With the aroma of coffee in the air and couches to lounge upon, Shine, located on 14th and E, offers the community great coffee and a great venue for musicians. Coffee shops aren't the norm when it comes to live music, but Shine gives a great alternative to the traditional music venue. There is plenty of space, so enjoy a cup of coffee and listen to music and what it is Shine aims to do. Bringing touring bands into the shop at least once a week, Shine welcomed indie band Is It Is and rock 'n' roll band Sioux City Kid this past Friday. Opening the night was San Francisco based seven-piece band, Sioux City Kid. The band is composed of lead vocalist Jared Griffin, Dave Odell (guitar), Adam

Bike drive supports the Mike’s Bikes Sister Shops project which aims to improve everyday life in Africa, one bike at a time. (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – PODS of Sacramento and Mike’s Bikes, the largest independent bicycle retailer in the U.S., have partnered at three locations with PODS containers placed to serve as temporary bicycle donation centers and on-site storage during the Mike’s Bikes Africa bike drive. Bicycle donations are tax-deductible and will be accepted at the following Mike’s Bikes stores from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through June 26. 1411 I St. (at 14th), Sacramento 264 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma 1615 North California Blvd., Walnut Creek “Our Sacramento location is deeply roote

With a renewed focus on their devastating power, major earthquakes are a timely topic throughout the world today.   And now, as part of an annual program, the California State Capitol Museum (located inside the State Capitol) invites the local community to step back in time to experience a re-enactment of California’s 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.  Don’t miss the special opportunity to revisit the moving experience and learn from the past.  Visitors will be surrounded by docents in period attire re-creating the emotional scenes and moments of the recovery efforts that include local dignitaries providing assistance to refugees -- many of whom camped out on the Capitol grounds or

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.

Writer Armistead Maupin read the first chapter of his new book, “Mary Ann in Autumn,” Thursday night as part of the Bee Book Club. The adoring audience hung on his every word, whether it was the familiar-sounding yet new prose of “Maryann in Autumn” or his reminiscing about his life and his very popular “Tales of the City” book series. With this latest book, the series now stands at eight titles. Maupin also wrote two standalone novels. When Maupin started writing about what was essentially his life, it opened a door for the straight community for a look into the gay community. What was to become “Tales of the City” started in the San Francisco edition of the Pacific Sun. In 1976 it had

And so it begins. Wednesday night, the Giants continued their amazing run through the playoffs with an 11-7 defeat of the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series. On a night when Timmy Lincecum struggled on the mound (four earned runs over 5 and 2/3 innings), the pressure was on the Giants hitters to pick him up, and boy did they ever. They jumped on the heretofore unbeatable Cliff Lee (7-0 with a 1.26 E.R.A in eight career playoff starts coming into Game 1) for six earned runs, and knocked him out of the game in the fifth. In true Giants fashion, even though they won the game handily (the Giants held leads of 8-2 in the fifth and 11-4 in the eighth), there were plenty of moments o

              I'd been in Harlow's for almost 10 full minutes Tuesday night when a fellow that I'd exchanged brief pleasantries with on the way in approached me at the bar. "Hey man, we're gonna go burn if you're interested."               After a lengthy internal deliberation, I declined his kind offer. It was up to me, you see, to relay the evenings events to you, kind reader, and that's a responsibility I take very seriously. I wouldn't have my perceptions dulled by anything stronger than PBR. At least not until the set break.               Truth & Salvage Co. was opening for San Francisco's Tea Leaf Green, and though I'd never seen either group live before, as the crowd rolled in, I fe

Football. It's what makes summer's end tolerable.  The spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.  This year, at least here in Sacramento, the medicine is gonna go down especially easy. This year, Sacramento has a team to call it's own. On Monday, the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League opened training camp at the Harvard Corporate Center. Tuesday, UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue visited with the team, the first stop on a tour that will take him to each of the five cities that are currently home to UFL franchises. I attended both afternoon practices and was among the handful of media who got to speak with commissioner Huyghue.  As far as I'm concerned, s

Sacramentans in the mood for specially made cocktails need to look no further than Midtown this week. The annual Midtown Cocktail Week kicks off on Monday with seven nights filled to the brim with cocktail culture. Co-founder Joe Anthony Savala began the event in 2008 with Erick Castro after attending San Francisco’s Cocktail Week. “We really love the whole Midtown vibe and how it’s growing, so [we thought,] let’s put something together here,” Savala said. After some planning in conjunction with local restaurants and bars in Midtown and some help from San Francisco’s best bars, MCW was born. In 2009, the Midtown Business Association joined in. MCW is more than just enjoying beverages,

 Coco Crisp started his second straight game in center field for the Sacramento River Cats Wednesday night. Everyone's favorite nine-year major league veteran whose name is derived from a breakfast cereal led off the home half of the first with a sharply hit single to left center to extend his hitting streak to, well, two games.   The former Cleveland Indian, Boston Red Sock, and Kansas City Royal was pulled after the fifth inning, finishing his night going one for two with a strikeout. Though Crisp got all the fanfare, another former Cleveland Indian actually had more of an impact on the game.   Jamey Wright, signed as a free agent on Tuesday, combined with starter Kyle Middleton and

 Given Tuesday’s opening night of Sheer Madness, it looks like Cosmopolitan Cabaret has another hit on its hands. Shear Madness is based on a serious German play, Scherenschnitt, by writer and psychologist Paul Portner. The play is set in a uni-sex hair salon, has six stereotypical characters and involves the murder of a concert pianist. It is a study of how people perceive or misperceive reality. Bruce Jordan, a former high school teacher, began adapting the play in 1976. He was joined by fellow former teacher Marilyn Abrams in producing the first production of Scherenschnitt -now known-as Shear Madness at the Lake George Dinner Theater in Upstate New York in 1978. They began to notice

   Last summer, I went on a road trip of epic proportions. I traveled 22,000 miles over the course of 139 days, hitting 36 states along the way.  During my trip, I went to a variety of music festivals, including some of the monsters, such as All Points West, Lollapalooza, Gathering of the Vibes and Phish 8.      My favorite of them all, though, was probably a smaller one called Camp Bisco, in Mariaville, N.Y.  Camp Bisco is put on by The Disco Biscuits, and though I really enjoyed the headliners, what set the festival apart was the smaller acts playing throughout the day and late into the night.    That weekend was my first exposure to many acts that I now love:  Dr. Dog, Brother's Pas

Sacramento, CA - On October 12, 2009, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the highly controversial bill (S.B. 572) establishing “Harvey Milk Day” to take place each May 22nd, Milk’s birthday. The signing came on the heels of President Obama awarding Harvey Milk posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom last August. Equality Action Now, a local grassroots civil rights organization wanted to make sure Sacramento wasn’t left out in providing community-based affordable events commemorating Harvey Milk’s 80th Birthday, his Presidential Medal of Freedom award, and the California’s first official Harvey Milk Day. During the last several months EAN’s leadership and volunteers collaborated with se

Mother Ruby Muhammad is proof that it's never too late to do anything. An orphan who met her father when she was a teenager, Muhammad joined the Nation of Islam at age 49 and learned to read at 60. Sacramento's oldest supercentenarian at age 112, Muhammad will perform songs and tell stories about her life March 7 at the Imani Community Church. The first-time performer will be joined for the one-night-only performance by her friend, playwright and vocalist Suzanne Brooks, and Brooks' band, The Jazz Generation. The show is tentatively called "I Believe I Can Fly," after Muhammad's favorite song, written by R. Kelly. It also aligns with her positive outlook and her belief that if she had wi

 The Sacramento River Cats return home for the final home stanza of the regular season after an amazing road trip in which they went 7-1. The homestand begins Saturday night with a four-game series with the Portland Beavers. The River Cats will be honoring three local heroes in Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker and Chicago Cubs first baseman Derek Lee. The first 1,500 people in attendance will get to choose from the three bobbleheads. The person whose bobblehead runs out first will be named the 2009 River Cats High School Hero. The fans in attendance should be excited to see Dana Eveland (8-4, 4.94) take the mound for Sacramento against Wade LeBlanc (3-9

Announcing the opening of  Le Soleil. Le Soleil is a life, career and spiritual training ground for progressive adults looking to enhance their personal and professional lives, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.    Le Soleil is the brain child of Rebecca Echevarria. Rebecca is an ordained minister in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions and our lead consultant (life coach). She has studied religion, philosphy and leadership extensively. This background enables her to work with Executives, Soccer Moms, and everything in between. She has written books on escaping the cult mentality, parenting and dealing with adversity. Her core beliefs are that each in

Monsters vs. Aliens Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon by Tony Sheppard Capitol Weekly This is an interesting release for Sacramento, for a couple of reasons. For starters, it’s set in California, with the initial action taking place in the Central Valley and the climax in San Francisco. But it’s also a bit of a departure from the established norm in this market, in that it’s being released in 3D on the giant IMAX screen on the same day as it hits the multiplexes – so you can pick your format without having to wait. Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) lives in Modesto, where she’s about to marry the local TV weatherman Derek (Paul Rudd). Derek is waiting to expand his horizons

I need answers. There has been something that's plagued me for many years and I need your help in getting some insight. Why is it that the three states that make the west coast of the United States are all known for cities other than their capitols? That's my question. It's simple. Understand, I'm a native Sacramentan. I'm a braggart when it comes to Sacramento and it always boggled me when people dissed our city, laughing in my face, saying, "Isn't LA the capitol?" But traveling around, I discovered this odd trend (three makes a trend!): All the cities people find magnificent on the west coast are not the capitol. Why?! Starting from the north, here's my very scientific study:   WASHI