Wiz Khalifa and the Taylor Gang came to the Sacramento Sleep Train Arena, Sunday, Nov. 11. This concert took a turn for the interesting before I had even left the stadium parking lot. Several of its participants were already drunk or smoking the band’s preferred choice: weed. Many car alarms went off as some people stumbled into the arena to watch the artists that made up the Taylor Gang and the headliner Wiz Khalifa. Once inside the arena it became quickly obvious that this was not a family outing. The outfits ranged from interesting in color to scantily clad. But as Wiz said when he first took to the stage, “We are all about creating an environment where you feel free to be yourself. D

Eric Church played at the Sleep Train Arena on Saturday, Nov. 10, with special guests Justin Moore and Kip Moore. While I am personally not a fan of country music, I couldn’t help but be a little charmed by the fans who are. Dressed in cowboy boots and hats, it was nice to have the door held open for me and to hear “Excuse me, ma’am,” as I passed by. Church is a very popular country musician, especially with the ladies, so I saw a lot of jumping up and down as crowd members made their way to their seats. Justin Moore started the night off, playing crowd favorites like “Til My Last Day” and “Small Town USA,” which got the audience amped up. Kip Moore followed. One of his more entertaining

Disney on Ice is celebrating 100 years from Thursday through Sunday at Sleep Train Arena. In all, 65 of Disney’s iconic characters will take to the ice rink in a skating show, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pinocchio and, of course the Disney princesses. There will also be characters from the Disney/Pixar films such as “Finding Nemo,” the “Toy Story” series and “The Incredibles.” Shows are at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2; noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nov. 3; and noon and 4 p.m. Nov. 4. Tickets range from $18.75 to $66.75 and parking is $12. Tickets can be purchased online here.  See a recap of a previous Disney on Ice event here.

Saturday night Power Balance Pavilion hosted country superstar Carrie Underwood and “The Blown Away Tour,” complete with singer and songwriter, Hunter Hayes. The tour is based around Underwood’s fourth album, “Blown Away,” released earlier this year. The mostly-female crowd was dressed and ready for a country night out in Nashville - cowboy hats and boots and all. “Is that the line to the women’s!?” I overheard one woman exclaim, “Mother of pearl!” The merrymaking and revelry was pure entertainment for all involved. Underwood won the hearts of many, waving and chatting throughout the show despite her slightly hoarse-sounding voice. She gave a shout out to “American Idol,” saying that s

The “American Idol” tour came to Sacramento on Saturday, July 21, to Power Balance Pavilion. The tour consisted of the top ten contestants on season 11. Even hours before the show started, you could see fans in self-made “Idol” T-shirts waiting outside Power Balance Pavilion in anticipation of the show. The concert started off with a group number that was sung by all the “Idol” artists except for the winner, Phillip Phillips. The whole crew did covers ranging from “Party Rock” by LMFAO, “That’s What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction, and even classics like “Rolling on the River” by Tina Turner. This concert was both fun and vibrant. It contained a level of show quality that was enha

Mayor Kevin Johson announced today that a Plan B for an arena inthe downtwon railyards was dead. Here's a sampling of the local buzz on the topic: <[ View the story "Sacramento arena 'Plan B' fouls out" on Storify] Sacramento arena 'Plan B' fouls out Despite ongoing efforts by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Think Big Sacramento organization and Kings' fans across the region, the much-hoped for arena Plan B died when arena operator AEG pulled out of the game. Here's a snapshot of recent conversation about the death of the dream: Storified by Melissa Corker · Tue, Jul 03 2012 14:55:28 @KJ_MayorJohnson: #NBAKings #Arena 'Plan B' is dead, economics don't make sense w/o Kings.Ryan L

Three words: Just. Plain. Filthy. Gritty, guttural, bluesy, primal, loud, and sleazily beautiful, the Black Keys are a bullet train straight backward to the roots of rock and roll – but it’s hard to contend that they are in any way a benchmark of where rock and roll is right now. To examine some of the top grossing arena rock acts of the day (Foo Fighters, Springsteen, DMB, U2, Coldplay, and I must begrudgingly include Nickelback), rock and roll played the way the Keys play it just isn’t the type of blissful sludge that you would expect could usher in such a large and raucous crowd to a venue the size of Power Balance Pavilion. What Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney and friends proved on Cin

There were a few storylines surrounding Sunday’s matinee at the Power Balance Pavilion where the Sacramento Kings hosted the Portland Trailblazers. 1) Coming into the first of a three-game home stand on Sunday, the Kings had lost seven straight games. 2) There was the return of former King J.J. Hickson, who played very little for Sacramento earlier in the season before being waived and claimed by the Blazers where he's played well. 3) Sunday’s game was the first since Friday’s news of the arena deal falling apart, which was followed by a weekend of bitter statements from George Maloof and Think Big’s Chris Lehane. The Kings were able to avoid the outside distractions and end their losing

City officials had the last word of the day Friday on the failed arena deal between the city and the owners of the Sacramento Kings – and that word was “disappointed.” “We are profoundly disappointed that the entertainment and sports complex project is not moving forward,” City Manager John Shirey said Friday. “We had great hopes, and there was great jubilation just a few weeks ago that a deal had been struck.” Assistant City Manager John Dangberg and City Councilmen Rob Fong and Steve Cohn joined Shirey for an impromptu press conference Friday in response to the sudden failure of a deal between the city, the Maloofs, arena operator AEG and the NBA to build a new arena in Sacramento. “T

After a year of negotiations, economic reports and financial cartwheels by city officials and Sacramento Kings owners, NBA Commissioner David Stern said it appears the deal for a new Sacramento arena is dead. “I am extremely disappointed on behalf of both the Maloofs and the city of Sacramento,” Stern said at a New York press conference Friday, “but I think there is nothing further to be done.” Stern said the NBA Board of Governors met Thursday with the Sacramento Kings team owners, the Maloofs, and – after hearing a “detailed and thorough” presentation – Stern said the board came to some simple conclusions. “(In Orlando) we had an agreement in principle – a framework, a handshake deal

GAME RECAP At first glance, Saturday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Jersey Nets was a match up between two equally struggling teams. The Nets carried an 18 - 35 (.340) record into Power Balance Pavilion, while the Kings, last in the Pacific Division, were 18 - 33 (.353). But, the Kings play better at home so, Advantage: Kings? Not necessarily. The New Jersey Nets are one of only two teams to play better on the road than at home, and the only team to play substantially better. So it was that the Nets left town with a 111 - 91 win, and remained undefeated on their current swing west. The home team started well. Playing crisply, the Kings led throughout the first quarter.

Sacramento dusted off its cowboy boots and daisy dukes again last night for Lady Antebellum’s “Own the Night” tour. It was a country trifecta at Power Balance with country scene newbies Thompson Square and seasoned star Darius Rucker opening for the award-winning country pop trio. Clad in his signature t-shirt and baseball hat (later tossed to a lucky fan), the Hootie and the Blowfish lead vocalist riled up the crowd with a mix of his current solo sensations and throwback jams from his Hootie days. Rucker took fans back in time with Hootie Classics “I Only Wanna Be With You” and “Hold My Hand" and even further with a nod to Hank Williams Jr., covering his drinking (and smoking) anthem “

The Sacramento Kings faced off against the San Antonio Spurs in a close game Wednesday night at the Power Balance Pavilion. The Spurs brought their veteran team against the younger Kings and won their sixth game in a row. The Kings currently have four consecutive losses. The game started with Jason Thompson going up against Tim Duncan for the tip-off. Duncan won the jump ball, tipping the ball to Danny Green. After DeMarcus Cousins missed a running jump shot, Duncan answered with a 19-foot jump shot to score the first points of the game. From this point on, the Spurs did not allow the Kings to take a lead for the entire game. The game was exciting for the 13,119 fans in attendance

In a tit-for-tat, intense game, the Sacramento Kings lost on Thursday at Power Balance Pavilion by one point to the Utah Jazz with a final score of 103 to 102. Both teams had won their last three games, so the pressure was on the Kings to keep it up. After the game, Kings Head Coach Keith Smart said, “Overall I thought (the Kings) did a good job … (The Jazz is) a good quality team, good quality pro big men. They made some plays that they’re accustomed to making, but yet our group was right there, one rebound away from winning (the) game.” Al Jefferson of the Jazz made the first two points, but Jason Thompson’s layup evened things out 30 seconds later. The first quarter moved at this po

Country crooners Blake Shelton and opening act Justin Moore charmed Sacramento during Shelton’s “Well Lit & Amplified Tour” Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion. Referencing the sea of cowboy hats and daisy dukes, Moore riled up the female fans in the audience by noticing, “there are more country girls here than anywhere in the world!” Red Solo cup in hand, he called Sacramento “the best keep secret ever” and went on to perform a 10-song set chock full of cheeky lyrics. The raucous audience raised their beers in appreciation of Moore’s saucy hits like, “If You Don’t Like My Twang,” “Bait a Hook” and “I Could Kick Your Ass,” which he dedicated to all the “rednecks” in California. Mo

In hockey, the joke is: I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. At Power Balance Pavilion Tuesday night, there was a celebratory love fest with Gavin and Joe Maloof, Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Sacramento Kings, and about 14,000 fans. This was the first home game since a financing plan was announced for a new arena. Along with the celebration, there was also a game. Even Isaiah Thomas, whose 18 points and 8 assists helped defeat the Utah Jazz 103 - 96, was happy for Sacramento. Although one of the possible relocation destinations for the Kings was his native Seattle area (he grew up in Tacoma as a Laker fan), he also knows what it’s like for a city to lose its NBA team. Besides, he t

Not only does this weekend hold the majority of Sacramento's Mardi Gras events (Mardi Gras is officially Tuesday, February 21 this year), it is also a three-day-er for many, given Monday's Presidents' Day Holiday. If your weekend's not already action-packed, or if you're looking to add a little bit more to your plate, here are a few viable options. If you're the type to get up and dance, head to The Park Ultra Lounge for their Mardi Gras Weekend Celebration, featuring two nights of decorations, masks, and beads galore. Friday night features DJ Scene and Saturday celebrates the 150th Anniversary of Bacardi Rum. If you prefer to hop around from spot to spot, there are two great pub crawls

Game Summary Going into Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns had every reason to be confident. One of only five teams to have a better record on the road than at home, they had won three of their last four games, including two straight road games. Moreover, they had beaten the Kings in 17 of their last 22 encounters. Having just stunned the "Best in the West" Oklahoma City Thunder, the Kings also had every reason to be confident. Sporting a 7 - 4 record at Power Balance Pavilion, they had won four of their last five games, while the three losses in the past seven games were by a combined total of a mere 8 points. Moreover, they had beaten the Suns in their most

Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart led his team to victory against the Golden State Warriors at the Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday. The Warriors started the first quarter off strong. Shooting guard Dorell Wright scored 14 points versus center DeMarcus Cousins’ and shooting guard Marcus Thornton’s eight points each. By the end of the first half, the Warriors made eight of 12 3-pointers and maintained the lead at 54 points, putting them one point ahead of the Kings. Thornton, who had trouble shooting in the first half, made his comeback in the third quarter. He made four 3-pointers and scored 18 of the Kings’ 34 points, putting his team eleven points ahead of the Golden State War