Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks will be performing tonight at Harlow’s. Malkmus was the primary songwriter for Sac-Joaquin Valley 90’s legends Pavement, and has fronted the Portland-based Jicks since 2000. The band will be supporting their new release Real Emotional Trash, his 4th album post-Pavement, and is the first major tour for the act in several years as Malkmus is a recent parent.

Attendees can expect hipsters enjoying butt-bouncingly infectious tunes accompanied by witty lyrical poetry and blistering psychedelic guitar solos. Don’t miss out on a great band that happens to include two indie-rock luminaries, SM and former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss.

So I finally caught wind that rapper Kanye West made the classic concert no-no in calling out the wrong city during his show at Arco Arena on Friday.

Kanye quickly apologized on his blog:

PLEASE FORGIVE ME SAC-TOWN
04.19.2008

I can’t believe I bust a spinal tap! It’s no excuse for this I wish I could sink in a black whole. When I said Seattle and there was no crowd response I was up on my spaceship platform thinking damn… I think I just said the wrong city!!!!! I kind of muffled the words so I was praying nobody really caught it. I guess all those hours that me and Phill spent making my mic clear as possible back fired on me! We had alot of problems with the video servers on the first 3 songs and that completely threw me off! Hey, I’m not perfect. Hope everybody had a good time. I’m a man, I can say it… I’m sorry.

Maybe Kanye heard that Sacramento hates hip hop?

Note: A few commenters on this blog picked up on the “Sac Town” reference. People are funny.

Nick Miller blogs at Sound Advice today that the words “Sac Hates Hip Hop” have been tagged on boarded-up former site of the Library, which closed last year after a fatal shooting.

What would it take to prove that Sac does not hate hip hop? Would it entail a single Sacramentan saying they love hip hop? Would a hip hop issue of Sac Mag settle the deal? Would Mayor Fargo have to freestyle at city council meetings?

Eau contraire, mon graffito, I think it is you who hate painted walls.

The nominations for the 2008 Sammies readers’ choice are up at SNR. Just looking at the list of great local bands really makes you dig our local scene dunnit?

(The Ancient Sons!!)

All that talk about local radio made me remember one of my favorite local shows that I’ve always meant to highlight: “Color Radio” on KVMR. Host Brian Lee spins doo-wop, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll (see the double ‘ RG?) from 4-6 pm Saturday evening on KVMR Nevada City, 89.5 on your FM dial. Lee has a great gravelly radio voice and is somewhat of a savant about the classic wax he spins. Don’t expect to hear the Beach Boys or the boys from Liverpool: you’ll hear a couple of recognizable tunes but mostly you’ll hear a solid 2 hours of great old music. A recent playlist includes the Velveteens, Big Maybelle, the Drifters, and Mickey & Sylvia.

Continue reading “Doo-wop on KVMR” »

Rachel Leibrock has a great, although brief, profile on KYDS 91.5 FM in this morning’s Bee. I do love KYDS, although the eclectic radio thing only goes so far for me. I like alternative radio because of the niche programming but it has to be that–programming. Throwing everything on the air but the Kitchen Sink (unless that is an obscure Lithuanian band, in which case it’s probably on their playlist) at a certain point just turns into The Jack or The Bob or whatever, only with substantially less BTO, which let’s face it we all need.

Leibrock highlights the station’s “45-hour audiothon” this weekend; the kids are hoping to raise a modest $2,000 for its reserve funds.

Overall it’s a good read. She must have given KYDS more than a half hour after placing a call before she ran her story!

It’s been a little over a year since I saw Agent Ribbons play, for the first and only time, opening for the Dead Hensons at Old Ironsides. When they had finished their set, I was left with the satisfied feeling that one gets after seeing a very promising band at the beginning. Unfortunately, that summed up what I knew about the band. Shows came and went and I twiddled my thumbs, barely registered their passing until on Monday I finally got the gumption to see them. I even braved the echo chamber that is the Press Club, wary of the fact that I’ve been near deaf for days after going to punk shows there.

Agent Ribbons, of course, is nothing like punk. Their collection of love songs is charming, pleasantly full of sass and embodies a whimsy more along the lines of LA’s the Ditty Bops, though without the signature vocal harmonies and less complex songs. However, the lyrics are intricate and clever; paired with the music, the songs bring to mind the some Anne of Green Gables universe where troubles are something that can be kissed away. Considering that Agent Ribbons boasts a mere two musicians, drummer Lauren Hess and singer/guitarist Natalie Gordon who play without a backing band, they’re also remarkably complete. “Birds and Bees,” a fifties throwback ballad, is filled in on the chorus with a quickly strummed guitar and Lauren’s tom playing keeping time until the music simplifies to the next verse to give attention to the lyrics.

Continue reading “Sacramento’s Darlings: Agent Ribbons at the Press Club” »

I wasn’t planning on going out Saturday night. I was tired from work, I had fallen behind on my movies to watch from Netflix, I just figured I’d lay low, maybe pop into Old I for a little while for a fix of live music if the mood hit me later in the evening.

Then I got a call from my buddy, Jerry Perry. “Hey, I’m going to see Sal Valentino at The Palms tonight. You interested in going?”

Yes, I was, for two main reasons. First, I had not been to The Palms since they moved to Winters. I’d been to a good amount of shows in the old Davis barn location, but Winters just seemed so far away, especially when there are usually several good options for live music on any given weekend night here in town.

Continue reading “Valentino Day” »

Regarding the Grammy Awards, what exactly is the difference between “Record of the Year” and “Album of the Year”?

I thought the record one meant a single song, but there is also a “Song of the Year” award.

Where there any locals in the mix this year? I know that Fair Oaks artist Mary Youngblood has won two Grammy Awards for her Native American music in the past.

Ah yes, the mellifluous sounds of that great American art form Jazz will be in the air this weekend. Whether you’re a neophyte or a whatever-the-opposite-of-neophyte-is, you can enjoy the world’s most perfect music.

FRIDAY- As reported by the intrepid Chris Macias in the Bee, Mat Marucci and his trio will be performing Thursdays through Saturdays at Three Monkeys. Read the piece to find out how important it is to have just one steady gig going on downtown. My favorite quote from the article is from Marucci, saying “This is great, because downtown is the hippest part of town.” Coming out of the mouth of anyone but a veteran musician, this would sound trite. Keep swingin’ man!

SATURDAY- We’re still more than three months away from the orgiastic wonderfulness that is the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. But don’t be too sad; you can get your Dixieland fix on Saturday night at Sac State’s Capistrano Hall where local star Bill Dendle will be performing with the legendary “Fast” Eddie Erickson on banjo and guitar, and the incomparable Bob Draga on clarinet (among others). This concert will help raise funds the Traditional Jazz Youth Band Festival, so go and have fun. Remember, it’s for the kids.

SUNDAY- Go support Sacramento’s favorite son, Russ Solomon, at his new enterprise R5 Records by picking up a copy of Miles Davis’s “Kind Of Blue.” If you already have it, then pick up the new Cyrus Chestnut album. C’mon, I know you want to. Hell, his name is Cyrus Chestnut, how could it be bad?