Crazy busy life!

I love my life. Let me just be REAL clear about that. I have great friends, a great family, and a town that is, as we always used to say, "close to everything."

I'm due to speak on a panel next week about Sacramento's cultural life, and here's my main regret: I miss a lot of it. Yeah, Mr. Blogging the Grid misses a lot of what goes on here. That's because "here" also includes Tahoe, San Francisco, mountain biking in the foothills, and this weekend, High Sierra Music Festival. I just can't stay put. Used to drive my editors crazy. I'm on the move, because there's so much to move TOWARDS.

Honestly, I know I should stick around more, but there's so much to do within easy striking distance of this place. I've even thought about blowing off the title Blogging the Grid, for the simple fact that life here extends WAY beyond the Grid, though not necessarily to Citrus Heights or Folsom. But go an hour or so, and you're in all kinds of paradise.

Saturday night: Krauss and Plant at Tahoe. Brilliant. The Harvey's Outdoor Amphitheatre ain't much - like a smaller version of Cal Expo Amphitheatre, one friend called it "a parking lot - but a nice parking lot" - but when you have people like Plant and Krauss (and T Bone Burnett leading a band that featured Buddy Miller and the EXTRAORDINARY drummer Jay Bellerose, who just floored me), the setting is secondary. Even the numbskulls shouting requests for "Stairway to Heaven" couldn't spoil it.) Check out this review from the Reno Gazette Journal (the Bee didn't bother to attend).

Then, I spent an afternoon and evening with my gang at a friend's house in the foothills, a passel of kids playing in the water (with yours truly and a bunch of other grown-ups who still play like kids), and it was just perfect. Damn, life is good.

And next: High Sierra. Seriously, this is my fifth year there, my gang doesn't miss it, and I met my true love, Ms. Ultra, camping in the grass three years ago. I've seen Kinky blow the roof off an outdoor concert (not easy to do), I've seen Richard Thompson, Bill Frisell, James Blood Ulmer, Skerik, Chris Robinson, Galactic (whoa!) and a half dozen guitarists tearing through "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" as well as all sorts of bands I'd never heard of before, and this year looks to be more of the same. Honestly, this is music the way it's meant to be heard:

Five, six thousand people at about 4,000 feet (or higher, nudge), dancing and listening and being civil and CARING about music in a way that you just don't get at GasHog Arena or MattressSale Amphitheatre. Music is so much more than money and fame and cross-promotion, but when you go to most shows, you feel like a pawn, a target, a MARKET. But at High Sierra (and WorldFest, more on that to come) and other festivals, you feel like a PERSON, a person who loves music made by other PEOPLE. At shows put on by other people. People like Sherry Wasserman of Another Planet, who put on the Plant/Krauss show, and has revived the Greek Theatre tradition, and is hosting the Treasure Island Music Festival and the Outside Lands Festival (where BECK is opening for RADIOHEAD, fer cryin' out loud) and so many other shows. The spirit is still there, even with the world seemingly going to hell. Music has saved my life regularly, and it did so at Plant and Krauss, and it will at High Sierra and Outside Lands. Seriously.

But I digress: High Sierra. For $168 - less than one ticket for the Police show at Mattress Amphitheatre - you get FOUR days of dozens of bands and cool people and camping at altitude. It is a music lovers' paradise, and if you've not gone, and you love music, you're off your game. DO IT.

Why? OK, so...here are a few names: Gov't Mule, Bob Weir and RatDog, Michael Franti, Mother Hips, SambaDa, Built to Spill, Keller Williams, Mike Gordon, Critters Buggin', Railroad Earth, James Hunter, CHARLIE Hunter, the fabulous Bay area DJ Bassnectar (rocked my world last year) and a whole bunch of OTHER names you've never heard. Because the names aren't what does it. It's the place, it's the vibe, it's the freedom, it's the serendipity of happening upon a band - or a woman (or a man) - and falling in love.

We're in an era of big names, if you just float down the lukewarm mainstream. Fine, go see the Police. Great band, and SleepTrain's fine. But if you swim into the eddies, and up into the tributaries, you find out what it's all about, deep down. And it might be for the first time, or it might be AGAIN. And again is sweet. Damn, it's sweet.

Go buy a ticket to High Sierra. Yeah, it's a pitch, one you'd be nuts to ignore. This is one hell of a good time. Life is beautiful, and music is a big part of Why. The other part is...other people. And nature. And High Sierra has 'em all.

Music in the mountains...

Heading out in a few minutes for a hike in the mountains, hopefully above the smoke, and then off to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at Harvey's outdoor amphitheatre at South Shore...this is THE show to see this summer (OK, as well as Radiohead), and if you're not familiar with this unlikely duo's Raising Sand album, here's a little promotional clip of the collaboration. If you can't make the show, check it out. If you're inspired, tickets are still available.



And a little surprise from the show...




Finally, a nice little interview from the BBC:



AND coming up, further north: High Sierra Music Festival, which I've written about several times. Will cover that more this week. It's going to be great, as always...

Gumbo cancels park concert; the air's better at Whiskey Wild...

Jeez, I go away for a week, and come back to Dante's inferno...or at least, the antechamber. Here's what nice air looks like...strange to be using New York City in summer as the example of clean air, but for at least one day of our visit, it was sparkling. Then we come back here, and wow: reminds me of the bad old days when farmers burned off the rice fields and you could barely see across the street downtown. Actually, I guess things are better. But this kind of better I can do without.

Case in point: Mumbo Gumbo has just announced that they're not going to play this afternoon's concert in the park, partly for their own health's sake, and partly because they don't want to draw people outside to breathe bad air for four hours. That's a bummer, because they had Kate Gaffney AND Ricky Berger opening, AND singing with Gumbo. So no one's happy about this.

There is still a show, however: Brian Ballentine and Friends are headlining, with Jacob Golden and Synchro taking up the slack. But really, breathing this "air" can NOT be good for your health. So take it easy, come over to Whiskey Wild at 19th and Q instead, and watch me play from 5-8 p.m. It, too, is free, and the air is filtered...

Second Saturday!!!

So, I'm back from five hours of cruising Second Saturday, and it just gets bigger and bigger. That's the story, and it's not all good, as issues of ALL those people in our traditionally sleep midtown are starting to come up for the police and there are those who are worrying that Second Saturday will go the way of the Thursday night market, ruined by its own success.

People drinking can get a little ugly as the night wears on, but the bottom line on Second Saturday remains this: It makes Sacramento feel like as interesting a place as you could be on Saturday night. And really, how often can you say that about Sactown?

I mean, I park the furry bike on the corner of 18th and L, and the first thing I see - other than a friend and a woman who I haven't seen for more than 20 years - is a samba drum group and dancers strutting and performing to delighted onlookers in front of Aioli (free advertising, Reda). People are digging it, stopping their bikes - have you ever seen so many bikes in Sacramento? - and even the folks inside the restaurant are enjoying the floorshow through the glass.


So then I wander up L, past the still-impressive L Street Lofts - really isn't that the finest new building in this town in forever? - and see that the gateway up into the lofts across the street, in the same building that houses the Buckhorn Grill, Ginger Elizbeth Chocolates, Diane Tempest's art gallery, and that new yogurt place, are open. So I wander up, through the gate that is usually closed, and there are people wandering this internal plaza, sitting at what looks like a back patio for L Bar, and just people people people, and it's COOL. I've been in there before, but no PEOPLE before. And people, not pork, make a party.

And then I wander over towards more loud music, katy-cornered, towards Mulvanney's, and there's a new space that the restaurant has acquired and turned into a funky little party, with a doorman inviting people in - under the industrial door that was, until recently, the front of an auto repair. This is an improvement. They've got cool chandeliers made out of collanders, and art on the walls, and barbeque and a full bar.

It's nice, and funky, and somehow upscale as well. And the people are...FINE. Honestly, Sacramento's not the prettiest town, day to day - ok, yes, I'm being shallow and judgmental, but who objects to pretty faces? - but tonight is different. Fine women, sexy girls, handsome, stylish guys - it's good for the eyes, and it makes Sacramento feel less frumpy, less suburban, and more, well, attractive.

At this point, it's probably worth noting that Second Saturday is suddenly a lot less about the "art walk" and a lot more about partying, and seeing and being seen, and those who object to it on those grounds have a point.

But really: As far as I'm concerned, very little art is as interesting or appealing as other people. I can't remember who said it - it might have been Degas - but whoever it was said, "We are here to look at each other," or something of that ilk, and it's TRUE. At least for me, and apart from nature itself, there's really noting quite as interesting as other people.

And there are waffles! Fresh off the waffle-maker, and while I didn't have one, I was all over the De Stijl-era White Stripes flava of the color scheme. More than that, the presence of street food vendors is a SIGNIFICANT improvement in Sacramento's street scape. There was a kettle corn place in front of Faces, too, and others - street food is a sign of civilization in my book, every bit as much as art.

And cheaper. And usually, tastier...

And there was also more street music than I've ever heard on a Second Saturday. There was a fine little combo playing something vaguely fusiony-proggy in front of Body Tribe, as usual, but it got a little hairy, sonically, at 20th and J, where three different electric bands vied for the attention of passers-by, while a crew of rappers caught the attention of a good crowd in front of the News and Review building.

Noise will be an issue with the city if this things keeps growing, which it shows every sign of doing, but it should be possible to deal with it to everyone's satisfaction. People make a party, and what's a party without music? As long as it all quiets down by 10 or so, what's the harm?

Businessess sure don't seem to be suffering, as the delightful Azul was cheek-by-jowl, front to back, and I ran into another old friend and caught up. And speaking of new businesses, the Lounge on 20 is now open, and it's gorgeous. I snapped a few photos through the windows, and will go back sometime soon - what a great space, and a terrific addition to what is the defacto center of Sacramento nightlife (once again, the gay guys got their first). What was once called Lavender Heights is now the epicenter.

As one passerby sniffed at me as I shot a snap or two through the window, "That's sorta voyeurism, you know," I could only respond, "Definitely." You Sacramentans and your interesting new places to socialize fascinate me.

Honestly, this is so exciting to me, to see this grow, to see people come out and come downtown to look at all this creative energy. I know there are those who feel this is all happening too soon, or is too bar-oriented, or too-upscale, or not funky enough, or only once a month, or draws - shades of the Thursday Night Market - "the wrong element." But to me, this is a sign of vitality, of the creation of an actual community, and draws the focus of this town from the endlessly sprawling suburbs - and from TV, the internet and other "virtual" realities - to a brightly lit, noisy, CROWDED cityscape. And I see NOTHING wrong with that.

One month till the next one! Be there!

My Secret Beach Getaway

I wanted to give those looking for a break from valley heat a little tip that seems unfamiliar to most people I've talked to: Tennessee Valley Beach.

Drive down 80, take 37 to Marin, 101 south and get off on the heavily-traveled road that leads (eventually) to Stinson Beach. But instead of sitting in traffic for what could easily be an hour out there, take a left on the small road by the fruit stand (Tennessee Valley Road, who knew?) and drive less than 2 miles.

Walk another 1.5 miles on a fire road, and you're at Tennessee Valley Beach. Heaven. See? There's a gorgeous lagoon with hills sweeping up each side of the valley, and at the end of the hike there's a terrific, clean, car-and-cooler-free beach that is a great size for keeping an eye on energetic youngsters...

Ella goes global (or at least, Google)

Hey, in the process of getting Ella's number last night - the restaurant, not Fitzgerald, she dead - I happened upon Google's FIRST (and only) "street view" feature on Sacramento, and thought I'd post it here for one of those gee-we're-famous moments we native Sacramentans seem to fuss over....Just zoom down from the satellite view and click on the little human icon, and then move the arrow until you see Ella itself. Then spin around in circles until you fall down and get run over by a light rail train...

Seriously, though: Ultra and I had drinks and appetizers in the bar/lounge at Ella (which was booked out - what recession?), and it was seriously delicious. The Elderberry Gimlet was excellent, ditto the cucumber martini, and the meatballs and sashimi were tasty...but the grilled asparagus with truffle oil (and shavings) were fantastic, and it was literally all I could do not to lick the plate. And I am, generally speaking, someone who does what he wants. But even I have my limits.

So who IS Jackson Road and why are they on a mural?

If you've parked at Jack's Urban Eats in midtown lately, you've seen a huge mural advertising the album by local band Jackson Road. Now, these boys aren't playing a lot in midtown, but they're definitely doing some marketing. I went to their myspace page and checked out their songs, and they're pretty good. I particularly like "Gettin' Wise," which has a cool, bluesy, jamband-worth track with slide acoustic guitar.

Here's their "Hippi Chick" video, featuring the Tower Bridge...and a vocal oddly reminiscent of Julian Cope...



They're doing a CD release party at Harlow's on June 25 - may be well worth checking out if you're at all curious.

The Raconteurs live webcast at 3 p.m.!

The Raconteurs are playing live at 3 p.m. at Bonnaroo - and you can actually WATCH it at home, via webcast. Go here.

That is, if you've got a PC. I've tried to get on via Mac/Firefox, and it's not working. I need a plug-in, but it won't tell me which ONE! Yet another reason to hate technology.

Well, forget the Raconteurs...come see me at Whiskey Wild, 19th and Q, between 5-8 today. I'll try to learn "Consolers of the Lonely" by then ( but I'm not promising anything).

Local music doesn't suck!

So, I've been out to hear music several times in the last 10 days, and this is what I find: Sacramentans still don't find their homegrown musicians particularly compelling. And that's a drag, because there are some great players here.

This town does not support live music. Monday's show at Old I, for Prince's 50th birthday, drew a decent crowd, as was well-deserved by the Nibblers, making their debut with Liani Moore at the fore, doing "Housequake," "Sexy MF" and "7." They SMOKED. Moore is a riveting front woman, and not just because she's easy on the eyes. She's got presence...and a band that gave her VERY solid support - I'm looking forward to their next show, should they ever do one!

Kate Gaffney, perhaps Sacramento's most promising young singer-songwriter, debuted her new band at the Blue Lamp on Wednesday night, with a couple of the Nibblers in tow, and they sounded good, if a bit rough around the edges. Kate declared it her best night on stage, ever. You should hear this girl, she's GOOD. And those of us who stuck around for the Wilders, a tight four-piece old time music group from Kansas City, got double the pleasure. TO hear her, check her myspace page.

Makes me feel slightly better about drawing practically NO ONE to Whiskey Wild at 19th and Q (but I'm there tonight, 5-8, come and see me before I'm cut!) - but it's little consolation. That's because it's such a drag to see such great players playing for such small audiences. Last night, yet another case in point: Blues Thursday at the Blue Cue, upstairs at 28th and J, with Lee Bootz and the Southside Shuffle, featuring Mike Farrell on guitar. Now, if you've not seen Farrell, you are missing something special. Dude looks the part and can play anything, with flair and tremendous energy. And last night, Bootz had prodigal son Early Times in visiting from New York City to lay down the double leads (triple, with the estimable Bootz chipping in). It was smokin', and ...there were 10 people listening. And I think some were staff. (BTW, this is a nice venue - sofas, raised tables and chairs, and they even shut down the ever-present sports channel on the video screens on either side of the band, putting up a more conducive screen saver instead. Kudos to Justin on that.) BTW, Early will be back and playing with Lee Bootz in late July...

But few were there to appreciate it, and it was the same all over town. It's the economy, but only in part. It's worse out there than we would be led to believe, judging from my cruise last night around several Grid hot spots. Even 20th and Gay was relatively quiet, at 10, and again at 12:30. Ditto the Golden Bear, True Love Coffeehouse, Harlow's...and there was Peter Torza, out in front of his Gianni's, with Sal Valentino, getting his head around the fact that he's closing this, his latest baby, named for his son, this weekend. Nice place, too. And there was a band playing, but almost no one listening. Damn.

Sactown's indifference to its own native talent runs deep and long. I just ran into Gina Livingston at Naked Lounge, who still lives here but spends much more time in Germany, where she has her fan base. Can't seem to get much local media attention here, either. Doesn't even try to play out, though she can play decent sized venues in Europe. More frustration. But you can hear her here.

And last week's Bourgeois Tagg reunion concert at the Crest, which I'd meant to blog about in more detail, was about half full. Which is a shame, because it was full of the cream of Sacramento's journeyman musicians, from the BT members themselves to a returned Charlie Peacock, Mike Roe of the 77s, Uncle Rainbow, Roger Smith, and a crowd that featured a who's-who of Sacramento's '80s and 90's music scene. And it was a great night - Bourgeois Tagg sounded, if anything, better than back in the day. But it should have been sold out. 900 people out of 1.3 million shouldn't have been that hard to pull off. Musta been something good on TV.

Then there's the local promoter who told me he hasn't made money on a show since gas went over $4 a gallon. And the other promoter calling me, begging for anything I can do on radio for his weekend show, which is under-performing. And that's for a touring band.

The repercussions of this economic sea change have yet to really hit us, and I worry that it's going to be worse than we're expecting. But I'm pessimistic lately. Can you blame me?

Michael Zwahlen's latest Sactown photos...

Michael Zwahlen's blog Living in Urban Sac is one of my local favorites for his views, often photographic, of Sacramento. The guy actually sees Sacramento as a PLACE, and his photos celebrate that beautifully. Dude's a little OBSESSED with the Tower Bridge, but we're all allowed our favorites here in Bloggalia, right? My current obsession is catching sight of the LED display on the top of the US Bank Tower, but it's been hit or miss. Zwahlen's got one shot, here to the right, that catches a bit of it, but I'm still not satisfied. And I love the shot of the newly-lit Elks Building above, which has a whole new life in color. Splendid.

He's got a whopping 97 new photos up at this site, and he has graciously allowed me to publish a few favorites here. But go to his blog or click this link, and see many more.

It's a wrap!

I just found out that this blog was one of the first chosen to launch the new "blog aggregator" site, RiverWrap.com, which trolls the local blogsphere and posts links to the latest posts of area bloggers, including yours truly. 21Q is, of course, all over it, as is heckasac and sacrag, two of the area's more popular blogs, but it will soon get even more active. In fact, it just launched today, so you heard about it here first. The Bee will write something, I imagine.

In any case, check out the site. It's a great portal into the local bloggosphere, and is a great way to keep up on it. In fact, I'll probably include it in a piece I'm writing for Sacramento magazine.

Music! Music! Music!

OK, so I'm not much of a headline writer. It makes its point.

Stuff to keep an eye on in the next week, musically, in Sactown:

Tickets on sale this Sunday for Nine Inch Nails at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Sept. 5. Ditto Janet Jackson at Oracle on Sept. 13, tickets on sale Sunday morning. But who could possibly care about that?

A band from Tehran, Iran, as in Islamic Republic of...? Jazzy, a little alt.whatever, and is that accordion? They're playing Old Ironsides on Sunday night. Their MySpace page is http://www.myspace.com/127band. And here they are on YouTube:



Does it cost too much to go to Tennessee for this weekend's fabulous Bonnaroo Festival with the Raconteurs, My Morning Jacket, etc? Watch the webcast here.

What else? Blues Blowout at the Horsemen's Club this Sunday, with Fab T-Birds, Kenny Neal and Sacramento's own Nightcats, now fronted (in name as well as fact) by Rick Estrin.

And Tower of Power Friday night at The Radisson, under the stars, as they say. Should be bumpin'... here they are in Montreaux in 1998 with the inevitable song...

The Man Burns in 85 Days. See BM 2007 in 10 minutes.

OK, it's far beyond the Grid, but then again, it isn't: Burning Man lives right here in Sactown, and in the hearts of Burners across the country. And Burners, including those of us in Sacramento, are starting to get REALLY excited. The Man burns in 85 days!

I've decided to loosen up a bit and make this blog more personal, more about what I love, and about sharing that. That is what has always motivated me, as a journalist, as a musician, and as a person. And a blog is the way to do it circa 2008.

And there are few things - music, people, water - that I love more than Burning Man. It is Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day and Halloween all rolled up into one, and then some. It is my favorite week of any year, for the last nine years. But it is VERY hard to explain in a few words - the pictures only capture tiny bits, it's just so big, figuratively AND literally. Still, here's a 10-minute video I found on YouTube that summmarizes the 2007 Burn pretty well, though it misses little things like, oh, the full lunar eclipse (during which someone set the Man on fire) and EPIC dust storms, as well as HUNDREDS of art cars and THOUSANDS of amazing costumes and TENS of thousands of truly amazing (and beautiful) people. And our own disaster-prone camp and van and the sweet joy of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.

Burning Man is a rite of passage every year.

85 days, y'all...




Finally, if you are considering going - if you are, in fact, a Virgin - you might want to check out this handy (and fabulous) instructional video...

Live music this week! (and My Morning Jacket ticket info)

This week's music, for me, is all about Los Lobos, one of THE great rock bands of the last 25 years. They're headlining a solid blues roster also featuring the Tommy Castro Band, Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings, Albert Cummings and Curtis Salgado. Serious guitar playing here, folks. That's at the Coloma Blues Festival in Lotus up by the Gold Discovery site. Check out www.colomablueslive.com for more info. Here's Los Lobos in 1985...



and in 1992:



And if you want to go even rootsier, go here...



OK, that should have gotten your attention - a bluegrass band doing a version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" - said bluegrass band being Poor Man's Whiskey, who are playing Thursday night (6/5) at Marylin's On K. Now, I don't know how many of you stuck through the whole thing, but my diagnosis: morbid curiosity. Then again, these guys may rock the place.

Elsewhere in town this weekend, there are several shows of note, including original Byrd and Burrito Chris Hillman with Herb Pedersen accompanying him. They're playing the 24th Street Theatre in Curtis Park on Friday night. Here they are, low-fi, but the song still carries over...



And then there's the far edgier Rock the Vote show that has moved from distant UC Davis to Empire Events Center downtown Friday night. The tickets are pretty cheap ($25) for what you get: Pennywise, Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, MGMT, the Whigs and Middle Class Rut, some pretty decent (and in the last case, local) bands.

Here's Pennywise with a VERY friendly crowd doing "Bro Hymn."



And not to forget local boys Middle Class Rut (here in a "video", since all the live stuff sounds bad, and you should hear the song, "New Low"):



Finally, tonight at Harlow's, see "Tweecore" band Los Campesinos, who rock despite the fact that they're totally, well, "twee" (you could look it up).



AND note that tickets go on pre-sale Thursday morning for the My Morning Jacket show at the Greek in Berkeley on Sept. 19. This is a great band, and VERY well worth making the trek for. Tickets go on sale at this URL tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. The code word is "evil" (from the first song off the album, "Evil Urges.") Tickets go on sale to those NOT in the know on Sunday. Here's the band live at Coachella...

R.E.M. at the Greek, Saturday

Caught R.E.M. at the first of the band's two weekend Greek Theatre shows in Berkeley, and they were pretty good. And it was great to be back at the Greek - kudos to Another Planet for keeping that tradition alive, it's the best place in NorCal.

The band was rockin', and bold: in addition to classic hits (well, a few - they've got a pile of 'em), they busted out nearly the entire new album, Accelerate, which came across great live. This is a band that's decided not to fade away, and hallelujah for that. Unfortunately, there are no live clips from the tour on YouTube - but you can hear their entire concert at South By Southwest on NPR's fantastic music site.

And here's a live clip from the 2005 European tour...



Here's the Saturday set list for my R.E.M. geek friends...we got a bit burned on Saturday, I think, missing out on such greats as "Begin the Begin" and "These Days" (sob) and "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" and "Drive" and "Fall on Me" and "Disturbance at the Heron House," all of which made an appearance Sunday night. But that's the breaks...

1. “Horse to Water”
2. “Little America”
3. “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
4. “Ignoreland”
5. “Accelerate”
6. “Man-Sized Wreath”
7. “Imitation of Life”
8. “West of the Fields”
9. “Hollow Man”
10. “Wolves, Lower”
11. “Walk Unafraid”
12. “Houston”
13. “Electrolite”
14. “The One I Love”
15. “Final Straw”
16. “Find the River”
17. “Let Me In”
18. “Losing My Religion”
19. “Living Well’s the Best Revenge”
20. “Bad Day”
21. “Orange Crush”
22. “I’m Gonna DJ”
Encore:
23. “Supernatural Superserious”
24. “Mr. Richards”
25. “Driver 8″
26. “Life and How to Live It”
27. “Man on the Moon”

Glitchy

Not sure what's going on in the next post - posted the video, then it says the video's no longer available, then it is, but I can't get rid of the blank video. Sorry for the confusion. Just skip the first, empty video box, and go to the next. This is why I don't blog very often - technical frustrations. But for that and other frustrations, there's always Bo Diddley...