A quick reminder that the Sacramento Area Music Awards are tonight at the Crest Theater. Doors at 5, show begins at 6. More than a dozen local bands will perform. I will be sporting the sweet-ass Cinderella shirt that I chose from my roommate’s selection of 4 Cinderella shirts. Why? Not sure.
$10 at the door.
Last night, while waiting for Quiz Master Ken to grade the Streets of London Pub Quiz answer sheets, Stickie and I were chatting with Lisa and Todd.
I asked what final things they feel like they need to do before leaving town, and Lisa asked, “Oh, like our Sacramento Bucket List?” She referenced yet another breakfast at Tower Cafe and outing to The Trap, and they’d recently gone rafting on one of our region’s raging waterways. I suggested throwing out the first pitch at a Rivercats game or spending the night at Sutter’s Fort.
What would be on your Sacramento Bucket List? Beating The Bee at pub quiz? Hitting every single gallery on Second Saturday? Riding the log ride at the State Fair with Poppy? Breakfast at the Market Club?
Tonight at 5:00pm on Public Access Channel 17’s live public affairs show LiveWire! catch 2008 SAMMIES pop nominee The Ancient Sons. What you’ll like about The Ancient Sons is their melancholy Syd Barrett sound — this is not your typical ’60s throwback band. Expect a review of the Son’s debut album “The Dark Gospel” on this site soon…
I am by no means a competent NBA analyst, but I did want to point out one interesting tidbit about Chad Ford’s mock draft analysis of the Kings’ #12 pick: His pick is Lionel Mario Chalmers, and his alternate is Roy Hibbert. Not since the draft of 1997 which saw stars like Chris Wiggum and Ted Krustofsky have the Kings chances in the draft been so Simpsons-centric.
But seriously, what do we think of drafting a point guard at #12? FFT, writing on his new domain altsac.com, says don’t do it because Beno can start. Again I know nothing but for some reason my gut says drafting point guards is a tricky business, especially if you want a player to contribute right away or at least soon.
Tonight at the “Movies on a Big Screen” at 4th and F Street in West Sacramento, the 1935 Hitchcock thriller “The 39 Steps.”
This 1935 UK Alfred Hitchcock film was the first to really attract US audiences to his work. The tightly-plotted screenplay was loosely based on the 1915 novel of the same name by Scottish author John Buchan.
I’ve actually never seen this one, though I remember it being my grandpa’s favorite film. Enjoy the trademark cameo by Hitchcock himself as Step #14.
On Thursday, Save Our Sandhill Cranes (SOS Cranes) is presenting the Sacramento premiere of a fantastic looking documentary The Unforeseen, which received raves at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and won the “Truer Than Fiction” Independent Spirit Award for 2008. 
The film includes a wine, cheese and strawberry reception at 5:30 with the film beginning at 6:30. Tickets are $25, only $10 for students!!
The Unforeseen
Sierra II Community Center Theater – 2791 24th Street
Thursday, May 29 – 5:30pm
If there’s anything I look forward to more than the State Fair or the first day of rain after a blistering summer, it’s the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. Celebrating its 35th year, the Jubilee is not just a fun local event, it is the biggest jazz festival in the West, and one of the biggest traditional jazz festivals in the world. That’s right, the world. The Jubilee is, by far, the biggest tourist attraction in Sacramento, the biggest event in Old Sacramento, and, other than not being able to close out the Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, the event that Sacramento is most known for around the country.
Despite all this, I talk to people throughout our fair city who have never attended a Jubilee. I’m flabbergasted by this. I know it can’t be because they’re not crazy about the music; I find that empirically impossible. It’s probably because they usually have other plans on Memorial Day weekend. If you’re one of those who tends to head for the hills after work on Friday, take advantage of the Jubilee pre-party tonight at 7pm in Old Sacramento. In the site known as Freeway Gardens, (a sometimes parking lot right off the K Street pedestrian underpass) The Evolution Jazz Band, Jazzin’ Jacks, and the Bohem Ragtime Jazz Band will be performing for the low-low price of $10 ($12 at the door). No excuse this year, pal.
If you’re thinking about attending the festival proper, I’m here to offer up, in a few minutes, everything you need to know when attending this year’s Jubilee. Read on to discover common misconceptions, popular myths, tips on eating, parking, viewing, and finally a sample schedule that will enable you to enjoy one, two, or four days of some the best music our country has to offer. Continue reading “Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Primer: 2008”
Fans of late ’90s electro (for lack of a synonym) rockers ELECTRO GROUP rejoice! The band is playing a hometown show for the first time in forever, to back their late-2006 2007 release “Good Technology” on Claire Records clairecords. I hope they do that one song with the crunchy guitars and the mumbly singing. I kid the Electro Group! Their last full-length, “A New Pacifica” on the defunct Omnibus records, is a great record, and the reviews are very positive for “Good Technology.”
I’m also very intrigued by Holy Smokes, which Electro Group bassist Ian Hernandez formed with Pinback’s Rob Crow and Hella’s Zach Hill. My brain can’t generate a sonic “If They Mated” for Pinback and Hella, but it sounds interesting! A few MP3s are available via the label’s site (only bother if you have ever listened to Hella and thought, let’s tone that down by maybe 2-3% and add cool vocals).
Continue reading “Electro Group live at Old I on May 22 (w/mp3)”
The Concerts of All Hallows, one of only 2 Catholic parish full symphony orchestras in the nation, is featuring a double bill this weekend — Dvořák’s Cello Symphony and Mozart’s Grand Mass in C Minor. The concert is at 8pm at All Hallows Catholic Church in beautiful Tahoe Park. I have been noticing signs advertising the concert and then my wife pointed out the bit about the orchestra’s notoreity — the other Catholic parish orchestra is in a little church called St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Come for the orchestral music, stay for the eternal salvation!
The Concerts of All Hallows
Dvořák – Cello Concerto/Mozart – Grand Mass in C Minor
Saturday, May 17 – 8pm
Tickets at ticketweb.com
I stumbled upon a wonderful roadside attraction in Auburn yesterday: Ken Fox’s Great Statues. Ken is the creator of the gold miner statue in downtown Auburn, but he also has several other massive concrete figures to his name. Specifically several (mostly) naked collossi just off 49 near In-n-Out.
The statues are unadvertised, which only adds to your initial shock when they loom into view. A few stand in a parking lot of an otherwise ordinary street. The parking lot belongs to the office of the dentist who built the statues, Ken Fox.
Continue reading “PHOTOS: Ken Fox’s Great Statues of Auburn”
The Sac Rag 
