Bill Maher took over an hour and a half to do it, but in the end he gave every single one of the 2,422 audience members at least one opportunity to be offended. His genius lies in the fact that every single fan was laughing too hard to notice – or to care. Maher has inherited the essence of Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He channels Richard Pryor and George Carlin. He is the crazy uncle in the attics of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. And once he gets going, no one is exempt from his biting, incisive wit. Friday night’s sold-out show at the Sacramento Community Center was a nonstop roast of all that is absurd in America today. Maher is well known as the host of the weekly political com

  California’s predators come in many shapes and sizes. The mountain lion hunts the forests of the Sierras and the coyote stalks the grasslands and the foothills, but the clear California skies are the domain of a wide variety of predators large and small, the magnificent raptors. On Saturday afternoon, several dozen people packed the small auditorium at the Splash Education Center at Mather Field to learn about these amazing birds. The Raptor Rapture program was facilitated by special guests Bill Corbett and David Haro, falconers and raptor rehabilitation specialists. Falconry is the ancient sport of training raptors to hunt from a human’s hand, usually hawks and falcons. In the Unit

  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

Verdi's 'Requiem' was an exultant success. Howling winds and slashing blasts of icy rain overflowing streets and gutters made Saturday a terrific night to stay at home before the fire. Yet the tempestuous weather and hazardous driving conditions could not dissuade some 1,400 fans from attending a landmark concert at the Mondavi Center in Davis. The Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra performed Guiseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” to a hushed and enthralled audience. Director Donald Kendrick conducted the 55-member of the orchestra, 180-voice chorus and four guest soloists in a stunning 90-minute performance. That he did so without working from a score was testimony to his deep love and respect

Argentine Tango is one of the most electrifying of dance traditions, and Tango Buenos Aires presents it with blazing artistry. The company performed on Thursday at the Sacramento Convention Center theater, the third performance in the Community Concert series. Tango Buenos Aires has been touring internationally for more than 20 years, entertaining, educating and amazing audiences with its interpretation of this cultural treasure. For nearly 200 years, Tango has been danced in Argentina. It is a dance of romance, but it is not your grandmother’s hearts-and-flowers romance. Tango is fire, heat and sensuality expressed in athleticism and muscular grace to compelling, visceral music. This is

Are you a fan of “Dancing with the Stars”? Do you enjoy glitzy Broadway musicals or old movies with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire? Do graceful dancers in tuxedos and swirly sequined dresses make you swoon? U.S Women's Standard Champions Citabria Phillips, left, and Zoe Balfour perform in the evening show. It was all that and more when ballroom dancers from around the world gathered in Sacramento on Sunday. The Ballroom of Sacramento hosted the third annual Dancing in the River City Same-Sex Dance Competition, followed by an evening dance show. This year’s show was “Over the Rainbow in the River City,” and featured performances by The Dancing Dorothys, the Vima Vice Squad, the Magical

A young artist experiments with color and vision. Learning spatial relations and composition. Demonstrating kinetic art. The Crocker Art Museum was the first public art museum in the west,  dating from 1885 when Margaret Crocker donated the original building, grounds and art collection to the city of Sacramento.  Her intention was to create a public trust that would ensure that a vehicle for the appreciation of art would always be available to Californians.   The Crocker Art Museum Association  has upheld that intention through the decades, and has recently completed an ambitious expansion which tripled the size of the facility. The  expanded space enables the museum to display much mo

It was a genuine mob scene—a “flash mob”, that is.  The Westfield Galleria in Roseville was evacuated Monday evening when a large crowd strained the capacity of the food court to its limits—and possibly beyond.   Amid reports of the floor cracking and buckling under the combined weight of an estimated 5,000 people, the Roseville Fire Department ordered the entire mall closed and evacuated everyone.  It was an orderly evacuation, though many people were slow to abandon their vantage points. Eventually the grumbling crowds were cleared away from the area around the carousel, the upper gallery and lower floor courtyard, and the surrounding corridors. Shop keepers stood bewildered in their d

A 77-year-old act came to Arco arena last night, but there was nothing tired about it.  The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the world-famous Rockettes showed the near-capacity crowd that when it comes to entertainment, experience is a definite plus. From the first tableau of reindeer-costumed Rockettes drawing Santa’s sleigh across the stage in artful precision, the audience was enthralled by the show.  With stunning costumes, terrific sets with great special effects, lighting and sound of exacting quality, and even some snowshowers over the audience, the stage came alive with Christmas cheer. The 18 beautiful, leggy Rockettes were ably augmented by the lush voices of a sextet

The block-long line of music lovers began to form a full hour before the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Church opened, a testament to the popularity of the Sacramento Master Singers’ annual holiday concerts. The expectant crowd settled into the pews and filled the magnificent sanctuary, ladies in sparkly holiday dresses seated next to young people in jeans and hoodies, all brought together to experience the magic and wonder of beautifully sung seasonal music. “Peace, Peace: 25 Years of Holiday Music” marks a quarter century of the inspired direction of conductor Ralph Hughes. Through his tenancy as artistic director, the choir has blossomed in numbers, artistic excellence and popularit