The Shins (with opening act Gardens & Villa) played Monday night at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis. The show was the last of series of four concerts in Davis in April produced by the Bay Area's Another Planet Entertainment that I started calling "mini-Coachella," since the headlining bands (and many of the openers) also played that desert mega-festival the last two weekends: Explosions In The Sky at the Mondavi, Bon Iver at Freeborn Hall, and Florence + the Machine at the Mondavi. Other recent Coachella stopovers in the region include fIREHOSE at Harlow's, The Buzzcocks at Ace of Spades, Givers at Harlow's, and Mazzy Star at Harlow's. The Shins are touring to suppo

Appearing behind a sheer shadow box a top the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts stage on Wednesday night, Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine, launched into her lilting “Only if For One Night,” the starting track off her 2011 record release “Ceremonials.” The crowd, captivated by Welch’s charisma and gold-studded cloak, cheered as the singer reverently raised her arms like a black bird and crooned the chorus line: “But you came over me like some holy rite, and although I was burning, you're the only light! Only if for a night!” Her graceful, yet guttural vocals permeated the theatre full with Florence aficionados. Behind her, a tapestry of stained glass cathedral windows and ce

Texas band Explosions In The Sky visited the Mondavi Center at UC Davis Sunday night and provided a pure guitar wall of sound bliss. Their show is the first of a set of four concerts in Davis in April produced by the Bay Area's Another Planet Entertainment (books shows for the Outside Lands Festival (2012 lineup to be announced tomorrow), the Treasure Island Music Festival, The Independent in SF, and the Fox Theater in Oakland, among others) that I am dubbing "mini-Coachella" since the headlining bands (and many of the openers) are playing there both last and next weekend. Upcoming Davis shows are: Bon Iver on Tuesday, April 17th at Freeborn Hall; Florence and the Machine on Wednesday, Ap

American River College (located at 4700 College Oak Drive in Sacramento) is exhibiting a collection of photos from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program through March 30. The collection will be on display in the school’s Kaneko Gallery in its Fine & Applied Arts Area. The gallery’s hours are 11am-4pm Monday-Thursday and 11am-2pm Friday. Parking permits are $1 for the day. ARC is the only community college in the state to receive such a gift, which includes 150 portraits, celebrity snapshots, couples, nudes, painting ideas, party photos, still lifes, and outdoor images. Art faculty Ken Magri and ARC Foundation Executive Director Kirsten DuBray worked to secure the collection, which

It was a very tough decision to choose the winners of The Sacramento Press 2012 Journalism Open. Fifty-three community contributors shared 93 stories about the greater Sacramento area and the quality of submissions this year really impressed the judges. Thank you to all of you who made this year’s Journalism Open a success. The Sacramento Press judges were Casey Kirk, Director of Community Outreach, Brandon Darnell, Copy Editor and Reporter, and Colleen Belcher, Editor-in-Chief. Each story was judged on newsworthiness, research and sources, spelling and grammar and how interesting they were. Each winner could only win one prize. Click here to read the complete judging criteria. First

Photographs are an important part of storytelling and can often tell a story on their own. After a brief workshop hiatus, our first Sacramento Press workshop for 2012 will be on photojournalism. (The Journalism Open workshop wasn't a typical workshop for us.) John Hernandez will teach an introductory photojournalism workshop from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the Sacramento Press office called "Introduction to Photojournalism." Hernandez is a Sacramento-based photographer. He has professional experience in wedding, portrait and social documentary photography as well as various multimedia platforms, including audio slideshows. He has freelanced for ABS-CBN, a Filipino American news ch

Just moments after Wilco’s enigmatic guitarist Nels Cline had peeled the paint off the walls inside UC Davis' Mondavi Center with a little psychedelic freakout on "Impossible Germany," front man Jeff Tweedy pulled out the line of the night: "You know, something just occurred to me - the guy yelling 'Free Bird!' might help explain the pepper spray incident." Ohhh, too soon? Tweedy asked that too, amidst the smattering of "ohhh's" and groans that were peppered (zing!) in with the laughter and the applause - although there seemed to be a resounding agreement that a little aerosol Tabasco to the face would be an appropriate response for a guy who apparently still thinks it's cool or funny t

Only 10 miles from downtown is an area used to be known as the strawberry capital of the world: the Old Florin Town District, according to its locals. The ongoing revitalization efforts in the area shows acknowledgment of its historic past. “The goal is to make Old Florin Town a destination,” Sacramento County Department Transportation Senior Land Architect James Schubert said. According to the "Sacramento County Florin Vision Plan" in 2002, the county and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) started revitalization efforts in the district. Since then, two district gateway landmarks were installed: one on Florin Road and Florin-Perkins Road and another on Florin Road a

Verge Center for the Arts has remained a consistent hub of creativity for Sacramento since they first opened their doors as a private art gallery in 2009. In 2010 they expanded into their current space—a 22,000 square foot warehouse in Downtown Sacramento—and organized as a nonprofit. Now home to 30 resident studio artists, plus extensive gallery and event space, Verge continues their mission of exposing Sacramento to the contemporary art and artists of the region. 2011 was a particularly big year for Verge. Among many other achievements, they had a more-than-successful Kickstarter campaign ($9,165 raised on a $7,500 goal!), won the First Place award of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Co

Skip the crowded malls this Saturday and bring your wish lists and your camera down to the MARRS Building to visit Santa’s Workshop! Santa and his elves have opened up their workshop for the past two Saturdays and this Saturday they are inviting the whole family, even the pets! Residents and visitors are invited to visit Santa’s Workshop at the MARRS Building from 11am-4pm. Pets are welcome to come down from 2pm-4pm. Grateful Dog Daycare will even be on hand to give the photogenic pooches a special treat. The MARRS Building is located in the heart of Midtown at 20th & J Streets. MARRS retailers invite all, big and small, to join them at this festive event. Retailers at MARRS include Pete

Tom Stoppard's 1960s play Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead finishes its run at the UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance tonight through Saturday at the Main Theatre in Wright Hall. Michael Barakiva, Granada Artist-in-Residence at UC Davis, directs the absurdist comedy that elevates two minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet to central roles. The play features witty fast-paced dialogue and philosophical ponderings that involve meaning, being, and knowing. “There are times when things make sense and there are times when you’re transported from one space to another and reality bends to accommodate desire or fear,” Barakiva notes. “We're using Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Lorca

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 alt

Folk/country singer Iris Dement played a solo show at the Center for Spiritual Awareness (CSA) Event Center in West Sacramento Thursday night with Jay Shaner opening. Dement played such crowd favorites as "Our Town"  "Our House" from her Grammy-nominated My Life album released in 1994. Accompanying herself on piano and acoustic guitar, Dement's distinctive high-lonesome warble relayed plaintive songs of heartbreak and hard times. Her stage presence is warm and self-deprecating, with a sly humor. At one point she remarked about the venue: "I'm not sure how much more awareness I want," and that she might have enough (spiritual awareness) as it is. This writer would tend to agree.

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys opened the Mondavi Center's SummerMusic series at the UC Davis quad Saturday night. Led by Riley's masterful accordion playing, the band kept the crowd on their feet and dancing for their entire set of Southwest Louisiana Cajun French music. Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have played together for over 20 years, and have three Grammy nominations for their albums.  Touring their most recent album Grand Isle, the cover of which shows a poignant image of an oil-soaked bird, Riley referenced the ongoing effects of the BP oil spill disaster on the local communities. The SummerMusic series concludes on Saturday, August 13 with Non Stop Bhangra. Bhangra

The Reverend Horton Heat was preaching to the choir Wednesday night at Ace of Spades. The legendary psychobilly phenomenon has been on tour since December 2010 promoting their new album, Laughin’ & Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat, as well as those old Horton Heat classics we love them for. Mass began with the local Sacramento punk band, Another Damn Disappointment (A.D.D), who seriously tore up the stage. Don’t let their name fool you, there is nothing disappointing about A.D.D. Their high energy act, which channels sounds similar to punk greats like NOFX and Bad Religion, tore into the admittedly small crowd of early arrivals. A few diehards at the front of the stage made a sad att

Kites & Crows headlined an indie-folk bill on the porch at Sophia's Thai Kitchen in Davis Friday night. The duo of Misner & Smith from Davis (recently relocated from San Francisco) and Portland-based Brooke Parrot opened. Kites & Crows, hailing from Ashland, Oregon, used lush instrumentals to flavor the haunting lyrical storytelling of singer/songwriter Mysha Caruso. Jesse Baldwin and Nancy Martin distributed banjo, cello, accordion, and vibraphonette duties among themselves.  

Internationally-renowned DJ Paul Oakenfold played a set Thursday night at District 30 on the K Street Mall in Sacramento. Compared to his year-long residency on Saturday nights at the Rain nightclub at the Palms in Las Vegas, where he presides over 25,000 square feet and around 2,000 clubbers, this was an intimate affair and chance to see one of the world's best at close quarters.

The inaugural Davis Music Festival, consisting of 20 musical acts playing 5 different venues in downtown Davis, was held Saturday. With music ranging from a local band of high schoolers to nationally-known touring bands, this photographer had grand visions of paying tribute to Sac Press writer Lindol French's imminent departure by mirroring his "eating for the cycle" feat at Raley Field earlier this year and listening to music "for the cycle;" but instead chose a more relaxed pace, visiting most of the venues and listening to about a quarter of the acts. The first annual event was run by a new non-profit organization called Music Only Makes Sense (MOMS), with all profits donated to the Da

Longtime alt-country stalwarts Old 97’s played Harlow's in Sacramento on Saturday night with fellow Texan Sarah Jaffe opening (see Sacramento Press article and photos on Sarah) . Old 97's are touring in advance of the release of The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 on July 5. As has been standard for the shows in the last few months at Harlow's that this photographer has attended (North Mississippi Allstars, The Devil Makes Three, Trampled By Turtles), the packed crowd was extremely enthusiastic. And the band responded: playing over 25 songs in their set (including an extended encore) spanning their 18-year career

In a rustic jean jacket and laced up military-style boots, singer/songwriter and Dentin, TX native Sarah Jaffe took the stage at Harlow’s on Saturday night without introduction. Discretely arranging the mic, she cut through the chatter of the bar’s full house of patrons with the earthy croon of “Paul/The Body Wins,” sustaining heavy notes for seconds at a time. The opening song was a two-parter of sorts, splitting seamlessly into a danceable second half, featuring looped vocals and a drum-machine beat. The electronic jolt, though an element largely absent in her most current album “Suburban Nature,” set the tone for the rest of her crisp, chest-pounding set. Having successfully secured o