Si se puede. There seems to be a collective "now what do we do with ourselves?" out there, now that a raucous Orange October is in the books with the World Series trophy parading down Market Street. Here's a few ideas. The Heavy - I know, I would have thought they were a heavy metal band as well. Even out of the headbanger context, the name works. Hailing from across the pond, the Heavy are just the latest in an upstart string of late '00s bands that are grapevining their influences right back to the sounds of the '60s and '70s. Specifically, these guys are working the neo soul angle, siphoning out the spirit of the Isaac Hayes' and Curtis Mayfields of the day, and zipping forward by mi

I’ve been living in Sacramento for seven years now, and have watched Second Saturday grow from being a well-kept secret, to a street-surging bona fide party, complete with jugglers, a one-man-band in a purple van, remote-controlled robots, and terrible Tom Petty cover bands. The Second Saturday shooting that happened in September had everyone worked up about shutting down, scaling back, canceling, or drastically changing Second Saturday. Here’s the thing: that poor kid died, and it’s terrible what happened. I didn’t know him, but I know people that did, and he seemed to be a great kid with a lot of promise and a kind heart. The notion that this incident should shut down Second Saturday th

It wasn't your mama's "Nutcracker" at the Crest Theatre Friday evening, when Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Theatre collaborated with a quartet of contemporary Northern California bands for "Ballet + Live Local Music," a Concerts 4 Charity-produced event designed to "showcase Sacramento's diverse arts community while raising money to keep children involved in the performing arts." Sequestered stage left on floor level, bands DoomBird, Exquisite Corps, Drifting Shapes and Sister Crayon offered a moody, rhythmic mix of indie, electronica, world music (think big, big drums)  and trance-flavored numbers that provided the inspiration for the amazing, mind-bending work by choreographer Zara Haye

Your Sactown Rundown reporter still harbors delusions about jamming out of the Dave Matthews Band show on Friday at Sleep Train and making it back to "The Grid" and to Old Ironsides in time to catch the Stone Foxes. Impossible? Hmmm...it might take skipping an encore. I've heard "Ants Marching" plenty of times. For those of you who are, unlike me, still living in reality, here's a few more shows on deck for the weekend. Carolyn Wonderland – A redheaded blues singer and guitar-slinger with a little twang in her voice? It’s a safe bet that Lonestar State-bred Carolyn Wonderland has been smacked by the Bonnie Raitt comparisons before, but there truly aren’t that many. She’s as firmly entre

The second annual LAUNCH showcase hit the Artisan Building Saturday for a night full of music, design, art and fashion. Artists and designers from Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco flocked to LAUNCH to show off their stuff, and the turnout looks even more promising for next year. Designers of clothes and jewelry hung out in the outside venue, presenting handcrafted jewelry, buttons and clothing. Most vendors had mainly vintage jewelry and clothes, some more unique than others. The outdoors also contained several booths from locals who handcraft jewelry and trinkets and sold vintage clothing, as well as live music. “Launch really seemed like a good vibe,” jewelry artist

You wouldn't guess when you listen to her new album, "Songs for the Ravens," that 25-year-old singer-songwriter Julie "Julie Bee" Baenziger hadn't heard The Beatles or the Rolling Stones a year ago. "I didn't grow up listening to music except for my mom's Barbra Streisand and Cher," said the lead singer and main creative force behind Sea of Bees. "I've been kind of sheltered my whole life, so it was like a whole new world for me." Sea of Bees, which is sometimes just Baenziger and other times a full band, will hold an album release party for its debut record Saturday night at the Townhouse Lounge. Sea of Bees will perform as an eight-piece band, opening for local band Doombird, as well a