It’s Friday night at Ace of Spades with Chino Moreno, lead vocalist of the Deftones, and Shaun Lopez, guitarist of Far, crossing over to a new experimental era with †††. A line of tattooed girls with skin tight jeans slink through the crowd as fans trickle in. Over 500 people paid homage filling the bar, to near capacity with a mix of high school students, collegiate couples, 80’s heavy-metal fans, punk rockers and adult film models. There were two openers Secret Empire, a six man band from Los Angeles and Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross from Chicago.  Both bands were the opposite of the other, balancing a yin that sided on the side of heavy metal and the yang on the side of experimental elec

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In Sacramento, the festivities kick off with Blues for Life at The Torch Club , a live music festival & pasta cook-off from 1pm to 7pm on October 2.   Ten bands, 10 restaurants, and a five-year Sac town tradition, this event is the primary fundraiser for Albie Aware, a foundation that brings preventive care, support, and education for those with breast cancer or seeking assistance for early detection and treatment.   “If treated early, cancer fatality can diminish with the proper care,” commented Doug Carson. In 2002, his wife Albie Carson, a 50 year resident of Sacramento, lost the battle with cancer because the tumor was caught too late. This

The Rock Allegiance Tour will blow out Power Balance Pavilion this Sunday at 5 p.m. The early kickoff time is necessary to accommodate the packed lineup. Papa Roach and Buckcherry headline the lucky list of seven bands that includes Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., Red, Crossfade and Drive A. I talked with singer/songwriter, Jacoby Shaddix, the founder, and only remaining original member of Papa Roach about the tour, and what’s happening with the band. Jacoby Shaddix, the founder and only remaining original member of Papa Roach, grew up in Vacaville, where the band graduated high school together before relocating to Sacramento. He says the Rock Allegiance appearance will be the last opportunity f

The band’s name says it all. Joy, an emotion evoked by well being, success, and good fortune or the prospect of having one’s desires. Formidable, a feeling of awe and admiration from grandeur and great strength combines the artistry of the trio formed in 2007 from North Wales -- Ritzy Bryan on guitar and vocals, Rhydian Dafydd on bass guitar, and Matt Thomas on drums. This is a band that should be seen live. The recorded music, especially the new song “Whirring,” is good. But the trio thrives before live audiences. Live, the band lives up to its name projecting a soul-filling joy. Whether you are a sweaty youth in the crowded mosh pit or a 40-something professional grooving to the band

On the last day of August, Harlows was filled with a crowd of stadium-sized intensity.  The New Zealand indie rock band defined The Naked and Famous philosophy. Naked in the way that Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers vocal combination brought the crowd to climax then mellowed down to rise again, in roller coaster action. Auckland’s five-piece delivered exquisite dream pop, oscillating between the calculatedly energetic beat, glitzy rhythms, and airy synthesizers underneath. Xayalith wearing all black, in a long sleeve top, mini skirt, tights, and short boots was definitely not naked but sexy nonetheless, confident in her barely five-foot tall frame. She was smoking! She faced the drummer in

How does Calexico, a relatively low key Americana/ Alternative country rock band keep the momentum going after two decades? They never seize to experiment with rhythms & ballads reaching new heights in what the fans crave.  Calexico embraces Latin sounds of mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and Tejano music and fuses it with Southwestern country, '50s-'60s jazz, and '90s post rock. Their signature sound is "desert noir" reminiscent of the border city of Calexico. For many who have never experienced Calexico’s live performance, their poetic storytelling approach to music captures audiences then beams them up to beach surf cities, matador bull rings, outer space, tango milongas and flamenco caf

The Incredible Machine Tour, featuring Sugarland paired with one of several other artists, has already been tried and tested. Earlier this month, the band witnessed a tragic accident at the Indiana State Fair when high winds knocked down portions of the stage, killing six and injuring many others. After almost a week off, Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush turned back to their music for comfort. According to the Associated Press, their show in Albuquerque, the first since the accident, was a somber affair. The group devoted a minute of silence to those lost and injured. At present, the Raley Field pairing with Sara Bareilles is scheduled to go on, though saddened fans a

If you’ve seen him, you remember him. Even sans his slick sharkskin suits, Rick Estrin cuts a remarkable figure in his Buddy Holly specs and perfectly coiffed pompadour. You may even have seen him cruising in a vintage Cadillac, and looked to see how soon the rest of the parade would follow. These days, the cars spend most of their time in the garage, but for the past few years, Estrin has been leading Rick Estrin and the Nightcats through performances from Tennessee to Turkey I’ve been a fan since the eighties when Little Charlie and the Nightcats used to play Melarkey’s and Sutter Street Saloon with great regularity. The band had drew was a friendly and familiar crowd, who weren’t con

The 2011 Banana Festiva will celebrate art, culture, music, diversity, heatlh and wellness, going green with composting and food. The array of food this year will be a Banana Spitacular line up!!! Menu Banana Snow Cones Frozen mashed/blended bananas with or without strawberries (ice cream consistency) Plantain Chips (Packets) Fried Plantains Frozen Banana dipped in chocolate and nuts Banana Tortilla Dessert Long Banana Lumpia Banana Cotton Candy Green Banana Ice Tea Banana Strawberry Smoothies Jollof Rice with plantain Banana Taffy Banana Pies, Tea Cakes, Cookies, and Banana Pudding Banana Mango Salsa and Banana Mango Soup Banana Tempura Banana Tamales Banana Fritters Banana Pop Corn Gr

Friday night at the Colonial Theater marked the first time the Sac Horror Film Festival hosted its Music By Dark concert series. Festival founder, director and programmer Tim Meunier pulled together four rock and industrial bands for an energetic and fun performance for all ages. The opening band of the evening, In the Silence, was added last minute to the lineup. The band was missing two members and played as a trio. The lack of members might have made their sound slightly superficial, but their performance was not lacking in spirit. They opened with “All the Pieces,” a song which can be found on the group’s MySpace page. The long-haired trio’s sound was fairly radio-friendly and warmed

What do fireworks, whips, chains and a pink convertible with a stripper pole all have in common? Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale World Tour, naturally. Spears pulled out all the stops Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion during the sold-out first performance on her 56-show tour. While backstage minutes before showtime, Spears expressed her excitement over the start of her tour to her Facebook fans: “It’s opening night BITCH!!!!!!!!” The tour’s opener, up-and-coming female rapper Nicki Minaj, set the action-packed tone for the evening with a shoot-out scene opposite a ninja-like character. Minaj set the wardrobe bar high, donning a platinum blond wig, neon green shoes and black spande

“One more song! One more song!” chanted Jack's Mannequin fans at Ace of Spades on Wednesday night, that quickly turned into “Three more songs! Three more songs!” Talk about an encore. Talk about a show. “You feelin' sexy Sacramento?” yelled Andrew McMahon, 28, lead vocalist and pianist of Jack's Mannequin. He may be a security guard’s nightmare with all his crowd surfing and climbing on equipment such as, speakers and his piano; but he is also a ticket-buyer’s dream because he is quite the entertainer. The show started at 7 p.m. with more than 800 people in attendance. Lady Danville, an indie pop band from the Bay Area was up first, and Steel Train, an indie rock band from New Jersey, f

  As spring weather finally arrived in Sacramento on Friday, the Grove at the Radisson once again became a lovely small-venue showcase for some impressive musical talent. Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt graced the stage on the eighth stop of their 25-city acoustic tour. Both performers are known for their acoustic guitar work and their laid-back country-flavored songs about travelin’ and trucks, railroads and rivers, and horses and women and loneliness and love. That about sums up Friday’s performance: just two middle-aged guys with guitars, sitting quietly on stage, trading off tunes and some gentle ribbing. The crowd of about 2,000 fans loved every minute. Hiatt ran through some of his

Tuesday night Ace of Spades featured a lineup of four hyper-aggressive and extremely animated bands. Blownload, a Sacramento-based group, opened the set. Although he’s a heftier gentleman, lead vocalist Erie Loch possessed an amazing amount of liveliness. He made concert-goers laugh at his dirty sex jokes and inappropriate gestures, all without stalling the music. Another group called Star Killer came all the way from New York. The group’s sound was a mixture of good old fashioned punk rock and ‘90s metal. They played songs off their new EP such as “The Hunt” and “As the Sky is Falling,” and were kind enough to hang out and chat with fans in between sets. The third group to take the sta

Lucky for Sacramentans, Ace of Spades has booked the Murderdolls, one of the most vulgar, most energetic bands that your mother would never want to catch you listening to. They are set to perform on April 21 with opening bands, Misamore, Avenue Saints, Spider City and Blownload, a group based out of Sacramento. Frontmen Wednesday 13, who has his own side project of the same name, and Joey Jordison, who has drummed for bands like Slipknot and Rob Zombie, have reunited to make the Murderdolls’ second full length album, “Women and Children Last,” a strong one. Songs such as “Drug Me to Hell” and “Hello, Goodbye, Die” hold true to their metal-punk-trash-thrash sound, complete with horror-movi

Chris Robinson Brotherhood played a show at Harlow's on Tuesday night in front of an exuberant and packed house. CRB consists of the eponymous once and future Black Crowes frontman, Neal Casal (Ryan Adams) on guitar, Adam MacDougall (Black Crowes) on keys, George Sluppick (Robert Walter's 20th Congress, JJ Grey and Mofro) on drums and Mark "Muddy" Dutton (Burning Tree) on bass. This was the eighth show on their spring-long pilgrimage throughout the Golden State, and I went into it not really knowing what to expect (other than a great show).  As of this writing, youtube only has two videos of CRB, and one of them is a Black Crowes song.  I arrived at Harlow's ten minutes before 9pm, and

The new Ace of Spades Music Venue on R Street has been open for a few weeks, and in typical fashion, rumors have been flying around town that they are in trouble already. Sacramento Press reporter Suzanne Hurt went out last week and got the truth of the matter on the record, and I encourage you to read her story here. Aside from some limitations on the liquor license, imposed by a cautious ABC, Ace of Spades is most certainly open for business, and apparently doing well with its chosen audience. But the business angle is only half the story. The other half is: What's it like to go to a show there? How is it different from Empire and Venue, which previously occupied the space? The main b

Thursday night at the Blue Lamp was the place to be for some really great music. Sweden’s The Concretes made their way to the Blue Lamp and shared the stage with Florida’s Million Young. Both groups will be on tour for a few shows together and both made their way to Sacramento for the first time. Before the show started I was able to talk to members of Million Young. Mike Diaz, Lee Mazurk, Eric Rizzo and David Stephen make up the group. They were outside the Blue Lamp along with one of their friends who now lives in San Francisco. I took some of their time before the show began and asked them a few questions. Million Young volunteered Mike Diaz to be their spokesman but after a bit they

The city is buzzing with the news that the Kings appear to be heading out of town and down the coast. However, it hasn't happened YET and it isn't too late to let your voice be heard. There is a movement called "Here We Stay" that is asking Kings fans to sell out the February 28th game against the LA Clippers. That game falls the night before the March 1st deadline the NBA has set for owners to file for relocation to another city. Last I checked there were only 1,000 tickets left for the game. A sell-out would be fantastic and certainly make a statement, but it is not enough. That is less than 18,000 people from the entire city showing their support. What about people who are not Kings fa

For anyone who thinks that losing the Sacramento Kings is only that, the loss of a professional sports franchise, think again. If Joe and Gavin Maloof, Kings owners, choose to file for a move by the looming March 1st deadline and are granted relocation, this city will lose a lot more than 41 regular season home games a year. This is about more than basketball. Arco Arena, soon to be Power Balance Pavilion, is an old, crumbling eyesore that is already being passed up by some of the big names in sports, music and entertainment for newer venues. Without the Sacramento Kings and the Maloofs, Sacramento is unlikely to build a new entertainment center and will continue to lose out to our shiny