Ace of Spades hosted its second event Saturday night, an "all locals" show called "SacShows Presents: Soundcheck", featuring performances by Oneira, Above The City, Carcerys Vale, Batten Down Your Heart, City of Kings, The Winter Formal and Ten After Two. The theme for the night seemed to be "screamo," and it was delivered in spades (pun intended) with the exception of maybe The Winter Formal, which leans more toward sung vocals. The tattooed and skintight jeans-wearing band members whipped their hair through quick 20- to 30-minute sets, cheered on by pierced and gauged teenage boys and girls, while overly aggressive males swung their fists around and ran into each other hard in the circ

For those wanting to release some stress after a rough day of voting on Tuesday, Arco Arena was apparently the place to do it. Four-time Grammy-nominated band Godsmack was in town, delivering the hard rock and splitting the eardrums of a crowd that struggled to fill the lower level of the arena. After energetic warmup sets by bands Drowning Pool and Five Finger Death Punch, the marketing machine was in full swing as the anxious crowd was shown a promotional video touting Godsmack frontman Sully Erna’s solo album, “Avalon,” which we were reminded was available at the merchandise booth. Next, we were treated to a dated documentary clip connecting hard rock/metal music with devil worshippi

"Unfortunately, I'm the idiot [who] came up with the world's worst f***ing band name," said Kai Kln drummer Neil Franklin. "It comes back to haunt me when I have to explain this name and try to pronounce it." Kai Kln (pronounced "kai" as in "kaiser" and "klin, but ignore the vowel," Franklin said) formed in Carmichael and played its first gig in August 1989 at Southside Park. When the four-piece headlines the inaugural End of Summer Fest concert in Cesar Chavez Plaza, it will be the 20-year anniversary of the band's first performance. Friday's concert, which is a continuation of Concerts in the Park, will also feature opening band Prieta, a 2009 Sammie award winner for best rock band. Pr