Yes, I'm still here. Just a bit distracted...
Some tips for Halloweekend:
Thursday night, be sure to hit Old Ironsides to see Samba Da, a terrific Brazilian funk fusion band that I last caught at High Sierra - with great musicians and dazzling dancers, Samba Da is a great live band. Sure to be the best dance party of the week.
Also at Old I, on Halloween itself, Jerry Perry's Dead Rock Stars party should be worth the price of admission. This is local bands - none listed on the sites I visited - doing songs by, yes, dead rock stars.
Also getting into the seasonal spirit, dRAW PINKY's Pink Toupee Collective plays its Dios de Los Muertos show Saturday night at the new Ooley Theatre at 28th and T downtown. For details visit the band's website. Here's a clip of the collective...
In case you didn't know, Madonna will be coming as Herself at Oracle Arena on Saturday and Sunday.
One other show of more than local interest: singer/songwriter Jason Mraz will be playing Freeborn Hall on the UC Davis Campus on Monday night.
On sale Sunday is the SF version of the same sort of Xmas show, with Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party at Dec. 11 at Oracle Arena.
And here's the latest Death Cab for Cutie, in case you've heard of the band but never tuned in. It's called "I Will Possess Your Heart," and I loves it.
Toubab Krewe, scheduled for Thursday night at Harlow's, has been canceled.
And don't forget to vote!
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Go Deep
I just couldn't get too excited about Tina Turner. You all knew about it anyway. Ditto Kristofferson, right?
But here's something you may not know about: A kirtan at Deep Yoga on Saturday night. Ms. Ultra recommends this event for a musical journey that might take you somewhere you've not been before. And I NEVER ignore what Ms. Ultra tells me.
Kirtan is a chanting concert, which is not a tradition in this country, but chanting is a worldwide, age-old tradition that is nearly as common as it is potentially transcendent. It is participatory as well as worth hearing.
OK, I don't really know what I'm talking about. But if you are someone who meditates, or does yoga, or has explored non-Western traditions, you might find a kirtan something to explore. Saturday night's concert starts at 7 p.m. at Deep Art and Yoga, at the corner of 21st and H in downtown Sacramento. For information, visit Deep's website.
OK, now back to campaign coverage....
But here's something you may not know about: A kirtan at Deep Yoga on Saturday night. Ms. Ultra recommends this event for a musical journey that might take you somewhere you've not been before. And I NEVER ignore what Ms. Ultra tells me.
Kirtan is a chanting concert, which is not a tradition in this country, but chanting is a worldwide, age-old tradition that is nearly as common as it is potentially transcendent. It is participatory as well as worth hearing.
OK, I don't really know what I'm talking about. But if you are someone who meditates, or does yoga, or has explored non-Western traditions, you might find a kirtan something to explore. Saturday night's concert starts at 7 p.m. at Deep Art and Yoga, at the corner of 21st and H in downtown Sacramento. For information, visit Deep's website.
OK, now back to campaign coverage....
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Friday, 17 October 2008
Cake news...
Ask and ye shall receive - information.
Drummer friend Tom Monson told me last night at Kate Gaffney's CD release party at Harlow's (good show with her excellent newly-expanded band featuring Steve Randall on guitar) that Cake will indeed be playing an area show this weekend, and in an unlikely place: Oroville!
The band will play a benefit for firefighters tomorrow night (Sat., Oct. 18) at the Oroville Municipal Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28, but are not available through ticketweb.com, which usually handles the OMA. And the band's website is no help, either. Don't know if that means it's sold out or not.
You're on your own from here on out.
Drummer friend Tom Monson told me last night at Kate Gaffney's CD release party at Harlow's (good show with her excellent newly-expanded band featuring Steve Randall on guitar) that Cake will indeed be playing an area show this weekend, and in an unlikely place: Oroville!
The band will play a benefit for firefighters tomorrow night (Sat., Oct. 18) at the Oroville Municipal Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28, but are not available through ticketweb.com, which usually handles the OMA. And the band's website is no help, either. Don't know if that means it's sold out or not.
You're on your own from here on out.
Monday, 13 October 2008
More on the Cosmopolitan
So, I spoke a bit soon on the look of Randy Paragary's new Cosmo Cafe at 10th and K...my visit was a bit early on, and I have to say I was much more impressed when I stopped by the other night, spurred by a note in Sactown that the upstairs club Social would be open (not yet, more below).
The shot above is the lounge, with that cool vintage shot of downtown Sac, and some nice furniture filling up what was a wide-open space when I first visited.
The biggest change is the addition of new furniture in a nice VW green at the bar and in the dining room, things look considerably warmer than they did a couple of weeks ago. And Paragary told me that the ceiling light, now with some fairly office-like light-diffusing tiles, will change when he replaces the plastic tiles with opaque panels that will block the light from shining down and instead light the ceiling, and the thus, the room more softly. Should soften things up further.
Still to come: Social. Sactown did a nice piece on it in their new issue, even though the date ended up being wrong because of construction delays. But this should be a great anchor to what is fast (and finally!) becoming a new center of Sactown's highlife, with Parlare, Ella, Three Monkeys, Temple and especially the new Citizen Hotel either open or soon-to-open. Not to forget the Crest Theatre, which was there before anyone, and Marylin's On K. One could easily spend an evening in this area, and the parking lot is half a block away.
Paragary says that Social will be open and serving food until THREE A.M. on Thursday through Saturday nights. As he joked to me, he remembers (as do I) that the only place in town for food that late was Carrow's on J (conveniently located near some of his OTHER places). Carrow's is gone, but now there's Ink and soon, Social. This town IS changing.
Both of Social's openings have been moved back a week. The first opening night of Social will now be Oct. 23, when you can come down and check out the place. A better bet is the Bite Club party Paragary will be hosting on Oct. 26, with an open bar from 9 p.m. to midnight - but you have to be a member of Paragary's Bite Club (an entertainment industry networking site) - to do that, visit www.biteclub.com to join, and note that everyone who wants to come on th 26th must be a member).
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Shame and procrastination...
OK, Nothingburger (great name, where'd you get it?), you busted me. I'm slack.
But where to begin? With the economic drama, the campaign drama, work, love, and life, who's got time for BLOGS? Writing, or reading 'em?
OK, I guess I'll just post a few items, see what flies. K?
First off, is it a good time to buy stock? Sure. Anyone got cash?
OK, more reasonable, a question: Cake is playing The Independent in SF tomorrow night. Any idea when they'll be playing Sactown? Come home, boys! This is still the best band to ever come out of Sacramento, and I would dearly love to see them play here again. Bring it!
And if you missed it, on Tuesday night, the city council approved paying off "developer" Moe Mohanna $18.6 million to wrest control of those crucial two blocks of K Street between 7th and 9th Streets, for future development. This is great news, given the relatively recent openings of Three Monkeys, of Parlare, of Temple Coffee and Tea, of Ella, and Crepe Danielle, as well as the upcoming opening of the Citizen Hotel, with its Grange restaurant (both opening next month). And Westfield is also ready to start remodeling parts of the Downtown Plaza. So there is finally some critical mass happening at 10th and K, and having the blocks between 7th and 9th street cleared to be developed is the missing piece of this puzzle. This is very good news.
And...speaking of K Street, a couple of weeks ago - damn, time flies - I and Mine took an invite by my pal Kitty O'Neal to see her hubby Kurt Spataro's new collaboration, the Cosmopolitan, at 10th and K. Beautiful from the outside - and an enormous improvement from the vacant shell of the old Woolworth's building - I was curious how the place looked inside, and I was even more curious about the new dinner theatre/cabaret it shares space with.
In short, I was impressed, but not bowled over. I'm more curious about Social, the indoor/outdoor bar upstairs that will open soon. The Cosmopolitan itself has very clean, "classic" lines, almost to the point of austerity. The dark wooden booths are nice, ditto the tiled floors and the high ceilings
give the place a very spacious feel. Not exactly warm, though.
But man, those little prosciutto-wrapped prawns were tasty. When I have money, I'll spend some here.
Still, since I'm not a diner-out - give me a burrito, or some sushi, or to my girl's dismay, a handful of nuts, and I'm happy - I was more interested in the state of the new cabaret at the Cosmopolitan, the Cosmopolitan Cabaret. Put together by Richard Lewis and Scott Eckern of California Musical Theatre, who are perhaps the consummate entertainment professionals in Sacramento, the place holds 210 people for dinner, drinks and, until well into next year, Forever Plaid, a cabaret piece from New York that features four-part harmonies and comedy tonight.
I haven't seen any performances yet, but there was a run-through the night of the opening party, and it sounded good. These guys, directed by Guy Stroman, of the original Broadway cast, sounded great, and the theatre is a wonderful addition to Sacramento's entertainment scene.
It wasn't dazzling, really, but it looked very functional, and there isn't, as they say, a bad seat in the house.
As I write this, I realize that I am not telling you much, but I was encouraged by what I saw. Here are a couple of photos from that evening. I love that you can see the Crest Theatre across the street, though I was struck by the degree to how much the lobby looked like a gym locker room...
But it's not about the lobby, it's about the show. Tickets are available here. Looking forward to seeing it in action...
By the way, tickets go on sale Monday for two new California Musical Theatre shows, including Frost/Nixon and the fantastic Avenue Q, which I finally saw on Broadway a couple of years ago, and loved. Get tickets here.
But where to begin? With the economic drama, the campaign drama, work, love, and life, who's got time for BLOGS? Writing, or reading 'em?
OK, I guess I'll just post a few items, see what flies. K?
First off, is it a good time to buy stock? Sure. Anyone got cash?
OK, more reasonable, a question: Cake is playing The Independent in SF tomorrow night. Any idea when they'll be playing Sactown? Come home, boys! This is still the best band to ever come out of Sacramento, and I would dearly love to see them play here again. Bring it!
And if you missed it, on Tuesday night, the city council approved paying off "developer" Moe Mohanna $18.6 million to wrest control of those crucial two blocks of K Street between 7th and 9th Streets, for future development. This is great news, given the relatively recent openings of Three Monkeys, of Parlare, of Temple Coffee and Tea, of Ella, and Crepe Danielle, as well as the upcoming opening of the Citizen Hotel, with its Grange restaurant (both opening next month). And Westfield is also ready to start remodeling parts of the Downtown Plaza. So there is finally some critical mass happening at 10th and K, and having the blocks between 7th and 9th street cleared to be developed is the missing piece of this puzzle. This is very good news.
And...speaking of K Street, a couple of weeks ago - damn, time flies - I and Mine took an invite by my pal Kitty O'Neal to see her hubby Kurt Spataro's new collaboration, the Cosmopolitan, at 10th and K. Beautiful from the outside - and an enormous improvement from the vacant shell of the old Woolworth's building - I was curious how the place looked inside, and I was even more curious about the new dinner theatre/cabaret it shares space with.
In short, I was impressed, but not bowled over. I'm more curious about Social, the indoor/outdoor bar upstairs that will open soon. The Cosmopolitan itself has very clean, "classic" lines, almost to the point of austerity. The dark wooden booths are nice, ditto the tiled floors and the high ceilings
give the place a very spacious feel. Not exactly warm, though.But man, those little prosciutto-wrapped prawns were tasty. When I have money, I'll spend some here.
Still, since I'm not a diner-out - give me a burrito, or some sushi, or to my girl's dismay, a handful of nuts, and I'm happy - I was more interested in the state of the new cabaret at the Cosmopolitan, the Cosmopolitan Cabaret. Put together by Richard Lewis and Scott Eckern of California Musical Theatre, who are perhaps the consummate entertainment professionals in Sacramento, the place holds 210 people for dinner, drinks and, until well into next year, Forever Plaid, a cabaret piece from New York that features four-part harmonies and comedy tonight.
I haven't seen any performances yet, but there was a run-through the night of the opening party, and it sounded good. These guys, directed by Guy Stroman, of the original Broadway cast, sounded great, and the theatre is a wonderful addition to Sacramento's entertainment scene.
It wasn't dazzling, really, but it looked very functional, and there isn't, as they say, a bad seat in the house.
As I write this, I realize that I am not telling you much, but I was encouraged by what I saw. Here are a couple of photos from that evening. I love that you can see the Crest Theatre across the street, though I was struck by the degree to how much the lobby looked like a gym locker room...But it's not about the lobby, it's about the show. Tickets are available here. Looking forward to seeing it in action...
By the way, tickets go on sale Monday for two new California Musical Theatre shows, including Frost/Nixon and the fantastic Avenue Q, which I finally saw on Broadway a couple of years ago, and loved. Get tickets here.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Another week in paradise...
The biggest news of this weekend, for rock fans, is that tickets will go on sale Saturday for the Dec. 12 Arco Arena show by Nine Inch Nails. Join the Prince of Darkness and his band for some blistering, alienated, and insanely CATCHY angst....
Otherwise, there are several big name concerts this weekend, none of which I'm at all excited about. But that's life in the medium-sized city. But before getting to those, I'd like to give a pitch for a couple of smaller-time bands that are more human scale and musically interesting - if you're into that sort of thing (and most people are not):
One is Scott Amendola, a terrific jazz drummer who will be playing with guitarist Jeff Parker of the wonderfully indescribable instrumental ensemble Tortoise, from Chicago. They'll be at The Palms Playhouse in Winters Friday night. Here's a rather rough clip of Amendola's band...skip ahead a minute or two to get into the meat of it...
The other is a band I'd never heard of before - Clutch, a great name - but they're playing Harlow's tomorrow (Thursday) night. Judging from this video, their blues-metal might be well worth checking out.
OK, so the same night features one of those big ol' names, Old Boys on the Block, a reunion tour of the New Kids from way back when. That's Thursday at Arco. Do YOU care? Really? OK, fair enough.
The other big name is old Skinny Boots herself, Celine Dion, who will be at Arco on Tuesday. MUST her heart go on? Oh, alright...
Of more interest to me is the Rockband Live Tour, which comes to Arco on Sunday. It's headlined by Panic! at the Disco, Plain White Ts and Dashboard Confessional - three of the bigger names in current alterna-pop.
Here's Panic! at the Disco:
And here's Dashboard Confessional, all acoustic:
For the old folks like me, there's In the Spirit of Lennon at The Palms Playhouse on Friday - it's an all-John Lennon covers show featuring Drew Harrison from the SF-based Beatles cover band The Sun Kings - because tomorrow (Thursday) would have been Lennon's 68th birthday. Here are the Sun Kings doing a Lennon song we've only heard played live by Bourgeois Tagg...
Elsewhere, reggae group Zion I is playing at Sac State on Monday.
And don't forget that this is Second Saturday, and this month will have a CLOWN PARADE (Halloween comes a bit early), a celebration of A-Gay Tina Reynold's 60th birthday. The parade is open to all and begins at 6 p.m. at the intersection of 17th and Capitol Avenue in downtown Sacramento. Proceeds benefit local children's charities. Visit www.sactownclownparade.org for details.
Speaking of Halloween, Burners will try to recapture a bit of the wild spirit of the Black Rock playa on Sunday, with this year's Decompression, in San Francisco. Visit www.burningman.com for details...
Otherwise, there are several big name concerts this weekend, none of which I'm at all excited about. But that's life in the medium-sized city. But before getting to those, I'd like to give a pitch for a couple of smaller-time bands that are more human scale and musically interesting - if you're into that sort of thing (and most people are not):
One is Scott Amendola, a terrific jazz drummer who will be playing with guitarist Jeff Parker of the wonderfully indescribable instrumental ensemble Tortoise, from Chicago. They'll be at The Palms Playhouse in Winters Friday night. Here's a rather rough clip of Amendola's band...skip ahead a minute or two to get into the meat of it...
The other is a band I'd never heard of before - Clutch, a great name - but they're playing Harlow's tomorrow (Thursday) night. Judging from this video, their blues-metal might be well worth checking out.
OK, so the same night features one of those big ol' names, Old Boys on the Block, a reunion tour of the New Kids from way back when. That's Thursday at Arco. Do YOU care? Really? OK, fair enough.
The other big name is old Skinny Boots herself, Celine Dion, who will be at Arco on Tuesday. MUST her heart go on? Oh, alright...
Of more interest to me is the Rockband Live Tour, which comes to Arco on Sunday. It's headlined by Panic! at the Disco, Plain White Ts and Dashboard Confessional - three of the bigger names in current alterna-pop.
Here's Panic! at the Disco:
And here's Dashboard Confessional, all acoustic:
For the old folks like me, there's In the Spirit of Lennon at The Palms Playhouse on Friday - it's an all-John Lennon covers show featuring Drew Harrison from the SF-based Beatles cover band The Sun Kings - because tomorrow (Thursday) would have been Lennon's 68th birthday. Here are the Sun Kings doing a Lennon song we've only heard played live by Bourgeois Tagg...
Elsewhere, reggae group Zion I is playing at Sac State on Monday.
And don't forget that this is Second Saturday, and this month will have a CLOWN PARADE (Halloween comes a bit early), a celebration of A-Gay Tina Reynold's 60th birthday. The parade is open to all and begins at 6 p.m. at the intersection of 17th and Capitol Avenue in downtown Sacramento. Proceeds benefit local children's charities. Visit www.sactownclownparade.org for details.
Speaking of Halloween, Burners will try to recapture a bit of the wild spirit of the Black Rock playa on Sunday, with this year's Decompression, in San Francisco. Visit www.burningman.com for details...
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
The Week in Preview
If you've wondered what the performers at Burning Man are like, here's an example: Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping will be bringing the anti-consumerist gospel to R5 Records, 16th and Broadway, Thursday evening at 7. This hasn't been widely promoted, but it might be worth missing Sarah Palin's performance at the Vice debate to see. There are a number of clips on YouTube of Billy, but I didn't find one that summed his gig up quite as well as the promo trailer for the recent film about him, What Would Jesus Buy?
Thursday night, you can get your blues on big time with the veteran picker Guitar Shorty, who will play Vegas Nightclub on Second Street in Old Sac. This guy is the serious business...check out this clip of him down with da peeps.
But the big musical event of this week is once again in San Francisco, where the FREE three-day festival Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will run from Friday through Sunday. Honestly, there is no other festival where you can see this many great acts for free. Nowhere. Doubt me? Friday night's headliners are no less than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss! Who else? Well, also on Friday, the brilliant bluegrass veteran Jerry Douglas! But it really gets going on Saturday, with sets by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle and the Bluegrass Dukes, Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis, Mickey Hart's Global Drum Project, Richard Thompson, Desert Rose Band, Dave Alvin, Nick Lowe, Robert Earl Keen, Odetta...you think I'm kidding, right? Not!
And that's just Saturday! Sunday, there's Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Scaggs, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Gogol Bordello, Kevin Welch, Greg Brown, Iron and Wine, Loudon Wainwright III, Iris Dement...anyone who's into acoustic music will go off their minds on this one. And again, it's free, in Golden Gate Park. For info, go to www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.
Who to play? How about some vintage Emmylou?
Back in Sac (zzz), the Dark Star Orchestra will bring its reversions of Grateful Dead classics to The Crest on Tuesday night. They are, essentially, a Dead tribute band - and the singers can be every bit as "pitchy" as the Dead at their most mediocre, but that's alright...if you love the Dead, this is for you.
Also on Monday night, the retro pop group Mates of State will play Harlow's.
Goldfinger will play the University Union Ballroom on Thursday night, perhaps to wash that debate nonsense outta your ears. Here's Goldfinger, giving you a classic pop punk fix:
Back in San Francisco after the HSB weekend, David Byrne will be bringing a show of his collaborations with Brian Eno, from Talking Heads to the recent Byrne/Eno reunion album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, to Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday nights.
And finally, for the sophistos in the crowd, classic saxophonist Wayne Shorter will play Yoshi's in Oakland tonight through Sunday - damn, his sound and melodic phrasing is so completely unique. Amazing...
Oh, and there's that "So You Think You Can Dance" Thursday night at Arco. Whatever...
I'm out...
Thursday night, you can get your blues on big time with the veteran picker Guitar Shorty, who will play Vegas Nightclub on Second Street in Old Sac. This guy is the serious business...check out this clip of him down with da peeps.
But the big musical event of this week is once again in San Francisco, where the FREE three-day festival Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will run from Friday through Sunday. Honestly, there is no other festival where you can see this many great acts for free. Nowhere. Doubt me? Friday night's headliners are no less than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss! Who else? Well, also on Friday, the brilliant bluegrass veteran Jerry Douglas! But it really gets going on Saturday, with sets by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle and the Bluegrass Dukes, Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis, Mickey Hart's Global Drum Project, Richard Thompson, Desert Rose Band, Dave Alvin, Nick Lowe, Robert Earl Keen, Odetta...you think I'm kidding, right? Not!
And that's just Saturday! Sunday, there's Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Scaggs, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Gogol Bordello, Kevin Welch, Greg Brown, Iron and Wine, Loudon Wainwright III, Iris Dement...anyone who's into acoustic music will go off their minds on this one. And again, it's free, in Golden Gate Park. For info, go to www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.
Who to play? How about some vintage Emmylou?
Back in Sac (zzz), the Dark Star Orchestra will bring its reversions of Grateful Dead classics to The Crest on Tuesday night. They are, essentially, a Dead tribute band - and the singers can be every bit as "pitchy" as the Dead at their most mediocre, but that's alright...if you love the Dead, this is for you.
Also on Monday night, the retro pop group Mates of State will play Harlow's.
Goldfinger will play the University Union Ballroom on Thursday night, perhaps to wash that debate nonsense outta your ears. Here's Goldfinger, giving you a classic pop punk fix:
Back in San Francisco after the HSB weekend, David Byrne will be bringing a show of his collaborations with Brian Eno, from Talking Heads to the recent Byrne/Eno reunion album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, to Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday nights.
And finally, for the sophistos in the crowd, classic saxophonist Wayne Shorter will play Yoshi's in Oakland tonight through Sunday - damn, his sound and melodic phrasing is so completely unique. Amazing...
Oh, and there's that "So You Think You Can Dance" Thursday night at Arco. Whatever...
I'm out...
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