Newest articles and comments on The Sacramento Press written by Aaron Davis

Local brewers turning to West Sacramento as prime location

2013-04-23T14:07:41Z

The needle on the compass of the local beer scene has been pointing East over the last couple of years. Breweries like Knee Deep (Lincoln), Loomis Basin and Auburn Alehouse, as well as craft beer joints like Samuel Horne’s (Folsom) and Boneshaker’s (Rocklin) have been hogging headlines when it comes to new spots.

It’s about time to start looking West.

“(West Sacramento) has a pretty good reputation of being proactive, it’s just the right size where they can get stuff done,” said A.J. Tendick, a home brewer for the last five years and co-owner of the soon-to-open Bike Dog Brewing Company in West Sacramento.

Tendick indicated that the city had proactively zoned industrial real estate specifically for brewery space, which made West Sacramento an easy choice.

“Folks in Sacramento had to go through the planning commission process,” Tendick said, “which is just a big headache and very time consuming.”

Bike Dog is a collaboration between Tendick and partners Pete Atwood, Sage Smith and Raef Porter that will have about a two to three barrel capacity.

Bike Dog (appropriately named by a group of brewers who are avid cyclists) will be located in an industrial area off of Harbor Blvd. in West Sacramento at 2534 Industrial Boulevard. From day one they will have a tasting room, and will initially will focus on a couple brews such as an American wheat and an IPA.

“We’re hop heads,” Tendick said. “We love West Coast IPAs, so there will be a pretty steady run of hoppy beers around. As soon as we get our footing we’ll expand beyond that – some things like a milk stout or a saison or a bitter.”

Bike Dog ordered the brewing equipment from Portland Kettle Works earlier this month, and will be installed in early summer, setting the table for the quartet to begin brewing and officially open in late summer.

The tasting room will be priority one on Bike Dog’s “to do” list, although they are targeting restaurants like West Sac’s The Eatery, Dad’s Kitchen and (of course) Pangaea to get their beer out the door.

“Beer quickly gets into a commodity game - how much can you make and how fast can you ship it,” he added. “At our scale, to get rid of six kegs is not going to be all that hard, so it gives a fair amount of flexibility to keep the lineup evolving and changing around. Folks are getting curious (about beer) where they want to try new things.”

In advance of their opening, Bike Dog has fired up a DIY beer lover’s version of a Kickstarter campaign to “help build a brewery.” Varying levels of donation get you anything from a pre-paid pint every Friday for a year to the chance to design and name your own beer.

A nano-brewery (an industry term for an operation smaller than a traditional micro-brewery) slated to open in the later half of this summer, Bike Dog represents one end of the spectrum of beer-makers in the region who have squarely set their sights on West Sacramento as a landing spot to start hopping things up.

Local suds stalwarts Rubicon Brewing Company are the other end. Their new West Sacramento brewing facility is entering phase two of construction, with designs to open later this year.

Rubicon’s flag has been planted in the local beer scene for more than a quarter century, with the midtown brewery and restaurant having long been a popular gather and guzzle spot.

None of that will change. Similar to Bike Dog and other breweries setting up shop in West Sacramento, Rubicon’s focus, for now, is squarely on production and not on a restaurant or tasting room facility.

Phillips also echoed similar sentiments as Tendick about the relative open-arms that West Sacramento is presenting to brewers.

“There were a couple of reasons (why we chose Sacramento),” Phillips said. “The first was pure economics. Space was cheaper, zoning was easier, and permits seemed more reasonable. Second, the City of West Sacramento was very welcoming and has been a big help through it all.”

Both Phillips and Tendick indicated that they are both aware of several other brewers looking at West Sacramento as a potential location.

One such proprietor is Jackrabbit Brewing Company. Also a nano-brewery with a five barrel capacity, Jackrabbit is expected to open in West Sacramento this summer as well; no official opening date has been set.

Like Bike Dog, Jackrabbit is a collaboration between avid beer fans and experienced homebrewers who will be taking their first crack at professional brewing - although the brewery’s owner, Ed Edsten, was previously the sole proprietor of Edsten Brewery in Woodland over ten years ago.

“We looked at a number of locations and found one we really liked in West Sacramento,” Edsten said. “It was a surprise to discover that West Sacramento was suddenly sprouting breweries, but we're happy to see it happening.”

While the exact location has not yet been made public, Jackrabbit is set to open by brewing beer for distribution to local restaurants, bars and stores; a tasting room will not be a part of their operation.

“We have decided to brew ales in a more European tradition (e.g. Belgian, English and German) than is typically found locally,” Edsten said. “Our interest is in brewing beers that are complex, balanced and drinkable.”

With arms virtually wide open to craft beer entrepreneurs, expect a lot more drinkable ales to come pouring in from the Yolo side of the river.

“(In West Sac), it’s already permitted," Tendick said, "you can just look at the zoning chart and say ‘yeah, we can go in there, no sweat.’ It’s the up and coming spot, it’s prime.”

Editor's Note: For more updates on the Sacramento region's local brew scene, sign up for our Sacramento Beer Writer newsletter here.

Aaron Davis on "Imagine Dragons, Girl Talk, Rocket From the Crypt top Launch 2013 lineup"

2013-04-17T17:22:21Z

Update: Recently re-booted local rock act Frank Jordan has been added to the Launch 2013 lineup

Aaron Davis on "From dreaming to doing – $125,000 award for next big business plan "

2013-04-17T16:17:45Z

Excellently said, Tony. Certainly a new arena would provide some similar opportunities for new businesses in the downtown area, although you would have to think they would be different kinds of businesses than the ones DSP is envisioning with these grants. Great program DSP has put out here...bravo!

Imagine Dragons, Girl Talk, Rocket From the Crypt top Launch 2013 lineup

2013-04-12T19:49:32Z

Yep. Launch just went “next level.”

Does it really surprise anyone? It shouldn’t, if you’ve followed the progression of the Launch Festival over the last couple of years, as it moved from a one day fashion, music and art shindig at the Greens Hotel on Del Paso in 2011, to a weeklong series of individual events around town, culminating in a blowout festival at Cesar Chavez Plaza in 2012.

And now, this.

Launch and Radio 94.7 dished up the lineup for the 2013 installment of the Launch Festival on Facebook earlier today, and it is a doozie!

Those top two spots are going to get the most attention when Launch fires up on September 7 and 8, again at Cesar Chavez Plaza, with hot-charting arena rockers Imagine Dragons topping the bill. It’s likely that when they hit the stage in September of 2013, it will be ushering out the last round of mid-sized venues and festivals for this group of hellcats from Las Vegas (also home of their stadium rock brethren and musical papa bears the Killers) – they seem to be right on the cusp of big things, and their next touring cycle will likely see a huge swell.

Joining Imagine Dragons up top is DJ mash-up wunderkind Girl Talk. With all due respect to every artist who has ever played Concerts in the Park, this electronica powerhouse will likely turn Cesar Chavez into a dance party the likes of which the park has never seen.

And then there’s the really “big deal” of this lineup. If you are anywhere near the Shady Lady today, that giant boom you just heard was likely the sound of Jason Boggs’ head exploding – because if you’ve ever seen his currently dormant local band the Snobs play, you know they were titanically influenced by Rocket From the Crypt, the seminal San Diego punk band that has been likewise dormant since 2005 – that is, until a top secret reunion show on April 1 at the ridiculously small (for them) Bar Pink in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. They’re currently in Europe on a small series of reunion shows – and they’ll be in Sacramento in September.

What?!

(By the way, this reporter expects due credit for not making a really bad launch/ rocket pun in that last paragraph).

It doesn’t stop. Wild eyed indie rock staples Minus The Bear will also perform, joined by Sonic Youth-influenced fuzz-flooded noise rockers Blonde Redhead , Bay Area art rockers Geographer, and Minneapolis-based underground hip hop troupe Doomtree (Atmosphere fans, take notice).

Keeping in the tradition of also showcasing local talent, string-laced indie rockers and Launch staples Exquisite Corps will perform, along with instrumental jammers Life in 24 Frames, Paper Pistols, the Bell Boys, and Doombird (hmm, seems to be a lot of doom in this lineup?).

And there’s plenty more. No word yet on which bands are playing which day, or on the full schedule of events that will lead up the big kahuna in the park. When we know more, so shall you. Check out www.launchsacramento.com for details.

2013 Launch Festival lineup:

Imagine Dragons
Girl Talk
Rocket From the Crypt
Minus The Bear
Blonde Redhead
Van She
Grieves
Cults
Surfer Blood
Doomtree
Geographer
Family of the Year
P.O.S.
Gold Fields
Dessa
Turquoise Jeep
Exquisite Corps
Doombird
Life in 24 Frames
Paper Pistols
DLRN
The Bell Boys

Aaron Davis on "The switch to spring beers"

2013-03-19T23:10:31Z

You, sir, are my hero right now...

Aaron Davis on "Rebelution comes to Ace of Spades"

2013-03-19T18:04:09Z

Everyone has that one band...probably a lot of people talking about how they saw the Lumineers on a porch in Davis (Sophia's Thai Kitchen) a couple years ago. Unless, of course you're about age 29-42 and you're from L.A. - in which case, you of COURSE saw Sublime play in a garage.

Aaron Davis on "Vigil held for man beaten to death in Midtown"

2013-03-19T17:59:50Z

My true hope of what may come of this horrible tragedy is this: The three men who did this MUST be held accountable for their actions, and so held harshly by the letter of the law. However, if there is truth to the reports that nightlife/local bar-going was a factor in this, there exists a small opportunity for those who go out to bars looking for trouble to take a moment of pause. Many people unfortunately look for fights when they go out to drink...and this is completely unacceptable and totally reprehensible behavior. However, I have to assume that very few of those looking to fight someone are looking to kill someone. I will never understand WHY throwing a few blows at someone is a badge of honor to some people, but the sad fact remains, it is. We may never know the motivations of the men who did this, but it is very possible, and some may say likely, that their motivation was that badge, and never to take another man's life. Hopefully, they will be brought to justice and charged with the highest crime possible (likely 2nd degree murder), and as they do, those who may be out on a Saturday night looking to earn their senseless badge of late night fisticuffs will take a moment to remember what happened to Josiah. You may think getting a few battle scars on your hands is cool...but any time you go down that path, lives are in those same hands, whether you intend them to be or not.

Aaron Davis on "The switch to spring beers"

2013-03-19T17:06:43Z

Nice article, Patricia. I believe the run of Sneak Attack saison from 21st Amendment has come to a close (named for it's "sneaky" release in the wintertime), but if you happen to spot a can, grab it!

Aaron Davis on "Spataro moves over for farm-to-fork restaurant, nightclub "

2013-03-16T17:49:48Z

The notion that Trevor Shults=Nightlife Issues is unfair and unnecessary

Aaron Davis on "Middle Eastern cuisine and 'The Kay' to collide "

2013-03-12T00:30:37Z

Heck yeah!!!

Aaron Davis on "Opinion: Stop comparing Sac to S.F."

2013-03-06T18:09:02Z

Well played, sir!

Aaron Davis on "Opinion: Stop comparing Sac to S.F."

2013-03-05T17:56:32Z

Giz, thank you for your feedback. I agree with you that parts of the SacMag story came off as very tongue-in-cheek. However, the problem there is that some of the points they were making were serious (or at least came off as serious) efforts to illustrate points of superiority for Sac over SF (i.e. real estate, restaurants, etc.). Ultimately the story didn't convince me that its entire purpose was to be light-hearted and playful, which is what compelled me to respond to it. On the subject of me doing the same thing by comparing Sac to SF... my point in the sentence you quoted is that we should be makings "lists" of positives (like those mentioned herein) happening in Sac right now and allow them to stand alone, without comparing them to things happening in other cities. If there are other elements of the story that come off as me trying to compare us to them, please let me know where you felt that happened, as I took good care not to do that. Thanks again

Aaron Davis on "Good beer vibes at the Capital Beerfest"

2013-03-05T17:13:47Z

Great recap, Patricia! Great time for local beer in Sactown, glad to see that so many people are appreciating that, and at the same time that things aren't competitive between locals and "out of towners"

Aaron Davis on "Opinion: Stop comparing Sac to S.F."

2013-03-05T16:57:31Z

Thanks G! All due credit your way for the "big boy pants" line from your Crocker grand opening piece!

Opinion: Stop comparing Sac to S.F.

2013-03-05T04:40:53Z

This is a story that I felt needed to be written – about a story that I feel never should have been.

Anyone who was born and raised in Sacramento, or has spent a considerable amount of time living here, is forced to recognize one unfortunate yet immutable truth: Sacramento has long had, or has at least been perceived to have, an inferiority complex to larger cities. In particular, to San Francisco.

I’m not saying everyone in Sacramento has it – but if you don’t crack a laugh while trying to tell me that you don’t know anyone in Sacramento that does have it, then I will certainly crack one before you finish your sentence.

It’s the age-old mid-size city paradox, often one that’s entirely self-imposed: we’re too big a city to identify ourselves as a small town, yet we’re not quite big enough to “have what they have.” This perception has been a bunion on our civic heel for years, the kind we’ve limped around with for so long, would we even notice if it healed?

Beer Week just ended (that cheering sound you just heard was my liver), as did Fashion Week – both on the heels of Bacon Fest. With so many people having spent the last month out and about in Sacramento, and even with the Kings seemingly one foot and four toes out the door, there is no arguing the fact that it’s a good time to be a Sacramentan.

That’s why Sacramento Magazine’s March 2013 cover story entitled “Sac vs. S.F.: 35 Reasons Why We’re Better” comes off like the high school freshman who spends every hour of his summer in the gym and pounding protein shakes so he can bulk up and fight back against the senior bully – only to find out that the bully never even wanted to fight anyway.

Or, the guy who rents a Ferrari and an escort to go to his high school reunion to show the cheerleader who would never give him the time of day that he’s “made it,” when he is already happily married.

Many of the claims that SacMag makes are valid points about things Sacramento can and should be truly proud of:

“Something to Chew On:” An ode to the accessibility, friendliness and sustainability of our local restaurant scene. Absolutely no argument here (more on that later).

“Home Sweet Home:” How financially accessible is it to rent or own here vs. there? Not even a conversation, really. There’s a reason why minimum wage in the City hit north of $10 per hour in January of 2013.

Some of the claims are just simply strange:

“Our Bridge is Actually Golden:” Mmmmmmmm-kay, not even sure I’d waste a bottle of Cook’s bought on sale at CVS toasting the paint job on the Tower Bridge.

“Target Loves Us:” Apparently San Francisco has only one Target store to our five. Translation: We buy quintuple the crap.

“Ban Francisco:” A shot against all the things that The City has attempted to legislate out, including Happy Meals and pet goldfish (which may be somehow correlated if anyone has tried those new McFish Bites). Yep, not quite as arbitrary as say, trying to limit the operating capacity of mobile food trucks.

“Our Mayor Can Beat Their Mayor in a Game of 1 On 1.” Really? Let’s look ahead a couple years and see how the five-on-five will go when the Warriors are transplanted to a proposed new S.F. waterfront arena, and the only team playing in our arena is Granite Bay boys varsity.

Claims like these feel like desperate reaches to finish a list that should have only been maybe half as long – assuming there is a reason why it should have even been started in the first place.

There isn’t, and it shouldn’t have been.

What’s really unfortunate about how badly this article misses the boat is that it was sitting right near the dock the whole time. It is sandwiched right between two other stories that perfectly illustrate this writer’s point – one is about the B Street Theatre’s planned new state-of-the-art digs on Capitol and 27th, the other a list of marquee products made right here in Sactown, such as Blue Diamond almonds and Ruhstaller Beer (if you’ve never had their Captain black IPA, do it now!).

With positive things like these (and so many more) to report, the fundamental question surrounding Sacramento Magazine’s article emerges: Why can’t we be content to take pride in what we have without feebly comparing it to something else?

Take a look at what happened a few weeks ago during Bacon Fest, and more recently, Beer Week. There is no denying the old adage that beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy – and with all due respect to our herbivorous readers, there is similar truth to bacon.

But when the dust settled, it was bigger than bacon or beer. It was a chance for local residents to hit the town for happy hours, special dinner menus, unique creations, and large-scale events, making bacon and beer the vehicles for a B-12 shot of local appreciation. It was a chance for our local chefs (quickly emerging as a tour de force in the culinary world) to show off what they can do under a pork belly veil, and a chance for local watering holes to build mightily on their base of loyal regulars with guest taps, tasting flights and other events.

And look what happened. Local establishments were reporting record attendance during Bacon Fest. And Beer Week…well, if you attended any events, you know what it was like out there, up to and including Saturday’s Capitol Beer Fest at Cal Expo or Pangaea Cafe's "Super Blow Sunday" where they attempted to clear out the remaining kegs after an insanely popular week.

Beer Week wasn't just about the beer. Bacon Fest wasn't just about the bacon. This town has a pulse right now, and there is no doubt that those who live here are responding to it.

These are the kinds of things we should be starting a list over, and there is so much happening that could be put on such a list. There are a ton of reasons to be excited about life in Sacramento, all of them happening right now.

Lists that grasp at straws while trying to compare us to other cities are the kind of thing that makes us seem petty and desperate to get our big boy pants, when we’re all perfectly happy in shorts and flip flops. Why? Because summer is comin', so let’s get ready to crack a twenty-two of Ruhstaller, head for Concerts in the Park, grab a late dinner at Pizza Rock, and keep this town alive into the night.

Who’s with me…?

Disclosure: It was time for the "big boy pants" line to be revived...thanks, Lindol French!

Aaron Davis on "Pyramid Alehouse closes its Sacramento doors for good – today"

2013-03-04T22:04:37Z

You have to assume chops are being licked over moving into Pyramid's space. Wonder if it could be a spot for a Sierra Nevada or a Gordon Biersch to TAP into the local beer movement and open up shop. Or, is it too early to think about "LowBrau II?"

Aaron Davis on "Pliny the Younger: Another 5 ounces, please [Photos] "

2013-03-02T15:41:55Z

Because then it wouldn't be what it is

Aaron Davis on "Adrift in Beer Week"

2013-02-25T16:55:08Z

Awesome breakdown!

Aaron Davis on "All the Younger Dudes: Pliny arrives in Sactown for Beer Week"

2013-02-24T18:34:19Z

Actually I think I had the volume of the pour wrong...more like 8 or maybe 10 ounces. Who cares. Awesomesauce.

All the Younger Dudes: Pliny arrives in Sactown for Beer Week

2013-02-24T18:16:49Z

It’s hard to avoid this thought from creeping into your head while waiting in line for the elusive and supremely heralded Pliny the Younger:

It’s Beer Week in Sactown. There are beer events all over the place. Why the hell are we waiting in line just for six ounces of one beer?

Because you can’t unstick it from the roof of your mouth for hours, that’s why. Such is one of many allures of Russian River Brewing’s bellcow triple IPA, annually available only in February at the Santa Rosa brewpub for the first two weeks of the month, and thereafter as one-and-done kegs at select locations in what has become an annual triple hop treasure hunt for beer aficionados – or anyone that just wants to know what all the fuss is about.

It’s hard to reconcile the taste of any one particular beer with the hype that surrounds this special brew, which has been rated the best beer in the world by Beeradvocate.com. You almost have to wonder if people really want the beer itself, or more just want to wear the badge that says “oh yeah bro, I’ve had the Younger!”

Either way, the stuff will smack your taste buds around while you drink it, and make you beg for more…but even begging wouldn’t get you another pour on Saturday afternoon at Streets of London.

Every place that’s lucky enough to score a keg of PTY (usually about a half dozen or so in the Sacramento region) has their own approach to how they distribute it. Some do a simple first come first serve, others line in up with other hop-tabulous ales in a tasting rack, and some try to gouge the general public and violate the whole point of that this beer is all about.

Streets nailed it.

Folks began lining up before 2 p.m. waiting for the 4 p.m distribution of numbered tickets which would ultimately get you your pour. By 3 p.m., the line was wrapped around the corner of J Street and going down 18th. At 4:00, tickets were handed out to those who were waiting, with the keg being tapped at 5:30. $4 for a six-ounce pour of liquid victory. More than fair price. Great system. Nice job, Streets.

What’s fun about what Pliny the Younger has become – and one would assume this is exactly how the folks at Russian River would want it – is that it breeds an inevitable sense of community amongst folks who are willing to spend their afternoon waiting in line for one beer. That certainly was the case on J Street on Saturday – didn’t anyone else want to sing “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” when they got their tickets, too?

Then again, there’s always a couple of “that guys.” So, a couple of memos:

That Guy #1: Do not shake down the people in front of you in line to find out if they’re holding spots for other people, and then disguise your actions as just looking out for everyone behind you. Especially when you’re only about 20 spots back from the front of the line. Don’t worry bro, you’ll get your Pliny. They have a keg of the stuff, not a paint bucket.

That Guy #2: When the staff brings out a surplus of beads leftover from Halloween to hand out simply as a marker of who has been in line the whole time and who hasn’t (pretty awesome move actually), and they did it on the fly pretty much just to appease your hissy fit, you should probably actually be present in the line when they are being distributed. You know, just a thought.

It’s pronounced “Pliny,” not “whiney.”

Who knows if there were more “that guys” out of my earshot, but fortunately, just about everyone else was having a great time making new friends and basking in a true treasure of the Northern California (worldwide?) beer scene.

Is it worth the wait? You decide. There are at least three more kegs of Pliny the Younger out there in Sac and waiting to be tapped. Here is a list of where you can find it throughout beer week:

Nope. Not happening. Go find them. That’s the fun part!

Aaron Davis on "Holy Helvetia! Broadway brewery opening draws packed house"

2013-02-20T18:39:07Z

You should start tacking those bottlecaps up on their walls, Davi!

Aaron Davis on "Changes to The Sacramento Press contributor guidelines: Citizen journalism, marketing and everything in between "

2013-02-20T18:10:45Z

Excellent moves...all of them!

Aaron Davis on "Holy Helvetia! Broadway brewery opening draws packed house"

2013-02-19T17:36:20Z

Again, very true...and you will have a much broader knowledge of Sac than I will, as I've only been here about 9 years. A lot of this will also be tied to how much staying power the craft beer/brewing movement has...and I use the word "movement" because I really think it is just that, and not a fad. Beer is not only diverse, but the models that are emerging are localizing it, and cities like Sacramento are using it as a liquid springboard to bolster their restaurant/nightlife industries. From what I know of the beer movement, it is a very collaborative and not overly competitive industry that has room for several players. Hopefully that translates to successful businesses as well.

Aaron Davis on "Holy Helvetia! Broadway brewery opening draws packed house"

2013-02-19T03:17:06Z

There are certain truths/valid points to your stance, Davi, but in this particular instance, I think you're overlooking the fact that, as I mentioned in the story, NH is positioned to cater as much to a geographic area as it is to a particular "crowd." The in crowd will move on to Bier Garden when it opens, or whatever the newest spot is, but those who live right behind New Helvetia will continue to go there as long as they keep cranking out the brews...no reason not to given it's proximity to an untapped (pun intended) neighborhood

Holy Helvetia! Broadway brewery opening draws packed house

2013-02-16T21:20:12Z

There were two pieces of evidence that pointed to New Helvetia's Friday night opening shindig being a pretty big deal.

One, 297 people told Facebook they were going, and another 91 said maybe - which is the second worst answer in the world when someone says "new place to drink beer on a Friday night," with the first of course being "no." Pretty big numbers even when you factor out those who clicked Yes just for the heck of it.

Two, I had been there thrice during their "soft opening" of three hour windows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights the last six weeks or so. Each time, more and more people were in there, and the beer was getting better and better.

So, fast forward to Friday night, and it was indeed a packed house for the corner brewery that sits on the site of a formerly abandoned building at 18th in Broadway, that is looking to revive both the famed Sacramento Buffalo Beer brand and a stretch of Broadway that all of a sudden seems to have a pulse to it. The Tower District now seems to have an "opposite corner."

The place itself is super cool, with sprawling windows, a wraparound bar, and a totally killer outer patio area, encased in high brick walls and opening right out onto 18th street through a rollup door.

And then there's the beer. I have no excuse for not trying all of them, other than trying to save what little weeping shards are left of my liver for later in the three day weekend, but their ThunderBeast IPA (sweet name!) is sticky and tasty, and their Homeland Stout is superb. It's like drinking an evening cup of coffee...if all of a sudden, coffee was really, really awesome!

You can't help but look at the location and think that it will not only draw more Midtowners to the other side of the Cap City Freeway, but even more so, it will serve as a neighborhood public house for the residents of Land Park and Curtis Park, which essentially back right up to it. It's the kind of thing that the neighborhoods immediately south of Broadway doesn't really have.

They do now.

Hard to say if it will remain as crowded as Friday night (I'm guessing yes), but it was definitely a scene inside during their grand opening celebration. Give owner David Gull and the entire staff a ton of credit for perhaps being a tiny bit overwhelmed, but never showing it and remaining noticably calm and friendly (and even a little bit weird!) while more and more patrons continued to pile in, checking out the brewing room, chowing on food from the Drewski's truck outside, and cruising out to the patio to listen to a three piece band (which would later become a duo missing an A-string) who's name I did not catch - since I assume it was not actually Wyld Stallyns.

Similar to Track 7's model, there is no kitchen, but the owners encourage you to bring in your own food and top it off with a few brews; and there are plenty of places within a couple blocks to grab dinner before you head in.

Cheers, New Helvetia, and welcome to town. Nice to have you.

Aaron Davis on "The little brewery that could – New Helvetia holds grand opening Friday"

2013-02-13T16:21:37Z

Just from the early phases of the soft opening to the last couple weeks, you can taste the improvement of the beer (the stout is excellent) and feel a little buzz building, this is gonna be a great spot!

Aaron Davis on "Oak Park drive-by shooting kills young man"

2013-01-18T00:00:57Z

Tragic as the Oak Park shooting, and every shooting in this country are - and with no disrespect to the memory of this and all victims of gun violence - the fact that the conversation goes immediately to gun laws and rights is a further indication that we are finally having a discussion that NEEDS to be had

Jackpot, baby! Sactown's alt-country heroes return in SF

2012-12-28T01:23:57Z

“I’m not wearing sunglasses because it looks cool,” quipped a clearly emotional Rusty Miller, “I was afraid I’d start crying and I didn’t want you guys to have to see it.”

Right there with you, Russ – but it was way too much fun for tears.

By this reporter’s count (and I’m fairly confident in my knowledge on this subject), it has been just over three years since Jackpot, the Placerville natives and poster children for Sacramento’s late ‘90s/00’s alt-country Americana revival, has played a formal gig – you have to go back to Thanksgiving Eve of 2009 at Old Ironsides, a traditional pre-turkey day hootenanny that annually left scores of loyal local fans clamoring for gravy as a hangover cure the next day.

True to form, there was really no “Jackpot is taking a break” announcement (if there was it never hit my desk!) or a breakup, there just, well, wasn’t any Jackpot for awhile (tons of other bands and side projects though). Wouldn’t have surprised anyone if they didn’t play again, just as it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that they did.

But it sure did delight the hell out of a ballistic crowd at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Friday December 21st, playing a short set (“short” meaning they didn’t play all the songs that everyone probably wanted to hear) opening for the first of the Mother Hips’ two annual holiday shows – a role Jackpot has assumed on more than one occasion over the years.

The crowd was clearly Sacramento (maybe even Placerville) heavy, and there was a palpable outburst of sentiment and pure happiness seeing Miller, James Finch Jr., Mike Curry, John Gutenberger and even Mr. Lee Bob Watson (who ceased playing full time with the group around 2004, replaced by Finch) sitting in on keys, a post usually held by Dave Brockman.

Plenty of dancing, plenty of song titles being yelled out/demanded, and plenty of people in the crowd who clearly knew every word to every tune. It was like that fantastic but all-too-short visit from an old friend, from those first jumpy chords of “In a Trance” to Gutenberger and Finch hammering home the closing refrains of “Charlie Watts is God” (who the hell figured they’d play that?!) after Miller departed the stage; looked like something might have been up with his guitar.

This didn’t feel like a “let’s just get Jackpot together for giggles” kind of a set – it really felt like something else was going on, like the long-coming realization that this band’s catalog is too good, too deep and too adored to just collect dust. It needs to be played. Everyone in the crowd wants that, and you got the feeling that same sentiment was coming right back off the stage, too.

No official announcement of future Jackpot shows beyond Friday’s reemergence as of yet – however, the Mother Hips may have hinted via Facebook that Jackpot is on deck to join the as-yet-unannounced lineup of the band’s annual Hipnic festival in Big Sur on the weekend of May 10-12. No official word, but if it does emerge I’ll be sur to let you know.

Check out Youtube videos of the set from an upper back-of-house vantage:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (give Part 1 about 10 seconds, sounds like a dump truck crashing at first but then it's pretty solid; )

Jackpot's setlist, 12-21-12:

In a Trance
Fleas on the Tail of Time
Vaccine
Piano
Radio Robots
Whiskey
Charlie Watts is God

Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tuesday morning and highlights our best stories, photos and videos from the week prior. Sign me up.

Aaron Davis on "Facebook fail? Kupros Bistro fights discrimination accusations online "

2012-12-18T17:42:53Z

Maybe this could all be settled over a nice cold pint of Pliny the Younger? Some may recall this is not even the first time this year that they've caught major flak in social media...beer aficionados will definitely recall!

Aaron Davis on "No vacancy – Clarion Hotel to shut off lights for good "

2012-12-11T18:49:09Z

Perhaps it's a stretch/ concert lover's pipe dream, but I wonder what the potential would be to do something modeled after the Greens Hotel on Del Paso or a smaller scale version of the outdoor concerts at Woodlake/Red Lion/Radisson in this space?

Aaron Davis on "Megabus: 'We're not your grandfather's bus company' "

2012-12-04T19:26:12Z

This is most likely an introductory, market-entry fare. $1 round trips are indeed unsustainable long-term, and you can expect them to go up. So, there are two options: Either the fares on this practically-free bus service will go up when people support it, or, if people don't support it, it will go away altogether. So shall we use it and keep it around, or let it go by the wayside and resume lamenting gas prices and Amtrak fares six months after it's gone?

Aaron Davis on "Coyote Tap House and Big Bowl Noodle bar opens in downtown Sacramento "

2012-11-18T17:23:01Z

That beer menu seriously can't be right? 6.50 is a stretch for a pint even of the higher end beers, but the micros? The soft opening will be accompanied quickly by a hard thud if they don't re-think that

The Horde and the Harem at Shady Lady (the band, not the crowd)

2012-11-15T02:51:57Z

On just about any given evening, you will find a horde at the Shady Lady. And they’re usually accompanied by a harem...or at least they followed one in the door.

So the name of Thursday’s visiting band would seem like a logical fit, no?

Putting the cresting waves of jangled indie folk pop churned out by Seattle’s the Horde and Harem on a stage often reserved for jazz, swing and period-themed acts would seem like the end of the comparisons – until you listen a little closer.

The Horde and the Harem perform at the Shady Lady, 1409 R Street, on Thursday November 15, getting started around 9 p.m.

The band’s intriguing brand of musicianship should be right at home in the land of mint juleps and bow ties. There is a dedicated precision in the music they play, and it is crafted with a palpable youthful exuberance. That is not to say that they are out to prove they can leave a pint of blood and a gallon of sweat on the stage during every show – there is an inherent naturalness and maturity to what they do, and there is an obvious dedication to making sure they’re get it right as the band continues to find itself.

So far so good.

Their urban-bred indie licks are complemented by breezy autumn meadow folk melodies and light gusts of hilltop Americana with intermittently jazzy tones, anchored by four-part harmonies and jovial interplay between the five group members.

In their sound, Pacific Northwest brethren will soak up some rays of Port O’Brien, with some possible shades of the Fruit Bats, while San Francisco indie diehards will see blips of a more earth-bound Birds & Batteries. On the grander scale, one quick listen to the seaside small town stroll of “Summer’s Arms” will be like the salty wind in your face of a young Decemberists, about to trade in their dinghy for a daysailer.

And it looks like the ship will continue to grow as it ventures farther out to sea.

Aaron Davis on "Midtown residents rally to support music venue, and police listen "

2012-11-06T17:42:10Z

An effort to leverage restrictions on Harlow's ability to operate/sell alcohol as a music venue is an effort to harm the local music scene and limit the number of touring bands that will play in Sacramento. There is simply no way around this fact, and people who claim to "love Sacramento" or "want to better Sacramento" need to seriously consider this before embarking on such misguided crusades.

Baseball's zombie apocalypse: Giants win another World Series

2012-10-29T05:09:35Z

Writing the script for the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 World Series title run would be a piece of cake – assuming you were prepared to write the script for about a half-dozen different movies at once.

It seemed to change every night, and sometimes every inning. Were they David or were they Goliath? Were they the comeback kids or the schoolyard bullies? They were alive and kicking, dead in the water, alive and kicking again, and on and on the cycle went.

Which movie was it going to be on any given night over the last few weeks? You had to tune in to find out, every single game. Just like 2010, that’s just what fans in Sacramento did, packing local venues like R15 and Firestone Public House with orange and black, waiting for another taste of Fall Classic glory that still lingered fresh from two years ago.

The way it happened this year…well, tell me this: even now, seeing “world champs” t-shirts being doused in champagne and watching the reveling in the streets of San Francisco on the Fox40 post-game, can you really believe that this just actually happened?

At two different times in this postseason, the Giants were dead. Flatlined. Toe-tagged. To quote Jon Voight in Zoolander, “deader than your dead mother.” Dumping the first two at home to the Reds, facing the task of winning three-straight on the road after playing arguably their worst game of the whole year and getting two-hit by the one pitcher in the big leagues who can out-hippie Lincecum and Zito? Forget it!

A friendly extra-inning error and a grand slam for the ages later, and the Giants were the sports equivalent of zombies. No one knows how they’re still walking around or why, but it's pretty damn awesome.

It was more than a Lazarus act, it was almost just plain stupid.

Despite a dominant pitching performance against the defending world champion Red Birds from "Vogel Strong," a journeyman who struggled to keep above .500 in three years in Japan, they were dead again – this time against the one team which had proven they could out Giant the Giants at late inning heroics and scrappy comebacks the year before, and even the series before against the Washington Nationals.

Ten years removed from his AL Cy Young Award, Barry Zito proceeded to finally man up to his blown-out contract and throw the game of his life – and that’s when the scales tipped. Actually, “tipped” is the wrong word. It was more like they shattered under the weight of a Pablo Sandoval swan dive after a trip to the Sizzler buffet, catapulting the Cardinals right out of the park and hammering home a pennant, raining hits and runs with the same gale force that it rained down in that iconic game seven celebration – the first of its kind in the city of San Francisco in the previous five postseason series wins.

They had to win three in a row – twice. They spent so much time with their backs against the wall they were starting to double as Fatheads. They had to continually pull themselves out of deep holes with laser-like focus and determination – and they did it while looking like a bunch of frat kids pulling a prank on the sorority next door.

The whole time, Sacramentans and Northern Californians watched, in constant disbelief that they kept getting one more game, and eventually, one more series. It was the biggest series, which the Giants were playing with enough house money to cover Zito’s entire contract.

Three home runs against Justin Verlander. A shut down start by MadBum, who hadn’t found his stroke in the previous nine starts. Vogelsong coming through again. And finally, to complete the sweep, a clutch hit by, who else, Marco Scutaro – the guy who made the Dodgers’ quarter billion dollars in trades look like a blank check cut directly to Bernie Madoff.

As the home plate umpire said to Buster Posey in game three, after impossibly saving what in any other universe would have been a wild pitch, “no way you caught that baseball.”

The ump was right. No way he catches it. No way Hunter Pence’s shattered bat hits that ball three times. No way Pagan’s liner hits the bag. No way Blanco’s bunt doesn’t kick foul of the spine of the grass. No way any of this really happened.

They played every single role you can possibly draw up in the world of sports throughout this month of October. Wherever your choice of viewing spot in Sacramento, we got treated to a different story and different plot line every single night, right up to tonight’s ride into the sunset.

The World Series MVP award went to Sandoval. Hey, why not, you’ve got to pick someone. But perhaps he should grab a pair of wire cutters and divvy up the pieces of that trophy to his teammates, college basketball style.

Every single player in orange and black gets a piece of this one.

Aaron Davis on "Owner: Townhouse Lounge to close early next year "

2012-10-16T17:45:13Z

If those walls could talk, they would demand some sort of hangover cure. Bummer...but perhaps hope for a new house of ill repute in the same location down the road? Seem to remember the joint went through a couple of open/close/open/close moments around 2006 or so

"Searching for Sugar Man," the story of Rodriguez, comes to Sac

2012-10-08T03:07:47Z

Late to the party like most of the rest of the world, I first heard the music of Rodriguez in February 2011, in a good friend’s car on a cloudy afternoon driving back from a day hike at Multnomah Falls, just east of Portland, Oregon.

On that particular afternoon, “This is Not a Song, It’s an Outburst (or Establishment Blues)” was one of those rare “stop the conversation” songs, the kind that slaps aside whatever it was you were chirping about and forces you to take notice of what you’re hearing. The kind of unique, captivating protest song with a prophetic edge that makes Cat Stevens seem stale.

The song appears on “Cold Fact,” a gem of a 1970 album that was his only splash of success – and it was a limited success at that. It lived as a virtual flash in the pan, and Rodriguez (also known as Sixto Rodriguez) has been living in a small house in his native Detroit ever since, completely off the radar.

2012 has proven to be a year of the realization of fame 40 years in the making…and in some ways, a virtual resurrection.

The story of “Searching for Sugar Man,” a documentary by Swedish filmmaker Malik Benjelloul, which opens in select Sacramento area theaters this weekend, goes like this:

Completely unbeknownst to the unassuming singer (now 70 years old and long since dropped from his record label), he achieved rampant fame in South Africa when bootlegs of his music began to circulate through their country. His music was being described by South Africans as “the soundtrack of our youth,” and he became an Elvis-like figure. But with that fame came a widespread belief (almost an urban legend) that the singer had committed suicide by setting himself on fire onstage during a concert. This was prior to the days of Google or even the internet itself. The false rumor became, as the album would say, cold fact.

The rumors eventually dispelled, but his popularity still rampant, Rodriguez was given a hero’s welcome when he performed in South Africa for the first time in 1998, giving the country a first look at a man they had listened to for years, but assumed was dead.

Think about that for a second.

This would be like anyone born after 1970 all of a sudden seeing Jimi Hendrix in concert (without a Coachella hologram). Of course, Jimi is actually dead (right?), but isn’t believing someone is dead virtually the same thing?

“Searching for Sugar Man,” reported by “60 Minutes” to have been shot heavily on an iPhone, chronicles the rise of Rodriguez’s fame in South Africa, his Lazarus-like concerts, and the newfound recognition of a small buried treasure of American music. Benjelloul, who made the entire film himself including animation and soundtrack, reported on the same segment that he had to give up on finishing the film, just to avoid starving. Shortly thereafter, it opened the Sundance Film festival.

Art imitates life.

“Searching for Sugar Man” is slated to open on Friday, October 12 at the Davis Varsity Theater, the Tower Theatre in Sacramento, and at Century 14 in Folsom.

Photo: Sacramento's 'Arboria' goes up in flames at Burning Man

2012-09-06T16:58:51Z

Don't worry, this was the plan all along.

After months of blood, sweat and lumber that the Sacramento C.O.R.E. (Circle of Regional Effigies) put in to construct the 20 foot-tall "Arboria," the moment finally came last weekend at Black Rock Desert - a moment described by team member Mark David Swim as "an artistic expression of creation and destruction being symbolic of life and death."

Read more about how Arboria came to life here, and stay tuned for more photos as they become available.

Aaron Davis on "Gun violence 'not the norm' in Midtown, businesses say"

2012-08-22T20:35:33Z

Hundreds of people gather in Midtown at 2:30 a.m. in the morning for the last slices of pizza at Pieces or Luigi's, or grab a plate of mac and cheese at Ink or wait in line at Del Taco, most of them reminsicing about the night, high-fiving and meeting new folks and talking about the concert they just saw or the funny sights they witnessed throughout the night. It's where the social hour winds down but people from West Sac might be seated at an adjoining table to a group from El Dorado Hills to enjoy the last bits of fun before Monday rolls around again. If that's "nothing good" then a lot of us must be living our lives wrong, no?

Aaron Davis on "Midtown shooting death sparks response from neighbors"

2012-08-22T16:15:08Z

And that's important because....?

Aaron Davis on "Gun violence 'not the norm' in Midtown, businesses say"

2012-08-21T19:01:55Z

cogmeyer, not sure they're specifically linking it to Harlow's, but that venue just happens to be the low-hanging fruit, and the one most likely to get kicked as result of a knee-jerk reaction. I would argue that the inclusion of Momo's in the new joint ABC license is what is causing the alarm here...that venue hauls in a much different demographic than they typical Harlow's crowd, although the combination of the two represents the largest capacity on that particular block, thus making them a prime target for misguided attempts to curtail this kind of activity. Even if those involved were found to be drinking at Harlow's, what then? Do we go after the individual bartender who served them? It would be the only "logical" step in an illogical premise

Aaron Davis on "Midtown shooting death sparks response from neighbors"

2012-08-21T17:17:47Z

Although my comments (at top and bottom) may well prove me hypocritical, I hate to see his memory buried under what ultimately amounts to an argument that borders on self-centered and mis-directed from trying to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

Aaron Davis on "Gun violence 'not the norm' in Midtown, businesses say"

2012-08-21T17:02:10Z

When you consider the idea of challenging a liquor license at Harlow's, thus essentially placing the blame for this horrible incident directly on a city's nightlife, you are unfortunately dealing with Midtown residents who are making it abundantly clear that they don't actually want to live in Midtown...at least not the version of Midtown that exists in reality. To publicly attempt to block Harlow's from operation (which is exactly what will happen if they have no liquor license), you are making a public declaration that you expect Midtown to mold itself into the expectations of a small minority of residents who simply don't want to deal with the true nature of urban living. This is not how a city, especially it's central core area, operates. They operate based on providing culture and nightlife for the city as a whole, while creating an economic boon in the process. If you want to talk about the depressing sight of shuttered storefronts and empty spaces...watch what happens if you attempt to siphon out core entertainment venues like Harlow's, where local and traveling bands keep an already struggling local music scene alive.

Aaron Davis on "Midtown shooting death sparks response from neighbors"

2012-08-21T16:40:28Z

"(The shooting) spurred at least one Midtown resident to make plans to file a protest against the proposed alcohol license transfer for Harlow’s Nightclub, one of several clubs located on the 2800 block of J Street." This makes as much sense as attempting to close the Round Table Pizza because it is also a block and a half away from where the shooting occurred.

Aaron Davis on "Midtown shooting death sparks response from neighbors"

2012-08-21T16:34:33Z

This horrifically tragic incident had as much to do with the businesses on the 2800 block as the Second Saturday shooting had to do with Second Saturday

Aaron Davis on "Pitch it to us!"

2012-08-16T22:51:26Z

Cool feature, y'all! I vote put it on the header tabs

Melky Cabrera is out: What now, Sactown Giants fans?

2012-08-16T03:53:37Z

"On the bright side, we're finally getting some Giants coverage on a national level."

Lindol French, you do indeed have a point - albeit one that Giants baseball fans here in Sacramento, in the Bay Area, and around the country would just as soon not have to face, as the team's golden goose is now its Dodger-blue goat. For those who haven't heard, All-Star game MVP and second-place N.L. hitting Melky Cabrera was banned 50 games (essentially the rest of the season) today after testing positive for le juice.

The numbers and the accolades with this guy weren't the real story. The now famous jumpsuit-clad Melk Men, the "Got Melk" shirts, the rampant enthusiasm - those were the story.

Remember, this is a fan base that spent a decade and a half burying themselves in the out-of-this-universe numbers of one Barry Bonds - basking in home run after home run and ignoring the fact that hardly anyone would have wanted to share a beer with the guy if given the chance, for fear he'd hit on your mom, promptly go home with the cocktail waitress and stiff you with the bill. We've embraced the lovable characters - the beard, the rally thong, the boy wonders - ever since, because they made us forget about the superstar sheen and love our team as a batch of laudable misfits.

It's what made all the 2010 World Series games at R15, Zebra Club, Streets of London, whatever your preferred hot spot, so much fun, and why Giants-mania has been alive in Sacramento ever since. Most of the guys didn't have huge numbers, they sure as hell had charm - and when the dust settled, a ring.

Melky had superstar numbers and that Giants' charm. That's why we were screaming for general manager Brian Sabean to open up the wallet and sign the guy to a long-term in April, and why tensions were starting to mount and teeth gnashing as we moved through the season and a deal to wrap up the .346 average and rampant fandamonium hadn't gotten done yet.

How does Sabean look now?

Not good enough? Let's look over to right field at a guy named Hunter Pence. Imagine where we're sitting if that deal doesn't get done?

When news broke today, I'm sure we were all waiting for the excuses and talk of appeals to pour in, but Cabrera's quick admission landed quicker than the Kings arena deal evaporated. Thank you for admitting you deliberately smashed the cookie jar, Melky, but we're still not going to give you a cookie. We're still too mad that you've taken what was looking like a promising run, tied a brick to it, and hucked it into McCovey Cove.

As we try to cope with the anger, betrayal, and utter dismay of a season seemingly flushed away, let's consider a couple of things:

-Without what Melky Cabrera has done for the Giants through 117 games, every player on the team needs some sort of steroid treatment to cope with the neck pain from looking up at the Dodgers. Some would argue that the position the Giants are now in (just a game back in the N.L. West as of this filing) is now tainted from top to bottom, but that's a whole other article. We have to at least dig out a tiny sliver of gratitude for Melky and the 159 hits that knocked us into this current position. That said, nice knowing you #53. Here's a souvenir plate of garlic fries...beat it.

-Buster Posey is more out of his mind than Downtown James Brown right now, Brandon Belt seems to have figured out how to hit again, and we have a possible sleeper smasher behind the plate in Hector Sanchez. Let's not forget that Brandon Belt has seen some starts (and done very well) in left field, the same spot now left vacant by Bonds 2.0. The solution: Belt in left, Sanchez in the squat, and Posey at first, where he's far less likely to get Scott Cousined again.

-As valuable as he was, Melky Cabrera was not a member of the Giants starting pitching rotation. 'Nuff said.

If this isn't enough to get you out to a Sacramento area bar to keep watching the stretch run, let's consider one unavoidable question.

Everything else being equal, all of you Giants fans in Sactown would continue to watch this team through the end. Let's say, for the sake of argument, we made a run with our roster of 24 hours ago and won our second World Series title in three years.

Would you rather have heard the results of this test after all that happened?

Aaron Davis on "Facebook fail could hit Sacramento"

2012-08-07T16:21:29Z

It would be tragically ironic if a Facebook "fail" hits the hardest on the population that arguably uses it the most...kids

Aaron Davis on "Rubicon Brewing Company to open new beer production facility in West Sacramento"

2012-07-31T16:24:59Z

I'd have to say Portland owns the "City of Beer" title, but Sactown could well give them a run for their money!

Aaron Davis on "Real Relationships: Taking sides"

2012-07-30T20:31:04Z

Good edition, Janna!

Aaron Davis on "Sacramento's newest food truck: OMG Burger"

2012-07-16T17:29:08Z

Was this your idea too? If so, your contribution to the Korean-fusion cuisine scene in Sacramento is approaching legendary! http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/70874/Tako_Korean_BBQ_opens

Aaron Davis on "Sacramento's newest food truck: OMG Burger"

2012-07-16T17:26:00Z

If it was that important to you to receive what you feel is your due credit for "guiding" a half-Korean man in the food business to incorporate Korean elements into his food, perhaps you would have investigated and attempted to pursue the proper intellectual property rights instead of attempting to publicly smear/harm a small business that is just getting started.

Aaron Davis on "Saturday shindig with the Nibblers at High Sierra"

2012-07-12T17:00:54Z

We're there!

Aaron Davis on "Saturday shindig with the Nibblers at High Sierra"

2012-07-11T19:23:35Z

Amen!

Saturday shindig with the Nibblers at High Sierra

2012-07-11T16:05:42Z

One thing noticably odd about the absurdly awesome High Sierra Music Festival, held each year in the hills of Quincy, CA, is that it rarely seems to feature Sacramento-based talent - odd in that we are the closest major city.

After spending the last couple of years holding commando sets and street performances (as many bands do at HSMF) on top of RVs, local funkmasters the Nibblers scored themselves an official 10 a.m. Saturday morning spot on the Big Meadow stage as the first band of the day, and they absolutely made the most of it, pulling weary campers out of their tents (almost literally) and into the groove.

It's called funking your way up.

Big Meadow was the Sactown spot on Saturday morning: Saw a couple of Sex Rat and Mumbo Gumbo t-shirts, a few familiar faces in the crowd, and one on stage when local emcee Random Abiladeze joined newly installed lead singer Brian Rogers and the rest of the group for a few songs. They spent their afternoon playing for folks at the equally awesome Camp Happiness, one of many mini-communities that spring up at the Plumas County Fairgrounds each year during the festival.

They were elsewhere, but just too much going on at High Sierra to follow one band! Also representing the Sac area was Davis' the Devil Makes Three, playing under the setting sun on the Grandstand stage on Saturday evening, in one of the most amazing natural backdrops you'll ever see.

Maybe Jackie Greene next year? It's the kind of festival that you'd think would have him on speed dial. Cake would also be a likely choice, or perhaps Walking Spanish or the aforementioned Mumbo Gumbo (Oleander and MC Rut might not want to spend too much time waiting by the phone).

Check out pictures of The Nibblers and DM3 holding it down for Sactown.

Disclosure: My voice is still shot, and the paint won't come off my toenails

Aaron Davis on "Pour House details emerging, opening in one month"

2012-07-03T18:11:04Z

Pour House has much promise, and it excites me...and also makes me fear for my liver with whiskey taps at the table!

Aaron Davis on "Pour House details emerging, opening in one month"

2012-07-03T18:09:40Z

My one and only Whiskey Wild experience: "Let's give this new place a try." ---> "There's a white guy rapping and dancing on the bar." --> "Benny's is open."

Aaron Davis on "Kings grab stud power forward, Thomas Robinson slips to the fifth pick"

2012-07-01T00:59:30Z

Stellar report, Mark! Kings probably would have traded down again had he not come to them, but this is as fine a pick as there was to be made at that spot

Aaron Davis on "Draft day, a short sale frenzy in Sacramento and wonky delights - Morning roundup "

2012-06-28T17:33:51Z

Maybe in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't matter, but you can't deny that there is an indelible connection between the success of a sports facility deal and the success of the team it will house. Examples: Pac Bell/AT&T Park broke ground in December of 1997, a playoff year for the Giants, and the Santa Clara stadium deal for the 49ers, part of a decade-plus push for a new facility, was approved this year, during their first winning season since 2002. Coincidence? I'm thinking no. If we had pushed a new arena deal through for the Kings in the CWebb/Peja/Vlade heyday of 2000, we'd be talking about upgrades to a building that would be 10 years old right now.

Aaron Davis on "Draft day, a short sale frenzy in Sacramento and wonky delights - Morning roundup "

2012-06-28T17:29:04Z

Last year, The Purple Arena Eaters traded DOWN and coughed up Kemba Walker for Jimmer, in a year where there's no denying that improving the on-court product was critical to bolstering public support from a new arena...how much you want to bet they do the same thing again?

Aaron Davis on " Lil' Hopper: New bus makes bar hopping easy, safe"

2012-06-13T18:27:24Z

Although they're going to need to get a razor blade and go to work on the "Lounge on 20" stop printed on the window!

Aaron Davis on " Lil' Hopper: New bus makes bar hopping easy, safe"

2012-06-13T18:20:23Z

Agreed, brick....first step toward establishing the R Street Corridor as a destination...maybe make some people jump off there that weren't anticipating to go there

Aaron Davis on " Lil' Hopper: New bus makes bar hopping easy, safe"

2012-06-13T18:18:45Z

Considering the rate of "deweys" in this town, I sincerely doubt they're bored at 2am on a Saturday night

Aaron Davis on " Lil' Hopper: New bus makes bar hopping easy, safe"

2012-06-13T16:12:00Z

Disco ball included? Absolutely fantastic idea and tailor-made for The Grid! An extra hour or two on it would definitely benefit the "last call" crowd...wish I could say it would cut down on drunk drivers, but unfortunately, a 2:00am walk home in Midtown will definitely tell you that the glug-glug-vroom-vrooms are all heading OUT of The Grid

Sacramento group to build massive effigy 'Arboria' for Burning Man

2012-06-07T20:39:59Z

It’s a concept that, at face value, seems completely crazy – as in, talking-to-the-air, get-the-butterfly-net insane. But that’s only to those who haven’t been to Burning Man.

It’s the question of why on Earth would one spend thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours on an ambitious and marvelous project, only to turn around and set it on fire...on purpose!

“There’s something incredibly beautiful about creating something and releasing it back into the universe,” said Heather Takemori. Fellow Burner Mark David Swim agreed, adding that, “it’s an artistic expression of creation and destruction being symbolic of life and death.”

Such is the spirit behind the now world-famous “Man,” a titanic human-shaped structure constructed and subsequently set ablaze and reduced to ash during each year’s installment of the Burning Man festival. Although the Man itself has traditionally been the only “official” annual burn at Black Rock Desert, a group from Sacramento is creating one of 35 structures that will join him.

Headed by local non-profit arts group Sacramento Valley Spark, Takemori and her team are the creative force behind “Arboria,” a twisting arboraceous structure that, along with the other 34, will encircle The Man at this year’s official Burning Man burn. Sac Valley Spark was invited by Burning Man to submit a proposal and eventually approved for C.O.R.E., which stands for "Circle of Regional Effigies."

Full information about Arboria and the Sacramento C.O.R.E project is below. You can also visit the group’s website for more information and to donate to the project, which still needs financial support to come to fruition.

After this year's much ballyhooed fiasco and public relations nightmare over a botched ticket lottery system for Burning Man, projects like Arboria represent a return to focus on the type of unique and grandiose artistic expression that the event is truly all about.

Having worked extensively with Sac Valley Spark on previous events, Takemori, who has been to nine previous Burning Man festivals, was handed the keys to the project earlier this year.

“Last year there were 21 different structures, and this year they’ve approved 35 – there are structures coming from the Bay Area and Reno, but this is the first time Sacramento has had one,” said Takemori, project manager of Sacramento C.O.R.E.

Several regionally-themed ideas hit the cutting room floor – including a 20-foot tomato to represent a “Sacoftomatoes” pun, an enlarged microscopic view of allergens and a giant seed pod to represent this year’s Burning Man theme of fertility – before the group settled on Arboria, a massive ode to the “City of Trees.”

Arboria will be forged as an 8,000 cubic foot (20’ long by 20’ wide by 20’ tall) structure, with an elaborate tapestry of foliage decorations and cutouts, and two spiral staircases leading to a shaded canopy area that will be able to hold approximately 20 people.

Over 100 volunteers are currently involved in the planning, design and eventual creation of Arboria, headed by a core team that includes Takemori, co-project manager Swim, regional coordinator Joyce Maund, construction leads Ian Nutila and Dave Wailing, creative lead Candy Dallosta, “Contessa of cleanup” Mary Holt, and fire safety lead Jed Kirshner.

As transportation of a completed structure this size would be next to impossible, materials will be freighted out to Black Rock, Nevada, where Arboria will actually be constructed on-site. Gates for the festival officially open on August 27th, but the C.O.R.E. team will arrive on the 21st for a build that is expected to take four days.

Sounds like a fun four days in the desert, no?

“I’ve already planned myself a mini-vacation to get poolside in Reno for a couple of days between the build and gates-open,” Takemori joked.

Through a series of fundraisers, Sacramento C.O.R.E. has already raised close to $1,300 to fund the project, but the group is still seeking donations of money and materials it needs to finish the project and make Arboria a reality. Monetary donations can be made online here, or mailed to Sacramento CORE, 5495 Carlson Drive, Ste. B, Sacramento, CA 95819. If you would like to donate materials or would like more information, email Heather Takemori here.

Materials wish-list for Arboria:

2x3 = 18
2x4 (8ft) = 56
2x4 (10ft) = 24
2x4 (12ft) = 16
2x6 (8ft) = 3
2x6 (10ft) = 33
Plywood 4x8 sheets (1 1/8 inches) = 9
Plywood 4x8 sheets (15/32 inches) = 3
Plywood 4x8 sheets (3/8 inches) = 3

Two Sheds bid Sacto farewell Saturday before heading to L.A.

2012-05-18T04:16:18Z

I heard about it a few weeks ago, but it's one of those things that starts to really suck now that the show is only a couple days away and reality sets in.

While I'm sure the collective Sactown music community wishes nothing but the best to Caitlin and Jon Gutenberger on their imminent relocation to L.A., the absence of their band Two Sheds is sure to make that same community shed (zing!) a few tears.

Two Sheds' farewell show goes down Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. at Luigi's Fungarden, 1050 K St. (MARRS Building), with a $7 door charge. San Francisco electro-country act Birds and Batteries and Dana Gumbier open the show. This one is sure to draw a huge crop of local music fans, so get there early! Playing with Two Sheds will be the venerable Rusty Miller, guitarist Chris Larsen, and guest Kris Anaya (of An Angle and Doom Bird)

A band that came to be on a virtual whim, Two Sheds have been a to-do in this town since 2003 when Jon (also of Far, Jackpot and Milwaukee) and wife Caitlin played one of Jerry Perry's "Crooning Couples" Valentine's Day shows at Old Ironsides. What began as jam sessions between Jon and Jackpot pal Miller quickly turned into Caitlin being thrust (against her will?) into the role of front woman.

"Rusty and Johnny used to joke that I was their meal ticket," Caitlin jokingly told me in 2008, in a phone interview prior to a show at the Blackwater Cafe in Stockton (coincidentally also with Birds and Batteries). When I first interviewed them while hanging at Tupelo Coffee in 2007 (it took a trip to archives to remind me that I interviewed them twice), the fires were still being stoked. Since then, they've toured coast to coast, turned heads at South By Southwest, and established themselves as a true indie darling, drawing comparisons to Mazzy Star, Cowboy Junkies and Gillian Welch.

A few years after being virtually forced into the lead guitar/vocalist role, there's no denying Caitlin has morphed into a certified bad ass behind the mic.

Recent press suggests that the move to L.A. is merely for a change of creative pace, and not an attempt to ditch Sacramento. Whatever the motivations, I will boldly speak for the entire "scene" by simply saying, we'll miss you, and may you be uncorrupted by the City of Angels!

“We kind of take the path of least resistance,” Caitlin told me in 2007. “I don’t know if it’s just to try and protect the fun element of what we’re doing. Part of me thinks ‘should we be more feisty and try to push ourselves?’ But I’m almost more intrigued by seeing if we can keep doing this whole ‘whatever’ thing and get people to like us in spite of ourselves.”

Johnny calls that "The Pavement philosophy."

Aaron Davis on "Organic on demand: New farm takes orders from chefs to bring organic mainstream"

2012-05-17T17:19:58Z

There is nothing about this that isn't awesome

Aaron Davis on "Middle Class Rut to play Friday at Concerts in the Park"

2012-05-10T19:51:42Z

Ironic that the same song ("New Low") that propelled them to national prominence in 2010 also propelled them to local prominence on the now-defunct KWOD in 2008! Hear they're performing as a four piece now! Git some!

Aaron Davis on "Claps and chaos on Tuesday with Delta Spirit"

2012-05-10T02:28:29Z

Hey John...feel free to shoot me an email at adavis41@gmail.com, and you can cc hub@sacramentopress.com; this email is a landing spot for event announcements and is checked regularly by our staff. Thanks much!

Claps and chaos on Tuesday with Delta Spirit

2012-05-09T23:49:11Z

Well played, Sacramento.

Was it the great weather? Was it the fact that it was Tuesday? Was it just that Sac just doesn't really know Delta Spirit (yet)? Was it that trainwreck of a botched tribute/preview combo that this reporter attempted to pen last week?

Whatever the factors, Ace of Spades was feeling pretty sparse in the early goings of Tuesday night's Delta Spirit gig, even as opening act Waters was wrapping up their set. It had that vacuous "should have been at Harlow's" venue feeling, like you were for some reason using a punch bowl to scramble two eggs.

Folks were out all about town basking in one of our first legit summer evenings, but it didn't seem like anyone was paying mind to the frenzy of rock and roll that was about to fire up inside A.O.S., prompting fears that Delta Spirit would be playing to a "dead" room.

There's a reason why lead singer Matt Vasquez, on "like our third time ever in Sacramento," was praising the crowd as "fucking awesome" by the end of a set that I would use the same two words to describe, but am not technically allowed to in this space. From the moment the band took the stage, nearly everyone funneled in from the bars, lounge, couches and tables to get down and dirty with this beautifully ferocious rock band.

What looked like a sideline crowd got on the gridiron and brought their A-game.

There were very few songs (possibly none) that Vasquez and Co. did not incite arms-up audience clap-alongs. It started early with the blitzing jam on the almost eerily romping "White Table." Maybe the clapping was meant to augment the intermittent wall of percussion created by the main drum kit and the additional center island of thump that gave many a song some extra umph.

The frequent clapping may sound cheesy, but it fits well with their affable and approachable stage persona. Delta Spirit throws the party that everyone's invited to and welcome to stay at all night, as long as you bring a sixer of Miller Lite. No one is more important than another.

Or, to put it another way, "we are two Indians in the same canoe," as go the lyrics to the jumpy "Strange Vine," followed by a "dance tune" called "Tear it Up," from their recent self-titled album.

Vasquez was good enough to mention that the group had spent the afternoon at Capitol Bowl in West Sac before leading the crowd in the primal tribal war cry interludes of "Tellin' the Mind," followed closely by the beautiful crescendo of the ballad "House Built for Two," which they have apparently not played in the last couple of years.

And was it just me, or did that groovy homemade triangular light structure remind anyone of something you'd build with these?

It's hard to determine if Delta Spirit is an Americana band that likes to play very uptempo, or just a straight-ahead rock band that will occasionally like to slow things down. "Bushwick Blues" and "People C'mon" would tell one end of the story, "Children" might tell another. And then there's the intensely beautiful "Devil Knows You're Dead," which opened up the encore, and certainly sent Tyler Williams of locals the Great Northern Divers (and formerly Light Rail) home happy. I ran into him at the bar, he told me it was the one song he really wanted to hear.

Either way you choose to classify Delta Spirit, the last song of the evening "Trashcan" represents a little bit of everything that is great about rock and roll. Slamming a trashcan lid for percussion, throat-shredding and howling vocals, thundering piano, grooving guitars, and Vasquez climbing to the rafters atop the tallest amp on stage.

Front men don't usually do stuff like that if they're not feeling a crowd.

Well played indeed, Sacramento.

Aaron Davis on "Mayor Kevin Johnson: 'We have to find a way' to save rec programs for disabled teens in Sacramento "

2012-05-08T22:42:59Z

Cheers to you, Brittany, and everyone who advocated for Access Leisure, regardless of tonight's outcome. Individuals with intellectual disabilities can have just as strong a voice as any of us...

Aaron Davis on "City plans to cut recreation program for people with disabilities "

2012-05-08T16:00:44Z

Great story, Melissa...unfortunate as the subject matter is. We have a program similar to this in Placer County that we're struggling to keep funded as well, but we aren't able to hit anywhere close to that number served! Individuals with intellectual disabilities deserve the chance to do what everyone else does, they just need help to do it. Sad to see this program go

Cinco de Mayo with the Black Keys

2012-05-06T23:34:13Z

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 Cinco de Mayo (and continue to prove each time they play) is that maybe, just maybe, true rock and roll isn’t dead just yet.

Over the top statement? Maybe. But if you were there, it should be hard to ignore that feeling in your gut, like a fist woven out of guitars and drums had just socked you in it.

The haymakers came early, as the Black Keys elevated an already delirious crowd (likely delirious from the moment and from a breezy day of margaritas and Tecates) by opening with the sharp licks and get-drunk-shout-along chorus of “Howlin’ for You.”

After a solid but very bass-heavy one hour set from openers Arctic Monkeys, what was immediately noticeable about the Keys during “Howlin’” was just how good they sounded. In a cavernous arena not usually noted for its sonic fortitude, their thunderous riffs and calculated distortion was flowing beautifully out of a sprawling mountain of speakers.

Alongside the White Stripes, the Black Keys helped establish a sense of acceptance for two-man, guitar-drum combo rock groups – but these days, they’re bringing along some help, with two accompanying musicians on bass, guitar and keyboards bringing up the rear. But after sending things into maniacal orbit with their most recent hit “Gold on the Ceiling,” the “other” two departed to let Auerbach and Carney get back to their roots.

Though much of the Keys’ current success is wrapped up in their most recent albums “El Camino” and “Brothers" (13 of the evening's 20 songs stemmed from those two albums), you could feel the longer-tenured fans blow a collective gasket (that includes this reporter) when the duo fired up “Thickfreakness,” from the 2003 album of the same name. It was the friskiest and probably dirtiest song of the night, with spastic time and tempo changes and licks that would make a swamp feel squeaky-clean.

The duo followed that with a few tunes such as “Girl is on My Mind” and “I’ll Be Your Man” before welcoming their new supporting cast back to the stage, as Auerbach plucked out the opening to “Little Black Submarines” (perhaps better known by its chief lyric “a broken heart is blind”) with a solo on a gorgeous steel Dobro before giving way to a jamming crescendo that rivaled anything Led Zeppelin could have dared to conjure up.

It’s easy to take a minute to wonder if there were two camps of Keys fans at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday night: those who prefer that older format of just the duo, or those who lust for the extra layers of playful fuzz and whomp provided by their new four-piece incarnation.

Nope, no dissention in that building. Who has time to nit-pick one format or the other while wailing along to the “woah-WOAH-oh-oh” of “Lonely Boy;” and yes, there were plenty of people dancing like this guy.

Music that can make thousands of Sacramentans all move like that? Maybe blood-in-the-mud rock and roll really is still alive?

A Black Keys concert is one way to help ensure it.

Check out the setlist from the evening with YouTube song samples on Setlist.fm.

Aaron Davis on "Locals digitally mourn Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch - Music therapy, anyone?"

2012-05-05T03:57:18Z

Josh, good to see you! But unfortunately we've already cleared the air on this one, as you can see, so you're a little late to the party. You can't show up in the fourth quarter and expect to get in the game.

Aaron Davis on "Locals digitally mourn Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch - Music therapy, anyone?"

2012-05-04T23:31:10Z

Perhaps a modicum of clarification is needed here: This morning I had set out to do a preview on Delta Spirit's show at Ace of Spades on Tuesday. I had a phone interview scheduled with one of the band members, but due to a scheduling conflict we were not able to get the interview done. Simultaneously, I was reading the outpouring of reaction to Adam Yauch's death, and thought it noteworthy to report on local reaction to his passing (as is the mission of Sacramento Press, to report on local matters). So, this article was an effort to do things a little differently and address that local reaction and also preview a live show that I believe everyone should see. Being someone who honestly does believe music is the best therapy in times of sadness (especially in response to something also having to do with music), the connection made sense to me at the time. However, I can see how what I attempted to do here was somewhat misconstrued, and I want to stress that it was not my intent to speak ill (yes, a pun) of the Beastie Boys or Yauch's memory, or to use an emotional moment to cross promote Delta Spirit. They put on a phenomenal show, and I don't think any one article is powerful enough to make it completely empty, contrary to your assertions, SfShab.

Aaron Davis on "Locals digitally mourn Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch - Music therapy, anyone?"

2012-05-04T23:14:44Z

I wouldn't disagree with you there, KLJ...my point (and perhaps it wasn't articulated as well as I could have done) was to comment on what I believe to be the overall perceptions about the Beastie Boys' repertoire. The depth of their repertoire was somewhat subtle and not quite as "on the sleeve" as many other bands. As such, the impressions and reactions that I think people have toward them (as evidenced by many of the posts flying around FB today) were steeped more in nostalgia and personal memories of "I remember when that song was the jam" than in lyrical fortitude or "emotional" impact left by the songs themselves

Aaron Davis on "Locals digitally mourn Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch - Music therapy, anyone?"

2012-05-04T22:14:00Z

If you'll notice, Mark, there is no disclosure listed, meaning I have no personal ties to the Delta Spirit show. It was just a way to report on two things: 1) Local reaction to a polarizing event, and 2) getting the word out about a band coming to town.

Locals digitally mourn Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch - Music therapy, anyone?

2012-05-04T20:50:06Z

Love 'em, hate 'em, or if they were just "the party jam" at some point in your life, it's impossible to imagine anyone born after 1975 (or earlier?) that didn't have at least some personal connection to the Beastie Boys.

That is why Friday's news of the passing of founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch after a three year battle with cancer seemed to cast a cloud on May the Fourth for so many with memories devoted to the boys from Brooklyn.

Just a few local Sactown names to Facebook their morning mourning included comedian Keith Lowell Jensen (who also noted that 93.7 was thumping "Brass Monkey" around 11:30 a.m.), Abstract Entertainment's Brian McKenna (who reminisced about a show with the Beasties in 1996 at The Grind skate park in West Sacramento), the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, singer/songwriter Tony Bataska, Prieta drummer Brian Breneman, former SN&R scribe Jackson Griffith, Nibblers bassist Lynn Michael Palmer, and the Bee's Chris Macias.

Some would argue that the punk laced block-rocking hip hop, four-on-the-floor beats and party-themed rhymes churned out by the venerable trio didn't lend itself to long lasting or deep seeded emotional connections - or that the mourning of him wouldn't be quite the same as, say, those who mourned The Band's Levon Helm last week.

But that's what makes music what it is. No apologies. No explanations. Just memories...so thank you, MCA, for the ones you gave to so many.

What's the best therapy? More music. Try Ace of Spades on Tuesday night.

Delta Spirit is close to wrapping up their coast-to-coast tour in support of their new self-titled album, the band's third in a career that has garnered them a devout base of fans, fed by the frenzy of the group's notoriously raucous live shows.

Their new record represents a significant change of pace from their two previous efforts, "Ode to Sunshine" and "History from Below," leaning more towards driving arena rock riffs and hard-charging bass lines.

Whether you prefer their new take on things, like the whirling "California," or you prefer them thumping on Trashcan lids, their shows are nothing short of electric, go-for-the-gut rock and roll the way it's mean to be played: Loud, sweaty, and above all, honest.

Check out "Children" and "White Table" live from Austin City Limits.

Delta Spirit, with Waters opening, plays Ace of Spades (1417 R St.) on Tuesday, May 8. Tickets are available at www.aceofspadessac.com.

Aaron Davis on "A Farewell to News"

2012-05-01T00:43:57Z

Exactly! Perfectly illustrates why people care when Colleen writes her "Farewell to" story. Do you think the same will be true for you when you decide to write yours...?

Aaron Davis on "A Farewell to News"

2012-04-30T16:49:28Z

A true pleasure to work with you, Colleen. Thank you for everything

Aaron Davis on "A Farewell to News"

2012-04-30T16:48:56Z

When last I checked, journalism certainly also entails the tact and professionalism to know the right time and place to publish certain opinions. I also think that life in general entails that as well.

Aaron Davis on "The Sacramento Press welcomes its new Editor in Chief: Jared Goyette"

2012-04-24T19:35:32Z

Big shoes to fill, Jared...no, Colleen, you do not have big feet! Welcome to SacPress, and to Sacramento itself, you are going to love living here

Aaron Davis on "Torch Club celebrates anniversary at current location"

2012-04-12T15:33:04Z

A house of many blurry nights...the Torch is indeed a gem!

SF Outside Lands promoters considering Sacramento expansion

2012-04-01T17:07:07Z

With Bay Area promotions juggernaut Another Planet Entertainment having already brought Wilco to the Sacramento area, and with the Shins, Florence + the Machine and the Black Keys on the books in the coming weeks, it seemed that the powers-that-be were finally giving some much deserved love to the Sacramento concert market.

But we never could have imagined (or hoped for) anything like this.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source familiar with APE has informed the Sacramento Press that the promotions firm, which handles all the booking for San Francisco's nationally renowned Outside Lands Festival, is considering launching a similar music festival in Sacramento in the summer of 2013.

"With Sacramento moving forward with their new arena and other significant developments, we are now more confident than ever in the market," the source said. "We have been considering this idea for awhile now, and we feel it's the right time to move forward."

A likely location for the festival would be Discovery Park, with its proximity to downtown and easy accessibility. Other possible locations could include Cal Expo or potentially a "street fair" setup in a select region of Midtown.

Past Outside Lands festival headliners have included Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and the Black Eyed Peas. Obviously, it's way too early to start thinking about who might be on the bill in Sacramento, but early candiates could include jam scene favorite NoWay Jose and Keyser Soze and the Suckers.

And the happiest of April Fool's Days to you, Sactown!

Aaron Davis on "A day in the life in Roseville (Hmmmm, Ed Hardy?)"

2012-03-30T17:39:37Z

'Nuff said about this little game of Poke the Bear, Shalini :-)

Aaron Davis on "A day in the life in Roseville (Hmmmm, Ed Hardy?)"

2012-03-30T17:39:04Z

Considering these photos were all "man on the street" OR done by professional photojournalists, I'm guessing that he is a Roseville resident.

Aaron Davis on "A day in the life in Roseville (Hmmmm, Ed Hardy?)"

2012-03-30T00:49:48Z

Exactly what this event provides, Geoff! Come on out

Aaron Davis on "A day in the life in Roseville (Hmmmm, Ed Hardy?)"

2012-03-29T20:52:35Z

If you've ever driven down Galleria Blvd, you bet!

A day in the life in Roseville (Hmmmm, Ed Hardy?)

2012-03-29T20:15:17Z

It is safe to write about happenings in Roseville yet?

Thanks to Shalini Chandra, we've already established on Sac Press that "not everyone in Roseville wears Ed Hardy" in an op-ed from August of last year. However, there appeared to be quite a bit of disagreement and dissention sprinkled in with those 146 (?!) comments regarding her take on the citizens of the city of Roseville, as well as the overall aim of the article itself.

So, is what Shalini wrote true? How about some photographic evidence...

"Around the Clock: A photojournalism exhibit of one 24 hour day in Roseville" is a collection of photographs taken by both Roseville residents and photographers from the Roseville Press Tribune, capturing a day in the life of the bustling Placer County city that many in Midtown Sacramento have been known to snarl at and dismiss as little more than a giant strip mall - perhaps without even ever visiting in person?

Check out some online samples of work from "Around the Clock"

Decide for yourself and let the photos tell the story. Does everyone in "Broseville" wear Ed Hardy?

You'll probably be surprised.

The month-long exhibit runs through March 31, where it will culminate with an evening arts reception, live music, theater snippets, wine and desserts. Music will be provided by Breez, followed by an scene-and-song snippet from the recently-wrapped "Willy Wonka" courtesy of performers from Studio 700 Center for the Arts, an arts studio and theatre company for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Roseville.

Roseville Arts' evening of "Around the Clock" runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31 at the Blue Line Gallery, 405 Vernon St. in historic Downtown Roseville. Tickets for the event are $10 in advance or $15 at the door, which includes port and dessert tasting. All proceeds from the event benefit the Blue Line Gallery, Roseville Arts and Studio 700. Visit www.rosevillearts.org for info and ticket sales.

6:30 p.m.: Live music from Breez
7:00 p.m.: Placer ARC Performing Arts “Willy Wonka” snippets
7:20 p.m.: Live Auction

The exhibit extends April 2-May 31, 2012:
Roseville Civic Center, 311 Vernon St. M-F 8am-5pm
Roseville Downtown Library, 225 Taylor St. M-F 10am-5pm & Sat. 12-4pm
Placer ARC, 522 Vernon St. M-F 8am-5pm.

Disclosure: Aaron Davis is the Outreach Coordinator for Placer ARC, which runs Studio 700

Aaron Davis on "Size matters: Umphrey's McGee get cozy at Harlow's"

2012-03-20T01:28:05Z

It misses you

Size matters: Umphrey's McGee get cozy at Harlow's

2012-03-19T19:51:26Z

Thank you, Joel Nathaniel Cummins, for hitting the nail on the head.

“Thanks for making us feel like it’s South Bend back in about 2000,” Umphrey’s McGee’s keyboard player proclaimed when the band stepped back on stage for the evening’s encore, a funky take on “A Fifth of Beethoven.”

In a room filled with predominantly devout followers of the road raging jam band, there was a palpable buzz throughout Harlow’s on Sunday evening not only about the band’s first ever visit to Sacramento, but about seeing them in such a small joint.

Like this reporter, many folks had caught their show the night before at Oakland’s sprawling Fox Theatre. Both shows were stellar examples of this band’s unique brand of jam rock firepower, but equally astounding was the contrast between the two nights – and it was that contrast that everyone couldn’t stop talking about it.

The Fox Theatre is the brand of venue to which Umphrey’s McGee has become accustomed to playing the last few years. With the sheer size of that theatre, it was like playing in a Costco. Bassist Ryan Stasik had all the room in the world, like running from the TV aisle to the free samples table to lay down some jams.

On Sunday at Harlow’s, they were like sardines on a Southwest flight – it’s amazing Stasik didn’t accidentally elbow Kris Myers’ drum kit when throwing up two-handed metal horns.

It was just like the old days, but the precision and robust explosiveness of their live shows that has evolved since the early days at Notre Dame was on full display.

They opened promptly at 8:30 with a string of predominantly instrumental jams like the cheeky “Dump City,” feeding the frenzy of their devoted fans, but the show progressively began to turn to more generally accessible tunes such as “Alex’s House” and a slamming cover of Peter Tosh’s reggae staple “Steppin’ Razor.”

“Razor’s” riffs melded seamlessly into the air guitar-able riffs of “Mail Package” to close out the first set, but it was the second set where the show really took off. Covering a song that most people in the crowd know the lyrics to usually helps with that: Toto’s “Roseanna.”

As the soul thunk of “Hangover” steeped into the eager crowd, it officially sealed Harlow’s as “Umphrey’s house” for the night, as they were clearly jazzed to get back to their roots in such a small setting.

Check out the full setlist here.

Other bands have cooed similarly about Harlow’s. As Lindol French reported from the Yonder Mountain String Band show last year, front man Jeff Austin proclaimed, “this is the most intimate show we've played in a long, long time.”

It appears Harlow’s has become adept at providing a welcome shake of for bands of Umphrey’s/YMSB size, and may be helping earn Sac a reputation as a tour stop that provides something different from the norm…and brings a rowdy crowd to boot!

More please!

Upcoming Harlow’s shows include The Lumineers on March 25, Mazzy Star on April 7, and Yonder Mountain on April 17. Tickets for all shows are available at Harlows.com or at The Beat on J Street at 17th.

Sactown debut: Umphrey's McGee at Harlow's on Sunday

2012-03-15T20:22:22Z

If you’re really bored (or a total setlist nerd who likes to look for cheeky cover songs), take a moment to peruse the meticulously curated archives of Umphrey’s McGee touring history. With a catalog of shows that numbers in the triple digits each year since 2000, you’ll find one California city that’s noticeably absent from any year in their history.

Any guesses? Well, you’re not reading a news site called the Stockton Press right now, are you?

They’ve tap danced around us before (San Francisco, Truckee, Tahoe, Chico, Santa Cruz), but Sunday’s show at Harlow’s will indeed be the increasingly popular jam jockeys’ first show in Sactown. Not only that, but if you look even closer at that touring history, Harlow’s will be one of the smaller rooms they’ve played in quite some time.

Win!

An evening with Umphrey’s McGee kicks off at 8:30 pm. Sunday, March 18 at Harlow’s, 2708 J Street. Tickets are $25. No opener is scheduled; Umph will play two sets of music with a break in between, as is customary at their brain busting shows. Dare I quote Lindol French: “See you on the dance floor.”

First off, we’ll award them advance excuse for a potential collective hangover. In case you’re not paying attention, March 18 is St. Patty’s Day +1, and this is a group that makes no mystery of their devotion to their Irish roots (see: band name), especially when you consider that they were founded at Notre Dame. Add to which, they’re playing a show on Saturday at the gorgeous Fox Theatre in Oakland.

The sprawling Fox is a prime example of the increasigly large size of venue they’ve become accustomed to playing throughout their meteoric rise up the jam band ranks, ever since receiving that somewhat dubious tag of “the next Phish;” sort of like a certain young’n we know and love kept getting tagged “the next Dylan.”

Turns out, Phish was the next Phish, which cleared that chatter and paved the way for Umphrey’s McGee to be the first Umphrey’s McGee.

To outsiders (and maybe insiders?), the jam band world can become very insular, and at times very homogenous. Haters will tell you that every song sounds like the same 15 minutes of noodly, disjointed chords – and even the lovers would have to admit that it can be hard to distinguish one bootleg show recording from another.

What sets these six Chicago-based wizards apart is they can pen a melodic and catchy tune with the best of them (and then wrap it up in a jam). Further, their level of talent is nothing short of jaw dropping, as is their willingness to jump through genres and time changes like rabid wolverines.

To surf through their available downloads, you could probably get enough cover songs to put together an awesome “Best of” album of the Beatles as easily as you could an anthology of hip hop or hair metal – and you could probably piece together “Dark Side of the Moon” from start to finish while finding a Rage Against the Machine or Smashing Pumpkins ditty for good measure.

And then there's this.

But the playful covers are only moments of fun sprinkled in with their catalog of originals that enables them produce commercially accessible rock albums while simultaneously catering to those who want nothing more than enlarged guitar solos and improv sessions. They get funky, emotional, aggressive, passionate and chaotic – usually all within the same two and a half hours of sonic wonderment.

It’s easy to get consumed and stand in awe of the technical mastery and precision with which they operate, but they always bring you back to one important motto:

Partyin’ peeps’ll do it.

Disclosure: Man crush

Aaron Davis on "Concerts in the Park lineup announced"

2012-03-13T16:17:13Z

Seems to be very much the tried and true formula...subtle changes are obvious, but looks like PBS has picked up virtually where the former head honcho left off

Aaron Davis on "City bid to host 2022 Olympics: New arena will be a factor"

2012-02-28T17:21:21Z

This year's weather patterns would be a major blow to this bid

An evening with Preservation Hall Jazz Band in Folsom

2012-02-05T17:28:08Z

In many ways, it can be tough to reconcile the very institution of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band itself with the individual talents of the men who play in it.

It's a collective that has been the ambassador of New Orleans jazz for a half century - an indelible fixture of the city, and indeed, of jazz itself. It's easy to get caught up in the idea of the band and the mystique that surrounds it, and not recognize each individual (many of whom are part of an unbroken bloodline of 'Nawlins musicians) for their personal talents and accolades.

Even walking into the beautifully intimate and acoustically flawless Three Stages theatre on Friday evening and seeing the "Preservation Hall Jazz Band" skin on the bass drum, surrounded by a ramshackle set-up of dining room chairs on a pattered rug, flanked by a grand piano and the trademark monogrammed sousaphone, it was hard to think about anything but the aura of the band itself.

That aura even held as the house lights went down and the band strolled into an eerily, almost ethereally quiet house, most carrying their instruments with them. But from the moment they started to play, the boundaries faded away, with each member showing off their chops as part of a concert experience that can only be described as special.

There is no need for much amplification at Three Stages, even for this down-home acoustic band that gets by with minimal audio pickup on their mixture of brass, drum, bass, piano, vocals and a the occasional banjo (more on that in a second). The sound is just that good in that room.

From the time they began to play, each tune was a mish-mash of collective jamming and playful solos. Most of the band’s seven core members had their turn at the mic, from the smooth and jazzy vocal stylings of trumpeter Mark Braud and Clint Maedgen, to the smokey and gravelly Big Easy blues club chops of clarinet player Charlie Gabriel (at the tender young age of 80).

“We’re not really the South, we’re the Northern Caribbean,” quipped creative director Ben Jaffe, while tuning a deliciously twangy 100 year-old banjo and partnering with Gabriel on a Spanish-flavored instrumental duet, giving way to a tasty piano solo from Rickie Monie, a one-time organist for the Blind Boys of Alabama celebrating his 60th birthday.

After the band took a short break (presumably to mow down on the cake they brought out on stage for Monie), the band decided to sit in their living room and let the crowd entertain them, inciting the audience to take the vocals on the ol’ standard “You Are My Sunshine.”

As Ben Jaffe ruminated on during a phone interview a couple of weeks ago, “the origins of the word jazz come from what they called houses of jazz, which were houses of ill repute.” That was no more obvious as when the stage was bathed in red light for an extended take on “St. James Infirmary Blues,” a tense and sultry back-bar slow jam performed with deliberation and beautiful angst.

The angst quickly faded away as the band proclaimed “its your last chance to dance,” as they headed into the seats, instruments in hand, for a congo line lap around the theatre. It brought the entire crowd to their feet, with a few dozen audience members followed the group back onto the stage as they wound down a special evening of jazz.

Who knows how many years some of the individual members have left, but there’s a reason Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been around for 50 years. It’s an outfit fueled by the individual soul of its performers, but it is bigger than any one person. They represent an art form, and indeed a whole city.

There’s no doubt that New Orleans was in the house on Friday.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s performance coincided with both their 50th anniversary, as well as the one-year anniversary of Three Stages, which has enjoyed a mightily successful first year by exceeding expectations in ticket sales.

Upcoming Three Stages events include two nights with Merle Haggard on March 5 and 6, the Playing for Change Band on March 11, and the national tour of The Color Purple in April. For full info, visit ThreeStages.net.

Wilco shakes up Mondavi Center with flawless rock show

2012-02-03T00:14:09Z

Just moments after Wilco’s enigmatic guitarist Nels Cline had peeled the paint off the walls inside UC Davis' Mondavi Center with a little psychedelic freakout on "Impossible Germany," front man Jeff Tweedy pulled out the line of the night:

"You know, something just occurred to me - the guy yelling 'Free Bird!' might help explain the pepper spray incident."

Ohhh, too soon?

Tweedy asked that too, amidst the smattering of "ohhh's" and groans that were peppered (zing!) in with the laughter and the applause - although there seemed to be a resounding agreement that a little aerosol Tabasco to the face would be an appropriate response for a guy who apparently still thinks it's cool or funny to yell "Free Bird!" at a rock concert.

For a band with its roots in Chicago to quip about Pepper-gate, it was a bit of an unfortunate reminder that, at least for now, that's what Davis is going to have to be known for in wider circles. But if Mondavi Center keeps holding shows like the two hours of sheer rock and roll bliss that Wilco hammered out on Wednesday night, Davis might just earn itself a reputation as a concert destination, and not as the place where Occupy went horribly wrong.

There is no doubt that it was "the place to be" on this particular night. Everyone was running into someone they knew in a building that many in the room had likely never been to before. I even ran into Spence from Bay Area up-and-comers The Stone Foxes (and by “ran into” I mean fanboy-ed in the merch line).

Though an absolutely stunning and acoustically pristine hall, Mondavi Center was not conceived specifically for this kind of thing. It’s a concert hall. Rock shows don't typically have ushers in ties, they don't have flickering lights in the lobby to notify that the show is about to start, and they definitely don't have a recorded voice on the loudspeaker reminding you to turn off your cell phones right before opener White Denim took the stage right at 8 p.m. for a sneaky-awesome set of experimental psych pop.

Even the applause after each of White Denim's songs had that "concert hall" sound to it - no yelps, just clapping, like we had just heard a movement of Mahler's Fifth performed by the Hipster Symphony Orchestra.

"The Question" was lingering so heavy in the air you could cut it with safety scissors, even as Wilco was strolling onto the stage precisely at 9 p.m.:

Do we stand, or do we have to sit?

After some collective hesitation, the immediate answer was "stand!" That lasted about 30 seconds, until Tweedy & Co. surprisingly opted to start the show with the intensely beautiful but very mellow 12-minute ballad "One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)." That tune is, unequivocally, a sit-down song.

Owned.

There was no immediate cue to stand again even as Wilco completed an opening trifecta of tunes from 2011’s delicious “The Whole Love,” with the chunky, Radiohead-ish rumble of “The Art of Almost” and skippy pop ballad “I Might.”

But they weren’t Trying to Break Your Heart by playing just new stuff all night, digging into their catalog from way back, to their masterpiece “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and up through the self-titled album, with an continual array of images being broadcast onto a sprawling tapestry of what looked like ghosts made out of tissue by third-graders as a Halloween project. (Hmm, a ghost is born?).

With a band that sports a catalog as extensive as Wilco’s, there will inevitably be allegiances on all ends of the spectrum at any show. You’ll have people that only got into them from “Sky Blue Sky,” and those who will claim to have seen them play in an ice cream parlor in Chicago with only seven other people there, no electricity, and before Jeff Tweedy was even born. Oh, and Coldplay opened the show, too.

Wherever your particular allegiances lie, the newer songs from “The Whole Love” shone intensely bright at this performance. It can be argued that many Wilco fans like Wilco for the slower country-tinged acoustic balladry – and really the only two such songs of the night were “Sunday” and the stirring “Black Moon,” both from “Whole Love.”

That said, the entirety of the show was pure bliss, with Mondavi’s razor-sharp acoustics allowing a razor-sharp group of musicians to sound as good as you’ll ever hear them for what had to have been the most intense two hours in the venue’s history.

It was about an hour and a half in, just after the jazzy number “Capitol City,” before Tweedy proclaimed that “it’s going to be weird to play this song with you all sitting down.”

Floodgates: Opened. “Heavy Metal Drummer:” Killer.

The “other” line of the night came when Tweedy congratulated an audience member down front for “having the most pens in your pocket I’ve ever seen at a rock show.” The fan, who went by “Ramon,” happily handed one of his pens to Tweedy from the front of the stage.

Keeping it visible in his back pocket, and at times victoriously brandishing it like a sword, Tweedy promised to thank the fan in case he ended up writing a song with it – because “I feel like there’s a song in this pen.”

The pen is mightier than the FreeBird.

-------------

Up next for Mondavi Center is Florence + the Machine on April 18 and The Shins on April 23, as the venue continues to get more looks for rock shows from Another Planet Entertainment. Might such gleaming rock and roll nights, like Wednesday night with Wilco, become more of the norm…?

Wilco's Mondavi Center Setlist - February 1, 2012:

One Sunday Morning
Art Of Almost
I Might
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
One Wing
You Are My Face
Laminated Cat (electric arrangement)
Black Moon
Side With The Seeds
Born Alone
On and On and On
Impossible Germany
Capitol City
Handshake Drugs
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Box Full Of Letters
War On War
Dawned On Me
A Shot in the Arm
..
Whole Love
California Stars
The Late Greats
Standing O
I'm A Wheel

Aaron Davis on "Poor Man's Whiskey and Achilles Wheel in Auburn Saturday!"

2012-02-02T18:41:32Z

Easy come, and easy go/ Just like an old song playin' on the radio/ Now these hard times will come, hard times will go/ Life keeps movin' along, easy come, easy go.

The indelible soul of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

2012-01-31T21:57:26Z

Ben Jaffe couldn’t quite remember the name of “that big record store” he visited the last time Preservation Hall Jazz Band visited Sacramento, rehearsing for the jazz ballet suite “Ma Maison,” performed at the Mondavi Center back in November.

He did remember that it was “right downtown,” and it occupied a large corner. Not hard to determine that we were discussing The Beat.

“When you walk into places like that, its like, ‘thank you, Lord!’” Jaffe emphatically proclaimed.

“You need human interaction - in society we’ve become more and more isolated,” he said, ruminating on the eternal feud between the comforting smell of a house of vinyl and the ever-increasing prominence of MP3s. “Even though you can have 10,000 friends, the internet promotes isolation - you need to have that human touch.

“That’s what Preservation Hall Jazz Band is, what we’re an example of.”

A proverbial calling card of New Orleans itself, the soul of Preservation Hall Jazz Band doesn’t just pre-date computers and the internet – it practically pre-dates electricity itself. That soul wasn’t even wobbled by the winds of one of the worst disasters in history.

“After (Hurricane) Katrina, it took a long time before we had power back in our city, but we had music before we had power; we had music before we even had water,” Jaffe recalled. “What struck me is how this couldn’t happen anywhere else. (Music) is so engrained in who we are that we’re sort of like the ultimate green city in a lot of ways. We all survived down there for so long without power, but we had our music.”

As much a history lesson as they are a dynamic performance ensemble, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been delivering slices of NOLA flavor around the country and around the world for the last half-century.

On the heels of their massive 50th anniversary celebration at Carnegie Hall in New York, Preservation Hall Jazz Band comes to Three Stages in Folsom (coincidentally lining up with the one-year anniversary of that venue’s opening) on Friday, February 3. Three Stages is located at 10 College Parkway (off East Bidwell on the Folsom Lake College campus) in Folsom. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $25-$49. Ticket information is available here.

Anyone who has been to New Orleans (and as a result has also probably been to Bourbon Street/French Quarter) probably knows that the ambience of Bourbon Street, while continually lively and unique, falls somewhere between Vegas, Disneyland, and a frat party that the cops should have busted up hours ago.

This reporter happens to much prefer Frenchmen Street. Musicians will roam the streets with trumpets in hand, jumping into the fray with whatever band happens to be playing at the club they mosey into. There is a pulse of pure concentrated, un-filtered and un-bejeweled passion for music raging through the streets of that town that is impossible to imagine anywhere else in the world.

To see Bourbon Street as it currently lives (especially after the city’s massive post-Katrina redevelopment), it can at times be hard for that very essence of the city to shine through, past the dense peppering of gift shops and street vendors, bushels of beads and Huge Ass Beers.

But that essence is as strong as ever (if not stronger), and it is headquartered on one of the busiest corners of Bourbon Street at the Preservation Hall, where its namesake Jazz Band makes its home (when they’re not on tour, that is).

There is no true brick and mortar home to jazz itself, but if there was "one place," Preservation Hall is where the musical history of New Orleans lives - and it is seemingly imperishable in the hands of the men and women who make music there.

“It’s a place where we actually get to entertain people in what is essentially our living room, and that is an amazing thing to do - to simply walk in without doing a sound check,” said Jaffe, PHJB creative director and son of band founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe. He became director virtually right out of college, a part of one of many unbroken bloodlines that still run through a band which has collaborated with everyone from Del McCoury to Lenny Kravitz to Mos Def.

An acoustic ensemble, Preservation Hall Jazz Band is able to bring the jazz history lesson (and the party) to virtually anywhere in the world, from Three Stages to the corner of 17th and J if they so desired.

“In New Orleans, we don’t overthink the word jazz - it applies more to sort of the way that we live and the way we experience music,” Jaffe said. “People have applied it to so many different genres of music - cool jazz, modern jazz, East Coast, West Coast - if jazz has done anything, it’s probably become too high-brow or too elitist, and it’s lost its connection to the common man.

“That’s something that I always focus on, the way it’s been preserved in New Orleans for over 100 years, and we still use it the same way. We still play jazz at our funerals and dance parties and carnival parades. We’re not regurgitating something that happened 100 years ago, we’re playing something we’re part of as a city. That’s just so unique to New Orleans.”

Aaron Davis on "Blackbird to open by end of February"

2012-01-30T22:00:49Z

"A Sysco truck with a counter;" that's beautiful! Agreed Joel, on both points

Aaron Davis on "Wilco descends on Mondavi Center; Shins, Florence next"

2012-01-25T00:04:40Z

Agreed Mike...although I think it's more than fair to consider Mondavi/Davis a Sacramento area show, really no reason to separate the two out from each other. It's certainly more accessible than Sleep Train Amphitheater, and of course, vastly superior sound and experience