Raley Field was a rock venue for those who showed up Tuesday night for Incubus. Fans trickled to the front of the stage for opening artist AWOLNATION, leaving seats available for the mellow rockers who chose to sit over standing in the pit. AWOLNATION’s loud, blood-rushing sound engulfed the eardrums of the early birds. They played songs off their debut album, “Megalithic Symphony,” including the radio hit single “Sail,” which was received by cheers. The stage was set up at the outfield line allowing for better acoustics, harnessing the sound before it escaped into Sacramento River. By 8 p.m., the surrounding stage area was packed and seats were filling up. Assigned seating was overloo

If you still have that Brandon Boyd poster on your wall, waiting for Incubus’ next tour to come to a city near you, you are in luck. On Tuesday the multi-platinum band will be performing at Raley Field, introducing new songs from their seventh studio album, “If Not Now, When?” Special guest AWOLNATION is set to open the concert. Incubus has sold over 13 million albums worldwide in their 20-year career. They are known for climactic riffs, hypnotizing melodies and Boyd’s vocals. It’s about time they are back. The alternative rock band took a break from touring to focus on family, solo albums and art school. Fans have held strong for the last few years after the 2006 album, “Light Grenades.

The Sacramento River Cats fell to the Omaha Storm Chasers 11-6 Friday night at Raley Field, completing Omaha’s sweep for the Pacific Coast League Championship and ending the River Cats season. It in Omaha’s first PCL Championship in franchise history. After dropping the first two games in Omaha, the River Cats hoped to overcome the deficit just as they did against the Reno Aces in the Pacific Conference Championship Series. The River Cats sent out right-hander Travis Banwart to the mound. Last series, against the Reno Aces, Banwart also pitched in an elimination game and pitched 6.0 innings pitched, two earned runs on five hits with three strike outs and one walk. Banwart looked to be c

The Sacramento River Cats again avoided elimination from the postseason as they defeated the Reno Aces 8-2 at Raley Field on Saturday night. The River Cats were able to bring the series to 2-2 and force a game 5 after falling behind in the series 0-2 to the Aces earlier in the week. “After dropping two games in Reno, we are just fortunate enough to have put ourselves in a situation to play tomorrow,” said River Cats second baseman Wes Timmons. “There’s no pressure now, in reality, the pressure is on them now. Nobody wants to go up 2-0 and then lose.” The River Cats quickly pounced on Reno’s starting pitcher Gaby Hernandez. Starting center fielder Jermaine Mitchell hit a lead-off triple

With everything they’ve worked for the entire season on the line, the Sacramento River Cats found themselves down 0-2 after two games of the first round of the Pacific Coast League Playoffs. After losing the first two games in Reno, 7-4 and 4-2, the Cats force a fourth game after beating the Reno Aces 5-2 at Raley Field on Friday evening and keep the best-of-five series alive. That’s good news for the team with the best record in the regular season. Josh Donaldson, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, knew that it was just a matter of time before the offense woke up. “It’s something that we really haven’t been tested all year because we had such a big league all year”, said Donaldson as he l

It was the last regular season game of the year. A chance for the team to thank the fans for being such great guests all year long and an equal chance for the River Cats diehards to cheer one last time during a great campaign. From the Sacramento players greeting loyal guests at every entrance to Raley Field to the pre-game fireworks booming from center field to the River Cats own regular season player awards - all of it took place before the contest in front of the fifth sellout of the year - 14,014 roaring fans. Everything fell into place on Thursday evening for the Cats to win their last home game of the regular season 7-1 against the Las Vegas 51’s. The game started out as a pitcher

The Sacramento River Cats won their sixth game in a row, defeating the Las Vegas 51s by a final score of 4-3 on Wednesday night at Raley Field. Las Vegas got on the scoreboard first when starting right fielder Adam Loewen doubled to left field and scored shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who was on second base after a single and a walk to Jayson Nix. It didn’t take long for the River Cats to respond and get on the scoreboard as well. Jai Miller hit his 31st homer of the season to lead off the second inning and give the River Cats their first run. Then with designated hitter Josh Donaldson on second, center fielder Jermaine Mitchell doubled to score Donaldson. Wes Timmons came up to bat next,

  Having already clinched the Pacific Coast League Pacific South division, the Sacramento River Cats won their fifth game in a row. A crowd of 10,638 fans at Raley Field watched the hometown team defeat the Las Vegas 51s 5-1. The Cats have now won 13 of their last 16 games. The first three innings were scoreless. Las Vegas threatened in the first inning with a single and a walk, but the rally ended when Adam Loewen struck out for the third out with men on first and second. The River Cats started off weak in the first inning as Jermaine Mitchell and Adrian Cardenas grounded out and Wes Timmons struck out. Tyson Ross settled down and began taking control of the situation as he put Las

The Sacramento River Cats pounced early on the Las Vegas 51s en route to a 13-1 victory on Monday night at Raley Field. Sacramento first baseman Chris Carter started the scoring with a two-out solo homerun deep over the left field wall. Sacramento continued their attack on Las Vegas starting pitcher Kyle Drabek in the second inning. With runners on first and third, Sacramento shortstop Adam Rosales lined a single to left field to score another run and load the bases with only one out. Drabek then walked three consecutive batters to give the River Cats a 5-0 lead. Drabek finally got out of the inning after getting third baseman Josh Donaldson and left fielder Michael Taylor out. The Rive

The warm voice of Sara Bareilles welcomed fans to Thursday night’s show at Raley Field. Bareilles seemed at home here in Sacramento, perhaps due to the proximity to her hometown of Eureka. There was an extra bounce in her step as she sang away to the ballpark stands, the smell of hotdogs wafting in the air. She let fans hear, “Love Song,” early on, which made everyone happy, and followed up soon after with “Many the Miles.” Throughout her performance, Bareilles really took liberties with the sound and tempo for both old and new material. She also informed the audience that she had spent all of Wednesday filming the music video for “Gonna Get Over You,” her newest single, which she then pe

The Incredible Machine Tour, featuring Sugarland paired with one of several other artists, has already been tried and tested. Earlier this month, the band witnessed a tragic accident at the Indiana State Fair when high winds knocked down portions of the stage, killing six and injuring many others. After almost a week off, Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush turned back to their music for comfort. According to the Associated Press, their show in Albuquerque, the first since the accident, was a somber affair. The group devoted a minute of silence to those lost and injured. At present, the Raley Field pairing with Sara Bareilles is scheduled to go on, though saddened fans a

Josh Donaldson scored the lone run for the Sacramento River Cats on Thursday night, and it was his throwing error in the eighth inning that allowed the Albuquerque Isotopes to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run to beat Sacramento 2-1. The starting pitchers were impressive as they held the offense in check. There was a scattering of hits, and the teams managed to score one run apiece through seven innings. Center fielder Jermaine Mitchell opened the River Cats’ half of the first inning with a hit to left field, but he was thrown out at second attempting to stretch a single into a double. Donaldson then singled to center field and was driven home on a double down the left field li

Here are some of the many music events happening in the Sacramento area this week. For more detailed information on these events and many more go to www.eMusiConnect.com. Sacramento Area Concerts & Music Events Defending The Caveman at Cosmopolitan Cabaret on 1000 K Street in Sacramento. Continues WED-SUN. Show times are at 8PM or 7:30PM with some 2PM matinees. Tickets are $33.00 - $48.00. Through Sunday, August 21st: Music Circus presents I Do! I Do! at Wells Fargo Pavilion on 1419 H Street Sacramento. Shows at various times. Tickets are $30.00 - $59.00. Beginning Tuesday, August 23rd - Sunday, August 28hth: Miss Saigon Friday, August 19th: Friday Night Concerts in the Park (Last Conc

The River Cats took their third consecutive win Wednesday afternoon after a 13-inning game against the Alberquerque Isotopes. The Cats won with a walk-off after catcher Anthony Recker hit a bases-loaded single allowing second baseman Andy LaRoche and left fielder Michael Taylor to advance and score two runs for a 4-3 lead. At the top of the 13th, however, a Sacramento victory was not certain after LaRoche – making his first minor league pitching appearance – allowed the Isotopes to score with a ground-rule double to left field, breaking the five-inning long tie 3-2. Though LaRoche finished as winning pitcher, seven of the 14 Cats pitchers left the bullpen to relieve and help earn a Cat’s

I’ve missed you too, Sactown! All of the letters and emails encouraging and pleading for the return of the Rundown have all been very comforting – as has my own laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of that statement. Ego-tripping aside, it’s good to be back with the "redheaded cello" version of the Rundown (wait for it…). This is definitely the time of year when we start to lament the pending end of summer and the compression of the local concert calendar. We ain’t there yet… Toad the Wet Sprocket –Parents weren’t sure if the band name was inappropriate or just plain weird when their kids started going nuts over songs like “All I Want” in the early ‘90s. Twenty years later, they still

Usually, Cats’ starter Travis Banwart pitches well during the first few innings of a contest. Banwart’s quietly had a very good season. His numbers put him near the top of several Pacific Coast League pitching categories. He ranks fourth in strikeouts, third in WHIP and third in batting average against while being the team leader in all of those areas. On Tuesday evening at Raley Field, things went in a different direction for Banwart when he got off to a rough start as five of the first six batters got on base and the River Cats found themselves down 4-0 after one. But after the shaky start, Banwart settled in and pitched well as he set down 13 of the next 14 batters he faced and helpe

The red hot Sacramento River Cats continued their dominance by defeating the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 12-4 Sunday afternoon at Raley Field. The River Cats used a seven-run second inning en route to winning their fourth game in a row, also making it their eighth win in the last ten games. River Cats first baseman Chris Carter started off the scoring in the first inning. With right fielder Jai Miller on first after a one-out walk, Carter sent his ninth home run of the season soaring over the center field wall to give the Cats the first two runs of the game. The Sky Sox came right back in the top of the second inning with two runs of their own. Sox left fielder Mike Paulk led the inning of

The Sacramento River Cats bested the Reno Aces 4-2 Friday night, taking the first game of a five-games series between the divison leaders. The final game of the series is Monday night. Visit the River Cats website to purchase tickets. Here are some photos from the game:

This was one to remember. On a beautiful afternoon at Raley Field on Saturday, one rare occurrence seemed to open the door for several more as the day went on and the Sacramento River Cats split a rare double header against their bitter rivals, the Reno Aces. The Aces won the first contest 3-2 and the Cats won the nightcap 5-4 in a game that had just about everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. How about both managers being ejected during the same at-bat, a foul ball that found it’s way into the press box, a guy being about a foot short of hitting for the cycle and a walk-off homer run all occurring during the crazy second game? We'll save that for later.  How about the first game

Raley Field patrons will notice traffic flow improvements around the ballpark as the River Cats return to Sacramento for a four-game homestand beginning Friday, July 22, against the Reno Aces (Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks). Tower Bridge Gateway, which has been closed since the beginning of the season, is now completely open for both east and west bound traffic to and from the Tower Bridge. Fans using this route are encouraged to park in Lots G and H and take the pedestrian walkway on 5th Street. On all remaining Saturday games, and for the Sugarland concert on August 25, Lots R1 and R2 are also open for easy access to the ballpark via the 5th Street pedestrian walkway.