his hometown of Cleveland when he started getting recognition – a couple years after sending his sample music to radio stations and recording companies.

Since then, Brickman, turning 50 this November, has produced six albums that received gold and platinum status and two Grammy nominations. A gold status is awarded for an album with more than 500,000 units in sales and platinum status is awarded for an album with more than 1 million units in sales, according to the Recording Industry Association of America website.

"I think it’s something that comes naturally. I don't think it’s something you attain or grow into," Brickman said when asked about when he fell in love with music. "In my case, it’s much a part of me like learning to talk."

Playing live is his absolute favorite, he said. He does not have any rituals or special preparations before performing live in his concerts. Instead, he assesses the environment by using the first song he plays as the barometer if the mood of the audience is energetic or calm.

Brickman has performed many times in Sacramento, and the Crest Theatre was the venue of his first performance in this city.

"I always loved that neighborhood in downtown with all the restaurants, and I always have a great time." Brickman said. "I haven't been there in a long time, and I'm really excited to introduce the audience to my special guests."

In his upcoming concert, he will be performing with special guest artists Adult Contemporary Singer Anne Cochran and Pop Singer Benjamin Utecht. Brickman said he enjoys collaborating with other musicians and letting them bring their own style to his songs.

"It’s always a lot of fun. I think sometimes people think it’s going to be a recital or quiet,” Brickman said. “It's actually joyful and sometimes very lighthearted and funny, and there’s a great variety, from the hit songs, a couple of new ones, a little of Christmas, and great guests.

"I sing quite a bit in the shows as well,” he added, “so I think people don't expect as much singing, and I don’t think they expect it to be as lighthearted as it is."

The concert will begin at 8 p.m., and ticket prices range from $30 to $65 and are available at tickets.com. The Crest Theatre is located at 1013 K St.

Incubus Returns to Sacramento After Hiatus

2011-10-13T03:31:43Z

Raley Field was a rock venue for those who showed up Tuesday night for Incubus. Fans trickled to the front of the stage for opening artist AWOLNATION, leaving seats available for the mellow rockers who chose to sit over standing in the pit.

AWOLNATION’s loud, blood-rushing sound engulfed the eardrums of the early birds. They played songs off their debut album, “Megalithic Symphony,” including the radio hit single “Sail,” which was received by cheers.

The stage was set up at the outfield line allowing for better acoustics, harnessing the sound before it escaped into Sacramento River.
By 8 p.m., the surrounding stage area was packed and seats were filling up. Assigned seating was overlooked by eager fans, willing to sit anywhere to enjoy the multi-platinum headlining artist.

Without hesitation, Incubus opened up with “Megalomaniac” to get the crowd jumping, keeping the energy high for their two-hour set. Incubus is on tour to introduce their seventh studio album, “If Not Now, When?” The set list included new songs “Adolescents,” “Promises, Promises” and “Defiance,” but a majority of songs were from their past albums. Fans preferred a concert filled with their older songs, like “I Wish You Were Here,” “Anna-Molly” and “Dig,” delivered as smooth sounding as listening to them on your iPod.

Halfway through the concert, Boyd’s shirt was still on, and eager women continued to wait. Boyd’s vocals and the explosive guitar-to-drum ratio, with a side of DJ scratching, are what Incubus’ fans crave.

It’s been seven years since Incubus has toured Sacramento; the fans have waited five years for a new album to be released. Boyd commented on their absence, “It’s been too long, man. Missed you guys.” But Boyd generally refrained from chatting up the crowd. He let the music fill the void.

“In the Company of Wolves” was accompanied by the hypnotizing backdrop silhouette of Boyd’s power stance. Boyd showed off his vocals on “Talk Shows on Mute,” a song that is not overpowered by Jose Pasilla’s drums or Mike Einzeger’s heavy guitar.

After the audience sing-along to “Drive”, “the shirt” came off for the last songs of the night: “Nice to Know You” and a two-song encore of “Pardon Me” and “Tomorrow’s Food.” It wasn’t the strongest closing after such a nostalgic performance, but fans didn’t seem fazed.

Will fans have to wait another five years for another album? Let’s hope not, because after a decade, Incubus still has the capability to rock a crowd.

Photo courtesy of Steven Chea.

Panic! at the Disco performs at Ace of Spades

2011-10-12T00:54:16Z

Although the band lost its original guitar and bass player in 2009, it doesn't appear that Las Vegas' Panic! at the Disco has lost any fans.

Performing for a sold out crowd at Ace of Spades Monday night, handsome lead singer Brendon Urie and company had fans in a tizzy from the get-go as a steady stream of clothing landed on stage after the first song.

"Wow. Thank you!" said a surprised Urie.

Panic!'s set focused mainly on their debut album, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" and 2011's, "Vices & Virtues."

They played only two songs from 2008's well-received album, "Pretty. Odd." They included "That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)" and "Nine in the Afternoon."

The Panic! pop was a bit of nostalgia for some.

"The twelve year old in me is so excited to see Panic!" said college student Amy Lane, 19.

Providing main support was Patrick Stump from on hiatus-Fall Out Boy and his ambitious new self-titled solo project.

Almost unrecognizable from his Fall Out Boy days, Stump strutted out in a neat powder blue suit and bow tie, a cropped blond haircut and black, fingerless gloves.

At times channeling both Prince and David Bowie, Stump tore through an R&B-flavored set that included a cover of Phil Collins' “In the Air Tonight.”

If you're a fan of Fall Out Boy, the new material feels like a departure and at the same time seems completely expected and natural for Stump's next direction. His solo debut "Soul Punk" drops next Tuesday the 18th.

Opening the show and setting the bar for the rest of the night were the crazy characters of Cincinnati rock band Foxy Shazam.

The band sounds good on record, better live, and their fun show is a kick. Highlights included pianist Sky White standing up on his keyboard and playing by stomping his feet, drummer Aaron McVeigh spitting into the open mouth of vocalist Eric Sean Nally (he asked him to), and Nally later lighting and puffing on a nearly full pack of cigarettes before shoving them all into his mouth and eating them.

Stage antics aside, they play good music.

"It's kind of close to pop cabaret," said Sacramento rock music aficionado and photographer Kevin Graft, 44.

Photos by Steven Chea

A double dose of Cake

2011-10-08T22:23:49Z

Who gives a shout out to the Central Valley?

Well, someone from the Central Valley.

This week, Cake played twice for eager Central Valley crowds. The local band performed for happy Cakesters at Freeborn Hall on the UC Davis campus on both Thursday and Friday nights. Friday night, the Memorial Union hall was at capacity, 1,775 people deep. On Thursday, nearly 1,300 people came out to sway and nod with Cake.

An hour before the show on Thursday night, fans were already lined up outside, ready to vie for a good spot in the community center hall. Thursday night drew a devoted crowd with one (especially) veteran fan who declared she’s been to over 20 Cake spectaculars over the years.

The alternative rock band, as they are sometimes called - though those who try to truly define the genre struggle to do so in less than 30 words - started the show with a tribute to their local roots. The instrumental, “Arco Arena,” aided in building so much anticipation that one especially excited man nearly jumped up on the stage.

Early in the show, they played several songs from their newest album, “Showroom of Compassion." The song of the same name was first and was a song about “leaving the central valley,” said lead singer John McCrea.

Thus far, the album is proving to be just as addicting as previous albums, the unending commentary of an angry American running throughout. “Sick of You,” in particular, was another great addition to Cake’s sing-a-long favorites. “Long Time” and “Mustache Man,” featuring Xan McCurdy on guitar, were performed as well.

“Sad Songs and Waltzes” was an entrancingly mellow addition to the set list and featured the remarkable trumpeting skills of Vince DiFiori. While his trumpet skills were far more impressive in person, the acoustics of Freeborn Hall did nothing to enhance the experience.

The venue seems to be a terrific place for a college concert, but Cake’s performance was hardly that. There were more thirty-something spectators in attendance than anything else.

Cake played two sets split by an intermission, “Which, I think, is a very civilized thing to do,” said McCrea.

Whether it’s the fault of the genre-less music or audience skill level, it was obvious that Cake fans don’t really dance. The point was made apparent Thursday night during the “dance-off” for a blood orange tree, the most powerful moves being a strong “robot” and a kicky “shopping cart.”

In the end, the band gave Davis local Jacob Belway a healthy, young blood orange tree. On Friday night, the arboreous gift was a lemon tree.

The band played old favorites including, “Stickshifts and Safetybelts” and “Rock ‘N’ Roll Lifestyle,” as well as newbies such as “Federal Funding” that were very well-received.

By the end of the night, the stage was practically dripping with sarcasm and disdain. You almost began to wonder if there really isn’t hope.

At times, it was even difficult to figure out if the band loves the central valley or hates the Central Valley, if they love America or hate America, and if they hate it so much, why they’re still here.

The answer, perhaps, is because misery loves company. If your favorite pastime is serenading fellow comiserators with cynicism and sarcasm, where else could you find such a goldmine of willing listeners than here, in the Central Valley?

Valley soil is caked on their shoes, and it’s not coming off.

There were just a few moments when you got a glimpse of the sweeter side of Cake. “Mexico,” for one, let the audience see that not all hope is lost in the race to an implosive bitter end. The ballad was quite therapeutic after a show filled with so much sarcasm and bitterness.

Perhaps our dear McCrea and Cake will someday find inner peace. Then again, how could we survive without the ever-present Cake criticisms of society?

McCrea reinforced this sentiment Friday night when he finished the weekend in Davis with “I Will Survive,” citing that it was the only hope he had.

Cake. Simple, home-baked, yet such a delicacy. This uniquely addicting group is sure to survive forever and ever, riling and romancing fans for many years to come.

Incubus Comes to Raley Field

2011-10-07T01:55:56Z

If you still have that Brandon Boyd poster on your wall, waiting for Incubus’ next tour to come to a city near you, you are in luck. On Tuesday the multi-platinum band will be performing at Raley Field, introducing new songs from their seventh studio album, “If Not Now, When?” Special guest AWOLNATION is set to open the concert.

Incubus has sold over 13 million albums worldwide in their 20-year career. They are known for climactic riffs, hypnotizing melodies and Boyd’s vocals. It’s about time they are back.

The alternative rock band took a break from touring to focus on family, solo albums and art school. Fans have held strong for the last few years after the 2006 album, “Light Grenades.” In July 2011, the band presented fans with an 11-track album, with singles like “Adolescents” and “Promises, Promises.“ The new album differs from the previous ones with a more mature sound.

The album cover features Boyd walking on a tightrope. Are they reaching for a new sound? The meaning is open for interpretation. Drummer Jose Pasillas shared insights on new album and the upcoming concert at Raley Field. Here are the highlights of that interview:

It’s been five years since “Light Grenades.” Did you guys put more work on this album than others? Why the delay? We’ve put as much work into it as any other record. It was time for us to go away for a little bit after our last record. We took some time off after that record cycle, thought it was time for us to take a little break. And when we were ready we started this record.

How did you approach this album differently? What were some of the collective influences for this new album? We approached it the same way, in the sense that we get together. We start with a simple idea and it collectively comes together. One biggest difference is we did that in the studio with each song instead of spending months writing the song in pre-production. We did it right then and there, in the more spontaneous environment. That was something different for us.

So far how do you think the response is to this new album? So far it’s been great. We have a lot of kids singing along at every concert with our new material.

When you’re not on tour, what is life like? I have a family, so I am at home with my family. I have been painting all my life. I continue to do that in my spare time. Playing music all the time.

Do you and Brandon collaborate on album covers, etc.? We have in the past. “A Crow Left of the Murder…” is an example of that. That’s the only record we have done that. Maybe we will do that in the future.

What does this album cover represent? Are you guys embarking on a new sound, a new direction, or reaching new heights? Yep, all of that, and sort of going for it now, rather than later.

What bands or music do you listen to? What’s on your iPod? The Bad Brains, Paul Simon, Fiction Place, Boxcar Racer, The Beatles, Queen, Radiohead, all sorts of bands.

Can you tell me more about the Make Yourself Foundation? About seven or eight years ago, we decided that it was time to help out in a way that we never have before. We started the Make Yourself Foundation. Every tour we go on we set aside a certain amount of tickets to donate to the foundation. Throughout the year we pull money into it, and at the end of the year we figure out which foundations we want to contribute to, and we delegate from that point where the money goes to. It’s been pretty amazing. We have probably collected over a billion dollars over the last four to six years. It’s been great.

Which specific foundations has Incubus donated to? Off the top of my head we have donated to the Surfrider Foundation, and we are focusing on foundations that keep art in schools. There will probably be a few new foundations we will donate to this year.

Where do you guys see yourselves as far as the band goes in five years? We probably will be working on maybe a new record. It’s kind of too far out to tell. We’re probably going to tour until the end of 2012 and then probably take a good amount of time off, so maybe around that time we’ll be getting ready to start a new record.

Sacramento will welcome you guys when you come into town. Anything you have to say for your Sacramento fans? Here we come!!

Tickets for Incubus can be purchased at the Raley Field ticket office or from Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are $40 plus tax and fees. Concert starts at 7 p.m. For more information visit www.raleyfield.com.

Rock Allegiance at Power Balance Pavilion

2011-09-27T02:37:28Z

The Rock Allegiance Tour pulled out all the stops for the last night of their summer tour.

Sacramento’s Power Balance Pavilion hosted an unforgettable evening of loud riffs and primordial deafening screams. Seven bands were schedule to perform. Drive A, Crossfade, Red, P.O.D. and Puddle of Mud were scheduled to perform, as well as co-headliners Buckcherry and Papa Roach. Puddle of Mud was unable to attend due to an illness. Me be thinking hangover, but what do I know?

This concert was off the charts with people jumping over barriers to get to the bands and the bands jumping over barriers to get to fans. I didn’t know whether I should be watching the bands or the crowd. Both were entertaining, both were over the top and both were screaming at each other. It was a mess!

Out of all the bands, I think Buckcherry had the best performance of them all. While just as crazy as the other bands, they had a modicum of control to the point of sounding like a real band. Not to rip the other bands, but when these guys are screaming into their mics with their guttural growls and flying through the air like Mighty Mouse on crack, it’s hard to hear them because they’re out of breath - or headbanging with someone in the crowd. It was obvious that absolutely nobody agreed with me, since everyone was screaming and singing along with each and every band.

Once Buckcherry took the stage there were a number of people jumping the barriers, only to be rewarded with the ever so gracious security team greeting them and quietly and politely dragging their sorry arse to the curb. Once Buckcherry jumpstarted the crowd into a renewed frenzy, they passed the baton to Papa Roach to finish the night off in style.

Papa Roach hit the stage in full stride and had heads bopping, fans rocking and people jumping off the stage. It was quite an event and all caught on tape, since Papa Roach was filming their part of the show for a new music video. They even had a $100,000+ camera on a boom moving over the crowd to catch all the action.

This really was a night to remember – such a bestial display of pure testosterone all on one stage. As I was heading home listening to the Backstreet Boys I kept wondering what it would be like to fly around like Mighty Mouse on crack, maybe next time.

Vietnamese Autumn Breeze

2011-09-26T07:17:01Z

The Asian invasion was back at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort this weekend with the Vietnamese Autumn Breeze bringing some of the biggest names in Vietnamese entertainment. Most of the show was spoken in Vietnamese, but there was a scattering of English thrown in for good measure.

Due to a pretty cold evening, at least compared to recent nights this week, the audience was somewhat thin. Checking inside, it was obvious that many concertgoers made a last-minute decision to try their luck inside the casino rather than brave the elements outside.

Kicking off the show were the emcees for the evening, Leyna Nguyen and Trinh Hoi. As in past Asian shows I’ve attended, it was fun trying to figure out what was going on. At one point, Nguyen and Hoi were talking in Vietnamese, and Nguyen started saying “chop chop” and using her fingers as scissors. Hoi paled and the audience was on the floor laughing, so you can only imagine what they were talking about. Once I realized what they were talking about, I think I went pale too.

The first artists out of the gate were singing duo Truc Linh and Truc Lam. They brought along with them a small dance troop. The audience was pretty non-responsive through their set, as they were for most of the evening, until the later acts. Linh and Lam are sisters in their mid- to late-20s and got their start in 1992, when they performed for the first time in public for a television program in Saigon.

They sang two songs, “Xin Cho Anh Yeu” and “Bang Bang.”

Huong Thuy, a singer from southern Vietnam known for Ca dao and Cai Luong singing, was up next. Thuy appears frequently on the long-running Vietnamese diaspora variety show, “Paris by Night.”

Thuy sang “Ben Song Cho” and “Hop Mat Lan Cuoi.” The audience was a little more upbeat when she first came out but quickly settled down.

Vu Khanh, one of the crooners of the night, came out singing “Yeu.” As he started his second song, Y Lan joined him and they sang “Chieu” and “Tram Nho Ngan Thuong.” This was met with quite a bit of applause.

Lan finished off with a solo of “What’s Up,” which she sang in English. She did an awesome job, hitting the high notes spot on. This got a partial standing ovation – remember most of these people were freezing.

My favorite act of the night was Tuan Anh. She – scratch that – He came out making a couple of jokes. I have no idea what he was saying, but I was on the floor laughing. This guy is just plain funny with his mannerisms, accents and, of course, his style – very comical, but once he started singing, it’s obvious he’s a singer first, comedian second. He sang “Em Lat Tat Ca” and “I Who Have Nothing.”

Trieu Minh hopped on stage and sang “Chi La Di Vang” and “Tinh Yeu Khong Quat Ve.” She sounded great, and at one point she had the dance crew join her onstage.

Bang Kieu was up next singing “Chuyen Tinh Yeu” and “Nang Hoi.” He was a mix between crooner and pop.

Comedian duo Bao Liem and Bao Vy came out to a cool reception, but by the middle of their set they had the audience laughing. It’s at this point I wish I knew what the two were going on about, since I started laughing without knowing why.

The second crooner of the evening was heart throb Quang Dung – yes, I said dung. Stop laughing! It’s the guy’s name! So, Dung came out singing “Vi Ngot Doi Moi” and “Vet Thu Tren Lung Nguoi Hoang.” I heard many of the women screaming. I’m thinking they must have sat on a cold chair or something.

Headlining the evening’s event was Toc Tien. This young lady wanted to be a doctor as she was growing up and still aspires to do so, but her singing career has temporarily sidetracked her. She has a wonderfully soulful sound and definitely got the crowd going. She was the only performer of the evening who really got the entire crowd cheering. She is an awesome performer and earned the right to headline such an event.

As I’ve said before, although I don’t speak Vietnamese, it was interesting to attend a concert where you can’t understand the language. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what language you speak when listening to music. It’s what moves you that counts.

Girls' Night Out at Power Balance Pavilion

2011-09-26T06:53:46Z

Local radio station V101.1 hosted the Freestyle Explosion at Power Balance Pavilion, with radio personality Dr. Don Sainte-Johnn as the emcee and Expose headlining. Giving Expose top billing was a brilliant idea, since they are credited for bringing the freestyle genre of music to the forefront back in the ’80s.

The Freestyle Explosion revisits the freestyle sound that was popular in the late ’80s and early ’90s, an underground mixture of Latin hip-hop, electronic supplementation and the occasional house grooves. Despite their brief stint in the spotlight, the artists who brought freestyle music to the masses have been immortalized on the club circuit, with a die-hard fan base throughout Europe and in most major cities in the United States.

Friday night was definitely girls’ night out, as hundreds of women packed into Power Balance Pavilion, with a few guys dragged along, to see Expose, Lisa Lisa, Shannon, Debbie Deb and Cynthia. And there was some eye-candy thrown in for the ladies, like Johnny O, and Nice & Wild.

First up was David Torres, one of the three original members of Nice & Wild. He opened with “Diamond Girl,” gyrating across the stage, much to the delight of all the women. I’m not so sure the guys were happy with the opening, but, hey, they could have grown a pair and stayed home. I found his vocals flat, but he put on a good show.

Next up was Cynthia singing a medley of her hits, including “Change on Me” and “Gonna Get Over You.” She was less energetic than the others, but she made up for it with her stellar vocals.

Following Cynthia was Johnny O singing a medley of his hits, which included “Fantasy Girl.” He was joined by Cynthia, and together they performed a great rendition of “Dream Boy/Dream Girl.” Johnny O was very energetic, eliciting screams from all the women and a few men — but I’m sure you’ll never hear them admit it.

Debbie Deb came out with three ladies from the audience. She only introduced them as her backup dancers, without mentioning anyone by name. She sang two of her hits, “Lookout Weekend” and “When I Hear Music.” She sounded great.

The Cover Girls, consisting of Evelyn Escalera, Lorrain Munoz and Sabrina Nieves, came out singing “Wishing on a Star” and a number of other hits, ending with “Inside Outside.” They did a great job and had some old-school choreography going, which I think is just classy.

Shannon came out and sang several of her hits, closing with “When I Hear Music.” Prior to taking the stage, several enlisted soldiers were introduced to the crowd. Shannon and Debbie Deb had performed in Iraq, where she met Specialist Gonzalez, Sargent Gray and Specialist Bradford.

I spoke to Bradford prior to the show, as he was sipping his cocktail – compliments of Shannon. Hailing from the 49th Military Police Brigade, Bradford first met Shannon at Camp Liberty. He said Shannon committed to the troops during her visit in Iraq, and that they were welcome at any show, wherever she was playing. As she tours across the country, her tour manager has been keeping in touch via Facebook and phone, letting troops know her schedule and arranging VIP passes. All three soldiers wanted to be sure I mentioned how thankful they were to Shannon for giving them the opportunity.

Shannon danced with the soldiers during her performance. Having two left feet, as I do, Bradford struggled with his moves, but he gave it a valiant effort. Both Gonzalez and Gray were having a great time, getting down with Shannon.

After a brief intermission, the concert really took off with Lisa Lisa jumping up on stage. She played a number of hits, including “Can You Feel the Beat,” “Lost in Emotion” and “Kiss Your Tears Away.” She had the audience up on their feet the entire set. She sounded great, while her two male dancers rocked the stage. She looked like she was having a great time, showing us her infectious smile. From my perspective, Lisa Lisa should have been headlining, but I get it.

Finally Expose arrived singing “Seasons Change.” They sounded good and had a well-choreographed routine going. They sang several hits, ending with “Point of No Return.” While they did a fantastic job entertaining the crowd, I believe Lisa Lisa stole the show. By the time they were finished, many people had already started leaving. This may have been due to the concert going well past 11:30 p.m.

It was fun watching young and old enjoy a bit of old-school music. I didn’t mind either. Let’s face it — there was a bit of eye-candy there for the guys, too.

Lynyrd Skynyrd at Thunder Valley Casyno

2011-09-24T01:05:21Z

Lynyrd Skynyrd arrived with both barrels blazing promoting their latest album, “God and Guns,” in their Florida’s Finest tour at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Thursday night. The band entertained and delighted a full house of die-hard Skynyrd fans – a.k.a. the Skynyrd Nation.

It was obvious that their music is enjoyed by a number of generations, as I watched young and old stand up and cheer. Crowds of non-ticket holders gathered in the parking lot area and on the sidewalks outside the amphitheater.

When they took the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers, with the band kicking it off with “Working for MCA.” As they were leading into “I Ain’t the One,” lead singer Johnny Van Zant said hello to the crowd and thanked everyone for being there.

The audience never sat down the entire concert, even through the slower medleys, such as “That Smell.” The band sounded great and had a solid stage presence, keeping the audience engaged throughout the evening.

Guitarist Rickey Medlocke was tossing out guitar picks to the audience and I thought to myself, how does he know they need a guitar pick, let alone that they play guitar? But it didn’t matter. They were gobbled up before they even had a chance to hit the ground.

They dedicated “Simple Man” to our troops as a huge backdrop fell into place showing the U.S. flag and emblems of the various armed services. It was a touching moment, with the crowd going quiet but remaining standing.

Toward the end of the concert, Van Zant waved an Alabama state flag attached to a microphone stand. He was encouraging the audience to scream “Alabama!” to prepare for their next song, “Sweet Home Alabama.” As soon as they started up the song, they were met with the wildest and loudest cheers of the show.

For their encore the band came out with Van Zant taunting the crowd.

“You know what you want to hear,” he said.

“Free Bird!”

“In the words of my brother Ronnie Van Zant, what is it you want to hear?”

“Free Bird!” And with that last request, they started up the song.

Le Butcherettes

2011-09-23T19:01:38Z

Scanning the Harlow’s crowd an hour or so before Le Butcherettes were slated for the stage, you would have found lead singer Terri Gender Bender leaning against a large pillar, her small foot tapping in rhythm with the hard drumming coming from Diciembre Gris, the second opener.

This small metronome action would have been the only outgoing behavior exhibited by Terri, who, off stage, seems quiet, docile and introverted. When approached by fans or curious bystanders, Terri offered the same genuine smile and sweet responses, a reaction surprisingly different from what you would expect to come from a bawdy woman known for her bloody apron uniform.

That is until Ms. Gender Bender got on stage. Quite quickly, drummer Gabe Serbian, bass player Jonathan Hischke and frontwoman Terri Gender Bender transformed what was a quiet, table-seated night at Harlow’s into a frantic mosh pit and interactive musical rock-out.

"Performing lets me get all the demons out,” Terri said.

Her theatrical, but authentic performance included aggressive thrashing about, numerous acrobatic attempts and playing the “trust fall” game where Terri without hesitation, lunged forward, backward, and upside down onto the crowd multiple times.

This dual persona is exactly what Terri tries to express through her artistic project.

“I want to show this shift — the change from domestic housewife who is silent and sweet and who spends her time cleaning the kitchen to this breaking of all feminine duties, to this raging animal release!” Terri said, breaking into Spanish to better express herself.

Jumping off stage wasn’t Terri’s only public interaction. After running through the crowd, singing and shouting, Terri ran out the front door, straight into oncoming traffic on busy J Street, hailing cars and drawing the crowd out behind her. The first car to stop was the Sacramento Police.

A few dance moves and a mad dash back inside, Terri was back on stage with the crowd short on her heels.Soon enough, Terri’s singing was interrupted as she was asked to come outside.

“Umm, sorry, but the police force wants to have a few words with me. Please hold on,” Terri heavily breathed into the microphone.

Minutes passed, and still Terri remained outside, time enough that concerned band members Serbian and Hischke alarmingly shuffled outside too. Onlookers gawked, traffic stopped, and fans shared their frustration.

“C’mon, its artistic expression!” one female yelled.

Eventually Terri was allowed to return to her guitar. Without any sign of anger, she convinced patrons that we should thank the police.

“They look after us and our health,” she said. And then led a screaming frenzy which morphed into possessed rag-doll dancing and spit spraying, scenes only a little short from “The Exorcist.”

But Le Butcherette’s offered a variety of musical compositions. A few, select pieces started slow, with seductive, stand-alone, eerie vocals. But they didnt last long, blasted unexpectedly by fast drums and loud guitars. The energetic ups and downs only added to the musical intensity put on by the trio.

Long-time admirer, Adrienne Beatty shared, “She’s just so nice and sweet. But up there [on stage], its surprising how empowering she is! You get a sense that this is a strong woman-led band.”

Le Butcherettes strong talent has put them on tour with extremely well-know musicians, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deftones, Iggy and the Stooges, and currently, The Flaming Lips.

“They all are really, really great people. Its been amazing to tour with them. But maybe my favorite has been Deftones. They were just so nice, offering us coffee and joints,” Terri shared bashfully.

Applause goes out to I’m Dirty Too and Diciembre Gris who played alongside Le Butcherettes evening performance.

Catch Le Butcherettes again when they come back to northern Californian this December. In the meantime, head over to Harlow's to see the next fine bands in line.

KC and The Sunshine on Thunder Valley

2011-09-20T03:12:31Z

Singer, songwriter, and keyboardist Harry Wayne “K.C.” Casey brought disco back, for at least one night, as KC and the Sunshine Band took over Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Sunday night. Creating a theatrical display of dance moves that he created back in the 70’s along with four stunning young ladies, KC had the audience putting on their boogie shoes - all under one huge disco ball.

But first, starting off the evening was the venerable Con Funk Shun, an R&B group made up of five frontmen and four band members. The band got their start out of Vallejo, Calif. back in the 70’s, churning out hits through the 80’s. They are responsible for a number of hits including "Chase Me," "Got To Be Enough" and "Electric Lady."

The frontmen, comprised of Michael Cooper, Karl Fuller, Felton Pilate, Paul "Maceo" Harrell and Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas, came out dressed in blue blazers and white pants. Immediately they jumped into a well-choreographed routine that had some audience members cheering. They looked classy performing in lockstep while holding their instruments.

That might not have come out right, but you get the idea.

It was obvious many of the audience members had not heard of Con Funk Shun, but they quickly became fans after the first couple of songs. With their six-part vocal harmonies, horns and more, they blasted out a whole lot of funk, some dance party grooves and a dash of romantic ballads, all to a very receptive audience.

Their set appeared to run long when the announcer jumped in.

“Let’s give it up one more time for Con Funk Shun.”

The band kicked it into another two songs; it was obvious they were up there having a good time and didn’t want it to stop.

During intermission I had a chance to talk to three individuals who I will affectionately refer to as the three stooges. Sporting afros, fake moustaches, headbands and other accoutrements, these guys had a following of their own.

They would only give me their stage names of Stefan, Jethro and Samson. I asked Samson what gives with the outfits.

“We’re f**king fans, baby. It’s disco and that’s why we go man.”

Women were having their picture taken with them almost the entire concert. They were very entertaining.

An instrumental introduction began and the crowd started cheering as, one at a time, each band member slowly took the stage, walked to the front, stopped for a beat or two, and then took their place on stage. This made for a very dramatic entrance. You could feel the tension build in the crowd as they anxiously waited for KC to make his way on stage.

Will he enter on the right, or the left?

People were looking back and forth trying to figure out where he would pop out.

Prior to KC arriving, the Sunshine Girls grooved to the beginning of “Shake Your Booty.” KC finally emerged (from the right) and went straight to the keyboard and started pounding away and doing what he does best – entertain.

A couple of verses into his first song, KC blasted from the keyboard, dancing with the ladies from one side of the stage to the other. As he started into his second song, “Boogie Shoes,” he sounded somewhat out of breath and was breaking out in quite a sweat.

At the end of his second song, KC acknowledge his weight gain and how much older he was. The catch phrase for the night was “What the hell happened?” in reference to how much time had elapsed since he started over 39 years ago.

He also tried to educate all the younger people in the audience as to who he was.

“For you young people, you’re probably wondering who I am. I was your mother’s *NSYNC.”

Going on, he warned them that this is what Justin Timberlake will look like in thirty years.

“I should change the name to KFC and The Sunshine Band,” said KC, referring to his weight.

He said he wanted to play a few slow songs next, but promised that the remainder of the show would remain upbeat. He went on to play a number of slow songs including, “Yes, I’m Ready,” “Let’s Just Kiss & Say Goodbye” and “Please Don’t Go,” before picking up the tempo with “I’m Your Boogie Man.”

At 60 years old, KC has been in the entertainment industry a long time and knows how to put on a great show. While his vocals are nowhere near what they used to be, he makes up for it by sheer energy, musicianship and by surrounding himself with some of the best talent in the industry – the lights aren’t bad either.

Ramon Ayala at Thunder Valley

2011-09-20T02:53:33Z

The “King of the Accordion” and four-time Grammy winner Ramon Ayala played to norteño and tejano fans from both sides of the border, with most fans singing along to every song. A mostly older crowd jammed into Thunder Valley Casino and Resort to watch their old favorite perform. There were a few younger fans peppered throughout, enjoying the music just as much as their elders.

Ayala arrived on stage with his trademark green, white and red accordion. The crowd erupted in cheers and several individuals made their way up to the stage to pay tribute to the man.

Ayala was joined on stage by his band, known as Bravos del Norte. Band members were Mario Marichalar (bajo sexton and vocals), Fidencio Ayala (bass), Jose Luis Ayala (drums and vocals), David Laure (percussion) and Raul Rosales (emcee and percussion).

Ayala played a number of his hits including “Mi Piquito de Oro,” a Latin version of "Cotton Fields," and “Un Puño de Tierra,” which had the entire audience on their feet.

I’m used to seeing Thunder Valley Casino’s outdoor stage packed with instruments, amps and gear of all shapes and sizes, but when I looked at the stage there was a set of drums, congas and some microphones. I thought for sure they hadn’t finished setting up. The band performs with a minimum amount of gear which consists of a set of drums, congas, two accordions, bajo sexto and a bass.

It was fun watching the crowd react to each and every song. You could see couples looking into each other’s eyes. I’m sure some were remembering when they first met, others their first kiss, all to the music they were listening to at the time. Some songs had people swaying in their seats, while others brought them to their feet. It was obvious they knew each and every song.

Ramon Ayala has been singing, composing and playing his accordion for over 45 years. He has recorded over 100 albums and has been featured in thirteen movies. He is considered a legend of norteño music and is one of the most recognized and bestselling artists of the genre.

Dazzling belt buckles at Thunder Valley

2011-09-18T03:47:39Z

Thunder Valley Casino Resort hosted Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson this Friday night in their outdoor amphitheater. It was a perfect summer night for an outdoor show. Both the performers and the audience fulfilled expectations. The Musik Mafia, as they call themselves, rocked a full house on Friday night.

“Sitting on your ass is extremely prohibited throughout the entire Xtreme Musik Show,” spoke an electronically-enhanced voice that served as a flight attendant style introduction to the concert.

John Rich seemed to lead the performance, the likely choice considering his successful stint on Celebrity Apprentice. Big Kenny sported his usual top hat. His fringed vest and snug pinstriped pants completed his attire and only added to his untamed dance moves onstage.

Gretchen Wilson was a strong and sweet hostess as well, constantly encouraging fan participation and calling out to the other “redneck women” in the crowd. Wilson was loved by the crowd, both women and men. The women were ignited by her enviable confidence and the men loved her as well - probably for the same reason that Shania Twain has always had such a large male following.

Road 88 was the show’s opening act. The local band, recently voted as 2011 Best Local Band on KCRA’s A-List, was well received by the audience. The act stayed around for the rest of the show, enjoying themselves amongst the audience.

Big & Rich, together with Wilson, began the show with “Fake I.D.” They were excited to announce that the recent release will be featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming “Footloose” remake starring Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell and Julianne Hough.

Wilson then kicked it up a notch with “Here for the Party,” the title track from her 2004 debut album. Big & Rich and Wilson hopped on and off the stage throughout the show. They performed a song or two before bowing out for a break. This strategy worked well and allowed them to keep the energy and intensity high.

It was almost impossible to decide whether the show was more rock or more country. With so many references to Tammy Wynette and Charlie Daniels, it would have to be marked down as country. Then again, with Cowboy Troy rapping and a couple of background guitarists riffing their way to Cleveland, the Musik Mafia certainly knows how to rock.

While introducing a cover later in the show, Wilson called out, “I’ve got a feeling…you know how to rock.”

A second later, the band launched into the opening of “I Gotta Feeling,” by the Black Eyed Peas.

“I’m not singing that!” Wilson cut in and the band shifted, starting into Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded.”

Whether country or rock ‘n’ roll, one thing’s for sure; these fans know how to party. The Thunder Valley Outdoor Amphitheatre was host to a rowdy crowd that night. The bar, manned by Zebra Club of Sacramento, was serving up Jack Daniels and Crown Royal like there was no tomorrow.

Even the three headliners took a moment to have a drink on stage. The performers took a few minutes to recognize National POW/MIA Recognition Day, which falls on the third Friday of September each year. MSgt. Surita A. Rorie and TSgt. Eric Grant, both currently stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, were brought up on stage for a toast.

MSgt. Rorie quite eloquently spoke a few words, remarking that they would never stop until every single soldier is home.

The show slowed down just once when Wilson invited the audience to join a bit of afterparty on the main stage. She explained that in the trailers after the show, they bring out the acoustic guitars and fiddles. She performed John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” with just an acoustic guitar alongside.

Audience members seemed to enjoy the departure. While she does perform this number regularly during concerts, you could tell that she enjoyed it and sang from the heart. One particular couple even made their way to the front to slow dance near the stage.

It was probably good the tender-hearted couple didn’t know that in that same spot a rowdier audience member had prepared to rally for the second half just a few minutes earlier, puke and rally, that is.

Rock ‘n’ roll and rhinestones were the theme of the country show. Between John Rich’s bedazzled suit, Wilson’s glittering belt, Cowboy Troy’s enormous belt buckle and the audience’s similarly sequined attire, the truckload of lights that the group brought in their caravan of semis was multiplied times ten.

The energetic women in the crowd were decked out in cowboy hats and glittering tank tops. The men were huge, tall and burly cowboys and ranchers coming from all parts of northern California and throughout the valley, and there were so many Camels and Marlboros - in back pockets, in bra straps - it was a real country show.

The show ended with Big Kenny shredding his t-shirt and throwing it into the crowd, much to the pleasure of one female audience member.

Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich, who together comprise Musik Mafia, sport matching bejeweled rings that mark their participation. The combination becomes more united with each passing year. The group nearly creates a new genre of music, so much rock and so much country. Fans have to wonder if the end result will be a country rock band playing under the name Musik Mafia, and if they would really mind if they did.

Country collaboration at Thunder Valley

2011-09-14T19:11:08Z

Thunder Valley Casino Resort will host Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson this Friday night, September 16 at 8 p.m. The event will take place in Thunder Valley’s Outdoor Amphitheater, an excellent venue for a fun night of country music.

The country duo of John Rich and Big Kenny will perform this weekend as part of their Xtreme Musik tour. The show will be one of just a couple of shows in California before the tour heads north. Grammy, CMA, ACM and AMA award winner Gretchen Wilson is paired with Big & Rich for the evening. Wilson has been co-headlining the tour since it began in mid-June.

The pairing is ideal considering the numerous collaborations among the three of them. “Fake I.D.” is one such example, released earlier this year.

Friday night’s show will also include appearances by 2 Foot Fred and rapper Cowboy Troy, as well as opening act, Road 88.

The event will likely bring country music fans from all over the Sacramento valley. Spectators should be in for a great show, Big Kenny in his top hat rapping hick-hop, Rich in his more traditional country attire but rocking all the same.

Wilson is sure to put on a great show as well. She brings a strong-minded feminine quality to the show, drawing like-minded women from all around. Just a few years ago, at the age of 34, Wilson finished her GED, an accomplishment that had fallen to the wayside as she worked her way through her teens and twenties.

The country artist currently has four albums, “Here for the Party,” “All Jacked Up,” “One of the Boys” and “I Got Your Country Right Here.” The latter is her first release from Redneck Records. Yet another of Wilson’s notable accomplishments is her recently launched label, Redneck Records, which she started in the fall of 2009.

Country fans are sure to see an excellent show this Friday night. For additional ticket and venue information, visit the Xtreme Musik tour website or check out Thunder Valley’s entertainment listings.

Following the Thunder Valley show on Friday, the tour will head to Molalla, OR and Puyallum, WA before heading to Canada where they will perform in various locations in British Columbia.

The Human League

2011-09-09T00:47:43Z

The Human League teamed up with Men Without Hats at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Wednesday night, playing to a less than packed house.

Both groups are synthpop bands who got their start in the early ’80s. The Human League has had a number of hit songs since and in March of this year released their 10th album, “Credo,” 30 years after their first album.

Men Without Hats kicked off the evening playing a number of their hit songs, including "Moonbeam," "Pop Goes the World" and "The Safety Dance."

The only original band member, Ivan Doroschuk, came out donning a cowboy hat. He was bathed in red or blue light almost the entire time on stage. Doroschuk was very energetic, dancing back and forth across the stage, waving his arms in the air and looking like he was having a good time.

The music was loud, making it difficult to hear Doroschuk sing. I don’t believe he sounded that great, but that may have been because he was being drowned out by his own music. I was really disappointed, and it seemed the audience agreed. Only a handful of people were up on their feet until the last song “The Safety Dance,” when everyone got moving.

I should have known the moment Doroschuk came on stage with a hat that this wasn’t going to be good. Let’s face it, Men Without Hats means men without hats. I kept looking for “America’s Got Talent”’s Piers Morgan in hopes that he could buzz them and be done with it. These guys were more reminiscent of a bad ’70s band than an ’80s revival band.

Once The Human League took the stage, it all changed. These guys put on a great theatrical production, complete with a video backdrop with the drummer playing front and center of the screen. The video splashing all over the drummer made for a great look.

Founding member and lead singer Philip Oakey was dressed in black with a black hood for the first song, “Never Let Me Go.” Oakey started by walking slowly into the spot light singing the chorus, “Go/ go/ go,” and then fading back, out of the light, until the next chorus. The whole time band mainstays Susan Anne Sulley and Joanne Catherall were singing and dancing in unison on both ends of the stage.

The Human League has evolved over the years but remains true to their unique electronic pop sound with smooth vocals overlaying synthesizers and digital keyboards.

They had the attention of the audience from the moment they stepped out on stage. They had several wardrobe changes, various videos playing in the background and good, solid vocals. All the band members were high energy, including Nic Burke, who was jumping from keyboards to guitars and back again.

I would highly recommend checking The Human League out the next time they are in town. They put on a great theatrical production and have a number of hits spanning several decades to enjoy.

The Joy Formidable at Harlow's

2011-09-08T01:50:01Z

If you're looking for an example of a band in the middle of making it big, look no further than The Joy Formidable.

Formed in North Wales, the now London-based power trio has been riding a monster wave of success this year, touring and playing major U.K. and U.S. festivals – Reading, Coachella, Lollapalooza – and garnering praise from critics and their musical peers alike.

They made such an impression on Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters earlier this year that he took to Twitter to sing their praises: "I would like to personally thank The Joy Formidable for writing the song of the year "Whirring". xxx Dave". The band will open several dates with Foo Fighters in November.

The band has a massive, noisy sound: chunky guitar riffs, overdriven bass, and pounding drums, all laced with the sweet vocals of firecracker front woman Ritzy Bryan. A chance to catch them up close and personal should not be passed.

The Joy Formidable will perform at Harlow's this Saturday at 10 p.m. Tim Reynolds, the ridiculously talented guitarist of the Dave Matthews Band, plays an earlier show the same day at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are a steal at $13.50.

Crocker Art Museum Hosts French Impressionist-Style Garden Party on September 8

2011-09-06T22:12:00Z

The Crocker Art Museum will present a French Impressionist-style Garden Party on Thursday, Sept. 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. Inspired by the exhibition “Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism,” the evening will feature Impressionist music, art activities, and more in the Museum’s picturesque E. Kendell Davis Courtyard.

Guests can try their hand at “pétanque,” an outdoor game similar to horseshoes, or drawing “plein-air” style on studio easels. Artist Sarma Karsiere will lead drawing sessions and demonstrate Impressionist pastel techniques.

Members of the Alliance Française de Sacramento, who are co-presenting the Garden Party, will also showcase poetry from the Impressionist era as well as original compositions during readings in the Courtyard and in the exhibition galleries.

The Madroñia Trio, comprised of principal musicians from the Sacramento Philharmonic, will perform vivid selections by great Impressionist musicians, including French composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. The trio includes Mathew Krejci, flute; Emily Onderdonk, viola; and Anna Maria Mendieta, harp.

“Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism,” on view through September 18, features 40 Impressionist works on loan from the Brooklyn Museum, including paintings by Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Childe Hassam, and John Singer Sargent.

Art Mix is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series, sponsored by Bank of America. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, social gatherings, concerts, and art happenings presented in collaboration with regional art groups. Tickets are available for purchase at crockerartmuseum.org, the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

The Crocker Art Museum was one of the first art museums in the U.S. and is now one of the leading art institutions in California. Established in 1885, the Museum features one of the country’s finest collections of Californian art, exceptional holdings of master drawings, a comprehensive collection of international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursdays. Every Third Sunday of the month is “Pay What You Wish Sunday” sponsored by Bank of America. For more information, call (916) 808-7000 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

Disclosure: Kathleen Richards has been a fan of the Crocker Art Museum since her very first visit in fourth grade, and she now serves as the Crocker's Marketing Coordinator.

Savage Ear Entertainment

2011-09-06T08:19:16Z

In early 2001, Larry Olson got his first taste of the music industry when friend, Jeremiah Ferguson, asked Larry to book some shows for his band, Race Train Schizo. After a short while Larry became the band's manager. "It's funny, I never had any interest in the music industry before I met Jeremiah. I loved music, I had my favorite bands, but looking back on it now, I don't think I ever heard music before I met Jeremiah. I always listened to it, but I don't think I ever heard it."

In April of 2006, Larry established Savage Ear Entertainment as an artist management and booking company for long time friend Jake Ferguson and his band, The Grumpy. Booking shows for the band in Southern California on historic stages like the Whiskey a Go Go nine times, The Roxy Theatre, Viper Room and The Improv in Irvine, Ca. Here in Sacramento, Savage Ear Entertainment booked the band at Arco Arena twice, Raley Field, The Crest Theatre, and The Boardwalk to name a few.

In 2010, Savage Ear Entertainment established itself as a legitimate promotion company when they teamed up with some of Sacramento’s great promoters like Lionheart Entertainment, Big Jay Shows, AmbPirate, and 98Rock's Local Licks host Mark Gilmore to work together to remind everyone the most important aspect of the local music scene are the musicians.

"We have worked very hard to establish ourselves as an honest, hard working ally to the local bands of Sacramento. We’ve been lucky to work with some great national acts, venues and local talent and hope to continue to do so for many years to come."

Disclosure: Larry Olsen is the founder and owner of Savage Ear Entertainment

Taylor Swift performs at Power Balance Pavilion

2011-09-05T02:54:52Z

If a Disney princess decided to become a country pop superstar, then that superstar would be Taylor Swift.

She was so perfect, it seemed abnormal.

Everything about the Grammy Award-winning musician Saturday night was whimsically on-cue as she performed to a sold-out show at the Power Balance Pavilion, promoting her third album, “Speak Now.”

“This is the first time we’re headlining a big arena concert in Sacramento,” Swift said. “I can’t believe 13,000 of you decided to be here than anywhere else on a Saturday night.”

Swift’s movements on stage, while performing and speaking to the crowd, were that of the White Queen’s from Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” completely ethereal, while her facial expressions looked as if she were carefully trying to imitate Betty Boop’s.

“You’re more beautiful than I’d imagined!” Swift said, addressing the crowd in the same saccharin-sweet way a kindly preschool teacher might address her class: “Oh, gosh! Wow!”

The words whimsical, perfect and perhaps even ethereal may seem extravagant when describing a musician and her concert, but, again, this was more a princess singing her way through her own fairytale.

The stage was set to replicate a scene from “Cinderella,” with wrought-iron stairwells that Swift descended in an oversized, sparkling ball gown.

There were ballerinas, violinists, acrobats, fireworks and lots of talk from Swift about “magical first kisses.”

A white piano rose from the floorboards as she performed “Back to December,” while shimmering confetti fell from above.

During her Hayley Williams-esque song, “Better than Revenge,” Swift got a bit sassy, changing into a fitted, rhinestone-embellished red dress to match her painted lips.

Swift continued on with the sass as she sang “Speak Now,” stealing a groom from a supposedly wicked-witch bride in a wedding scene acted out on stage.

And for the “Love Story” finale, Swift sang in another glittering ball gown, her third of the night, while floating above the crowd on a balcony suspended by wires.

It’s no wonder the concert’s crowd was mostly middle to high school-aged girls and their fathers. Swift amps up the angsty highs and lows of adolescence in her songs, then grandly expresses it on stage, all while looking way better than beautiful.

Lost in the 80's at Thunder Valley

2011-08-29T02:04:44Z

Friday night was quite the ride down memory lane for everyone who listened to the radio back in the ’80s. The Fixx, Wang Chung and Naked Eyes all played to a packed Pano Hall at Thunder Valley Casino Resort.

You could say this was a British invasion of sorts, since all three bands hail from England. They were a smashing success in the ’80s, all with No. 1 hits. It was quite an impressive lineup, with only one concern: What time will I get home? There’s a whole lotta hits to be played from each band.

Naked Eyes, best known for their first single, “Always Something There to Remind Me," kicked off the evening with “Voices in My Head.” The band’s original members were Pete Byrne on vocals and Rob Fisher on keyboards. Fisher died in 1999, so Byrne is touring with three new members.

During his set he kept telling the audience that it was OK to get up, dance and have a good time. The audience was slow to respond. However, by the end of the set he had a few people on their feet dancing, but only a small fraction of the audience.

Byrne had a good stage presence and was very energetic, but the lack of vocals on some songs hurt his performance. He sounded great on some of his older hits but not so good on others, as he seemed to struggle on the higher notes.

Wang Chung followed with a number of their hits, including “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” Original band members Jack Hues (vocals, guitar) and Nick Feldman (bass, guitar) were simply awesome. Hues worked up the crowd with his theatrics and excellent vocals, while Feldman did it with pure energy and total absorption in his performance.

The amazing story here is how awesome the band sounded, despite only rehearsing together for one day. I spoke to young keyboardist Dave Appelbaum, and, needless to say, he was quite ecstatic about being able to play a couple of gigs with the talented Wang Chung.

Appelbaum explained his involvement with the band, that it was one of those friend-of-a-friend-type of scenarios, and, before he knew it, he was hooked up with the band along with the drummer who happened to be in the same circle of friends. On Saturday they headed to Fresno to play another gig with the band, and they hope to hook up with them at future concerts.

Each of the “newbies” were armed with MacBooks and referencing their sheet music often. Regardless, they appeared to be playing effortlessly, as if they had been playing the songs for years. Appelbaum looked totally immersed in the moment, pounding on the keyboard and just plain rocking it.

Wang Chung had the crowd worked up in a sweat. Most of the seats were empty, with people filling the aisles dancing. They didn’t sound just like they did when they were younger, but they still sounded awesome with Hues’ deeper, more mature vocals taking center stage. They played “Rent,” a new song off their latest CD, “Abducted by the ’80s.” The song is a very ’80s reminiscent, catchy tune with Feldman throwing a bit of Prince-like vocals into the mix.

With such an exceptional set by Wang Chung, I started to wonder how The Fixx was going to be able to follow such a performance. I didn’t have to wonder long. Front man Cy Curnin was just as animated, if not more so, than Hues. As Curnin sang, his hands were always on the move, telling their own story.

The Fixx stills tours with all its original members: Curnin, keyboardist Rupert Greenall, guitarist Jamie West-Oram, drummer Adam Woods and bassist Dan K. Brown. The band’s dynamic style and high energy immediately created a connection with the audience, bringing the majority of people to their feet. By night’s end there wasn’t a single person sitting.

It was a fun night for all. Pano Hall started out full, but by the end of the night, about a third of the audience had left. I’m sure that was because the concert went past 11 p.m.

Groban brings music and laughter to Sacramento

2011-08-26T23:54:58Z

Who knew a bari-tenor could have groupies?

Josh Groban put on an excellent show Wednesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. Groban began the show on a stage in the center of the arena, dozens of Grobanites, as they are called, swarming around the raised platform.

“You guys are circling like sharks,” said Groban.

His show was spotted with comedy, which was a rather delightful surprise. One doesn’t necessary expect to laugh at a Josh Groban concert, and in fact, everyone did – and frequently. Throughout the show he was tremendously interactive with the audience.

“I had a Starbucks earlier,” said Groban. “I’m really sorry.”

It would be interesting to know if this is the vibe and character of a normal show, or if it was a uniquely caffeinated mood. Judging by his confidence, mixing at random - “I Wanna Sex You Up” and eggs over easy; it seems that he was born caffeinated.

Groban was excited to be back in Sacramento, citing that this was the place that he got his start. He referred to his performance at the inauguration of Gov. Gray Davis and also mentioned producer and composer David Foster on several occasions. Foster, who arranged Groban’s first gig at Power Balance, ARCO Arena at the time, is often credited for having “discovered” Groban.

Groban was preceded by opener, Elew, an exuberant pianist who was always standing, kneeling or dancing – never sitting. His pieces ranged from classical to “Sweet Home Alabama,” a unique choice for a piano solo that got the crowd clapping.

Elew played as if he were at home tinkering on his own set of keys rather than in a sizeable complex, even playing the strings inside the piano with his left hand as he tickled the ivories with his right.

He won the hearts of many in just a few minutes and was a nice opening act for Groban, particularly because of Groban’s light-hearted and goofy demeanor. I would guess that he and Elew have some fun head to head musical battles in their off hours.

Midway through his set, as Elew began to stoically play “Love Story,” a woman in the next row questioned a friend.

“Isn’t that the Young and the Restless?”

Her query demonstrated exactly why the tune was chosen, and gave insight into Elew’s creative sense of humor.

Yet another performer to watch for in the future is Groban’s musical director, Tariqh Akoni. Akoni played various roles during the show, a highlight being his acoustic guitar solo during “Just Walk Away,” which Groban performed in Spanish.

Throughout the show, it was very apparent that Groban loves music. He arrived in Sacramento with basically his own orchestra in tow, his musical peeps, as he referred to them. More and more people joined him on stage depending on the genre or style of the song at the moment. The musicians on stage with him, how they play, and how and when he brought them forward to play said a lot about his attitude towards the various genres.

Groban prides himself for the variety in his repertoire. He had just that, his set list including songs in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin. Then, suddenly, he’s pounding away on a trap set in center stage.

Admittedly, I think that I could do with his voice alone. The accompaniment was high quality, but when he really sings, there’s magic in it.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I thought it possible there would be some tears shed at this event. There were several moments when his voice really was that impressive, the first song and last song included, but throughout the bulk of the concert, while his excellent vocals surely got the job done, it seemed that he wasn’t taking full advantage of his incredible talent. With a voice like that, less is more, because it’s already so much.

Throughout the evening, Groban took advantage of his extraordinary range. “Changing Colors,” for one, took advantage of the upper extreme. His performance, of course, was flawless.

The romantic, “Galileo,” was also a crowd favorite. Another song was dedicated to servicemen and women around the world. “The War at Home,” was very well received, the somber sound of a military snare sequence in the background serious, yet heartfelt.

By the end of the show, I was even more convinced. All I wanted was that voice, Groban on stage, no mic, no graphics, maybe a grand piano.

One lucky woman in the audience, among hundreds participating, text her thoughts to Josh Groban and found herself onstage. Beth Guido explained via SMS that she had been inspired by Groban and still today continues to work towards a singing career. Groban and Guido sang a nice rendition of “Happy Birthday” to another audience member. It’s safe to say that the audience liked her; their voices blended quite well, in fact, it’s actually too bad she didn’t say, “The Prayer,” when he asked her what she wanted to sing.

Beth, please keep that in mind for the future.

Settlin’ for nothing less than Sugarland with a side of Sara Bareilles

2011-08-26T20:57:30Z

The warm voice of Sara Bareilles welcomed fans to Thursday night’s show at Raley Field. Bareilles seemed at home here in Sacramento, perhaps due to the proximity to her hometown of Eureka. There was an extra bounce in her step as she sang away to the ballpark stands, the smell of hotdogs wafting in the air.

She let fans hear, “Love Song,” early on, which made everyone happy, and followed up soon after with “Many the Miles.” Throughout her performance, Bareilles really took liberties with the sound and tempo for both old and new material. She also informed the audience that she had spent all of Wednesday filming the music video for “Gonna Get Over You,” her newest single, which she then performed.

Sugarland fans got a treat when Kristian Bush made an appearance onstage, collaborating with Bareilles on “Basket Case,” a sweet melody on her newest album, “Kaleidoscope Heart."

“Gravity” came next, a title off of her first album, “Little Voice.” As she strummed, there was something adorable about her knee-dipping sway that underscored the fact that she is just a sweet NorCal girl at heart.

Just after sundown, Sugarland came on stage to packed stands at Raley Field. By this time, the heat had begun to subside and the hope of an incoming delta breeze – plus a hard lemonade or two – had the crowd ready for a great sing-a-long show.

Sugarland, led by Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles, played all of their big hits, starting with “Settlin’” and “Stuck Like Glue,” as well as, “It Happens,” and of course, “California King Bed.”

Throughout the show, the audience was very engaged - dancing, singing along and letting out so many wolf whistles that it was almost distracting to the show.

Nettles was a great hostess, wishing happy birthday to anyone who asked, sending her well wishes to Indiana and the victims there, and encouraging the audience to get into the show and the music in any way that they could. She brought everyone to their feet on various occasions, some standing for the whole show, particularly those on the floor just couldn’t get enough.

When the duo needed a break, rather than just taking a break, Bush surprised the crowd by giving away his guitar. He took a nice 10 minute break to walk through the crowd looking for a worthy fan, and then they were right back on stage, singing their hearts out.

Late in the show, Sugarland performed, “The Incredible Machine,” the title track of their newest album and the inspiration for this tour. They also covered a number of artists - mashup style - Britney Spears, Simon & Garfunkel and Dolly Parton among them.

All said and done, Sugarland provided a fun night of music for Raley Field spectators. There was hardly a trace of sadness from the unfortunate events earlier in the month, just an infectious display of life, and a desire for peace and happiness for all.

Sugarland finished by bringing Sara Bareilles back on stage. Together, they sang, “Come on Eileen,” the audience belting every word along with them. It was a great audience for a great show; Sugarland would settle for nothing less.

Blvd Park Returns to Sacramento

2011-08-25T02:15:59Z

Blvd Park is a former Sacramento band, newly transplanted to Seattle after the end of their “New American Dream Tour” in May. They are coming back to play a special show at Harlow’s Thursday night with Keri Carr Band and Kate Gaffney with Steve Randall. Founding member Brian Ballentine recently spoke to The Sacramento Press about the upcoming show.

What brings you back to Sacramento?

One of our friends down there is getting married. We haven’t been there in a while. It’s been half a year I think.

Have you ever played Harlow’s before?

Yeah, we played Harlow’s about a year ago with Split Lip Rayfield before, I think about two years ago.

What are you expecting from this show?

A couple local people are going to join us: Zack Sapunor, he’s going to play upright bass with us, and then Shea Trumbauer, he’s going to play snare. So we’re going to have like an eight-piece. Mick (“The Deli Lama” Stevenson) will be there probably, so it’s going to be kind of like a reunion show. I haven’t hung out with all my buddies in a while.

How is Seattle?

Seattle’s great. Our band is doing really well out here. We got into all the major clubs out here, and we’re starting to build a really good fan base, and we’re working on our new album. It’s going good. It was a good decision for a career move, for us to get to a bigger city. I think we’re going to be here for a while. No plans on leaving. We thought about going to the East Coast for a while, but I think we’re going to stay here because it makes more sense.

So you guys are working on a new album?

We have it worked out. We’re going (into the studio) in October. We’re just doing all the considerations to see what we need to do to get it taken care of. We found the producer and stuff and the place where we’re going to record.

What sort of an album is it going to be?

This album, it’s a little different from our first album. We’ve aged a lot more now. We can find our sound a lot more now. Much newer songs. Everybody’s writing. I did a lot of the writing for the first album, and now it’ s split pretty much evenly. Tekla Waterfield, Timmy Conroy and Jarrett Mason, he’s writing on it too. So it’s going to be a collective of all of us. That’s what we’re trying to (do to) begin with. No one’s the front man. Everyone’s all part of it, you know? All singer-songwriters, and it’s finally coming out that way. I’m really excited.

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

We’re just excited to get down there. It’s going to be a fun show. Kate Gaffney and Keri Carr are very talented musicians. Have you heard them before?

No, I have not, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Kate Gaffney is playing Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, so she’s got her name out there pretty well. And she’s local too — actually she moved to San Francisco.

I’m excited to jam with (Zack). Our other bass player, he’s staying here. He doesn’t go on tour. When we get to play with Zack, our energy is a little bit different. It’s a little more upbeat. We should be an eight-piece that night. A new mandolin player from Seattle is coming, so we’ll have another member. It should be pretty cool.

Mr. Fluffy puffs up Thunder Valley

2011-08-22T02:20:53Z

The one and only Gabriel Iglesias, better known as Mr. Fluffy, performed at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort on Saturday night, entertaining well over 3,500 people with his hilarious mixture of storytelling, parodies, characters and sound effects. I say well over 3,500 judging by the overflow in the parking lot next to Thunder Valley’s outdoor amphitheater.

Just prior to his performance, Iglesias had over 10 chocolate cakes delivered by fans to his dressing room. He said he performed a routine around seven years ago about a chocolate cake, and to this day fans are still delivering cakes to his performances. The record is 27 cakes at one event. Why do people bring him cakes from a joke made seven years ago? Iglesias said it’s all because of reruns.

As Iglesias took the stage, he told the crowd he was checking his tweets. He found out there was an 11-year-old with his family in the parking lot listening to his show. He apologized in advance for any foul language he may use. For the most part, it was a refreshingly good, clean show with very few offensive words. The four opening acts were Martin Moreno, Alfred Robles, Rick Gutierrez and Noe Gonzalez, and they were a bit more offensive.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed Iglesias’ ability to joke about the local area, including taking jabs at competing casino Cache Creek and joking about Chipotle in downtown Sacramento, where he ate earlier in the day.

This was a fun show with new material that Iglesias is trying out for an upcoming DVD. Even though the audience was falling on the floor laughing, some audience members were chanting for some of his older material. Being the gracious man he is, he did one more new routine and ended the evening with several routines from the past, starting with his Krispy Kreme joke, which had the audience cheering. When he did the Volkswagen routine, the audience started telling the joke in unison with Iglesias.

Normally the bars are hopping, but the audience was completely caught up in Iglesias’ routine and remained in their seats the entire show. As he ended the evening, he was sure to tell the audience that he’s a gambling man and will be in the casino later on. He wanted to make sure that if anyone saw him gambling that he would be honored to have them come up say hi and take a picture with him.

I had a chance to talk to Iglesias prior to the show – my opportunity to ask Mr. Fluffy himself a hard-hitting journalistic type question.
“So what do you think about your new Xbox with Kinect?” Pretty lame question, but he loved it. He has the Zumba dancing game, and he’s been burning up some major calories. He did jokingly say that he was not about to go live with it.

Iglesias was in the fourth season of “Last Comic Standing” and won Comedy Central & Comcast Cable's Comedy Special of the year in 2003. In 2004 and 2005 he was voted into the Top 25 of Comedy Central's “Standup Showdown.”
He also has a brand new series on Comedy Central starting on Oct. 6th called “Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution.” The show will feature stand-up routines from Iglesias and other comedians.

Zoë Keating: have cello will travel

2011-08-20T23:41:49Z

Zoë Keating, cellist extraordinaire, graced West Sacramento with her presence on Friday, August 19th.

Keating has been touring since February throughout Mexico, Europe and North America with her husband and son to promote her latest album, Into The Trees. Keating said she was taking the summer off, to her that means “only playing in California.”

Playing to an intimate crowd at the Community of Spiritual Awareness (CSA) Events Center this willowy redhead transported the audience to magical places.

Listening to such selections from Into the Trees, such as “The Path”, one can picture a winding trail through a lush forest with glimpses of grey sky above and a rolling ocean on the left.

The pounding, adventurous sounds of “Escape Artist” describe Keatings feelings of “running from city to forest and back again.”

This lone cellist uses a MacBook Pro, foot pedals and looped recordings of herself to create her unique many-layered sound. By using such methods, Keating says she is able to recreate the feelings of playing with an orchestra and being able to “lose myself in the music”.

“When I’m on stage and close my eyes, I’m no longer alone. I’m just a cellist playing with an orchestra riding the waves of notes.”

Playing the cello since she was eight years old, Keating had always wanted to be in an orchestra or conduct. She gave up due to her “terrible stage fright which kept me from auditioning”.

Keating went on to obtain a liberal arts degree and worked with software startups until that fateful day when she recorded herself playing to Beethoven’s 7th, 2nd movement.

Keating said, “I felt very liberated. I had the feeling of being in an orchestra again.” Expounding on those feelings Keating experimented some more and turned a passion into a dream.

Releasing her first album in 2004 titled One Cello x 16, Keating reached audiences one fan at a time playing in warehouses, churches, museums even airports. Producing her own CD’s has eliminated the middleman from the whole operation giving Keating a grass-roots feel. Using social media and intimate concerts to get the word out has created a close-knit group of die-hard fans with Keating saying, “I try to think of them as friends and make myself accessible to them.” (source: innerviews, 2010)

Since 2004 Keating’s unique stylings have caught the eye of quite a few artists including Imogen Heap (whom she has toured with), Curt Smith and John Vanderslice. She has also done the score for such films as The Devil’s Chair and Frozen Angels.

Zoë Keating finished her set with a futuristic lullaby titled “Optimist.” A song she wrote while pregnant which reflects the optimism she feels toward her son and his future.

“Optimist” is a song that Keating could use to describe her own life, as this solo cellist’s future looks very bright indeed.

Keating is currently writing for the play The Kepler Project which will be shown at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco on November 3rd. To find out more about Ms. Keating go to www.zoekeating.com.

Toad had Harlow's Hopping

2011-08-20T01:26:28Z

Years ago when our kids were young, my wife would set their alarm to play Toad the Wet Sprocket’s CD “Fear.” Every morning I was treated to the song “Walk on the Ocean.” Some mornings I would hear just the beginning chorus, and other mornings I’d hear the entire CD. Those were the bad days – not to say the music was bad, but the kids just wouldn’t get their butts out of bed.

Well, the kids are all grown up now and in their 20s. Don’t ask me for their exact age. I’m not wired that way. So it was quite a delight to take a couple of them over to Harlow’s in Sacramento to see Toad the Wet Sprocket on Thursday. Seeing the two of them watching the band that started their day, every day as kids, brought a tear to my eye. I can still hear the CD going off in the morning as if it was just this morning – wait a second, it was this morning – they still live at home! I cried a lot that night.

The evening started out with Garrison Starr, a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. She did a great job warming up most of the crowd, but there was a lot of chatter going on while she performed. She didn’t appreciate the fact that so many people weren’t paying attention and took several jabs at the audience.

After a brief set change, Toad the Wet Sprocket took the stage with barefoot lead singer Glenn Phillips belting out “Something’s Always Wrong.” This caused the standing-room-only crowd to shout and cheer.

Phillips made his political views clear between songs, describing the Tea Party as an accident between two buses. The first bus was full of libertarians, the second full of Tea Partiers. The resulting crash combined the worst elements of both.

“Great, now I’m going to get my ass kicked after the show,” Phillips said after several more Tea Party jokes.

“Finally Fading” was a tune Phillips wrote during the band’s 14-plus-year hiatus. It was nice to see him perform it with the original members, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning and drummer Randy Guss.

Recently Toad re-recorded their original songs, allowing them to distribute and publish their own work, since rights to their original recordings are held by Columbia Records. This has helped them stay true to their original sound. Phillips, despite throat surgery early in his career, sounds exactly like he did at the beginning of his career, over 25 years ago. He doesn’t look like he has aged much since then, either.

Toad is scheduled to release their first new studio album since 1997’s “Coil” sometime next year. They played several songs that are slated to be on the new album. The audience enjoyed the newer music, but it was a completely different atmosphere when they started playing music that the audience was familiar with.

Toad ended the concert with “Walk on the Ocean.” That’s when I woke up. Realizing I must have been dreaming, I reached over to turn off the alarm clock and the music stopped. Once out of bed, I headed to the bathroom and yelled to see if Mom had breakfast ready yet. Ahhh, life is good – waking up to Toad and having a nice hot meal waiting for me. Why leave?

DISCLAIMER: I don’t live with Mom. Yes, I did once. OK, maybe more than once, but I don’t live with her now. I do live with my lovely wife Ruth and too many kids.

Sade Live in Sacramento: Intimacy on a Grand Scale

2011-08-19T06:57:46Z

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 slow jams what Guns N’ Roses is to misogynistic arena rock. The aural equivalent of sipping white wine on a beach at sunset. Soothing but kind of boring.

Well, I was totally wrong about that one. At least as far as Sade’s live show is concerned. (I didn’t even realize Sade was a band until looking them up in preparation for this article. For anyone who is confused, Sade is the name of the band AND the name of the lead singer.)

There is something to be said for jumping in with both feet and being swept away by the tide of something completely opposite of what you’re used to.

The night began with another artist whose work I am wholly unfamiliar with, R&B singer-songwriter John Legend. Legend, in a brilliant white three-piece suit (which reduced much of the audience to screaming little girls), stormed the stage at 7:39, ripping into a cover of Adele’s “Rollin’ in the Deep.”

Legend brought an abundance of energy, transitioning from uptempo full-band numbers like “Used to Love U” to quiet introspective numbers like “Ordinary People” with ease. He even teased the audience with a new song, the as yet unreleased “Dreams.”

The climax of his set came when he announced that he didn’t “want to be alone tonight” and asked if there were any ladies who would like to come up and dance with him onstage. Predictably the crowd went berserk, with nearly every woman in the audience jumping out of her seat screaming, “Me, me, me!” Unfortunately (for everyone else), he could only take one, and the lucky lady was led onto the stage to dance with Legend for “Slow Dance.”

Afterward, Brandi Marizio said of the experience, (with stars in her eyes) “He looked good. He smelled good. It was wonderful.”

After a short break, Sade rose up through the stage floor on four square platforms to begin to the martial drumming of “Soldier of Love.” The sparseness of the set design melded nicely with the militaristic vibe of the song and the subsequent “Love Is Found.”

This is Sade's forist tour in North America in 10 years Thoughout the performance Sade (the singer, not the band) frequently commented that it had been too long since she had been here while profusely thanking the audience for staying with her. A decade of absence from the touring circuit seems to have had no effect, as the band were in top form and Sade’s soaring voice could not have been more glorious.

The show was divided, visually and stylistically, into three parts. The first was the aforementioned military portion, followed by a set and costume change that transitioned into a film noir landscape with everyone onstage in three-piece suits and fedoras. With only a lighting change and a projected backdrop of the New York City skyline, Power Balance Pavilion was transformed into an intimate speakeasy. Sade began this portion with their biggest hit, “Smooth Operator,” before downshifting into the quiet, soulful “Jezebel.”

[Aside 1: Hey, remember back when pointing a laser pointer at the stage during a rock show was hilarious? Yeah, me neither. Don’t be a jerk.]

Another subtle set change saw Sade back in an incandescent white dress for the final section of the night with “King of Sorrow.”

[Aside 2: It was during the following song, “The Sweetest Taboo,” that I realized pretty much every trip-hop band with a female vocalist from the mid- to late-’90s owes a colossal debt to Sade. I’m looking at you, Massive Attack!]

Sade closed the show with “By Your Side” before thanking the audience one more time. We watched their silhouettes as they sank back into the stage and disappeared.

Huey Lewis and The News

2011-08-15T02:20:19Z

Huey Lewis & The News rocked Thunder Valley Casino and Resort on Friday, playing to a sold-out crowd of over 3,500 cheering fans.

It was quite impressive watching as no fewer than 10 people (The News) stormed the stage while a booming heartbeat played in the background. As the crowd cheered, Lewis arrived onstage singing “The Heart of Rock & Roll” with the crowd joining in.

The next seven songs were off their new CD, “Soulsville,” which are soul cover songs from the Stax Records catalog. This earned a polite applause from the crowd with some shouts of “Hip to Be Square” and “Heart and Soul.” Starting with “Jacob’s Ladder,” Lewis got a bigger reaction out of the crowd. It was apparent the audience was looking for songs from the early years.

If anyone has seen Lewis perform in concert, then they know he always performs a couple of a cappella songs. Friday’s performance was no different. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the group’s rendition of The Dominoes’ “60 Minute Man” and “Uh-Huh,” both performed a cappella.

About an hour into the performance, Lewis had the audience on their feet with “Heart and Soul” and “I Want a New Drug.” That’s when I realized there was a sizable crowd gathered outside the amphitheater dancing and having a great time in the parking lot. To each their own. They serve alcohol in the amphitheater, not in the parking lot.

With a veteran 10-piece band that includes an awesome horn section, Lewis has a small arsenal at his disposal to perform a very diverse mix of songs. Add to that a 61-year-old voice, which, much like a fine wine, has matured with age. From the moment he hit the stage, his gravelly voice commanded attention and the audience was quite happy to give it.

There were a couple of Sacramento natives in the band. In the horn section was Johnny Colla, who was born in Sacramento and raised in Suisun. He is credited for writing "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "The Power of Love" and "If This Is It." Drummer Bill Gibson was also born in Sacramento and is currently living in Mill Valley.

It’s great to see a band like Huey Lewis & The News still going after all these years, although I was a little disappointed that they didn’t stick to their earlier hits. Playing songs from their “Soulsville” CD was nice, but I believe most people, myself included, would have rather had Lewis stick with the hits that brought him here, but, hey, someone has to keep working for a living.

Old Ironsides has sound system, continues live music

2011-08-12T00:56:53Z

Quashing persistent rumors that Old Ironsides would stop playing live music, staff told The Sacramento Press Thursday that the bar now has its own sound system, and concerts are booked into November.

“For the record, we were never without a sound system,” said Mark “Gonzo” Gonzales, a manager for the establishment and also the man handling most of the booking for shows.

In late June, there were rumors that the iconic establishment at 10th and S streets would no longer be hosting live music, which has been a mainstay of the business for 21 years.

Gonzales said the old sound system, which had been leased, was taken out June 19, and a new sound system was being looked at, but in the meantime, a different sound system was being rented.

The new sound system went on line June 29, Gonzales said.

Bartender Art Rodriguez said having the sound system is an important aspect of the business.

“It means a lot to me to have a new one, because the owners don’t have to pay the rent on the old one,” he said. “When I found out how much money they were paying for the lease (on the old sound system), it was incredible.”

Rodriguez declined to give an exact amount, but characterized the lease as “quite a bit.”

He said the sound system, which consists of a Yamaha sound board, two bass speakers and several powered speakers, is smaller than the one that was leased, but anything more in the small space would be overkill.

“All the people who have come into the venue really like it,” he said.

Only one live band show had been held with the new sound system by Thursday afternoon, Gonzales said, though there had been a few open mic nights as well.

Local alternative/R&B/rock band Red Velvet Kiss played at the venue with the new sound system in place, playing on July 22.

“It was decent,” said Vincent Scola, lead guitarist for Red Velvet Kiss. “It’s not as good as the last sound system, but it still did the job. I was happy with it.”

Scola added that he would play at Old Ironsides again, and he said it’s valuable to have as a live music venue.

“You cant have too many live venues,” he said.

Mick Stevenson, owner of Dad’s Sandwiches at 13th and S streets, said he is glad Old Ironsides has a new sound system and will continue to provide live music.

“It’s crucial in this town,” he said. “It’s not always my neighborhood watering hole, but all three of my bands have played there a lot.”

Stevenson has played in the bands Nevada Backwards, Sam Sobriety and BLVD Park.

“(Old Ironsides is) definitely our competition as far as restaurants go,” he added. “But I know everyone in there, and having them here is a benefit to everyone. The Old Ironsides guys talk about us, and we let people know about them.”

Stevenson added that he thinks having Gonzales book bands for the venue is a good move as well.

“Bartenders know what bands bring in the money,” he said. “It should be good. I’m glad they’re up and running.”

Rodriguez said the live music has helped the restaurant and bar succeed in the current economy.

“It’s very important,” he said. “I’ve been here for 28 years, and I’ve seen Old Ironsides grow from not having any entertainment ... As far as nightlife, (the music) has really helped.”

Gonzales said that no one should worry about Old Ironsides going anywhere.

“We’ve been around a long time,” he said. “Come in and hear the new sound system and support the local bands.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Tower of Power: Bump City in Sacramento

2011-08-09T15:20:18Z

Get ready to dance, Sacramento! The big and brassy sound of the iconic Oakland bump-funk band Tower of Power is coming to The Radisson this Friday night.

Fresh from a European tour, the grand masters of Urban Soul will have The Grove at the Radisson movin’ and groovin’ with their Bump City Dance Party.

Tower of Power is a band for generations of soul/funk aficionados. The band has been laying down their signature horn-driven dance beats for over 40 years, and their sound is as fresh and tight as ever.

Their semi-annual appearance in Sacramento is eagerly anticipated by fans who have been dancing to the band since the 1970 release of “East Bay Grease”. With the release of each of their 25 albums, Tower of Power has acquired more fans, and the dance floor is now a mix of all ages.

All profits from the August 12th show will be donated to Francis House, a Sacramento counseling
and resource center for poor individuals and families.

Local favorites Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers will open the show.

Tickets are on sale now at Dimple Records, TicketMaster outlets or online at
www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone, call (800) 745-3000. This event is “dance party”-style with limited seating. Doors open at 6:30 PM.

Peter Frampton

2011-08-08T13:42:22Z

Local guitar heroes Brian Wheat and Frank Hannon from the Tesla showed up to see legendary guitarist Peter Frampton play to a full house of hard core fans Saturday at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort.

The audience was chanting “Frampton! Frampton!” in anticipation of the start of the show. Just prior to the start, William Shatner’s voice came on the loud speaker to explain the no photography or video policy, although even before the end of the performance, videos were making their way on to Youtube.

Some of you may recall Tesla’s “Modern Day Cowboy” making it onto Guitar Hero 6. Well, they followed their guitar hero, who was featured in Guitar Hero 5 with "Do You Feel Like We Do" off his “Frampton Comes Alive!” album. So it was quite a treat to see the boys from Tesla meet one of their favorite guitarists.

Frampton started off the set with “Something’s Happening” and “Doobie Wah,” both songs keeping the crowd cheering and on their feet. “Lines on My Face” had the crowd sitting down, but giving him a standing ovation at the end of the song.

Cheers broke out as soon as he started “Show Me the Way”. In classic Frampton style he started in with his signature talkbox which really got the crowd going. While Frampton wasn’t the first to use the talkbox, he’s credited for bringing it mainstream with “Show Me the Way,” which was record in the ‘70’s. He’s been using it in concerts ever since.

The gracious Frampton said, just prior to starting “I Want to Go to the Sun,” that a guy by the name of Carlos had asked if he could sign one of his guitars, which was the same model used by Frampton. Frampton said not only would he sign it, but he would play it. After the song, Frampton invited Carlos up on stage to give him back the guitar and gave him a big hug.

After the show I was able to talk to Carlos Pereda about how all this came about. Believe it or not, Frampton keeps tabs on his Facebook page. Pereda posted a message on Frampton’s wall and Frampton responded that he would love to sign and even play the guitar. Arrangements were made with Frampton’s management team, and Pereda was able to hand off his guitar just prior to the show.

I heard Pereda telling the gentlemen to treat the guitar well because it was a special guitar that Frampton would be playing that evening. Pereda purchased the guitar used at the Concord Guitar Center several years ago and has always felt the guitar was something special. Well, Carlos, it is now!

The format of the night’s show followed the same format as the 25th anniversary deluxe addition of “Frampton Comes Alive!” including a 13-minute rendition of “Do You Feel Like We Do”. Frampton just recently ended his “Frampton Comes Alive 35” tour, where he performed the album in its entirety, with his performances lasting as long as three hours.

Doobie Brothers Smokin' at Thunder Valley

2011-08-08T03:21:51Z

The Doobie Brothers performed at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort to a sold-out crowd Friday night.

For those of you who don’t know the Doobie Brothers, they are rock group who formed in the ‘70s and were originally called Pud. Yes, I said Pud. One can only thank the heavens they decided to change their name to the Doobie Brothers. And yes, the name comes from that stuff referred to as pot. When smoked it’s also referred to as a joint, reefer, stick, roach, or a doobie.

Hey, can you spare a doobie, brother? I know. I crack myself up, too.

Opening with “Jesus Is Just Alright,” the eight-man band consisting of two drummers, three guitarists, bassist, saxophonist and keyboardist, kicked it into high gear from the very start. During their performance there were a lot of guitar changes, sometimes several per song. The guitars included four that were set up on their own stands, waiting for those magical fingers of Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, John McFee and John Cowan.

As the sun made its way down, all the phones and cameras in the crowd were reminiscent of those late-night concerts with everyone holding up their lighters, paying homage to the band. The band got plenty of coverage with all those lights shining in the night.

Toward the middle of the set, the band played a couple of songs off their new album, “World Gone Crazy,” including “Far from Home.” Up to this point, the majority of the crowd had been on their feet. “Far from Home” had everyone sitting down, relaxing to a very mellow soulful sound that was both touching and inspiring. You can hear the band’s maturity both emotionally and musically in the song, as well as others from their new album. It’s obvious these guys are comfortable with who they are.

When they played “Back to the Chateau,” also from their new album, the audience was back on their feet, fists pumping and bodies shaking. The song is a reminder of the Doobie Brothers of yesterday, with a driving beat and pure rock ‘n’ roll. As I was watching the crowd’s reaction, I realized it was a great mix of young and old. There was a young, fully tattooed guy with his fists up in the air, shaking his body, while right next to him was an older, gray-haired guy with his fists up in the air, shaking his body. It’s obvious the music of the Doobie Brothers has transcended a generation — or two.

When the band started “Black Water,” the crowd immediately joined in. Everyone was singing, including bartenders, security personnel and ushers. However, the band abruptly stopped and told security to back away from the stage and let people dance. Johnston kept on security until they moved away from the front of the stage and let people up to the front.

To anyone who didn’t make it out to the concert and thought to themselves, not interested in listening to some old, boring Southern-style rock band, you made a huge mistake. Don’t make the same mistake next time.

Thunder Valley Casino and Resort has both an amphitheater and an indoor stage, bringing the area a wide variety of talent from around the world. Their outdoor concert series is in full swing, with scheduled appearances by Huey Lewis, Gabriel Iglesias, Hall and Oates, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more.

Each Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., you can now party poolside with music, drink specials, giveaways and contests. You can purchase tickets at Thunder Valley or online.

Musical Charis album release party at Cesar Chavez Park

2011-08-03T06:33:29Z

Outside a Texan lighthouse – barefoot, with a Conchita horse and a snake as its audience – Musical Charis spent three months writing and recording new tracks in the middle of nowhere in southern Texas.

The Sacramento-based band Musical Charis is releasing its third album, “Ace of Space,” on Friday August fifth during the album release party at Cesar Chavez Park.

This early release date – six days prior to the national release on August 11th – is a special limited release only available in Sacramento for concert attendees.

“We love Sacramento,” said Jessie Brune, the band’s keyboardist. “Sacramento has been a really good home for us and we just wanted to say thank you by making the album available for our friends and our fans before it goes out to the public.”

At the release party, Musical Charis will perform their songs live as a part of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s Friday Night Concerts in the Park.

Musical Charis’s bassist and pianist, Isabel Solomon said that the band loves performing, playing music together and having fun.

“When people watch us perform live, they always come up to us after and say, ‘It looks like you’re having so much fun!’ ” Brune added. “And we’re just like, ‘We are!’ We’re not faking it. We really do like playing with each other. It’s real.”

Brune said their shows often include a lot of audience participation.

“You’re never too cool to dance at shows,” Brune said. “We always give tambourines to audience members – so if you come to the show, you’re more than likely to come play with us. We will have decorative feathered triangles for our friends and audience members to play.”

Musical Charis will be selling handmade merchandise such as jewelry and the feathered triangles at the release party on Friday. Copies of their newest album will be sold for $10 along with their two previous albums, “Electra City Church Bells” and “People People,” for an additional $15.

The band will be hanging out with fans and conducting meet-and-greets during the event.

The show starts at 5:30 p.m., and openers include other Sacramento artists: San Kazakgascar, Adrian Bourgeois and Be Brave Bold Robot. Two students from the Musical Charis Music School – Adelynn, 12, and Lyric, 14 – will each perform original songs before Musical Charis’s set.

Musical Charis will perform at 7 p.m..

“Ace of Space”

“Ace of Space” is an unorthodox album with a sound that is “the opposite of a studio album,” according to Blake Abbey, singer and guitarist of Musical Charis.

The band lived in southern Texas for three months writing, recording and living in an old lighthouse located on property owned by Abbey’s brother, Brune said. This was the longest amount of time the band has relocated from their “home base” of Sacramento.

Three tracks off of the new album – “Beelovin’, ” “Monday” and “1852” – were recorded inside the old lighthouse, giving the songs a unique sound because of the natural reverberations, Abbey explained.

“We cut some of the tracks outside,” Abbey added. “(One of the guitarists), Brian was playing bass on some tracks out of a teeny, teeny little 10-watt amp outside (in Texas), barefoot with a Conchita horse and a snake there in the background.”

The other tracks off of the album were recorded in Emeryville, Calif. at the Ex’pression College for Digital Arts with the help of 10 students working on their final project recording in the studio.

“(The album) is like a hodgepodge of songs recorded in Texas and California,” Abbey said. “It’s like half-Texan, half-Californian. It’s half-‘hella’ and half-‘ya’ll.’ ”

Abbey, Brune and Solomon said that “Ace of Space” is much different from the band’s second album, “People People.” Brune described “Ace of Space” to be “more futuristic, electronic and spacier” than the primarily acoustic-style second album.

“This album has a lot more digital stuff,” Abbey said. “Jessie did one of the songs by herself, and it was all in MIDI.”

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), they explained, is a type of controller used to make different kinds of synthesized tones and sounds. Through the use of MIDI, they were able to produce the more electronic sound that is present in the upcoming album.

“MIDI is sort of what’s taking over music these days,” Solomon said.

About Musical Charis

Musical Charis is group of seven musicians, singers and friends.

Solomon described the sound of the band to be a unique combination of the different musical tastes and styles of each of the individual band members.

“(Our sound) is like fun, dance-y, rock, pop, indie,” Solomon said. “It’s vocally driven with lots of male-female harmonies. And it’s just lots of fun.”

Brune said that many people have described the band to be a modern Fleetwood Mac. They also often draw inspiration from music styles of the ’50s and ’60s while still maintaining a modern, progressive sound through different styles and tempos.

Musical Charis has been together for three and a half years and formed as a product of the music school Jessie Brune and Blake Abbey opened together in Sacramento. Brune and Abbey began as a two-piece group before adding new musicians to the mix.

“We started a band with the four people that were teachers there, and we’ve just been adding and finding people along the way that want to play and have fun and teach music,” Abbey said.

The band is free-spirited and nonexclusive, Solomon said. Musical Charis has had around 20 to 30 different band members come and go since forming three years and a half ago.

“It’s structured by the people that want to be committed to it,” Brune added. “But there are also the people that come in and out – like we have someone that plays the slide guitar sometimes or the trumpet sometimes. It’s kind of like they’re little sprinkles that get added to the cake every once in a while.”

The band members, well-versed in vocals and various instruments, currently teach music lessons at ZuhG Life Store in the Downtown Westfield Plaza Mall on K Street. The current students range in age anywhere from 3 to 65 years.

The current band members include Byron Tobin, 25, playing the congos; Jarrod Affonso, 25, on drums; Brian Jennings, 26, on guitar; Jeremy Dawson, 28, on guitar and piano; Isabel Solomon, 23, on piano and bass; Jessie Brune, 24, on keyboard; and Blake Abbey, 27, on guitar.

Many of the band members have been studying music for more than 10 years and can play the multiple instruments used in the band. They often switch around who plays what. Musical Charis does not have a lead singer – every member sings, and the roles often fluctuate among band members.

“We were originally called Musical Charis because we switched around a lot,” Abbey said. “We switch instruments and we take turns singing at different times. We’re like a symphony.”

Abbey, Brune and Solomon said they have played almost 100 shows in the last year for both large crowds and crowds as small as seven people. Abbey, Brune and Solomon spent two months on the road in March and April touring the United States. They performed at different venues in Florida, New York, New Orleans, Texas and other states around the U.S..

“We all love music and we just want to have fun,” Solomon said.

Brune said that Musical Charis is about making something that lasts.

“We’re not trying to make it into the fast lane,” Abbey said. “We’re not trying to go move to L.A. to pursue blowing up. We’re just having fun and living life with the people we love.”

“Ace of Space” will be available to download online for $10 on August 11th on iTunes, Amazon, Napster and Bandcamp.

To learn more about Musical Charis, the band’s music school or to order your copy of “Ace of Space,” check out the Musical Charis website or JMB Records.

'80s Reunion concert brings back friends from the past

2011-08-01T07:03:09Z

In the ‘80s, they were called “kings of the local scene,” but Saturday night, five bands with Sacramento roots, performed a dedication show at Harlow’s for family, friends and fans who have been loyal listeners for some 20 years.

Harlow’s hosted “Lord Beaverbrooks and the Fat Fonzies,” a lively reunion concert that included bands such as The Features, Numonix, Tattooed Love Dogs, The Antics and Rhythm School.

These five bands were a part of the music scene at Lord Beaverbrooks, a happening music venue in Sacramento in the ‘80’s, that was able to showcase punk rock, alternative rock and new wave music. That location on 2384 Fair Oaks Blvd has since become Zinfandel Grille.

Loyal followers, who were nostalgic for the music and party scene that Lord Beaverbrooks produced, came in droves.

Harlow’s, located on 2708 J St. hosted a crowd of over 200 people, many of whom were in their 40s and 50s. These were people who you knew used to be the coolest kids in the class. On Saturday they went to see if the local bands they liked in the ‘80s were still cool.

Fan John Gardiner said he went to see his friend Sethyne White, lead singer of Numonix, perform. He pointed out that a lot of people in the crowd were ex-skaters and fans of alternative rock and new wave in the ‘80s.

If the crowd’s reaction to the music was any indication — in a word, yes — these bands are still cool.

The night kicked off with Rhythm School, a band with pop, ska, rock and reggae influences. The Lead singer Sean O’Callaghan crooned, “I got a love that’s like broken railroad tracks,” as his wife Treacy O’Callahan looked on.

Their music was the kind that someone bops their head to. It’s music that was made to make you move.

They were followed by The Antics, who played a brief but pleasing set. Women stood up and started to dance.

Harry Price of Numonix brought a bit of unexpected humor to Harlow’s. He shared that Numonix once a show for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Price recalled when lead singer Anthony Kiedis taunted Numonix mercilessly, calling them “new wave pussies.”

To get even, Price spit in Kiedis’ beer, unbeknownst to Kiedis.

“Now listen to the radio,” Price said. “Look who’s new wave pussy now.”

During her last song, White sang “you can’t get a boner when you’re dead,” swinging a penis-shaped microphone after she was goaded by fans to sing “the boner song.”

Though all the bands were well received, none brought the house down more than The Features. The concert was at its height when lead vocalist Johny Pride and his band took the stage.

In sunglasses and black Vans skate shoes, Pride oozed charisma but was gracious to share the stage when fans — some barefoot — got on onstage to be near the music.

The night ended with a performance by the seasoned band Tattooed Love Dogs. Markedly different from the other bands that performed that night, the music of Tattooed Love Dogs had touches of folk music mixed with rock.

The Tubes

2011-08-01T02:48:55Z

The Tubes, one of the most theatrical new wave rock bands of the ’80s, brought their sometimes offensive and oftentimes outrageous show to Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Friday. They are best known for their onstage presence and hits like “She’s a Beauty,” “Talk to Ya Later” and “The Monkey Time.”

In an extravagant mix of theater, rock and social criticism, Tubes lead singer Fee Waybill started the show with “Haloes,” followed by a rant about the sad state of the economy and how Boehner was going to “f*** us some more.” Almost every other word from him was f*** or b****.

There were those in the audience who loved the show and others who seemed to want to bolt out of the room. However, Waybill’s stage presence kept everyone glued to their seats for most of the concert.

Waybill got off to a rocky start, sounding off key, and I was ready to suggest he retire. However, his second song, “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World,” originally recorded by James Brown, left me wondering why he didn’t kick off the show with this song. He did a superb job, with a nice raspy blues sound. I thought this was one of the better songs of the evening.

He lost some of the audience due to his crude language and outrageous outfits. I know last week I said Pat Monahan of Train was in competition with Lady Gaga for multiple costumes changes, but scratch that. Waybill changed multiple times in a makeshift dressing room off to the side of the stage, arriving back on stage in some normal and not-so-normal outfits.

At one point he showed up in a Roman-style costume with barely any coverage in the lower extremities – front or back. Sadly, the front row was in the worst position of all, when at the end of the song Waybill turned to face the band and bowed in thanks, leaving the front row speechless, – or should I say sightless.

I thought Waybill was hit or miss for most of the concert, falling short on some songs and kicking it up a notch on others. I found his monologues mostly offensive due to his absurd views of women. He was also losing some of the audience, but that all quickly changed when he came out singing “White Punks on Dope” dressed as Quay Lewd, aptly named after the drug Quaalude.

As soon as Quay Lewd hit the stage, the crowd went wild, shouting back the chorus line, “white punks on dope,” and pointing back to Waybill. At this point, most people in the audience were on their feet, hands in the air, and moving to the beat.

“White Punks on Dope” has historically been their last song at concerts, so when the band left the stage, some audience members began filing out the door. Those who remained were treated to an encore that totally kicked the crowd into full gear.

Ending with “She’s a Beauty” and “Talk to Ya Later,” Waybill showed up in a costume reminiscent of a carnival hawker. The last two songs had the crowd gathered at the front of the stage dancing and shouting. At the end of the set, the entire band made their way to the front of the stage, where they shook people’s hands and thanked them for being there.

Chicago didn't have to 'Say I'm Sorry'

2011-07-31T06:15:49Z

With classic songs like, “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,’ Saturday in the Park, Hard to Say I’m Sorry, and Baby, what a Big Surprise” Chicago took the stage at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Saturday night. While they still perform crowd pleasing and solid versions of their classic hits, Chicago does not have the same stage presence it once did.

Throughout the entire hour and forty-five minute set the band took turns singing their classic tunes (instead of founding member Robert Lamm taking center stage). Although this worked on many levels, the fond memories many of us have of seeing Robert sing center stage with his powerful and addictive voice was lost. The reason is somewhat obvious, Robert no longer has the voice he once did, but he still commands the audience’s attention and it would have been nice to see the show focused around him a little more.

With the negative out of the way, lets be honest – Chicago is still Chicago and it was impossible to not sing along with most If not all of the tunes. Whether they were singing “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” or “25 or 6 to 4” the audience was on their feet reminiscing about their youth. There were the ‘love lost’ eyes, the moans of ‘I love you’ and the fast clap of ‘unadulterated enthusiasm’ abounding through-out the sold-out crowd. Chicago kept the pace moving and the audience enthusiastically thanked them for that.

Once of the strongest aspects of Chicago’s act was their three-member horn section. Not only did they add depth to each and every tune, they hit the notes almost perfectly – creating that relaxed party atmosphere Chicago is known for. With the band fully engaged, and the music flowing, the night seemed to fly by.

The only real odd portion was when they played a Christmas song to help promote an upcoming album release. Although Christmas trees are not uncommon on concert stages, one in July with temperatures in the 80s is. They did a good job with the song, but it definitely could have been left out and just had the upcoming album self-promoted from the mic.

The concert ended with the powerful and instrument laced “25 or 6 to 4.” The audience, of which almost all had stayed, made sure the band knew just how much they appreciated the performance. Standing and cheering they said goodnight to the band.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer for the Sacramento Press.

Uh Huh Her sweats it out at Harlow's

2011-07-26T23:40:50Z

In a rare all ages show at Harlow's last night, L.A.'s Uh Huh Her performed for a packed room of excited fans ready to make the most of a typically low-key Monday night.

Taking their name from the 2004 PJ Harvey album of the same title, Uh Huh Her is a sultry electro-pop duo made up of ex-Mellodrone bassist and keyboardist Camila Grey (who has collaborated with Busta Rhymes, Kelly Osbourne and Dr. Dre) and musician and actress, Leisha Hailey, formerly of The Murmurs and most well known from her role as bisexual journalist, Alice Pieszecki, on Showtime's, “The L Word.”

While Hailey's resume could suggest the band is an actor's passing fancy, the pair are seasoned performers and multi-instrumentalists to boot, even swapping their bass and guitar at one point.

The flirty stage banter was effortless as they forged a connection with the enrapt, overwhelmingly female crowd.

"We just came from Vegas," said Hailey with a smile, explaining a brief technical difficulty with her synth, "so you can imagine what my keyboard has been through!"

The music Uh Huh Her has put out so far – their 2010 debut, “Common Reaction,” and 2011's, “Black and Blue” EP – could be described as synth-driven pop with electronic rhythm, made all the more dreamy with Grey's and Hailey's melodic vocals.

Seeing the songs performed Monday with a second guitar and live drums gave them a rawness, turning the performance into more of a rock ‘n' roll show than you might have expected from listening to their recorded material.

The only issue seemed to be that the precision of the keys and vocals were overpowered by the accompanying muscle, not that it mattered to the dancing and now sweaty crowd. If anything, the organic live show enhanced the experience of seeing the twosome play, and they weren't the only ones generating body heat.

"I'm sweating balls up here. Balls, I tell you," said a soaked Grey, wiping the top of her chest with a towel to deafening squeals of delight from the crowd. "I don't know what that means, but it's happening."

Songs from their yet-to-be-released second LP, “Nocturnes,” were also being honed on the road. Originally planned for a 2011 summer release, Hailey said she thinks the new album will be out in October.

After a quick show and encore that lasted a little over an hour, the ladies of UHH sent their fans home exhausted and happy, as they stuck around to sign autographs and take pictures for a long line of fans that snaked along the inside of the club.

"They're hot," said new fan Lisa Burns, who found out about the show – and band – through meetup.com. "I've never heard of them but I'm very impressed!"

Photos by Steven Chea

Train Hits Thunder Valley

2011-07-26T01:11:36Z

Grammy awarding winning, Train, not to be confused with the series of connected railroad cars pulled or pushed by one or more locomotives, thundered into town on Sunday and performed to a sold out crowd at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort.

Thunder Valley Casino and Resort really scored with signing on Train to perform at their outdoor amphitheater. Train just finished their Save Me San Francisco tour last month. Taking full advantage of their current success, they headed back out on the road with Maroon 5 and Gavin DeGraw for a summer tour. The band actually performed in Southern California Saturday with the others, drove by bus to Sacramento, then headed back down to Hollywood for a Monday night show with the rest of the group.

Train got off to a fashionably late start. Scheduled to appear at 7:00 p.m., they didn’t take the stage until 7:35 p.m. which I’m sure had everything to do with the sun beating on the stage at that hour of the day. When they finally took the stage, they were met with wild applause and deafening screams.

Guitarist Jimmy Stafford and drummer Scott Underwood took the stage to kick off the show. Already on stage were Bassist Hector Maldonado and keyboardist Jerry Becker. They were joined shortly after by lead singer/songwriter Pat Monahan singing, “Parachute.”

Monahan was nonstop throughout the concert. He was bouncing from one side of the stage to the other, the whole time delivering his uniquely expressive vocals. Monahan being a short and downright skinny dude - got a little assistance from a platform at the edge of the stage.

As the evening progressed, I think Monahan may have changed his wardrobe more than Lady Gaga (if that’s even possible). He started out with a shirt and vest, then went down to the shirt, came back out with another vest, and at one point donned a red jacket similar to the one Michael Jackson wore for thriller.

Being the funny man that he is, Monahan started off joking about how women always show up to their concerts all dressed up, but the men simply wear t-shirts. After Monahan walked out among the crowd, he said every time he does that there’s at least one ass grabber. 80 percent of the time it’s a dude, but today it was a 75 year old lady.

Fifteen lucky ladies who were dancing on the floor ended up dancing onstage. Monahan had them climb a makeshift ladder to get up on stage. One of the ladies actually started climbing with a drink in hand. She made it; the drink didn’t. Once they were all onstage, he instructed them to perform their most sexy dance as he sang, “She’s on Fire.”

This was a high energy show with a lot of audience interaction. On top of being a great singer and songwriter, Monahan makes for a great front man, keeping the audience engaged the entire performance. When they ended their set with “Drops of Jupiter,” it was obvious to me and everyone else that the concert had gone by way too quickly and we all wanted more.

Before the concert, I had an opportunity to talk with lead guitarist Jimmy Stafford about Train’s new venture, Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. They recently released their first line of wine, Drops of Jupiter Petite Sirah. According to Stafford, their Petite Sirah was featured as the wine of the month at Bonefish Grills across the U.S. and is available at select stores and restaurants. The price tag – $9.99.

Stafford explained that the wine started out as a blend of various grapes from Livermore Valley’s Concannon Vineyards. Once they arrived at just the right blend, it was determined that the wine had a high enough percentage to call it a Petite Sirah (75 percent of the varietal must be present in the wine).

Being the wino that he is, Stafford says there’s nothing like a good glass of red wine before a show. He also told me they would be coming out with a Chardonnay and a Merlot in the near future, so keep an eye out for those.
After the concert, Caroline Logan approached the band asking if they could record a video for her girlfriend who was getting married to the song, “Marry Me.” She was visibly upset and crying, so Monahan grabbed the phone and started recording. He informed her friend that she was at the concert drunk and out of control. He was quite comical during the recording.

The song list for the show was:

Parachute
If It’s Love
Meet Virginia
She's on Fire
Calling All Angels
Latin routine of their various hits
Ramble On
Drive By (off their upcoming album)
Save me San Francisco
Ordinary
Marry Me
Hey Soul Sister
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Go to Thunder Valley Casino and Resort for a complete listing of upcoming events.

Uh Huh Her to perform at Harlow's

2011-07-25T01:59:20Z

Taking their name from the 2004 PJ Harvey album of the same title, L.A.-based Uh Huh Her is a sultry electro-pop duo made up of ex-Mellodrone bassist and keyboardist Camila Grey (who has collaborated with Busta Rhymes, Kelly Osbourne and Dr. Dre) and musician and actress Leisha Hailey, formerly of the Murmurs (and who you might recognize from her role as bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki on Showtime's “The L Word”).

The pair creates lush, layered synth-driven pop, complemented by soothing, ethereal vocals and driven by up-tempo electronic beats.

The band most recently released their dark and moody "Black and Blue" EP in May and is currently preparing to release their second album, "Nocturnes."

Uh Huh Her will perform at Harlow’s on Monday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.

Free Concert showcases local bands

2011-07-21T23:07:15Z

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, coming of age in the late 70s. Although I was closer to San Jose than San Francisco, the musical energy many associate with the area and the time saturated both. It was a time of super groups, huge venues, big hair and… transition. But one never knew if our friends’ club band would become the next ‘overnight’ sensation. Alas, none of my friends enjoyed that sort of success, though many do enjoy making a living from their passion still to this day. Since moving to the Sacramento area eight years ago, I cannot count all the people I have met who knew or grew up with one or more members of Tesla, one band of more than a handful that did make it big. But the music business is not the same as it was 25 or 30 years ago, and perhaps that is a good thing as the focus of the music seems to have returned to what it should be about, the music.

My concert attendance is nothing like it used to be in my youth. When I once could be found at one performance or another virtually every week, I now catch only a few each year. If not for some friendships forged with the members of two local bands, it would be even less frequent. One band, Stepchild, is well established in the area and after many years of hard work, they appear to be on the verge of ‘overnight’ success. The other band is a new power trio formed just more than two years ago. Both bands will be playing a free show at Shenanigan’s, 705 J Street, tomorrow night. The Absolutes will open for headliner, Stepchild, preceded by two other local bands (Mudface and Blownload) at 8 p.m. in KRXQ 98 Rock's showcase, Local Licks. According to 98 Rock’s Mark Gilmore, host of Local Licks, The Absolutes were chosen to open for Stepchild because they had the highest ticket sales of all other bands competing for the spot.

The Absolutes wrote songs and rehearsed for more than a year before their first gig on July 1st, 2010 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale. This is not a cover band and if I had not known it was their first gig, I would have though this was a well-seasoned band. Even though every song was heard for the first time by most the audience, the music exhibited an engaging element that is difficult to describe. According to Johnny Love, lead guitarist and vocalist, “a lot of people might find our music strange, but for us it’s more of a personal thing.” Love says that each band member brings with him a wide variety of musical tastes and the dynamic formed by the group drives its creative energy.

The band formed through the diverse network of Sacramento area musicians. Bassist Larry Mcallef knew drummer Christian Harlan from playing together briefly about 12 years ago. Love and Mcallef have been playing together on and off for the past 16 years. And if that is not enough, Love also played in a band with Stepchild drummer Brian Kelly years ago as well. As Love tells it, “Larry and I were just plunking around in the garage working on two songs. It had been a while since either of us were in a band so we decided to start a new project.” Harlin explains that was when he received a call from Mcallef and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

But this is a history with a future. Although the road is long and the chances of superstardom might be dim, this is a band with a difference. As Love explains, “I’d be happy just to do what I do now. It would be nice to make some money, but even if we don’t, I like to play.” Harlin adds, “If we could get a CD together and be considered as an alternative opener for promoters billing for bigger bands when they come to the area, that would be cool.” Perhaps Harlin is already realizing his aspirations as Love captures what tomorrow night’s opening for Stepchild means to him, “It’s a great honor, they’re a great local success. Their music has a definite following and it exposes our music to more people.”

But in the end, it comes down to the creative process for these three musicians. “We seemed to have a good feel for each other and right away we had a great personal dynamic,” Love said, “It really fuels the dynamics of the band.” With influences from such bands as Primus, Faith No More and Frank Zappa, just to name a few, this band is difficult to pin down into a particular genre. On the band’s page at Reverb Nation, their bio reads in part, “Part of the joy of The Absolutes is that we defy classification. High energy, clever wit, and our own style is what we are about, we don't sound like this band or that band, we sound like us.”

And that is the sound that music is and always should be about.

Neon Trees Wows Crowd at California State Fair

2011-07-20T22:01:29Z

Tyler Glenn, lead singer of Neon Trees, bounded across stage with his red motorcycle jacket flashing in the evening sun with the first notes of “Your Surrender” playing seductively in the audiences ears.

Up went his leg in a kick and up to their feet went the crowd, shouting and waving their hands in the air.

Fresh from opening for My Chemical Romance, Neon Trees made a stop in Sacramento before heading off to Indonesia for the next leg of their whirlwind tour.

Hailing from Provo, Utah, this band is making a name for themselves with their first “official” debut album Habits which came out March of last year. Featuring the singles, “Animal” and “1983” this CD with 8 tracks may be small in volume but packs quite the musical punch, with “Animal” coming in at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Neon Trees has been very busy since last year opening for such bands as Angels and Airwaves and 30 Seconds to Mars during the day
time and doing the late night talk show circuit after hours.

Even with all the non-stop traveling and tireless self-promoting, Chris Allen (guitar), Branden Campbell (bass) and Elaine Bradley (drums) along with Glenn, still take the time to sign autographs, pose for pictures and shake hands as they demonstrated Tuesday night after their concert on the Golden1 stage.

Opening with “Your Surrender”, Neon Trees kept the crowd moving and shaking through their eleven song set that included “Love and Affection”, “Calling My Name” in which Glenn evoked a little Billy Idol and “In The Next Room” that started with a tongue-in-cheek story about how Glenn once had his heart broken by the “fried kool-aid chocolate bacon girl” and how he still searching in vain for “her”.

Ending their set with “Girls and Boys in School”, Neon Trees left the stage only to come back on moments later to the ear-splitting sounds of “Encore!”

Bookcased between “Attraction” and “Sins of My Youth”, Neon Trees did a cover of Inxs’ “Never Tear us Apart”, which the crowd really enjoyed and probably would have made them bring out their lighters if it had been just a little bit darker.

With the masses chanting “I got these habits that I can not….” the concert ended, bringing the lights back on and the sounds of the fair rushing back in.

A sizeable crowd gathered back stage hoping for pictures and autographs and Neon Trees didn’t disappoint. After about a half hour the four of them came out and signed every paper and happily posed for every picture.

Seeing how much hard work Neon Trees puts into each and every concert and how much they truly appreciate their fans, one hopes that Tyler Glenn will once again meet his “fried kool-aid chocolate bacon girl.”

Asian Invasion at Thunder Valley

2011-07-18T02:22:17Z

The Asian invasion continued at Thunder Valley Casino Resort this weekend with the Vietnamese Hot Summer Concert. Some of the biggest names in Vietnamese entertainment were present. Some of the entertainers reside in the United States and cater to the Vietnamese population, so there was some English spoken during the show. I don’t speak a lick of Vietnamese, but I do like good music, so I was in luck.

The MC’s for the night were Nam Loc Nguyen and Bao Chau. In between artists either Nguyen, Chau or both would come out and introduce the next artist. Every time Chau came back on stage, she had a different dress. They were all long, flowing dresses that were quite colorful.

First up was Adam Ho. He came out singing “Hotel California,” and yes, it was in English. His second tune was in Vietnamese. Adam had a lot of energy and really played to the crowd, bouncing back and forth from one side of the stage to the other. At one point, he had a problem with his guitar. It seems he’s not used to using wireless.

Next up was Tam Doan. Doan was born in Vietnam and currently lives in Canada, making numerous trips to California to work on her recording career. She started off with a rumba sounding song entitled, “Can Nha Ngoai O.” Truong Vu joined Doan for her second song, “Mai Lo Hai Minh Xa Nhau.”

Vu did a great job and from what I could tell, he’s a crooner through and through. Much of the audience really enjoyed his song with Doan. After their song together, Doan left the stage and Vu sang “Voc Gac Dem Suong.” Considering the way all the women in the audience were reacting to his smooth vocals, this particular song was a love song.

Khanh Ly, who currently lives in Cerritos, California, came out and sang two songs, the second of which was a duet with Tuan Ngoc, “Nhu Mot Loi Chia Tay.” This was followed by Ngoc singing a solo of “Cry Me a River.”

Things started to pick up when Minh Tuyet started in with a melody that had a great cha-cha feel to it. Unfortunately, she got off to a rocky start. She arrived late and was unable to attend the rehearsal, so she had to work with the band in between songs to ensure they were in the right key. She went on to sing a duet with Luong Tung Quang.
After Tuyet left the stage, Quang started singing “The Gioi Khong Tinh Yeu.” A group of dancers joined him onstage to finish the song.

Thu Phuong played a steamy set, at least it looked steamy to me. I still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of Vietnamese, but by the way the men were reacting it was steamy. Phuong sang “Bai Tho Khong Doan Ket” and “Tinh Ho.”

Following Phuong was Lam Truong performing “Tinh Nhu Giac Mong Tan” and “LK Tinh Phai.” Truong was quite the looker with several women shouting out, “I love you.” The performer took it all in stride, but you could tell he was loving it.

Headlining the show was Hong Ngoc, who currently lives in Texas. Performing, “Chuyen Thuong Tinh The Thoi” and “Cho Mot Lan Chia Ly,” it was obvious she is the pop singer of the group. Her set started out slow and then finished fast with her hips doing all the work. She could give Shakira a run for her money; this girl can move.

Although I don’t speak Vietnamese, it was interesting to attend a concert where you can’t understand the language. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what language you speak when listening to music; It’s what moves you that counts.

Tesla - New CD Released

2011-07-14T02:35:58Z

Fans started gathering at the Dimple Records on Arden Way around 5:00 p.m. in anticipation of Tesla’s latest CD, “Twisted Wires & the acoustic sessions.”

Upon entrance to the store, I heard the latest addition to the family singing - or should I say wailing - away as if he were onstage. Four month old Joe Bob Jeffrey Keith, son of lead singer Jeff Keith, was rockin’ the house just prior to Tesla taking center stage. That boy has a set of lungs to rival his dad’s. It took some time but Joe Bob finally calmed down and let Dad take center stage.

Lori Townsend, a longtime fan, was standing in line with couple Alfred and Shawna Lyon. They were excited to be there and were buying CD’s so each of the band members could sign the covers.

The Band was introduced by Pat Martin from 98 Rock. After a few questions, Tesla performed acoustic versions of “Signs,” “Love Song” and their brand new song “2nd Street.” It was fascinating to see the various cameras and camera phones popping up during the performance.

Their carefree and neighborly demeanor is one reason the band is one of the most loved bands of the 80’s. All the band members were gracious to their fans, shaking hands and talking to them as if they were old friends. In fact, Keith was being rushed over to the signing table, but stopped to take time to have his picture taken with a few fans along the way.

Both young and old were in line. Rick Paige stood in line for about 45 minutes to have his electric guitar signed by the band. Not to be outdone, his daughter Paige followed him with a CD cover.

The new album has a total of 12 songs with six original tracks that were recorded in 2005 at Brian Wheat’s recording studio, J Street Recorders. These recordings were the last with original member Tommy Skeoch who later left the band.

The remaining six tracks were recorded at guitarist Frank Hannon’s studio, including one new song, “Second Street,” and a newly recorded song dating back to their Geffen Record days, “Better Off Without You.” Last year on a nationally televised program, guitarist Frank Hannon stated that the song was a demo for Geffen and that Guns N’ Roses song, “Patience,” was their song note for note.

This CD reinforces the fact that Tesla started the “unplugged” craze back in the 90’s. Their acoustic renditions of lesser known songs such as "Shine Away" and "Caught In A Dream," are refreshing to listen to and have excellent guitar and harmonies. Keith’s vocals have definitely improved with age and remind me more and more of Steven Tyler. However, Keith continues to have a sound all his own, especially when backed by the likes of bassist Brian Wheat, guitarist Frank Hannon, drummer Troy Luccketta and newest member, guitarist Dave Rude.

While some people will be disappointed that there isn’t a lot of “new” material on the CD, the fact that they went out on a limb and recorded lesser known tracks speaks volumes about the band’s confidence and creative ability. Some people might argue that it’s not very creative to do a different version of an old song, but most bands are not willing to go out on a limb and put out songs that didn’t do well in the first place. For that reason alone I say hats off to the band and wish them luck on their upcoming tour and CD sales.

Fans will be pleasantly surprised.

Idol Live! a little green, but so pure of heart

2011-07-14T00:06:03Z

Monday, July 11, Power Balance Pavilion hosted American Idol Live! for the tenth time. Spectators waited - thick, glossy programs in hand - for a live glimpse of their season favorite. There were even several devoted fans with binoculars.

Power Balance Pavilion has hosted American Idol Live! every year since its inception. This year, the event exceeded expectations. The 11 young stars sang to a crowd of over 11,000 people.

The evening’s show opened with all five ladies, all in white, singing Lady Gaga’s, “Born This Way.” Naima Adedapo, Haley Reinhart, Thia Megia and Lauren Alaina in a walking cast, helped down the stairs by Pia Toscana, opened the show.

Start to finish, Idol Live! producers seemed to be working hard to allow each performer to shine in their own way. The group never seemed to be acting as a choir, but rather, as a group of collaborating artists. They performed background vocals for each other whenever the need arose.

With 10 background screens, one would have thought otherwise, but the show’s producer also did a good job of the background graphics and video, emphasizing and complementing the beat, but allowing the singing to speak for itself.

Pia Toscano performed early, introducing her new single, “This Time.” Toscano was one of three idol contestants to perform a single during Monday night’s show. Toscano also belted out “Empire State of Mind,” the 2009 Jay-Z, Alicia Keys duet. The version was tweaked to let Toscano shine. While it did not surpass Keys’ glorious vocals, it was inspiring all the same.

While Toscano’s presentation struggled - she missed an entrance slightly and let her eyes linger on the steps below her for a second too long - she got on track soon enough. With a bit more experience, we could be seeing more of this twenty-something New Yorker.

Toscano was then joined by Stefano Langone for “California King Bed,” a song that was performed by Rihanna in a memorable episode this season. It was clear throughout the show that Langone just can’t get enough of the stage. It was refreshing to watch a performer so intent on enjoying the show right along with the audience.

Langone and Adedapo each had their chance in the spotlight as well. Langone sang “Grenade,” a Bruno Mars ballad, performing on the keyboard as well as showing off his vocals.

Naima Adedapo had the most personality of the group. Among all the performers, Adedapo seemed to be the most likely to strongly forge ahead, vote besotted or not; an excellent personal trait for the celebrity world. Adedapo marked her performance with a memorable and spirited dance that pushed the boundaries of normal body movement.

If Adedapo had the most personality, then 16 year old Thia Megia was the most in love with what she was doing. The young singer from Hayward did a beautiful job, though the sound system surely had the worst effect on her voice. Unfortunate, really, considering the lyrics of her first song, “Who Says,” a tune originally performed by Selena Gomez and the Scene.

“Who says, who says you’re not perfect?”

Paul McDonald began his evening by performing “Maggie May,” his voice hoarsely Rod Stewartesque. The way the crowd was responding, it’s hard to imagine why an artist wouldn’t want this type of exposure for their music.

McDonald tried to liven things up, but it wasn’t until Steven Tyler came on screen, his vivid personality shining through in a ridiculous and slightly profane clip, that things really started to heat up. James Durbin came from the depths of the crowd to belt “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” a Guns N’ Roses classic. The crowd was on their feet and Durbin went down in the show’s history as the first big thing. Durbin later performed an outstanding and crowd pleasing rendition of “Uprising” by Muse.

Also in the first half, Casey Abrams and his bass won over the crowd. Abrams seemed to be intent on saluting the 90’s. Santana and Rob Thomas followed by Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe,” it’s a good thing he was in Sacramento, a place where there are more 90’s radio stations than anywhere else in the world.

Abrams seems to be an entertainer at heart, and not just because he looks so much like Zach Galifianakis. Abrams also paired with Haley Reinhart for a great duet before Reinhart went solo.

Reinhart sang “House of the Rising Sun” by Animals, and did it beautifully, although the cut of her dress nearly knocked the show up to NC-17. Her well-liked version of “Benny and the Jets,” was next. The Elton John classic charmed, as usual.

The second half started out with a short Lauren Alaina feature. Her incessant climbing up and down the stairs in a walking cast did nothing to enhance the show - or her performance. All around, spectators tittered their worry, astonishment and disapproval. Still, Alaina’s new single, “Like My Mother Does” was well-received.

“If I Die Young,” a song originally performed by the The Band Perry, came next and was beautifully done. Surely, this is not the last that Sacramento has seen of this artist. Alaina has more than enough talent to go around, her voice uncannily similar to that of her very own Idol, Carrie Underwood.

Jacob Lusk got at least a few crowd members to loosen up and groove. He sang several songs, the best of which was Marvin Gaye’s “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Like Adedapo, Lusk appeared confident in his style and abilities and was not afraid to prove it.

The males, McCreery excluded, also collaborated for a song or two. The group seemed to have more camaraderie than the females, where there seemed to be sharp edges, perhaps because it was so hard to walk up and down those stairs.

As the second half progressed, tension built for the big reveal. The audience had yet to see Scotty McCreery, American Idol 2011. It was easy to see and hear that the crowd loved him. There were posters and signs, and outside of the women’s restroom - formerly a men’s room - a young girl sported a puff-painted t-shirt reading, “I love you Scotty McCreery.”

Finally, after a brief overview of every Idol, “S-C-O-T-T-Y” appeared on the center screen and the star himself stepped out on stage. McCreery started with “Your Man,” a Josh Turner melody and his debut audition song.

During his first serenade, it was almost stunning how someone so young, who looks so much like the Mad magazine kid, can already be making it as a ladies’ man in the country music world. McCreery’s adorable presence added to his truly unbelievable vocal skills.

The 2011 American Idol also showed off his single, “I Love You This Big,” and performed “Kiss me or not,” a Thompson Square duet. McCreery has a voice so country and so like Randy Travis that it makes you want to check his lips to make sure that he is actually singing. There is no doubt that McCreery will be making tours and albums of his own in the very near future. The 16 year old’s voice is so big, in fact, that Grand Ole Opry status is imminent.

They called this season a season of remixes, and so it was. Langone and Adedapo began the finale with Aerosmith’s “Walk this way,” and slowly added from there until all eleven were on stage. The cast finished strong together, shifting into a bright rendition of Journey’s, “Anyway You Want it,” each letting their individuality shine through.

All in all, despite the cliché, there really was plenty of talent to go around. Performance skills and confidence were about as green as you could get, but this clearly comes with time. Sacramento was only the fourth stop on the American Idol Live! tour. The first tour just might serve as a rite of passage into the music world. One can only imagine the increased confidence and stair-stepping abilities of the final show of the tour.

Tesla Resonates at Thunder Valley

2011-07-11T02:39:25Z

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 aged as we all have (thanks to radio personality Don Geronimo for pointing this out, but more on that later), but they’ve never sounded better, and Saturday night at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort was no exception.

Just before the show, the audience was treated to an appearance of the latest member of the Tesla family, Joe Bob Jeffrey Keith. It was kind of a family-album moment, and you could tell lead singer and father Jeff Keith was in his dad element. When he introduced the newest member his daughter Courtney handed off Joe Bob to their father.

The band kicked off the concert with “Forever More,” followed by “Hang Tough.” These guys are high energy and were constantly on the move. Band members were flinging picks throughout the show. I was afraid I was going to lose an eye.

Just prior to “Breakin’ Free,” the band pretty much challenged Don Geronimo. It appears there’s a bit of a tiff between Tesla and Geronimo. It all started when Tesla was asked to play at the Here We Rally at Cesar Chavez Park in support of the Kings. Just before the rally, Geronimo went on a rant about the band members. Bass player Brian Wheat took exception to his comments and posted his response on Tesla’s site.

I guess we’ll see if Geronimo responds. I can see it now. Thunder Valley Casino and Resort presents the “Ultimate Mud Wrestling Championship: Tesla vs. Don Geronimo.” I’ve never heard Geronimo’s show before, but I did listen to the show in question, and I’ve determined Geronimo gets off by demeaning people in general, so I wouldn’t take it too personally. However, what he did say, according to Wheat’s post, is pretty personal. This from a guy who, when he was just starting out, was fired for forging an FCC broadcasting license.

Back to the concert. Like I was saying, these guys are high energy. They were a blur of action until their acoustic set. I thought the audience would start to lose interest going to a mellower sound, but the crowd remained engaged, clapping as guitarists Frank Hannon and Dave Rude flawlessly performed “Love Song” with Wheat joining in.

For their last song, “Signs”, a lucky 98 Rock contest winner was invited to join the band onstage to sing the intro. Jody Snider was thrilled to learn that she had won the opportunity and was joined by a friend. They also had the opportunity to go backstage and have their picture taken with the band. The whole time they were bubbling with excitement.

Like the original Tesla coil, Tesla the band has just gotten bigger and better over time. Both the coil and the band now operate at extremely high-peak power levels with the ability to reach mucho megawatts (just ask the sound guy). They proved that Saturday night with a high-energy show. And to prove they still have it, Tesla will be at Dimple Records on Tuesday signing autographs and performing an acoustic set for the release of their new album, “Twisted Wires & The Acoustic Sessions.” They will be at 2433 Arden Way Sacramento, CA 95825-2411. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

The CD has six original tracks that were recorded in 2005 at Wheat’s recording studio, J Street Recorders. These were the last recordings with original member Tommy Skeoch. Wheat’s studio burned down last year and, lucky for Tesla fans, not all their recordings were destroyed in the fire. Wheat is rebuilding, and rumor has it the new studio will be named The Trax.

Join the band out at Dimple Records and show them some Sacramento love!

As for Don Gerinomo. Donnie, I've never listen to you before today and I don't plan on listening to you again, but I've been listening to Tesla for over 20 years and will be listening for another 20.

Thunder Valley Sets Off Dyno-mite!

2011-07-09T02:32:01Z

I was heading out to the Super ’70s Soul Jam at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Thursday night, so I donned my rose-colored glasses, bell bottoms and platform shoes.

I packed snacks like Big Hunk, Bottle Caps and Screaming Yellow Zongers before leaving. I knew I would get the munchies since I’m such a burnout and can’t leave home without a joint or three (hey, I have a prescription). I was just hoping I could maintain with all that groovy music playing. The last thing I needed was for some narc to rat me out. As for the concert, it was far out, man, and, I should add, dyno-mite!

Right on. I get it. Not everyone can be as hip as the hipsters from the ’70s, but last night at Thunder Valley everyone was hip and just hanging out with the likes of the Dramatics, the Stylistics, the Delfonics, Heatwave, Carl Carlton and the emcee for the evening, Jimmy JJ Walker. The audience was grooving in their seats and boogieing in the aisles. I think there were a lot of sick people at the concert, since many of the people in the bleachers had the same prescription as me.

To start the night off, Walker took the stage. Most people remember Walker from his role on “Good Times” as James Evans Junior, or JJ. In fact, Walker coined the term “dyno-mite,” which became slang for great or fantastic.

Walker started right off with black people versus white people and didn’t let up throughout the evening. He attacked the criminal justice system and how black people are convicted and sent to prison while white people such as Casey Anthony and Lindsay Lohan walk. During a brief break, he told the black people to be back in three minutes, but white people to be back in 10. It was all in good fun and the audience loved it.

Carl Carlton was next on stage, singing two of his most recognizable songs, “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama.” Right away people were up dancing in the aisles and having a great time. Carlton complained about the heat, hoping the sun would have gone down by the time he started, but they got an early start at 7:30, so no such luck.

Following Carlton was Heatwave with original lead singer Keith Wilder. They performed a number of their hits, including “Boogie Nights” and “Always and Forever.” When “Always and Forever” started, more couples jumped up to dance, including Lonnie and Brenda Prudhomme (see photo). I think Lonnie was a reluctant participant, but that’s just my opinion.

Next up was the Delfonics with founding member Wilbert Hart and longtime member Garfield Fleming. After all these years, they still sounded the same singing their hits “La-La (Means I Love You),” “Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” and “Break Your Promise.”

When the Dramatics took the stage with original band member L.J. Reynolds, they got off to a rocky start. Not all of their songs sounded quite right, but they did hit their stride with “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” and “My Girl.”

Headlining the show was the Stylistics with original band members Herbert Murrell and Airrion Love. They performed many of their hits, including “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” “I'm Stone in Love with You,” “Break Up to Make Up” and a medley of all their hits, ending the show with “You Make Me Feel Brand New.”

By the end of the show, the crowd had diminished somewhat due to the late hour, but those who remained were still up and dancing all the way to the last song. Everyone had a great time and just got lost in the moment, remembering years gone by.

The summer concert series at Thunder Valley Casino is in full swing. The complete entertainment schedule is available on their website.

Randy Miramontez is a contributing writer and photographer with The Sacramento Press.

The Beach Boys prove they still have it after 50 years together

2011-07-04T05:41:12Z

It's been 50 years since the Beach Boys formed and have been " getting around" with their all-American hits about love, summertime, the beach, surfing, endless youth and cars.

Many fans flocked to Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Friday evening to attend the sold-out Beach Boys show, part of Thunder Valley's Summer Concert Series. Nothing but nostalgia filled the air as the crowd rocked their Hawaiian shirts and leis, hit beach balls in the air and lined up at the beer garden to get their fix before the band hit the stage.

The arena was surrounded by old classic cars and limos with words painted in the windows such as "Beach Boys Forever." These were the type of rides fans drove to see the band they grew up listening to. Whether it be a group of ladies rekindling their friendship over their favorite band from the ‘60s, a married couple who fell in love listening to " Little Deuce Coupe" while in their little deuce coupe, or an all-around family affair, the venue was a packed house of people ready to bring back the memories.

The stage fit the scene, as the instruments were surrounded by palms trees and surfboards. Even the crew testing the instruments and setting up the stage were wearing wet suits, although the ocean was nowhere to be found.

Throughout the years, the Beach Boys have changed their lineup, never quite keeping the original due to their personal hardships, challenges and changes. Lead vocalist Mike Love is the only remaining original member hitting the road under the Beach Boys name.

As soon as the band blasted the audience with their first song, "Catch a Wave," the oldies-but-goodies in the audience raised their hands, nodded their heads, clapped their hands and shimmied back and forth in between the aisles without a care in the world. And it didn't stop until the final song ended.

The Boys rocked the crowd through six straight songs before addressing the audience.

"This is pretty cool they took the top off the Memorial Auditorium where we did our first live album," Love said. The crowd roared in laughter. "We would like to take an intermission followed by a nap."

Concert-goers toasted their cups and nodded their heads to agree with their older-age humor. Love seemed appreciative of the women swinging their hips and dancing in the aisles, dedicating "Little Surfer Girl" to them as he brought out his daughter Ambha to slow dance.

More than halfway through the set, they played the smash hit "Don't Worry Baby" and the whole crowd rose to their feet, women and men holding hands and dancing together. The Boys were on a roll when "Little Deuce Coupe" started, and there were no signs of the audience stopping their madness.

Love was full of jokes. He wanted to let us all know that John Stamos was sorry he couldn't make it and that he said “hi.”

“Most of these songs were from 1963, the same year Stamos was born,” he said. “And I keep telling him he [should this be “me”?] and his mom had a lot of fun around then. Just kidding, guys. That is called a ‘yo momma’ joke.”

During "Barbara Ann," Love's daughter brought her children onstage for a full house of musicians and family. Before the final song, " Fun, Fun, Fun," most of the crowd was starting to die out.

"I still like to party and tonight was magical, but I can't lie. It's past my bedtime!" Janice Nielson from Sacramento said on her way out of the venue.

Perhaps the Beach Boys will made it back to us again in the near future to pull families together to sing, dance and be forever young at heart.

Chinese Concert Series at Thunder Valley

2011-06-27T02:41:33Z

A Chinese invasion of sorts took place on Saturday in Lincoln, where Thunder Valley Casino hosted a Chinese concert series starring some of the biggest names in Chinese entertainment.

The stars of the show were Dragon Li, Michelle Kim and Niki Chow. All were well received by the mostly — scratch that — all Asian crowd. That was a good thing since the concert was mostly in Chinese, with only a couple of songs with English interspersed.

At one point I could swear they were talking about me. I usually only get paranoid after taking illicit drugs or riding in an elevator with people talking in a language I don’t understand. Oh well, next time I’ll have to bring a Chinese-to-English translator. Wait, isn’t there an app for that?

The audience loved the show, which was a combination of singing and chatting with the audience. Both Chow and Li started up conversations with audience members while keeping their fans laughing. Several fans ended up on stage dancing and singing. No translator required.

Although I don’t speak Chinese it was easy to follow what was happening both onstage and off. While the stars of the show were speaking in Chinese it was obvious to me when they were telling a joke versus telling a story, or setting up a song. Their body language spoke volumes and once a song began you couldn’t help but sit back and enjoy the music.

It was obvious from the start that Dragon Li was the seasoned veteran. He bantered back and forth with the audience in between songs and was quite comfortable onstage as were both Yim and Chow. He seemed to enjoy the audience participation more than his fellow artists.
Li, an actor and singer, got his start in Hong Kong in the late 1980s when he entered a singing contest, Sing Bao Ji Yei. There he was discovered by a talent manager and later signed with EMI Records. He recorded a number of television and movie theme songs, including “Superstar (Gui Sing),” “Brave (Nan Ji Han)” and “Confused (Ching Mi).” Li also starred in the television series “Journey to the West (Si You Gei).”

Michelle Yim, also known by her Chinese stage name Mai Suet, is a Hong Kong actress. In 1975, Yim joined Commercial Television, and in 1976, Yim acted in “Legend of the Condor Heroes,” a Wuxia TV series adaptation of Louis Cha's novel of the same title. In 1978, Yim started working with Television Broadcasts (TVB) and guest-starred in one of the period dramas, “The Twins,” which later became one of her best works. Her most recent work won her the award for best drama performance by an actress for her role in “Moonlight Resonance” at the Asian Television Awards.

Niki Chow is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop (Hong Kong popular music) singer. Until recently she was under contract with BMA Records, but she terminated the contract to pursue a new contract with TVB. She has appeared in several movies and television series, including “Hard Fate” and “The Gentle Crackdown.” She won the most improved actress award at the TVB Anniversary Awards in 2005 for her performance in “The Gentle Crackdown.” She has also authored several books and is scheduled to begin filming an Ancient Series [Is this the title? If so, it should be in quotes.] for TVB beginning in July.

The summer concert series at Thunder Valley Casino has just started and tickets are selling fast. The complete entertainment schedule is available on their website.

Randy Miramontez is a contributing writer and photographer with The Sacramento Press.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Rock Thunder Valley Casino Resort

2011-06-20T21:20:10Z

Joan Jett, one of our reigning queens of rock ’n’ roll and one of only two women on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 greatest guitar players of all time, rocked a full house at Thunder Valley Casino Saturday night.

Jett, accompanied by her band The Blackhearts, proved that she still has the energy and free-spirited wild-child persona she adopted during her early days as a guitarist in her first band, The Runaways.

Jett donned her signature black shaggy hair, dark eye makeup, a black tank top and Converse as she paraded around the stage, clapping her hands and encouraging the crowd to throw their hands up and sing along. Joining her on stage was lead guitarist Dougie Needles, drummer Tommy Price and bassist Enzo Penizzotto.

The ground-level VIP area was filled with die-hards crushed against the stage, mesmerized by Jett's every move. The VIP seated area was much more relaxed.

"All of these seats are taken,” Sandy Johnson claimed. “Our girls are out getting us some cocktails!" Johnson said she and her 12 girlfriends have been following Jett since their teens.

By looking around the crowd on Saturday night, it seems as if Jett has fans from all walks of life, as it was even mix of older and younger men and women and teens.

"How are my fans in the bleachers? Can you hear me!?" she screamed before kicking off "Do You Wanna Touch Me.” She stared seductively into the audience and challenged the crowd for more hype. She touched her body and sang with her body language, "Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, I wanna know, do you wanna touch me?" The more Jett seduced the crowd, the more the crowd followed in cheers and overhead applause.

Jett and the Blackhearts played a few Runaways songs, including the first song Jett ever wrote, "You Drive Me Wild." As she prepared to play the jam, the crowd died down.

"What happened? Don't be shy. Come on, sing to the universe!" she squealed.

"Cherry Bomb" was another one of the Runaways originals they performed. Lincoln teen Allison Davis, in all black clothing with a studded belt and pink wrist bands, rocked out and sang along to all the lyrics of the Runaways’ “I Love Playing with Fire.”

“I saw the movie ‘The Runaways’ recently and fell in love,” Davis said. “I mean, just look at her. She is fearless!"

Agreed. Jett was unapologetic with her behavior on stage, also donning genuine smiles after the anecdotes and advice she told the audience before songs.

"Love between two people is a beautiful thing,” she said. “But love between three people can be an even more beautiful thing, especially if one of those people is me!" The crowd went wild as "The French Song" rocked.

Just about when the daylight faded and darkness began, the stage lights lit up and Jett and the Blackhearts started playing their most popular songs. The crowd was the most reactive and rose to their feet once the beat to "I Love Rock ’n’ Roll" started. The enthusiasm continued on through “Crimson and Clover.”

Jett thanked the crowd for the night, and all band members left the stage. "Joan Jett, Joan Jett, Joan Jett!" the crowd yelled repeatedly until the rocker and her bandmates came out for a couple more tunes. Once it was apparent that Jett said goodbye for the night, the crowd filed back into Thunder Valley Casino, adrenaline still rushing from the show.

Thirty-six years since hitting the music scene, Joan Jett proves to us she still loves rock ’n’ roll.

Ace of Spades gets "Jane Fonda" lesson

2011-06-20T04:33:02Z

Hollywood sleaze-rapper Mickey Avalon performed for a huge crowd of die-hard fans at Ace of Spades Friday night, whipping the young crowd into a lustful frenzy with his provocative sing-along raps.

Folsom rap duo Ill Effect kicked the show off with some tight rhymes and beats, sounding the best as they flowed over B.o.B's well-known hit "Airplanes," featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore.

After a 30-minute delay that had everyone wondering what exactly was going on, rapper Ty$ (Ty Dolla Sign) took the stage. Unfortunately there was nothing spectacular in his short set that made up for the long wait. Highlights included some call-and-response about which side of the crowd was louder and boasting about how one of his songs was "everywhere" (it's not).

Next up was L.A. hip-hop/pop group The Divine, who put forward the effort but didn't quite hit the mark for the Sac crowd, getting booed and inciting chants of "Mickey! Mickey!" in between songs.

"His voice was too high,” Folsom resident Andrea Wilson said of vocalist Shane Gelinas. “It sounded like Backstreet Boys behind a beat.”

With a seedy backstory straight off an “E! True Hollywood Story” episode – former male prostitute, ex-junkie and teen pot dealer – Avalon has a lot of interesting experiences to draw from for his rhymes.

He ran through several of his super catchy party raps: "So Rich, So Pretty," "Jane Fonda,” "Mr. Right" and "My Dick," accompanied on stage by his scantily clad dancer, Jillian, who turned out to be extremely flexible.

In addition to his filthy sex appeal, Avalon's strong points are his unique flow, hooky beats and sing-along lyrics: "One, two, three, four/ Get your booty on the dance floor/ Work it out, shake it, little mama/ Let me see you do the Jane Fonda."

Drugs, booze, sex – it's all there. Shirtless and sometimes chugging a bottle of wine, Avalon oozed sexuality as he slinked his way across the stage, using his salacious glances and pelvic gyrations to start a bra collection on stage.

"I like his raw style,” said Frank Cornwall, who traveled to the show from Grass Valley with some family and friends. “He's one of those guys who sings what he wants to sing and doesn't care who he pisses off. He's like a combination of Eminem and Snoop Dogg: smooth and rude."

And for all his bawdy raps, Avalon is actually a soft-spoken, friendly guy and loves his fans. After the show, he stayed until every last person could get a picture taken with him or get their breasts signed.

It's no wonder why they love him back.

Photos by Steven Chea

Pet-a-Palooza rocks

2011-06-19T01:17:31Z

Pet-a-Palooza, a pet lovers dream, was held today at Rusch Park in Citrus Heights. The event, which started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m., featured live music, animal obstacle courses, water jumping dogs, police dogs, food vendors, pet adoptions and much more.

The event seemed to be a smashing success with many fans staying around to hear the musical acts. ‘He is We’ started the afternoon off with a nice set and was quickly followed by ‘Andy Grammar’ and then ‘Whiskey Dawn”. Finally, to finish of the bands and the event itself, ‘Michelle Branch’ came on stage and performed an amazing set.

For an event that is touted as a fun day in the park and a way to educate people on the needs of animals, it really does a wonderful job of creating a fun and inviting atmosphere. Thanks to CBS Radio and their affiliate stations for some fantastic performances.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer with the Sacramento Press.

Thunder Down Under roared at Thunder Valley

2011-06-17T06:14:41Z

With a sold-out audience screaming in excitement the ‘Thunder from Down Under (TFDU)’ took to the stage this evening at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort. If you are not aware of whom this group is it would seem that you may be in the minority. TFDU is a group of well-toned Australian men who whip women into a screaming frenzy by gyrating, tantalizing and teasing through individual as well as group strip-tease acts.

This all male revue, which has been in operation for almost 20 years, is Australia's answer to America’s famous Chippendale Dancers. The main difference between the two acts is that TFDU travels world-wide and continually sells-out most of their shows. This global presence, along with a bevy of well-toned and tan men, helped to make them the most well-reviewed and successful ‘male revue show’ in the world.

This ninety minute show was nothing but a bachelorette party done right. The men were there for the women and they knew exactly how to please them. Not only did they work the crowd, they used their machismo to tease as many women as possible; they did this by making the women yearn for more at each stage of the performance. Never did they just ‘take it off’ and say “here I am;” instead, they slowly removed their clothing a piece at a time and kept the woman begging for more. Just when you think that the women would have had enough of the performance, the guys find another way to remove clothes and move around the stage which whips the audience back into a frenzy.

One of the best parts of this show was the fact that it allowed all sorts of woman to let-loose and enjoy themselves. Whether a woman was in a business suit, pair of jeans or a skimpy dress they all seemed to let go of the outside world for a moment and allow the party atmosphere to take over. Although they were there to see the men disrobe, they also got a fantasy show at the same time. For a lucky few who were let on stage, the show was a little more risqué. This mix of fantasy, allure and performance would be difficult to replicate in a female review show – men are just not patient enough to allow the buildup that this kind of show provides. For women it is a completely different story.

Now, although the show was a flesh-filled spectacle designed for women, it should be noted that there were plenty of production problems. The choreography is not going to win any awards and the dancers are not going to be in any music videos anytime soon. However, that is not what the show is about and being tanned, good looking and ripped was more than enough to make-up for the missteps on the stage or in the production. The production problems did not seem to matter to the screaming women in the audience. In fact, it probably would have been difficult to find a woman who would have had any criticism of the show at all.

For the men who were forced to attend the show as the accompaniment of their companion, the mere enthusiasm and joy that their partner exuded this evening should have been enough to put a smile on your face.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer for the Sacramento Press

Michael Franti mixed it up at MIX Downtown

2011-06-15T00:34:31Z

Michael Franti, the San Francisco singer-guitarist, made a brief appearance today at the MIX Dowtown. The show, which was put-on by Now 100.5, highlighted the reggae style music that Franti is currently known for. Although Franti is probably better known by most for his rocker ways in the Beatnigs and an indispensable rapper in the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, his reggae style has generated a lot of attention – especially with his dance hit ‘Say Hey (I Love You).’

Like most of the Now 100.5 Playings, the set consisted of four songs and a question answer session with the lucky guests of the show. The first song was ‘The Sound of Sunshine’ followed by ‘Hey Hey Hey,’ ‘I’ll be Waiting,’ and then ‘Say Hey (I Love You).’

Franti is a low-key yet energetic performer who enjoys interacting with his fans. When he picks-up his guitar and starts a song the audience is immediately embraced. Like most reggae music, the beat is mellow yet addictive and seems to create a party type of atmosphere – today was no exception.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer for the Sacramento Press.

Party at Harlow's with Foster the People

2011-06-04T06:24:23Z

You know that song with the can't-get-it-out-of-your-head whistling called "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John that people seem to either love or hate?

Los Angeles band Foster the People has a comparable track called "Pumped Up Kicks" – a sing-along with a cheery melody and dark lyrics about youth gun violence – that has the same effect.

Polarizing song? For sure.

One-hit wonder band? It doesn't look like it.

Without seeming like they had anything to prove, the young group with more buzz than a beehive let its music speak for itself for a sold-out crowd at Harlow's Thursday night.

Support act The Chain Gang of 1974 (aka Kamtin Mohager) from Denver came ready to warm up the crowd with solid post-punk and new wave stylings. Imagine The Bravery writing an album after watching a 24-hour John Hughes marathon.

The Chain Gang had played Sacramento before, and things were a little different this time around.

"The last time we played here was at a pizza place in front of two people," Mohager told the packed house, referencing a November 2010 show at Luigi's Slice Fungarden.

Foster the People is vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mark Foster, bassist and backing vocalist Cubbie Fink and drummer Mark Pontius. Originally called Foster & the People, the new name stuck after the original was misheard enough times and the band warmed to the image it invoked of "taking care" of the people.

The synth-enhanced dance-rock music and Foster's falsetto draw comparisons to Passion Pit and MGMT, but they still find a way to project an identity and make their broad pop sound unique. It took about an hour for the band to run through all 11 songs on their recently released debut album, “Torches”.

Although you would have no problem throwing on “Torches” as the soundtrack to your summer pool party, the songs come alive and breathe when performed live. A track like "Broken Jaw" really shines when performed live, allowing Foster to demonstrate his vocal range and making at least one person in the crowd turn to his friend with his own jaw dropped in amazement as soon as it was over.

The band members had fun as they rotated on instruments throughout the show, taking turns on the various synths and energetically banging on the stand-up bass drum. Can't go wrong with a tastefully used Apache war drum.

Throw in some yellow maracas and a drunk blonde in a black dress from the audience dancing on stage, and you have yourself a very satisfying, high-energy soiree.

With sold-out shows as they tour through October, upcoming performances at huge music festivals (Lollapalooza, ACL Music Festival) and iTunes love ("Helena Beat" was the Free Single last week), expect Foster the People to keep the party going for a while.

Photos by Steven Chea

KISS in photos

2011-06-01T21:31:26Z

KISS performed live at Raley Field in Sacramento on Sunday night. The concert benefited Walk 'N Rock campaign and was a complete success. Here are a few photos from the evening.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer for the Sacramento Press.

“Hands Up” CD release party at the Crest

2011-05-31T15:04:34Z

On Friday, May 27, the Crest Theatre hosted a CD release show for “Hands Up,” by Pastor Alonzo G. Morris. Guests included the Paradise Mass Choir from Paradise Baptist Church of Sacramento, the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra and Lenny Williams.

“Hands Up,” a labor of love two years in the making, was produced by Derek “DOA” Allen and features talents such as Pam Hunt, Pastor Terrell Jones, Teddy Cross and Pam Odem.

Tickets for the event were $15. The price included the three hour concert and a copy of “Hands Up.” Part of the proceeds from the event went to the Ronald McDonald House which serves about 1,000 children and families in the Sacramento area each year.

The night started off with a touching tribute to Pastor Morris’s wife, Angela, who succumbed to cancer in 2002. Their four children started a foundation in their mother’s legacy, Angela’s A.N.S.I.R, as a way to raise money for cancer research. The unique spelling of A.N.S.I.R is made up of the family member’s first initials. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the Pastor continued his opening with a vocal tribute, “She Lives On.”

Halfway through the concert, Mark Fieldman, Executive Director of the Philharmonic, came on stage to introduce the five members that would be taking part in the evening’s festivities.

Tuba player, Julian Dixon, led things off with a solo of “Amazing Grace.” Once the applause died down, four other members came out carrying a trombone, a French horn and two trumpets. The ensemble broke into two songs from “West Side Story,” then two from “Porgy and Bess,” finishing off with “The Magnificent Seven,” or “five,” as it were.

Pastor Morris came back on stage and sang “I Believe in Love” with Pastor Terrell Jones, reminiscent of the vocal quartets of times past and also a tribute of sorts, since both of their fathers were in a quartet together. Morris and Jones grew up together and have collaborated before.

Between performances, Host Tommy Goss of V101 quizzed the crowd, passed out freebies including CD’s, t-shirts and VIP tickets for Beverly Crawford, and led the crowd in a rousing Happy Birthday for a young spectator. With approximately 800 people in attendance, it was very rousing indeed!

The evening ended with Pam Hunt and Pastor Morris leading the Paradise Mass Choir in a “hand clapping, toe tapping” tune called “Heaven Is My Goal.” This performance, in particular, had people dancing, clapping and generally cha-cha-ing their way out the door.

CD in hand, feeling recharged by the fantastic music, guests made their way to the exit. Young or old, not one person left without a smile on their face, possibly Pastor Morris’s intention all along.

USHER-ing in R&B Music at Power Balance Pavilion

2011-05-29T17:00:51Z

If ever a grand entrance was to be had, last night was it. Usher, the reigning king of R&B, started his two hour concert at Power Balance Pavilion by being pulled across the arena on an elevated platform.

The platform, which started in the back of the arena, rose through a plume of smoke to reveal Usher standing in the middle wearing a black jacket and helmet. As the platform approached the main stage, Usher leaped off and immediately started his first song. About half-way through his concert Usher would once again jump aboard the platform and sing to the audience while hovering about mid-way out into the stadium. This, like every other theatric, had the audience singing and yelling with enthusiasm.

Throughout the entire show Usher showed why, according to Billboard Magazine, he is considered the most successful artist so far this decade. With theatrics like pull-ups, one-arm handstands, wild dancing and continual audience flirting – Usher commanded the audience’s attention and they were not unimpressed. Backing Usher up was a group of scantily clad women and men who slid down ramps, climbed poles and generally used sex appeal to further stimulate the already raucous audience. The entire production was designed for sensory overload and Usher accomplished that without hesitation.

However, the production element of the show was not perfect. With several video interludes, used for costume changes, it felt more like a stage production for a major play and less like a concert; and, like most major music productions today, the music was louder then it needed to be. However, that did not seem to slow the audience’s enthusiasm for Usher, Akon or the production itself.

Overall Usher hit the mark with some great vocal performances: Love in The Club, OMG, Caught Up, Bad Girl and Yeah to name a few. Along with his great vocals, Usher made a point to talk with the audience and make them feel as if they were a part of the production. By spending a moment pointing out individuals by their clothing he had the audience screaming while trying to get recognized. Although not normally a fan of theatrical music productions, Usher has shown me that you can mix style and flair and create something that makes one smile. It all may have been a little much, but it is a ‘little much’ that the audience seemed to eat-up with a vengeance.

Continuing with his tradition of recognizing the greats in music, Usher gave a heart fell Michael Jackson tribute. With sparkly shoes and the well known Michael Jackson dance, Usher did a good job of saying ‘thank you’ to someone who inspired him and many in the audience alike.

Prior to Usher taking the stage Akon performed a forty minute set that got the girls screaming. Besides losing more than one shirt and showing the women his rather well defined torso, he moved around the stage and sang a decent set. Although vocally he is not up-to-par with Usher, his style and performance made up for it.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer for the Sacramento Press.

An evening with one of the greats

2011-05-27T02:57:59Z

Patrons of the arts had the chance of a lifetime on Wednesday to experience one of the greats, singer Tony Bennett. UC Davis Mondavi Center executive director Don Roth welcomed spectators, who were dressed in their best, and the blue velvet curtain rose as if revealing royalty.

The show began with Antonia Bennett, a jazzy redhead who was so vibrant and whose voice was so rich, I can only expect that we will see more of Tony Bennett’s vivacious daughter in the future. Antonia began her set with “You’re a Lucky Guy,” and dedicated it to her father, standing in the wing.

Following the short opening set, the four-piece band of piano, guitar, bass and trap set transitioned seamlessly to the main act. Bennett stepped out onto the stage to a nearly full standing ovation without having sung a note.

He sang with actions and hand gestures, evidence of his Italian blood, as if telling a humorous personal anecdote rather than singing an award-winning song.

“Rosemary Clooney and I were the first American Idols,” he explained, describing a stint on an amateur talent program.

Later, he explained how he went from being Antonio Dominick Benedetto to “Tony Bennett.” He was discovered by comedian Bob Hope in Greenwich Village in 1949.

“That’s a little long for the marquee,” Bob Hope joked. It was Hope that decided his new name.

“Because of You,” “Smile,” “They All Laughed.” At times, the audience was almost too enthusiastic. On several occasions, Bennett had to extend a hold as he waited for the applause to subside so he could continue, every second appearing that he was surprised by the applause.

As Bennett, in the nearly pitch black auditorium but for a lone spotlight, grandly began “Maybe This Time,” a thought crossed my mind. This man fought in World War II, he was reprimanded and demoted for disobeying segregation laws, he was discovered by Bob Hope, was pals with Frank Sinatra, and here he is, still performing.

I always thought I had missed the Greats, the age that I am. As a perfectly attentive crowd listened to Bennett sing “The Way You Look Tonight,” I saw that we all got to experience at least one Great. I may have missed Frank, and I may have missed Bing, but I didn’t miss Tony.

The entire show was unbelievable. What a performer, and what a voice. At 84 years old, he still had no problem belting it out. This talent is something you just don’t lose.

Following each song, he clapped and wrung his hands thankfully, perhaps thinking the same.

About halfway through the show, Antonia Bennett stepped out again, and they sang “Hey, Old Friend” as a father-daughter duet.

We heard hit after hit, nearly all of them accompanied by a cute story about Hank Williams, Charlie Chaplin or Frank Sinatra. We may have heard shortened versions of a few, enriched by tremendous solos by Bennett’s accomplished instrumentalists. Each member was so into the performance, the passion and gusto were contagious.

At times throughout the performance, all eyes turned toward Bennett’s pianist. Lee Musiker was, without a doubt, the best, most talented pianist I have ever seen, even directing a crescendo or cymbal crash here and there mid-song. I hope Musiker will be producing his own albums as well, and the same for Bennett’s tremendous guitarist, Gray Sargent.

Coincidentally, Wednesday was Musiker’s birthday. Bennett saluted him literally and musically with a rendition of “The Best Is Yet to Come.”

Late in the show, Bennett sang “Fly Me to the Moon” sans microphone, and I heard an entranced woman sitting in front of me sigh audibly.

He ended the show, apart from numerous encores, with the clear choice, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Bennett’s performance was phenomenal and heartwarming at the least. He made each song special, sometimes adding a tap or two and several turns — elegant and smooth — as if he were turning 45 rather than 85.

The Fray

2011-05-26T06:10:23Z

Tonight, one of America’s best selling bands treated fans at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort to a night of hard-hitting, down to earth music that reverberated throughout the revamped outdoor stadium.

The Fray who found stardom with Grey’s Anatomy has continued their meteoric rise with both the fans and the charts alike. This fame landed them the coveted gig of opening-up for U2; one of the biggest rock bands of our generation and helped to solidify their place among the greats.

Even with the increment weather, The Fray started off their set with a hard-hitting, powerful number titled, “Here We Are,” which sounds as if it could be a lead song on their upcoming album (no release date set). The next two songs, “Cable Car” and “All At Once” brought the audience to their feet and started the night off with a punch. Throughout their entire set the band, or more appropriately Isaac Slade, bantered with the audience and made them feel as much a part of the show as the band itself.

If you have ever been to a Fray concert you know just how commanding the stage performance and presence of Isaac Slade is. Whether he is singing “Absolute” or “Fighter” there is no doubt that he feels at home in front of an audience. In many respects it is a lot like watching Bono in his younger years. For the audience this is a fantastic attribute since it means that the band sounds amazingly similar live as they do on the CD; not only do you get a fantastic physical performance but also a vocal one.

For more information on upcoming performance at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort click here.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer with the Sacramento Press.

Jazz Jubilee a party for all

2011-05-26T00:22:07Z

Charlie Gehlbach hadn’t played his trumpet for 15 years, but after his friend took him to the Sacramento Jazz Festival & Jubilee more than a decade ago, he said he went straight home and picked it up again, inspired.

This weekend, Gehlbach and the band he later formed will be playing in the festival for the 11th time.

“Getting the chance to play at the festival, I’d always dreamed of that,” said the 78-year-old Auburn resident who began playing the trumpet at age 7 and now leads a band called Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners.

“It’s really neat to have such a fabulous, fabulous festival here,” he said.

This weekend marks the 38th year of what started as a bunch of jazz enthusiasts playing in Old Sacramento and evolved into one of the biggest jazz festivals in the world, said Greg Willett, executive director of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, the nonprofit organization that holds the festival.

A parade through Old Sacramento at 11:30 a.m. Friday will kick off four days of partying, he said, adding that it’s not just Dixieland jazz anymore.

“The festival got a resurgence in the ’90s when we added other types of music like Western swing and Zydeco, which is a Cajun/Creole style of music,” he said.

Between 70 and 80 bands with hundreds of musicians are expected to attend, and they will play at 22 venues, mostly concentrated in Old Sacramento.

“It’s a great party for all types of people,” Willett said. “A lot of the older generation will be here right at 10 a.m. when we open (Saturday-Monday), and the younger generation will be staying until we close at 11:30 p.m. We schedule our music to fit with that phenomenon.”

About 60,000 - 70,000 people are expected to attend, and Willett said parking is always an issue, but a shuttle service will run from Old Sacramento to other venues on J and L streets such as the Sheraton, and it will cost festivalgoers $5 for the whole weekend.

“We have a smorgasbord of music styles,” Willett said. “We have some of the best musicians in the world, but you might not have heard of them unless you’re really into jazz, like Banu Gibson & New Orleans Hot Jazz or the Black Dogs.”

For a list of musicians and groups, click here.

One band playing the festival has a special connection to Memorial Day Weekend: the Colorado National Guard’s 101st Army Dixieland Band from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo.

“We’re making our 12th appearance at the jubilee,” said Musical Director Sgt. Lance Christensen. “Originally, we wanted to come because it was one of the largest jazz concerts in the world. We wanted to showcase our talents.”

The eight-piece band will be playing in the special tribute to veterans at 11:30 a.m. on Monday at the Firehouse Lot, near the intersection of L and Front streets. That event is free to service members.

For a map of music venues, click here.

“We and the audience get to thank our veterans,” Christensen said. “We always play patriotic music, all the service songs and, of course, we’ll also be playing ‘Taps’ for the veterans who are no longer here.”

He said the band members – most of whom are professional musicians or music teachers when they aren’t wearing fatigues – enjoy hearing the music of the other bands and consider it a form of musical training.

In addition to being a good event for music, it’s a good event for Sacramento, said Mike Testa, spokesman for the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“For fans of music who travel to these types of events, Sacramento is known for this festival,” he said. “It’s very prestigious for us to hold this. We’ve got a lot of great musicians, and my only hope would be that we can make it even better than it already is.”

He said the draw is an economic boon to the city, and with people traveling specifically for the event, he said he hopes they extend their stay and stick around to see other sites in the area.

Willett said planning the event takes about six months, and it relies on the 2,200 volunteers who signed up this year as well as his “lean staff.”

He said he is most excited to listen to the diversification of music brought to the festival.

“It’s not your father’s or grandfather’s jazz jubilee,” he said. “We have that, but we also have other types of Americana – American-made music.”

Food vendors will be set up on the streets, and beer and other food items will be sold in the venues, Willett said.

Online ticket sales have closed for the event, but Willett said tickets can be purchased at the trailers set up throughout Old Sacramento, with the main hub at Second and K streets.

Tickets are $110 for the weekend or $45 per day. After 9:30 p.m., $10 will get you into a single venue, space permitting, to “get a feel for the music,” Willett said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

KISS to play Walk 'N Rock For Kids fundraiser

2011-05-25T05:07:03Z

Music lovers and philanthropists alike will have the chance to see legendary rock band KISS perform live at this year’s annual Walk ‘N Rock For Kids fundraiser on May 29 at Raley Field.

The combination concert and 5K walk event is hosted by the Hope Productions Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “provide resources to children and youth charities to ensure sustainability, viability and awareness,” according to its website.

The foundation provides marketing and fundraising training to area nonprofits at no charge in an effort to aid in their ongoing success.

This is the third year that the Hope Productions Foundation will host Walk ’N Rock For Kids. Last year, Walk ’N Rock For Kids raised $800,000 in cash and services for 16 youth-serving nonprofits, according to Amelia Marquis, spokeswoman for the Hope Productions Foundation and one of the event’s organizers.

This year, the event will raise funds for 22 children’s charities, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Sacramento, Keaton Raphael Memoria l and Lighthouse Counseling & Family Resource Cente r.

The day’s activities are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. with a 5K walk that will begin and end at Raley Field and take participants across Tower Bridge, to the Capitol and through Westfield Downtown Plaza.

Marquis said that in the past, walking teams have gotten crafty and created their own T-shirts to identify themselves as a part of a specific group.

Back at Raley Field, there will be food, games for the kids and more live music until noon.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band stations will be set up, courtesy of Best Buy. Each of the 22 participating children’s charities will host its own booth featuring activities and information.

Marquis said that organizers expect to have 7,500 participants in this year’s walk, including families, local businesses and corporate sponsors like Wells Fargo, Sacramento Business Journal and Sactown Magazine, among others.

As the day’s festivities give way to the evening, KISS will take the stage at Raley Field for its only California performance of the year. Those participants who raise $500 for the charity of their choice during the day will receive a free ticket to the concert, Marquis said.

At 8 p.m., The Miles Schon Band will open the show with Lara Johnston on vocals. Johnston, whose first on-stage performance was at 2 years old with her dad’s band The Doobie Brothers, describes her vocal style as “honest” and “from the heart.”

“It’s powerful to know that people who hear my music have had similar experiences and we can connect in that way.”

Johnston noted Aretha Franklin, Paramore and Beyoncé are all musical influences of hers and that she has a “big soft spot for soul music.”

She said she is excited to open for KISS, a band that she described as “iconic,” and added that growing up, it was a goal of hers to embody the kind of showmanship that they offer their audiences.

Johnston also opened for last year’s Walk ‘N Rock headliner Sammy Hagar and said she is glad to be involved with the Hope Productions Foundation’s efforts in helping local children’s charities again this year.

“I was really blessed to have a good childhood and I think every child should have the same chance.”

Local band Big Boss Graffiti will also hit the stage to deliver their brand of 70s inspired rock that the band describes as “edgy with a dance vibe” on its Facebook page.

Those KISS fans looking to experience the concert in style can purchase VIP tickets for $1,000, the proceeds of which will benefit Hope Production Foundation’s nonprofit partners.

According to event organizer Ancelle Contreras, purchase of a VIP ticket provides concertgoers with access to an exclusive VIP reception area with a bar, appetizers provided by Ovations and The Supper Club and live entertainment by the Blackeyed Dempseyes, as well as table seating during the concert.

VIP guests will also be offered a three-course gourmet dinner prior to the concert, prepared by an array of local eateries, including Revolution Wines, Bistro Michel and Mezzo Restaurant. Desserts and coffee will be provided courtesy of Karen’s Bakery, Lounge on 20 and Bella Bru Cafe and Catering.

KISS concert tickets can be purchased by the general public at ticketmaster.com.

Walkers can register online or the morning of the event at Raley Field, starting at 7 am. The cost of registration for the walk is free for children under 5, $10 for youth under 17 and $20 for adults. All registered walkers will receive a commemorative Walk ’N Rock For Kids baseball hat.

Tony Bennett to serenade Mondavi spectators

2011-05-21T01:54:40Z

Tony Bennett, the 84-year-old award-winning singer, will be performing at the UC Davis Mondavi Center on Wednesday, May 25.

Bennett has been performing for more than 60 years, and, through the ups and downs of a musical career, has continued to record and perform. Still more astonishing is his upcoming album release, set for Sept. 20 of this year.

“Tony Bennett: Duets II” is an astounding collection of duets, including collaborations with Amy Winehouse, Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, Josh Groban, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Alejandro Sanz, among others.

Bennett's set, scheduled for 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall, will likely include hits from his more recent albums, as well as old favorites like "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and “The Good Life.”

He has inspired us and romanced us for decades, and still he continues to perform. Spectators at the Mondavi Center are sure to be in for a treat.

Following Bennett’s performance at the Mondavi Center, he will perform in Portland, Ore., before returning to the area for a show in San Francisco at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. For additional information, visit the Mondavi Center website.

Crocker Art Museum’s Outdoor Jazz Concert Series Kicks Off Today

2011-05-19T21:49:35Z

From May through September, the Crocker Art Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 concert series Playlist heads outdoors to the shady comfort of the E. Kendell Davis Courtyard for a full season of jazz. From Cajun and Brazilian to smooth tunes, this summer’s concerts will offer up the best of the Museum’s former Third Thursday Jazz series and new Playlist music series.

Concerts will start at 6 p.m. and tickets are $6 for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers. Tickets are available for purchase online at crockerartmuseum.org, at the Museum Admission Desk, or by calling (916) 808-1182.

Alfresco dining and beverage specials will be available throughout the evening, and Museum spotlight talks will be offered during intermission.

Tom Rigney and Flambeau will offer up fiery Cajun and zydeco two-steps, low-down blues, and funky New Orleans grooves on May 19.

On June 16, Sandy Cressman and Homenagem Brasileira will perform original arrangements of music by the great composers of Brazilian jazz such as Dori Caymmi, Milton Nascimento, Joao Donato, Jobim and many others.

Ecuadorian born guitarist Iván Nájera will present an explosive show encompassing a multitude of Spanish, Latin, and jazz flavored rhythms on July 21.

On August 18, jazz keyboard master Roger Smith will perform with special guests. A producer and composer, Smith is one of the most prolific artists in contemporary jazz, and he has played with legends such as Jeff Beck, Gladys Knight, Willie Nelson, and Leon Russell.

On September 15, Little Charlie Caravan will close out the outdoor jazz series in a swinging concert of gypsy jazz. Charlie Baty, otherwise known as “Little Charlie,” has a unique guitar voice influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt, blues, and swing. Other members of the band include Jason Vanderford, Bob Armstrong, and Keith Cary.

Thursdays ‘til 9 is sponsored by Bank of America with media support provided by Capital Public Radio and Sac Cultural Hub.

Photos: Pepper performs at Ace of Spades

2011-05-19T04:44:02Z

Hawaii/SoCal-based bands Iration and Pepper made a stop in Sacramento on May 12, 2011, with each group performing their fusion of reggae, dub and rock for a very receptive audience at music venue Ace of Spades.

The well-attended show was another in a streak of many at AOS, which is quickly becoming the go-to venue for mid-sized artists. Take a look at their site for some upcoming shows, which include performances by Fitz and The Tantrums, Deftones, and Mickey Avalon.

Here are some shots from the Pepper show:

Rain or Shine: 107.9 The End presents Endfest 2011

2011-05-18T03:32:46Z

Event staff at Raley Field assured me over the phone that the Endfest 2011 would continue “rain or shine,” despite the unfavorable weather for the outside venue. Sacramento skies cleared up with rather perfect timing before doors opened at 2 p.m., and the power line-up of Ke$ha, T-Pain, Far East Movement, The Ready Set, and Hot Chelle Rae began.

The crowd’s enthusiasm was unaffected by the early gloom, helped in large part by the vivacious staff of 107.9 The End, the hosts of the show. The team’s contagious energy and animated set transitions with t-shirt giveaways made the four hour concert that much more enjoyable. A few lucky audience members had the opportunity to be on stage during Ke$ha’s performance with the ‘Best Seats in the House’ competition.

Characterized by a hip hop, pop and R & B sound blend, Los Angeles based quartet, i SQUARE, kicked off the event at 3 p.m. as the crowd filtered in. To the delight of the average audience member (insert screaming teenage girl), Hot Chelle Rae performed next, followed by The Ready Set.

Highlighting their unique dance-rock sound with songs off their debut album, “Lovesick Electric,” Hot Chelle Rae’s cover of “Teenage Dream” was a true crowd pleaser. The four charismatic musicians closed with their most recent single “Tonight Tonight,” which, judging by the singing audience, has summer anthem potential.

The Ready Set, stage name for Jordan Witzigreuter, performed “Love Like Woe” and “More Than Alive,” his two hit singles from the “I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming” album, released in June 2010. The unique techno elements of his most recent single, “Young Forever,” gave the audience a sneak peak at his upcoming 2011 album, currently untitled.

Adorned in suits with bow ties, Far East Movement burst on stage asking the audience the simple question of who wanted to fly “Like a G6,” their single that hit No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 in October 2010. Ending with “Rocketeer,” the second single off their 2010 album, the group announced their upcoming performance at the Billboard Music Awards live on ABC this Sunday, an honor they dedicated to the fans.

The skilled choreography and acrobatics during T-Pain’s set added an exciting dynamic to the next performance. Personalized microphone in hand, T-Pain showed off his solo vocalist talent with slowed, extended introductions to popular hits “Bartender,” and newly released, “Best Love Song.” Although he had the crowd singing along to “Blame it on the Alcohol,” he ended his performance by giving the audience more direct advice: Listen to only two people in your life- yourself, and your mother.

After much anticipation, Ke$ha took the stage with a sassy black and rhinestone body suit, fishnets and elaborate facial paint. Her manicured nails matched the porcelain hand glued to the microphone stage, covered in an American flag and streamers.

Her performance of title album track “Cannibal” took a turn for the Lady Gaga, when she poured fake blood into her mouth from a prop organ. Gasps echoed and jaws dropped in disbelief to create a momentary audible silence, only to be quickly covered by an electric outburst of cheers and yelling. Minus a few mystified mothers, a majority of the audience familiar with Ke$ha’s eccentric style was elated, and jumped to try to catch the blood-soaked towel she threw into the crowd.

The glitter machines on each side of the stage kept the crowd on the field shining as she ended with her lead international single “We R Who We R,” thanking her fans and telling them to “always be yourself.”

If you didn’t get a chance to catch Ke$ha this time around, you're in luck! Ke$ha announced the extension of her Get Sleazy Tour, assuring Sacramento fans she would be returning to Davis in September with LMFAO.

Why Margie Mott will Walk 'N Rock for Kids

2011-05-12T21:13:00Z

Hope Productions Foundation’s, third annual fundraising walk and benefit concert to support local children’s charities, Walk 'N Rock for Kids, will take place Sunday, May 29th at Raley Field in West Sacramento. Hundreds of local companies and civic groups have formed walk teams to raise funds for 22 nonprofits which serve Sacramento area children and youth. The morning’s walk will start and end at Raley Field, taking participants to the Capitol and through the Downtown Plaza. Later that evening, Hope Productions Foundation will host a VIP reception for event sponsors and a benefit concert featuring American rock icons KISS, which is open to the public. From volunteers to sponsors, walkers to concertgoers, Sacramento has shown great support of this event. Here is a spotlight on Margie Mott. Read on to learn why she will Walk 'N Rock for Kids.

A little about Margie: I am the Executive Assistant to the Central Division Executive as well as the Corporate Financial Officer of Sutter Medical Foundation. I live in Antelope and work in downtown Sacramento.

What is your role in this year’s Walk ‘N Rock for Kids? I will be co-captain of the Sutter Health Cares for Youth walk team which will support Wind Youth Services.

Did you participate in last year’s Walk ‘N Rock for Kids? While I did not get to go in person last year, I was a virtual walker and co-captain of the Sutter Health Team. Many of my co-workers were able to go and I heard that it was all, and more, than I would have expected. I cannot WAIT for this year’s Walk ‘N Rock!

What was your favorite part of last year’s event? While the concert portion is something to look forward to and culminates a good time and rewards ALL who participate, I also love the fact that much needed funds are being raised to support some very well-deserving organizations directly in our own backyard.

Have you ever received support from one of the benefiting organizations? My son is a leukemia and bone marrow transplant survivor. In the past two years he has finally been healthy enough to attend Camp Okizu, once during a “family camp,” and once during “oncology camp.” I can’t tell you what that organization has meant to us and how much he enjoyed going. It’s a “safe place” to send oncology kids where staff, co-campers, and all the other families are familiar with the world that a pediatric patient now lives in. The location is beautiful and peaceful and the activities are amazing! Dominic is excited about going to camp again this year! And while I am familiar with and support ALL the wonderful organizations served by Hope Productions Foundation, my heart is also touched by Wind Youth Services and the support they provide to homeless youth in our community. Their services are not provided by any other entity to the kids that they help.

Why are you involved in Walk ‘N Rock for Kids? Foremost because of the kids, including my own, who have needs that are addressed in such a powerful way by the various local children’s nonprofits that serve them. In addition, Sutter Medical Foundation where I work is community-minded and encourages and supports employee participation in these activities. And finally I am involved because I love the Hope Productions Foundation team!

Hope Productions Foundation provides training, resources and funding for seven local children’s charities: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Sacramento, Cristo Rey High School of Sacramento, Keaton Raphael Memorial, Okizu, People Reaching Out, River Cats Foundation and Wind Youth Services. An additional 15 children’s charities will also benefit from abbreviated training and fundraising support through the Walk ‘N Rock for Kids event. With continued support from the community, the Foundation has distributed over $1.5 million in contributions, resources, marketing and in-kind business training to local children and youth nonprofits since its inception in the fall of 2008. More than 51,000 local children have been impacted by the efforts of Hope Productions Foundation.

Paul Rodriguez

2011-05-07T01:27:03Z

The legendary Paul Rodriguez celebrated Cinco de Mayo Thursday night in style at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, playing to a sold out crowd. Joining Rodriguez on stage was Gene Pompa and Dennis Gaxiola, both accomplished comedians in their own right.

Pompa opened the evening and really got the crowd excited. He says he is an old-school, hardcore political activist. For instance, he still won't eat grapes because of the plight of the migrant farm workers. He also won't eat raisins because of the older migrant farm workers. That's how hardcore he is. He also won't eat prunes, but that's for a completely different reason.

Next up was Gaxiola. He really got the ball rolling with his impressions of various marriage proposals. First up was the Mexican proposal: “You gonna keep it?” Then came the African-American proposal: “As the judge in this case, I find the DNA evidence is a match and you are the father.” The cowboy: “Please, don’t tell Mom,” which really got the crowd roaring.

Pompa came back out on stage to introduce Rodriguez. Rodriguez started off by saying it was nice to be back from the Middle East and then simply stated, “We got him,” and that was all it took. Everyone in the crowd knew he was referring to Osama and the audience erupted into cheers. For the past several years, Rodriguez has been working with the USO to help entertain our troops in the Middle East. This last trip was his sixth journey overseas.

With his classic style of comedy, mixing Spanish and English, Rodriguez’s performance was exactly what the audience was looking for. There were a couple of times when it appeared Rodriguez was through for the evening, only to then think of something else to talk about. Then it would be off on another litany of jokes and one-liners leaving no nationality or religion untouched.

Rodriguez took aim at Germans, Italians, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans (the Mexicans of Japan), and even Mexicans. He also berated the various religions, in particular Catholic priests — I’ll just leave that one alone.

Rodriguez is considered one of the first Latin Kings of Comedy. As an actor and comedian, his career spans over two decades and includes starring roles and featured appearances in over 40 films and countless television series and comedy specials.

Make sure and get out to Thunder Valley Casino’s summer concert series, which kicks off this month with Creedence Clearwater Revisited on May 21, followed by The Fray on May 25.

Randy Miramontez is a contributing writer and photographer with The Sacramento Press.

After Italy tour, Secretions host "Suck-Fest"

2011-04-13T22:50:04Z

From a press release issued by the band:

Sacramento stalwart punks The Secretions are celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band by hitting the road for northern Italy on an eight day tour, from April 15 to 22. The tour wraps up with a show featuring CJ Ramone's new band with Daniel Rey on guitar, and Italy’s own legends The Manges.

For the stateside celebration in Sacramento, CA, The Secretions have planned a three-night festival show for Memorial Day Weekend dubbed "Suck-Fes t", a nod to the band’s motto “We Secrete, You Suck.” The Suck-Fest will be held at Citrus Heights bar The Fire Escape, and the Saturday and Sunday shows of the weekend will be all-ages. The Secretions will share the stage with some of Sacramento and the Bay Area’s best local punk acts at the event, with a special rare performance by The Mr. T Experience kicking off the first night.

Since their inception in 1991, the Secretions have put out 5 studio albums, one split CD, and 5 7’’ records. Their most recent CD was 2009’s Greasyhotmeatcheezy.

Preview: Slumgum Sophomore Album Release Concert

2011-04-13T17:05:42Z

It’s been almost three years since Slumgum released its self-titled debut album, but the band members are ready and excited to let the public hear how hard they have been working since then.

The jazz quartet from Los Angeles will kick off the release of its sophomore album, “Quardboard Flavored Fiber,” with a performance in Sacramento on April 18 at Luna’s Cafe and Juice Bar, 1414 16th St.

According to Rory Cowal, Slumgum’s pianist, the band was drawn to Sacramento because of the city’s strong community for jazz and improvised music. The band first played in Sacramento about a year ago during a Second Saturday Art Walk.

“Since then, we have been visiting Sacramento more and more and are hoping to make a real presence here,” Cowal said. “We made friends here the last time, and we look forward to visiting them and meeting new folks, too.”

Slumgum’s three other members include Jon Armstrong on tenor sax, Dave Tranchina on bass and Trevor Anderies on drums. The four bandmates and friends met in school at the California Institute of the Arts and have been playing together for about five years. Cowal said that since the first album, the band has changed a lot, and they all felt that they needed to create an album that represented that.

“We are all invested into this musical project,” he said. “You can recognize the growth, comfort and strong bond in the unique musical sound that only exists as a combination of all the players working at the same thing together for so long.”

Cowal said he felt that the title track of the album was especially demonstrative of the group’s sound now, noting that it reflects their sense of humor and how much fun they have. Furthermore, it features a lot of the extremes, moods and sonic places they explore as a band.

A sense of playfulness remains at the core of Slumgum, whose name stemmed from Tranchina’s summer work with a beekeeper. It was then that they all discovered what slumgum was – the impure residue of the beeswax rendering process.

“Slumgum is goopy, goppy stuff, and the imagery was inspiring for us,” Cowal explained. “In the honey-making process, there is a little impurity, which is slumgum. That little impurity is the sense of adventure we put into our playing, the unknown that is part of our performance, and that mystery is what we really enjoy most.”

“The name is also kind of off the wall and sort of suggests that imagination and playfulness that we go for in our music.”

While jazz is the genre the four musicians work in together, they come from various backgrounds and gather inspiration from each, including but not limited to classical, country, pop and rock. They also point out the musicians around them in Los Angeles, who support one another, as a huge influence.

Cowal likened a successful performance experience for an audience member to a trip down the rabbit hole in “Alice in Wonderland” and suggested that all listeners approach the music with open ears and an open mind.

The evening’s bill will also include a set from concert series organizer and local Sacramento jazz musician Ross Hammond, who will be performing alongside ROVA Saxophone Quartet member Steve Adams.

“This is a pairing that makes sense,” Cowal said, “The two groups complement each other, and the whole evening of performance will be really fun.”

The concert will begin at 7 p.m., and cost of entry is on a sliding scale of $5-$10.

The album will be available for purchase at the concert but can also be purchased online on iTunes and CDBaby.

For more information, visit the band’s website.

Grammy winner goes acoustic

2011-04-12T04:27:22Z

Monday afternoon at Cafeteria 15L Grammy Award Winner Colbie Caillat delivered a short, but sweet, acoustic set for a select group of fans, contest winners and Now 100.5 station employees. The setting was intimate and allowed the audience to experience a touching performance up close.

Backed by a guitarist, Colbie performed five songs -- Fallin' For You, Realize, I Do, Brighter Than the Sun and I Never Told You – all without missing a beat and with that laid-back warble she is known for. Colbie’s voice and songs are perfectly suited for acoustic performances and she seems to be at ease being close to the audience. For their part, the audience really seems to appreciate the up-close and personal show from someone with Colbie’s talent.

Between songs Colbie answered a few fan questions and chatted about forgetting the words on stage once in a while. The format was casual but the laughter and enjoyment was real. Colbie seemed to resonate well with everyone. After the show she signed autographs and posed with photos before leaving for her next gig.

Marc McLaughlin is a contributing writer and photographer for the Sacramento Press.

Bo Bice - B stands for Alabama

2011-04-11T03:02:05Z

Bo Bice, B is for Alabama!

While the latest round of “American Idol” contestants continue battling it out for the top spot, “Idol” alumni Bo Bice played to a full house in Thunder Valley Casino’s Pano Hall Friday evening. The crowd was a wide range of young and old.

For those non-“American Idol” fans, Bice was runner-up in season four, coming second to none other than Carrie Underwood. Being a proud Alabaman, Bice adopted Lynyrd Skynyrd’s hit “Sweet Home Alabama” as his theme during his “Idol” journey. Alabama Governor Bob Riley even declared May 24 Bo Bice Day.

Bice hit the stage with “Keep on Rollin.’” He continued with two more upbeat songs until he got to “Country,” which was a slower medley of various hit songs that influenced him during his earlier years. He played several songs from his latest album, “3,” including “Long Road Back” and “Take Yourself with You,” which is dedicated to his mother. The crowd loved it start to finish and even gave him several standing ovations throughout his performance.

Bice has a great stage presence and never stopped moving, pointing and winking at people and making regular eye contact (an “American Idol” trademark). The only exception was those poor people in the front row. The way he was throwing the mic stand around was a little scary, and they were ducking for cover. OK, maybe not literally, but I bet they were thinking about it!

Bice thanked Thunder Valley several times and mentioned how impressed he was with their lighting system.

Just prior to performing “Sweet Home Alabama,” Bice left the stage to grab a custom guitar with an interesting local story. While visiting local radio station KNCI 105.1 FM last year, he admired another guitar which was custom-made by Woodshop Rocks for country music artist Brad Paisley. The bass guitar was an actual bass guitar, as in the fish variety. Way cool!

Turns out, Woodshop Rocks is a program at Roseville’s Buljan Middle School designed to teach seventh to 12th grade students the value of hard work, one guitar at a time. With woodshop programs getting cut all over the country, it’s refreshing to see a program like this survive, especially one that challenges students in an area that interests and motivates them. Not only do the students learn about woodworking, but math, science and, most importantly, life skills.

Bice contacted program leader Duane Calkins, and soon after student Brittany Brazil began helping design Bice’s brand-spanking-new guitar in the shape of — you guessed it — Alabama. The design includes the images of a number of Alabama music legends, plus the opening notes to “Sweet Home Alabama” on the neck. You really need to check out Brazil’s work.

Earlier that day, Bice had visited Buljan Middle School to pick up his new guitar and treat the students to a performance of “Sweet Home Alabama.” He ended the story by introducing Calkins and Brazil, asking them to join him onstage and letting them know they would be performing “Sweet Home Alabama” with him onstage.

I spoke to Calkins after the show, and he was under the impression nobody could hear him. Oh how wrong you were, Duane. We heard you and Brazil loud and clear! It sounded great, too. The audience loved it, and it was the best part of the performance.

If you haven’t been out to Thunder Valley to take in a concert, you really should think about treating yourself. Next month they kick off their summer series with Credence Clearwater Revisited on May 21, followed by The Fray on May 25.

Set list in the order performed:

• Keep on Rollin’
• Vehicle
• Long Road Back
• Country
• Different Shades of Blue
• Whipping Post
• Who Knows What
• Take Yourself with You
• Get on and Ride
• The Real Thing
• Witness
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Whiskey

Randy Miramontez is a contributing writer and photographer with The Sacramento Press.

From Trump Roast to Punch Line: Anthony Jeselnik

2011-04-09T06:35:43Z

You know that comedian, Anthony Jeselnik?

Yeah, me neither.

At least, I didn't until I saw him steal the show during the recent broadcast of the “Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump,” where he created some buzz for himself by deftly skewering the guest of honor and the other roasters on the dais, like Larry King, Snoop Dogg and Jersey Shore's "The Situation.”

I had a chance to see him in action myself Thursday night at the Punch Line.

Fremont's Sammy Obeid was the emcee and first act, mining his Lebanese ethnicity for some killer jokes about being mistaken as Mexican and Indian, as well as plenty of great sex-related material, which appeals to everyone and is always a crowd-pleaser.

Second act Andy Haynes, who has appeared on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” took the stage and gave it up for Obeid:

"Give it up for Sammy, he's better than me!" Haynes said. "I'm used to the emcee sucking!"

Haynes touched on subjects like moving to New York from Seattle and the differences between the two cities, bringing your girlfriend to New York with you ("It's like bringing a warm beer with you to a bar, when all they are serving inside are free, cold beers"), and how he was jealous of people in disaster areas getting free health care from the Red Cross, because as a broke comedian he hasn't had medical insurance in six years.

Great material. I was so entertained by his bits, I almost forgot to take a photo of him.

Equally impressive was his witty, off-the-cuff banter with those in the audience, including a group of guys who drove from Reno to see the show ("Are you guys in a frat at UNR?"), and a 27-year-old loud, drunken woman who was accompanied by her 51-year-old boyfriend, who she said was "still married," slurring her explanation.

Headliner Jeselnik strolled out soon after, looking sharp in a black hoodie and jeans, and started out with a funny jab at the home crowd: "I'm such a big star from the roast, that I'm — in Sacramento."

Some background on Jeselnik: he's done stand-up on a plethora of late-night talk shows, he was a staff writer on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and he's written for Sarah Silverman.
Jeselnik speaks with a deadpan, clipped cadence, peppering his delivery with timed pauses for effect, with the dark punchline coming after the last pause.

After telling a joke about a dilemma he encountered with a date who passed out when they got home (which the audience loved), Jeselnik said, "It's important to open with a rape joke, to see where the crowd's at. Looks like you guys are with me."

The merciless comedian made quick work of disruptive drunks in the audience, who weren't exactly heckling but tried to finish his jokes occasionally.

During one joke, one woman yelled out what she thought the punchline was before Jeselnik finished the joke. He finished (with a different punchline) and berated the woman: "Like (your punchline), except my punchline was better, because one of us is a professional comedian and the other one is just a drunk chick in a bar." Huge laughs from the crowd.

He ended the show by telling a couple of jokes about Marlee Matlin and Snoop Dogg that were cut from the broadcast of the roast, and he also fielded requests for specific jokes of his from the audience, before letting us know he would be out front after the show:

"I released this comedy album, “Shakespeare,” and if you want, you can come up and buy one and I'll sign it, $10," Jeselnik deadpanned. "Or, if you just want to come up and take a picture, shake my hand, $10."

Anthony Jeselnik performs at Punch Line Comedy Club tonight and Saturday. There are two shows both nights, 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $16.

The Crystal Method Lays Down the Law: District 30 Style

2011-04-09T03:08:56Z

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 there were a few people valiantly trying to bring back rave culture by dressing in furry boots, or sporting the occasional glo-stick-as-hair-accessory, most of the crowd was well-dressed thirtysomethings and nerdy white guys eagerly awaiting the appearance of one of electronic music’s trailblazers.

The Crystal Method stormed the booth at 11:30 and from that moment they took over to the very end of their set, the floor was crammed with bodies all facing the booth. They started their set, continuing the vibe with melodic tunes to get the crowd into the mood. At a quarter to one, the dilettantes began to clear out as they transitioned to more hard-hitting Drum ‘n’ Bass/Jungle styled beats.

Established fans of the group were disappointed at the lack of older tracks as the guys focused mostly on cuts from their newer works such as “Divided by Night”, and the current EP/single “Sine Language.” However this did not stop the crowd from flooding the dance floor for the entirety of the Crystal Method’s nearly three-hour set. Arguably, the biggest response of the night came when they mixed in a taste of their most well-known song “Busy Child” from their platinum-selling album “Vegas.” The crowd roared in response to that familiar hook and unbelievably, the dancing became more frenzied.

The Crystal Method flitted from track to track with hummingbird intensity and if there was one real complaint it was that in their urgency to keep up the energy they only focused on a song for a few minutes before moving on to the next track. That meant that if one were at the bar and heard something intriguing, by the time one pushed through the crush to a spot on the dance floor, the moment had passed. This left little option but to plant oneself on the floor and dance all the way through. Luckily this was not a problem for the crowd. (It was however, not as good for your intrepid reviewer, who found it difficult to take notes while being jostled by enthusiastic clubbers.)

They finished their set at nearly two and almost immediately the crowd emptied out of the club, leaving DJ Benji to play out the staff and the last of the stragglers closing out their bar tabs. Soon the only ones remaining would be the poor schlubs left to sweep up the remains of the human soup.

KISS: The rock band, the music, the make up

2011-04-08T17:54:55Z

Attention all KISS Army. Yes, that means you. Dust off those platform shoes, dig in the closet for your skin-tight pleather and cover your face in your kid’s Halloween make up because your favorite rock band is coming to town – KISS.

One of America’s most influential rock and roll bands is coming to Sacramento during Memorial Day Weekend. The legendary rock stars that have performed at the Super Bowl, Olympics and “American Idol” – Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer - will be at Raley Field on Sunday, May 29 as the headliner for Hope Production Foundation’s Walk ‘N Rock for Kids 2011. All proceeds benefit Sacramento region charities.

Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster and range from $40 - $125 each. “The Hottest Show on Earth” will be up close and personal during the performance at the intimate venue, Raley Field; all for the benefit of their fans or the KISS Army. Expect to see the smoking guitars, shooting rockets and other pyrotechnics the band is known for during its 37-year-career.

Lace Up Your Shoes and Get Ready to Rock: Five Ways to Prepare for KISS

Worldwide sales for the rock band’s albums now exceed 100 million albums and don’t include its wide range of other products or reality shows such as “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.” Due to a schedule of high-profile international tours and stadium performances, Sacramento KISS fans have only rarely had a chance to see their favorite rock stars on home turf with the most recent performance at ARCO Arena in 2009.

“KISS raised the bar for what a rock concert should really be,” said KISS bassist and singer Gene Simmons.

The morning of the concert will feature the “walk” portion of Walk ‘N Rock for Kids 2011 as more than 6,000 walkers will lace up their sneakers (before lacing up their platform boots) to raise money for Sacramento charities including but not limited to: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Cristo Rey High School, Keaton Raphael Memorial, Okizu, People Reaching Out, River Cats Foundation, Wind Youth Services.

Team Warrior Princess Sends 23 Kids with Cancer to Camp Thanks to Walk N Rock

This is the third year for Walk ‘N Rock for Kids. Previous performances include Journey, Sammy Hagar and Heart. Hope Productions Foundation is a Sacramento-based nonprofit that provides support and training at no cost for local charities serving children and youth. Their services include training and guidance for nonprofits to improve their marketing, fundraising, partnerships and board cultivation so they may become more efficient and increase their potential for long-term sustainability. Through events such as Walk N' Rock for Kids, Walt Gray Ride, Hope in Harmony and generous business sponsorships, they have raised and provided over $1.5 million in contributions, resources, marketing and in-kind business training for local children's charities.

To learn more, visit www.walknrock.org.

Walk N Rock 2011: Lace up your shoes and get ready to rock

2011-04-08T17:16:55Z

Walk ‘N Rock for Kids will be returning to West Sacramento’s Raley Field on Sunday, May 29 for its third year featuring a fundraising walk in the morning and concert in the evening headlining the rock band KISS. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster.com.

Hope Productions Foundation, a nonprofit that provides support and training at no cost for local charities serving children and youth, created this annual charity event. Through Walk ‘N Rock for Kids and similar fundraising events, Hope Productions Foundation has raised over $1.5 million and supported 22 local charities making a difference in the lives of 51,00 local youth.

There are five easy ways to support or participate in Walk ‘N Rock for Kids 2011:

Sign up for Walk ‘N Rock for Kids. Over 400 teams and 6,000 people participated in last year’s “walk” of Walk ‘N Rock for Kids. Create a team or join an existing team. The walk starts at Raley Field and continues over Tower Bridge to the Capital and back. The route features local bands, activities and concludes with entertainment, food and fun! Sign up at www.walknrock.org.

Buy tickets to KISS. The iconic rock band KISS will be performing at Raley Field the evening of May 29 with all proceeds benefitting local charities. Tickets may be purchased online through Ticketmaster.com or at the Raley Field Box Office. The concert is expected to sell out fast due to the strong contingency of KISS Army fans, so buy your tickets now.

Volunteer for Hope Productions. It takes hundreds of volunteers to help organize and implement this large-scale event. Volunteers are needed the day of the event as well as in the weeks leading up. To learn more, visit www.hopeproductions.org.

Become a corporate partner. Local businesses have played a critical role in the success of Walk ‘N Rock for Kids. Their support through the donation of resources and manpower make the difference in the lives of thousands of local youth. Current partners include: Kaiser Permanente, Vistage, Walmart, Wells Fargo, Big Hairy Dog, Waste Connections, Western Health Advantage and over two dozen more. For a complete listing of corporate partners or to join the list, visit www.hopeproductions.org.

Join the KISS Army. Affectionately referred to as the KISS Army, KISS fans are known for their loyal devotion, painted faces and tongue dropping poses. Upload your best KISS photo on the Hope Productions Facebook page or tweet the images using the hashtags #kissarmy and #walknrock. Learn more about the KISS Kulture at www.kissonline.com.

To learn more, visit www.walknrock.org.

Local Nonprofits prepare for Graduation

2011-04-07T19:02:35Z

Hope Productions Foundation is a Sacramento-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides support and training at no cost to local charities serving children and youth. Services include leadership training and guidance for nonprofits to improve their marketing, fundraising, partnerships and board cultivation so that the nonprofits become more efficient and increase their potential for long-term sustainability.

With continued support from the community through their Walk ‘N Rock for Kids event, the Foundation has distributed over $1.5 million in contributions, resources, marketing and in-kind business training to local children and youth nonprofits since its inception in the fall of 2008. Walk ‘N Rock for Kids is an annual fundraising walk and benefit concert that Hope Productions Foundation hosts at Raley Field over Memorial Day weekend.

The Foundation is currently working with seven Nonprofit Partners that encompass the following areas of service: Advocacy, At-Risk Youth, Education, Illness/Research, Wellness and Youth Development.

The inaugural group includes: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Sacramento, Cristo Rey High School, Keaton Raphael Memorial, Okizu, People Reaching Out, Wind Youth Services and The River Cats Foundation. These partner organizations are in their final year of Hope Productions Foundation’s three year training program, coupled with leadership development and fundraising support. This summer, the group will celebrate their graduation from Hope Productions Foundation’s program.

Upon submitting their strategic business plan and completing an evaluation, each organization will be considered a Hope Productions Foundation certified nonprofit, complete with a seal of certification to be displayed on the organization’s website. Local corporations and grantors are being alerted of the significant commitment to fundraising and nonprofit management best practices that each organization has made by completing the program.

Hope Productions Foundation and commencement host Wells Fargo would like to thank and congratulate each of the graduating organizations on their accomplishment. Organizations will be honored at Walk ‘N Rock for Kids on May 29 and at the graduation ceremony on June 29.

The next class of Nonprofit Partner organizations will be selected from the current 15 Nonprofit Affiliate organizations. Applications for the next group of Nonprofit Affiliates will be available and accepted this June. For more information, visit the Hope Productions website.

To support any one of the 22 children’s charities benefiting from Walk ‘N Rock for Kids, you can join or start a walk team on their behalf at www.walknrock.org.