Ace of Spades hosted the tour finale of the Glow Sticks for Breakfast Tour Sunday night, featuring performances by Hyper Crush, Benzi, Silver Medallion and Sacramento band Playboy School. Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's DJ project with Spencer Peterson, Black Cards, was also scheduled to perform, but the duo had to pull out a few days before the show due to an ankle injury. Playboy School kicked things off in the early slot with a lukewarm set as people trickled in. Benzi livened the mood up with an electronic/Top 40 set that had a few guys raging, and a while later Silver Medallion came out and grabbed the mic, adding some organic energy to the stage as he ran around, whipping his lo

Rock 'n' roll filled the stage Sunday at Ace of Spades thanks to Eve 6, The Audition, Hero’s Last Mission and Taking Not Stealing. Chicago-based band The Audition performed right before headlining Eve 6 and came out with a large amount of energy. Lead vocalist Danny Stevens brought passion and artistry to the stage. Alongside Stevens was drummer Ryan O'Connor, guitarists Jimmy Lopez and Timmy Klepek and bassist Joe Lussa. Performing an eight-song set, The Audition gave the audience a mixture of their four albums paired with some of their material from their newest EP, “Chapter II.“ From the beginning, Stevens rocked the stage with strong vocals, opening with the lyrically fierce song "

Building a home recording studio to produce the indie music album of your dreams can take a lot of time and work but the end result is worth it if you want the best sound without sacrificing artistic control. Many bands become frustrated with their recordings at expensive pro studios because the finished product doesn't meet the standards of the music industry or the artist's own expectations. Part of that problem has to do with the clock, which adds stress when studio time is limited. At the same time the clock drains a budget that also may be limited. You can end up with a recording that costs over $10,000 but does not sonically measure up to the major label recordings heard on radio, wh

Critically acclaimed Nashville-based singer/songwriter Mat Kearney has added West Coast dates to his current tour and will make a stop in Sacramento on April 10 at the Colonial Theatre in Oak Park. Sounding at first like a solo effort from Coldplay's Chris Martin, Kearney's latest album "Young Love" is a punchy collection of playful, summer-ready tales of love, pain and redemption. Kearney's current tour has included several sold-out shows at places including the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, House of Blues in Boston and Ogden Theatre in Denver. The second single from the album, "Ships in the Night," was recently performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and is the featured music in

From across the pond by popular demand, Oxford University's all-male a cappella group is back in town for a free show with The Spokes at Luigi's Pizza in Downtown Davis this Saturday, March 24th, at 8PM. The Spokes, local all-female a cappella talent from UC Davis, co-hosted a show with Out of the Blue back in 2010 at Davis' own Delta of Venus Cafe. Back in the states for their 2012 U.S. West Coast Tour, Out of the Blue is very excited to perform in Davis once again. Out of the Blue was recently featured as a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent, and with the release of their newest CD, "Rush", the men of Out of the Blue are just hitting their musical prime. See their amazing semi-final

HellaCappella, the most highly anticipated a cappella concert of the year, will take place Saturday, February 4th, 2012 at 7:30pm at the ARC Pavilion on the UC Davis Campus. Hosted by UC Davis’ amazing, all-female a cappella group, The Spokes, HellaCappella is an exciting collaboration between a cappella groups of all shapes and sizes. Hailing from various northern Californian universities, this year’s dynamic lineup includes show-stopping performances by two-time champions of the International Competition of Collegiate a Cappella, The Men’s Octet from UC Berkeley, Cloud Nine from UC Santa Cruz, NBC’s The Sing Off a cappella competition finalists On the Rocks from University of Oregon, and

Hollywood rapper Mickey Avalon headlined a New Year's Eve show at Ace of Spades on Saturday. Supporting Avalon on the bill were 2ME, Richard the Rockstar, and producer Big Chocolate. Photos by Steven Chea.

A couple hundred people wanting to get an early start on 2012 partying headed down to Ace of Spades on Friday, where Oakland musician and frequent Sacramento visitor, Wallpaper., headlined an eclectic bill. Starting the show was Chaotic Fusion, a drummer and DJ duo. DJ Oasis spun radio hits – "Teach Me How To Dougie," "Ghosts 'n' Stuff," "Last Resort" – while Radio 94.7 on-air personality Casey Lewis drummed along to the beat. Performing next was Oakland-by-way-of-Panama Latin rap duo Los Rakas. Rhyming in Spanish over dancehall and hip-hop beats, the up and coming young pair were well-received by the slowly growing crowd. Headliner Wallpaper. took the stage next, with the men of the gr

If you're looking for an example of a band in the middle of making it big, look no further than The Joy Formidable. Formed in North Wales, the now London-based power trio has been riding a monster wave of success this year, touring and playing major U.K. and U.S. festivals – Reading, Coachella, Lollapalooza – and garnering praise from critics and their musical peers alike.  They made such an impression on Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters earlier this year that he took to Twitter to sing their praises: "I would like to personally thank The Joy Formidable for writing the song of the year "Whirring". xxx Dave". The band will open several dates with Foo Fighters in November. The band has a massiv

Who knew a bari-tenor could have groupies? Josh Groban put on an excellent show Wednesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. Groban began the show on a stage in the center of the arena, dozens of Grobanites, as they are called, swarming around the raised platform. “You guys are circling like sharks,” said Groban. His show was spotted with comedy, which was a rather delightful surprise. One doesn’t necessary expect to laugh at a Josh Groban concert, and in fact, everyone did – and frequently. Throughout the show he was tremendously interactive with the audience. “I had a Starbucks earlier,” said Groban. “I’m really sorry.” It would be interesting to know if this is the vibe and character

Taking their name from the 2004 PJ Harvey album of the same title, L.A.-based Uh Huh Her is a sultry electro-pop duo made up of ex-Mellodrone bassist and keyboardist Camila Grey (who has collaborated with Busta Rhymes, Kelly Osbourne and Dr. Dre) and musician and actress Leisha Hailey, formerly of the Murmurs (and who you might recognize from her role as bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki on Showtime's “The L Word”). The pair creates lush, layered synth-driven pop, complemented by soothing, ethereal vocals and driven by up-tempo electronic beats. The band most recently released their dark and moody "Black and Blue" EP in May and is currently preparing to release their second album, "No

There was a surprisingly small turnout for Sugar & Gold and Yip Deceiver, two quality indie acts, at Blue Lamp Saturday night. Maybe the numerous free options of Second Saturday kept folks away, but, despite the numbers, both groups turned out solid performances. Yip Deceiver — featuring Of Montreal members Davey Pierce and Nicolas Dobbratz — took the stage late and kicked things off with their take on experimental electro pop, performing songs including "Sadie Hawkins Day" and "For All the Haters." Pierce bantered with the crowd constantly — "People who know me, who truly know me, know I like two things: karaoke and meth. We're going to do some karaoke, because that's fun for us." — and

Attention hipsters and indie dance music fans! Head on over to Blue Lamp this Saturday to catch indie dance duo Sugar & Gold with special guest Yip Deceiver. Shaking off comparisons to MGMT and Hot Chip, the San Francisco-based S&G weave together elements of funky disco, melodic electro and smooth R&B to create dance-heavy pop grooves with their unique signature. Rated "Best Local Dance Band" in 2007 by SF Magazine and "Best Party Band 2008" by SF Weekly, S&G are known for their energetic, outrageous live shows that will have you sweating in your skinny jeans. Davey Pierce (Of Montreal) side-project Yip Deceiver opens. Sugar & Gold and Yip Deceiver perform at Blue Lamp this Saturday at

San Francisco art-pop band Deerhoof kicks off a new tour at Harlow's Thursday in support of the hot-off-the-presses LP release "Deerhoof vs. Evil." The quartet is recognized by many as pioneers of improv-style experimental pop, with its distinctive sound influencing many others: Sleigh Bells, Of Montreal, Xiu Xiu and more. Count on a striking sonic mix of poppy melodies, waves of noise, and chaotic fun from these former Radiohead tourmates. Potentially challenging, but sure to be fresh and different. Deerhoof performs at Harlow's at 9 p.m. Thursday, and tickets are $12. Nervous Cop opens.

This Thursday you'll have a chance to end 2010 on a good note by catching indie-rock fave Pinback at Harlow's. The heart of the San Diego band has always been Zach Smith and Rob Crow, and with an upcoming album on the horizon and to stay fresh creatively, the duo is taking a different approach to performing on their current outing. As Smith explains: "We've decided to have some fun and present our songs in a new light. Instead of playing our songs the traditional way by having a backup band play all of our extra parts we thought it would be entertaining and fresh for just the two of us to play live. The idea is to present our music at times in a more broken down manner very similar sound

If the long line snaking in front of Harlow’s on a chilly Thursday night was any indication, this city was ready to play with Cold War Kids. Indeed it was, easily selling out the popular venue and providing a packed, electric atmosphere for the Long Beach-based band to feed its ravenous fans. Anchored by the pounding kick of drummer Matt Aveiro and the soulful vocals of Willett, the ’Kids soldiered through a setlist that included several cuts from their first two albums, ’06’s “Robbers & Cowards” (“Red Wine, Success!” and “Hospital Beds”) and ’08’s “Loyalty to Loyalty” (“Mexican Dogs” and “Dreams Old Men Dream”), as well as ’09’s “Behave Yourself EP” (“Audience” and "Santa Ana Winds”).

Would a group called Stew and the Negro Problem be at home playing a venue like the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Davis? Absolutely. The intimate, lounge-like 250-person Vanderhoef Studio Theatre was the perfect setting for musician Stew and his provocatively-titled band, The Negro Problem, on Tuesday evening. The name is meant to challenge perceptions be in-your-face and humorous, which also describes the band’s music quite accurately. Announcing that his band was probably mad at him because he had no setlist, Stew guided the seated older crowd on a musical journey that was insightful, comical and just plain sounded great. The lyrically driven songs were the stars, with ea

Three members of the Plain White T’s, Tom Higgenson, Tim Lopez and Mike Retond, made an appearance at Café 15L/Park Ultra Lounge Thursday evening and played an acoustic five song set to 100 plus adoring fans. The show was put on by the radio station Now 100.5 and follows similar performances by Colbie Calliat and the Goo Goo Dolls. The Plain White T’s, which was founded in 1997, made a name for themselves with their Grammy nominated hit single “Hey There Delilah,” which took over the airways in 2008. Together with “1-2-3-4” the band sold over 5 million digital downloads. Now, the Plain White T’s are releasing a new album, ‘Wonders of the Younger’ via Hollywood Records on December 7th.

The Submarines are an indie-pop group comprised of married couple Jack Dragonetti and Blake Hazard.  Touring with drummer Jason Stare and new bass player "Scott," they passed through Sacramento on Wednesday night, playing a small show at Blue Lamp. If you don't recognize the band name, you would certainly recognize the music. Their songs have been featured in Nip/Tuck, Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, and in maybe the most well-known placement, the songs "You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" and "Submarine Symphonika" were used in Apple commercials for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. Originally working as solo artists in Boston, Dragonetti and Hazard played in each other's bands and were romant

        Valentine's Day can be challenging for everyone out there, whether you've got a special someone to impress or not. The choices are limitless, and it can be hard to set something up that everyone will enjoy. This year, why not please the whole crowd with a just-before-Valentine's Day show starring local indie pop songstress Autumn Sky and up-and-comer Tre Burt?     Miss Sky, who recently won the Sac Show award for best Acoustic Show, holds a Valentine's Day show each year. 2009's show at Luna's Cafe drew a huge crowd, where patrons and audience members alike sat on floors and laps to fit in the tiny room. This year will prove to be no less of a good time, especially considering t