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

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

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

Police were absent from the Occupy UC Davis rally at noon today in the quad as thousands of students and community members united in a show of solidarity with students who were doused with pepper spray by campus police during a nonviolent protest Friday. Students and faculty both used the rally to call for the resignation of Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. Students involved in Friday’s attack took to the mike with accounts of being paralyzed with fear and pain from police brutality. Several students said they were threatened with being shot by the police. Others testified they were pulled from the group, pepper-sprayed and arrested without any care or treatment for the spray that temporari

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