As an art, Flamenco does not so much imitate as illustrate the passionate side of life. At times plaintive and sad, at others joyful and effervescent, it creates a unique experience for audiences, who are often moved to clap, call out or otherwise involve themselves in the drama of the performance. It’s all part of the experience, according to Gopal Slavonic, although on occasion it can be a little disconcerting. “When someone just starts screaming ‘yeah!’ really loud and randomly, that can be challenging,” he admits, but it speaks to the way the audiences can be pulled in. Slavonic explained what’s unique about Flamenco is the ambiance it creates. “It gives the sense of being in a smal

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

 Join The Sacramento Press Saturday evening for Launch 2011, a design, music and fashion festival. The third annual Launch is a spectacular festival of sight and sound that provides the opportunity for creative people from Sacramento’s art, music and fashion communities to come together to showcase their talents and celebrate local and national works of art, music and design and share the experience with the community as a whole. Launch will include live music by Little Foxes, Exquisite Corps, ReSA, The Dreaded Diamond and many others. Artists on-site Saturday include Brady Tuazon, Chelsea Greene Lewyta, Jeff Dojillo, and too many more to mention. Fashion designers Miss Chief of Califor

Seven local musicians are getting together at Old Ironsides this Friday to not only pay tribute to music legend Sam Cooke but also help with the Haiti earthquake relief effort. "Havin' a Party: A Tribute to Sam Cooke" was originally going to be just a show about Sam Cooke until concert organizer Jerry Perry saw the destruction in Haiti from the Jan. 12 earthquake. Perry decided to put on a benefit show to help. "When things like this happen, we like to try to put together relief shows," said Perry, who also organized relief benefit concerts for Hurricane Katrina and Sept. 11. "Whatever money we can raise through the door, we're going to take and give it to the Red Cross," he said. The