In many ways, it can be tough to reconcile the very institution of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band itself with the individual talents of the men who play in it. It's a collective that has been the ambassador of New Orleans jazz for a half century - an indelible fixture of the city, and indeed, of jazz itself. It's easy to get caught up in the idea of the band and the mystique that surrounds it, and not recognize each individual (many of whom are part of an unbroken bloodline of 'Nawlins musicians) for their personal talents and accolades. Even walking into the beautifully intimate and acoustically flawless Three Stages theatre on Friday evening and seeing the "Preservation Hall Jazz Band

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

Ben Jaffe couldn’t quite remember the name of “that big record store” he visited the last time Preservation Hall Jazz Band visited Sacramento, rehearsing for the jazz ballet suite “Ma Maison,” performed at the Mondavi Center back in November. He did remember that it was “right downtown,” and it occupied a large corner. Not hard to determine that we were discussing The Beat. “When you walk into places like that, its like, ‘thank you, Lord!’” Jaffe emphatically proclaimed. “You need human interaction - in society we’ve become more and more isolated,” he said, ruminating on the eternal feud between the comforting smell of a house of vinyl and the ever-increasing prominence of MP3s. “Even t

Rock journs dream about interviewing guys that have the mystique of Jeff Tweedy. So why not try and steal a few hundred seconds on the phone with one of rock's most intriguing (living) front men? Because it would have been met with about the same response I repeatedly got in my pre-teen years when sending those letters with requests for a dinner date to Jennifer Love Hewitt, c/o Producers of "Party of Five." Crickets. In principle, Jeff Tweedy wouldn't be the kind of guy to scoff or turn his nose up at anyone who wanted an interview - that's not his style. There is no visible penthouse or caviar in his songwriting, his performance persona, or in the man himself - it's pretty much all ba

Call it "15 for '12." Since Sac Press announced 12 can't miss concerts for 2012, the calendar has gone slightly bonkers with a trio of exciting announcements for the coming months, and there's no way we can leave them off the list. As many of you may have heard already in this morning's announcement, the haymaker of this list is The Black Keys, bucking the perceived trend of "big name acts passing over Sacramento." Their rise over the last couple of year has been meteoric, circumventing pop trends by injecting blood-in-the-mud blues rock into the mainstream in a way that has arguably never been done before - you'd probably have to go back to the heyday of Zeppelin. Songs like the beer-swi

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 Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Show at 7:30 PM.. Tickets are $32.00 - $48.00. Friday, December 9th - Friday, December 23rd: Sacramento Bellet presents The Nutcracker at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Tickets are $15.00 - $69.00 Friday, December 9th: Cage The Elephant at Ace of Spades is Sold Out! Friday, December 9th - Sunday, December 11th: Capital Christian Center presents The Singin

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 Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Show at 7:30 PM.. Tickets are $32.00 - $48.00. Friday, December 2nd: An Irish Christmas at Three Stahes Folsom Lake. Concert at 7:30PM. Tickets are $75.00-$100.00 Friday, Decmber 2nd - Saturday, December 3rd: Tesla's Twisted Wires Acoustic Tour at Ace of Spades. Doors open at 7PM. Tickets are $30.00. Friday, December 2nd - Sunday, December 4th: River City Chora

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 Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Show at 7:30 PM.. Tickets are $32.00 - $48.00. Saturday, November 19th: Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Power Balance Pavilion. Two Shows at 3PM and 8PM. Tickets are $39.00 - $59.00. Saturday, November 19th - Sunday, November 20th: Sacramento Oepra presents Paglassi with guest The Sacramento Philharmonic at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Tickets are $28.00 - $1

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 Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Show at 7:30 PM.. Tickets are $32.00 - $48.00. Friday, November 11th: Hot 8 Brass Band at Mondavi Center, UC Davis. Concert ay 8PM. Tickets are $37.00. Sunday, November 13th: BB King at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Concert at 8PM. Tickets are $39.00 - $99.00. Sunday, November 13th: Peter Noone at Thunder Valley Casino. Concert at 8PM. Tickets are $20.00

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. Have a  Happy Halloween!! Sacramento Area Concerts & Music Events Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Show at 7:30 PM.. Tickets are $32.00 - $48.00. Friday, October 28th: Sacramento Ballet presents Dracula at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Tickets are $17.00 - $68.00. Friday, October 28th: Midnight Star - A Taste of Honey at Thunder Valley Casino. Concert at 8PM. Tickets are $20.00 - $30.00. Saturday, October 29th: Exotic Hallowe

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 Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Shows at various times. Tickets are $32.00$48.00. Friday, October 21st: English Beat - The Snobs - Avenue Saints - La Noche Oskura at Ace of Spades. Show at 6:30PM. Tickets are $21.95. Saturday, october 22nd, 23rd, 27th, 28th: Sacramento Ballet presents Dracula at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Tickets are $17.00 - $68.00. Sunday, October 23rd: Lord of the R

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 Running through January 2012: Bingo The Winning Musical at Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 10th & K street in Sacramento. Shows at various times. Tickets are $32.00- $48.00. Friday, October 14th: Journey with Foreigner & Night Ranger at Sleeptrain Amphitehatre. Concert at 7PM. Tickets are $30.00 - $280.00. Saturday, october 15th & Sunday, October 16th: Sacramento Philharmonic presents Rachmaninoff featuring pianist Olga Kern. SAT at Sacramento Communit Center Theatre at 8PM. SUN at Thr

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 Friday, October 7th: Cake at UC Davis Pavilion 8PM (Online Tickets Sold-Out) Friday, October 7th: 10 Years - Redlight Kine - End of Days at Ace of Spades. Show at 7PM. Tickets are $18.95 Saturday, October 8th: KAI KLN at Harlows. Show at 9PM. Tickets are $20. Saturday, October 8th: Sick Puppies - First Class Citizen - ALLINADAY at Ace of Spades. Show at 7PM. Tickets are $23.95 Monday, October 10th: Panic at The Disco at Ace of Spades. Show at 7PM. Tickets are $29.95 Tuesday,

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 Friday, September 30th: Basia at Harlows. Show at 7PM. Tickets are $35. Saturday, October 1st: SAMMIES Block Party on 20th Street (Between J&K) in Midtown Sacramento. A Variety of musical guests, food/drinks and more. Free/5-10PM  sammies.com Sunday, October 2nd: Blink 182 - My Chemical Romance - Matt and Kim at Sleep Train Amphitheatre.Concert at 7PM. Tiickets are $38.00 - $84.00. Sunday, October 2nd: Keith Urban & Jake Owen at Power Balance Pavion. Concert at 7:30PM. Ticket

Blind Pilot front man Israel Nebeker remarked mid-way through his band's captiviating Tuesday evening set that the Harlow's crowd was "one of the loudest crowds we've ever played for," which of course was met with raucous approval from the quite sizable (for a Tuesday) masses. The irony is, despite Nebeker's "don't take this the wrong way" qualifier, that comment was probably not entirely meant as a compliment. Harlow's always seems to bring more than its share of chatter, and always a few folks who think that everyone else in the room cares about their half of a cell phone conversation. That is exactly why Blind Pilot's encore turned out to be such a rare and beautiful moment, and to so

The “vision” of any great song is that it practically writes itself. There is perhaps no more intriguing image than that of a sheer moment of inspiration streamlining itself into a song, from the mind of the writer directly onto a sheet of paper. Or onto a cocktail napkin. Or onto the back of an old airplane ticket while coasting down the driveway at Neil Young’s ranch. (FYI, that last one was a story told by Eddie Vedder at last year’s Bridge School concert, as he quipped “I’m not saying that I wrote the song quickly – just that Neil has a really long driveway.”) Such was the inspiration of the title track on Blind Pilot’s euphoric sophomore album, “We Are the Tide,” which Israel Nebek

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 Friday, September 23rd - Saturday, Sepetember 24th: Folsom Live with Eddie Money - Ronnie Milsap - Los Lobos 30 Bands on Ten Stages on Old Town Folsom. Beginning at 5PM. Tickets are $35.00 - $60.00. Go to FolsomLive.com. Friday, September 23rd: Freestyle Explosion with Lisa Lisa, Expose & More at Power Balance Pavilion. Concert at 7PM. Tickets are $25.00 - $48.80. Saturday, September 24th: Johhny Mathis at Sacramento Community Center Theatre. Concert at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $49

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 Friday, September 16th: Big & Rich - Gretchen Wilson at Thunder Valley Casino Resort. Concert at 8PM. Tickets are $35.00 - $65.00. Saturday, September 17th: KSFM 102.5 presents Tamale Festival at Cesar Chavez Park on 10th & J Street in Sacramento will feature music from Royalty & Sol Peligro. 11AM-5PM/$5. Saturday, September 17th: Rootstock Festival at Sacramento Horseman's Club on 3200 Longview DR. in Sacramento will feature Harley White Jr. Orchestra - Pleasant Valley Boys -

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 through 9/11. Show times are at 8PM or 7:30PM with some 2PM matinees. Tickets are $33.00 - $48.00. Beginning September 30th: Bingo The Winning Musical. Saturday, September 10th: Curtisfest at Curtis Park on 3349 West Curtis Drive in Sacramento will feature Istagon - Garage Jazz Architechts - Mike Justis Band. Begins at 11:00AM/Free. Saturday, September 10th: Tim Reynolds from Dave Mat

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. Friday, September 2nd: Human League & Men Without Hats at Thunder Valley Casino Resort. Concert at 8PM. Tickets are $21.00 - $59.00. Friday, September 2nd - Sunday, September 4th: 25th Anniversary Sacramento Rainbow Festival includes daily live music line-ups at various nightclubs, a Sunday Street Fa