Category: Arts

Not too many people I know like to party in Old Sac. It’s a tad inconvenient, the cobblestones destroy your shocks, and the parking sucks more than the Dyson rollerball. Yet, a few swell places call Old Sac home. Most folks know of the Back Door Lounge, the swankiest dive in town, where seeing and being seen is the farthest thing from anyone’s mind. Then there’s the Delta King. Despite it’s kitschy, touristy vibe, it houses a pretty decent restaurant, a wine school, and one of my favorite river-side bars.

Add to that mix the Crescent Club, a recently opened “speakeasy” that features fancy cocktails, vintage furnishings, and live old-time jazz on the weekends. Each one of those offerings hits me in the sweet spot. I want to spend every night there, sprawled out in the opium den, sipping gin and listening to Django. Here’s the rub. Nobody else seems to share my passion. Each time I’ve attended an event or played an event there, the crowd is thin at best. Continue reading “Crescent Club: Potential, Potential, Potential”

A photo of the “blight” in Sacramento

I was browsing the Center for Sacramento History’s website this morning when I came across this mystery image they would like your help in identifying.

Please assist Center for Sacramento History staff in helping to identify this mystery image. Any information you can provide about the image context – or the who, what, when, where, and why is appreciated. This image is from the Theodore Leonard Collection donated in 2001. The 35mm black and white negative was taken to document the “blight” in Sacramento as part of Mr. Leonard’s work with the Sacramento Redevelopment Agency and likely dates c.1955.

Say what?

While I’m on the topic, my son’s 4-H group recently toured the Archives and loved it. It’s a local treasure, for sure.

And speaking of mystery images, where was the Ghetto Grotto Drive-in?

If you were planning on seeing the awesome and rocking Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience show tonight at The Crest, it is postponed until October.

File this under the “Some of the best news I have heard all year” category. The Old Sugar Mill has announced that they are hosting concerts beginning this summer. So far, Randy Travis and Cheap Trick are scheduled to appear, with more acts TBA.

Continue reading “Old Sugar Mill now grinding out tunage”

Times are tough, the fit is hitting the shan everywhere we look. I say it’s time to have us some fun. With that I present to you this little gem from kcra.com (thanks, David Bienick!) …

At least three major drugstore chains in the Sacramento area have begun selling personal massage devices, also known as vibrators…”The sexual wellness category has seen considerable growth in retail pharmacies due in large part to the comfortable setting and tasteful, responsible merchandising,” Vergara wrote in an email to KCRA 3. “Also, many consumers may feel more secure purchasing this type of product from a trusted, health-focused retailer.”

Good luck carrying one of these things around in your wallet.

No, Cypress Hill is not coming to town, nor is Zombie Rick James.

Something better.

Girls.

Very sexy girls making very sexy performance art. Unlike many other troupes who are part of the recent burlesque revival, Sacramento’s Sizzling Sirens are damn impressive in both their ability and concept. I have seen productions from other groups that are clearly comprised of amateur exhibitionists and attention whores, but we are blessed that these ladies seriously pay tribute to the traditional Victorian and Vaudeville roots of this art form. Of special note is their use of musical accompaniment, the Harley White Jr. Orchestra.

Tonight, their monthly Siren Show at Harlow’s salutes California’s state flower. No, not that one, the other one. From Reefer Madness to medical dispensaries, I Love You, Mary Jane promises to be political, sassy, satirical and smoking hot.