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Volume 26, iSSue 48
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thurSday, march 19, 2015
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March 19, 2015 | vol. 26, issue 48
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R.I.P. NFL On Monday, San Francisco 49er linebacker Chris Borland retired after one outstanding rookie season in the National Football League. The reason: The rising star is worried about head trauma during games leading to neurodegenerative disease later in life. Borland told ESPN: “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.” I’m going to assume that most of you at least understand a bit about the science of concussions, so I won’t belabor such facts as that, even during teenage football games, head collisions can have a lasting negative impact on cognitive ability, and so on. The NFL for years has dragged its feet when it comes to concussions and head trauma: barely investing in research or promoting education about head issues, or making the game safer. This is perhaps because there’s no way to make a game in which grown men smash the crap out of each other any less dangerous. It’s just football’s nature. And that’s why football will in the next decades no longer be the country’s premier sport. Borland’s decision to forego potentially tens of millions in NFL salary—he’s that good—will have a lasting impact on American families. Moms and dads watching their kids grow up will think twice about letting them strap on a helmet. His choice will also prompt other professional athletes to speak out against the NFL. Or more players will simply retire. The NFL establishment and aligned coterie of flacks, blowhards and reporters on TV and Twitter this week insist that pro football isn’t going anywhere because of Borland. That it’s too big of a beast, a cultural boss, to fizz out like neurons no longer making a connection. I disagree. Too much respect for Borland’s bold move. He’s inspiring. He makes me want to change the channel on the NFL as well.
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25 Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Ad Design Manager Serene Lusano Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designers Melissa Bernard, Brad Coates, Kyle Shine Contributing Photographers Lisa Baetz, Steven Chea, Evan Duran, Wes Davis, Luke Fitz, Taras Garcia, Michael Miller, Bobby Mull, Shoka, Darin Smith, Lauran Worthy
Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Co-editors Rachel Leibrock, Nick Miller Staff Writers Janelle Bitker, Raheem F. Hosseini Assistant Editor Anthony Siino Entertainment Editor Jonathan Mendick Editorial Coordinator Becca Costello Contributing Editor Cosmo Garvin Editor-at-large Melinda Welsh Contributors Ngaio Bealum, Daniel Barnes, Rob Brezsny, Jim Carnes, Cody Drabble, Deena Drewis, Joey Garcia, Blake Gillespie, Becky Grunewald, Lovelle Harris, Jeff Hudson, Jim Lane,
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“Dr. Oz fans who flock in at the end of every show.”
Asked at 65th Street and Folsom Boulevard:
What’s the weirdest part of your job?
Victor Serrano
German Ramos
Charlie Houk
retreat coordinator
cashier
I was a mentor at a four-day camp during the summers. The kids were around middle-school age. ... One morning, I found all the boys passed out on the floor, with shoes everywhere and huge piles of sunflower seeds. ... They must have been throwing them at each other, but not a single one would tell me what happened.
Abby Thomas
ELS participant
When I worked at Home Depot, I would have to deal with the shadiest people while working returns. It was so obvious what these people brought in was stolen, just so they could try to get some extra cash. Sometimes they’d yell and it definitely felt awkward at the time.
Alex Bailey
shift lead at Walgreens
Right now, my main job in this country is to learn American English for work in my home country. Since the time I have been sent here I have improved, but at first it was weird and embarrassing at times. Often, I accidentally confuse words in English with Spanish words that end up becoming weird situations.
Dr. Oz fans who flock in at the end of every show, asking for whatever vitamin or supplements he talked about in that episode, are odd. It is like they don’t even question what he says. They just come in like herds of sheep and follow whatever he says. Anything he features on the show will sell out within a few days.
Kayla Manza
car detailer
In an eight-hour shift I’ll go through about 50 cars, so to be honest, not a lot disgusts me anymore. There is one car I still tell people about, though. When the driver pulled over and left the keys, inside literally every crevice and space were chewed sunflower seeds. They were goopy and crusty, literally more than an inch deep.
cashier
We followed [a customer] into the bathroom and saw her stuffing all kinds of screwdrivers, wrenches and gloves into her bra! ... When I had to confront her she didn’t even say anything, she just took off running. She never came back, but you’d be surprised at the fact that most are dumb enough to bring it back.
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THINK FREE.
—JazzTimes
Two well-qualified candidates are running to represent District 6 on city council. The first, Bruce Pomer, is an astute and lionhearted progressive who would zero in on the city’s fiscal house and be a powerful liberal voice on the council. Our editorial board likes his thinking. But we’re endorsing Eric Guerra. Guerra gets our vote because he is better positioned to get more done while serving on council. We get a sense that he will embrace coalition-building and be a council He’ll be a strong member that can set aside differvoice on the ences with the so-called mayoral bloc and effectively make deals council for Latinos, to the benefit of District 6. who have been He spoke of fighting for infrastructure investment and underrepresented at mass-transit priorities in the City Hall for years. district’s underserved neighborhoods, and also of fostering small-business growth on the Folsom Boulevard, Power Inn Road and Stockon Boulevard corridors. We’re confident that he will follow through. As documented in last week’s news feature (see “Running in the six” by Nick Miller, SN&R March 12), Pomer and Guerra see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues. They’re both good candidates. Yet with Guerra comes a promise of invigorated passion and new ideas. And he’ll be a strong voice on the council for Latinos, who have been underrepresented at City Hall for years. Vote Eric Guerra on April 7. Ω
More downtown schools Councilman Steve Hansen is working with the Sacramento City Unified School District to restore the shuttered Washington Elementary School in the Alkali Flat/Mansion Flats neighborhood to the active schools list. During the spate of such closures under former Superintendent Jonathan Raymond a couple of years ago—contentious decisions that didn’t have much in the way of support from hard data—the loss of Washington The most left the downtown area without a important thing public school. The plan involves repurposis to get it up ing Washington into a magnet school to avoid the problem of and running. low enrollment. That’s not a bad plan, at least to start, provided that some allowance is made for neighborhood kids who just want to be able to walk to school. In the long term, though, as the Midtown and downtown areas become more family-friendly, we can revisit the makeup of the school as needed. The most important thing is to get it up and running. And on the “other” school front, the vacant Marshall School in the Boulevard Park neighborhood, has been sitting empty, surrounded by chain-link fencing, for a number of years since a charter school moved out. It’s prohibitively expensive to retrofit for SCUSD use, but Hansen and Area 2 Trustee Ellen Cochrane are actively soliciting ideas for putting the building back into use. Among some of the options are apartments—a successful transformation for some older school buildings in other areas—but whatever happens, the move to keep the school from simply rotting away unused deserves kudos and support. Ω
R E P U SLOW RATES. R E P SU
Burn brightly, young idealists Re “The young and the relentless” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, March 12): I absolutely loved reading your current cover story on Sacramento youth and activism. I am 67, but it seemed like a flash ago that I was a 29-year-old liberal daily columnist stirring things up letter of every day for eight years in the staid old, conservative the week Sacramento Union. I hope some of those young idealists realize there are many of us in my demographic who still burn brightly with young, idealistic hopes and dreams. Peter Rafael Anderson
. E C I V R E S L U POWERF
via email
More like ‘young and brainwashed’
Try Ayurveda the right way
Re “The young and the relentless” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, March 12): The young and the relentless? It’s more like the young and brainwashed, who have been indoctrinated by the liberal news media, by black racists like Al Sharpton, and by the constant race baiting of the Obama administration. Young blacks are more likely to be killed by other blacks. Of course facts and statistics don’t matter to the liberal news media when they have an agenda to propagate. Sandy Sacramento
Re “No meat. No beer. No coffee. No fun.” by Janelle Bitker (SN&R Feature Story, March 5): I find it curious that your writer seeks to gain understanding of an ancient, complex medical system, not to mention real results, by consulting with an intern. Maybe her results would have been different and more positive had she found an experienced practitioner. Ayurveda is a language, not a religion. It can be spoken and read with skill, or with heedlessness. As someone with 25 years of experience with Ayurveda in various guises and whose wife is one of those experienced practitioners, I can tell you that to reduce Ayurveda to a set of maxims is farcical. The strength of Ayurveda is its insistence on assessing every person, every situation, as unique. Furthermore, to hold Ayurveda to standards created by our “infantile” Western medical model seems unwise, given how well that model is working out for all its refugees on the lookout for something, anything, that can lead them to health. My wife doesn’t advertise, never has, yet receives a steady stream of clientele mostly via referrals from other clients. Something must be working. Sagar Hallal Sacramento
‘Dumb white libtards’
Re “The young and the relentless” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, March 12): All of the so-called young activists that the writer profiled are like the leftists that have been around decades. Leftist Democrats completely control the White House, half of Congress, the Justice Department and other Federal bureaucracies, the California state government, the Sacramento City Council and the Sacramento mayor’s office. The only way that those young leftist activists would face blowback online buzz from the leftist establishment would be if they were conservative. Special cure for allergieS? Dumb white libtards like Nick Lemon ginger tea with Miller have either smoked too much honey. Stops ’em in weed or had the knockout game their tracks! played on them once too often if they think that any of those young leftist Sarah Rothaus activists are any different than the leftist establishment in power whom they Eating a pinch of habanero powder. Clears ya right up. are supposedly challenging. Rick Piccirilli
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Welcome Home!
by SN&R staff
SCORE KEEPER Sacramento’s winners and losers—with arbitrary points
Street food
Trucking things up
The Wall Street Journal gave it up for Sacramento eateries last week in a guide to cities with overlooked food scenes. Formoli’s, Hook & Ladder and Kru all got some WaJo love—although the story’s author referred to the latter spot as “hipster Asian mash-up.” Scorekeeper isn’t sure that’s a compliment.
A committee at City Hall last week approved new rules for Sacramento food trucks, and now council members are scheduled to vote on a new ordinance in the coming weeks. The proposed new policy would allow food trucks to operate during later hours and in closer proximity to brick-and-mortar restaurants. There remains controversy, including opposition from restaurant lobbyists, who want to see food trucks keep at least 75 feet from brick-and-mortar eateries. Scorekeeper, meanwhile, just wants a grilled cheese on steroids and some tater tots.
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Soccer setback Rough week for Sacramento Republic FC soccer. First, rumors last Friday from Sports Illustrated that Sacramento would be losing to Minnesota on Major League Soccer expansion (later confirmed by the MLS commissioner). And, then, the Republic walked off the field during a purportedly roughand-dirty friendly with UC Davis, which bummed out paying fans. But there’s still hope for expansion. The key lies in Miami.
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IllustratIon by sn&r staff
No ‘K’ in taco
True Detective goes Sacto
The plan: Build a downtown arena, watch the J, K and L street corridors grow and change. So it begins: Rumors that a Taco Bell will be popping on K Street, somewhere between Ninth and 12th streets, hit the grid in recent weeks. Fourth-meal enthusiasts rejoice—until that nextday diarrhea.
Sacramento’s headless-animal mystery took another left turn this past weekend, when a birdwatcher discovered a bag of headless chickens—and a beheaded turtle—in Yolo County. The head of the Sacramento Front Street Animal Shelter speculated in The Sacramento Bee that some kind of Santería ritual might be in play. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed took a break from kitten GIFs and listicles to map out the nearly dozen headless and mutilated animal crime scenes here in the 916. Where are Woody and McConaughey when you need ’em?
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Modern Spirituality
Ethics edge
Heart-Centered, Light-Filled, Spirit-Led
Which District 6 city council candidate is the best bet for good government? Some of the biggest themes of this column are political ethics and government transparency. And that seems like a pretty good framework for considering the candidacies of Bruce Pomer and Eric Guerra, both vying for election to Sacramento City Council on April 7. It’s a special election to fill the District 6 seat vacated by Kevin McCarty. The district arvin includes Tahoe Park, Elmhurst and Tallac by CoSmo G Village. cosmog@ newsrev iew.c om Issues of honesty and transparency seem to crop up in just about every big decision at City Hall these days. Even the debate over Jeff Koons’ $8 million Shrinky Dink was largely over concerns that big donors are calling all the shots. So if good government is your thing, who should you vote for? Pomer applauded the work of Eye on Sacramento and League of Women Voters in promoting ethics reform. Before that, Pomer said, “all the discussion was taking place behind closed doors and without public input.” He’s in favor of the creation of an ethics commission with enforcement powers. Guerra said he’d like to see an ethics commission that could draft new ethics rules for the city. He said he’s “open to the idea” of giving the commission enforcement powers (like subpoena power or power to levy fines). But he said he’s concerned that such a commission could become politicized or be used in political “witch hunts.” (Echoing concerns of Peter Scheer, with the California First Amendment Coalition; see “Secret Committees and Cheerleaders” by Cosmo Garvin, SN&R Bites, February 26.) Bites asked about the millions in charitable “behests” raised by the mayor and some council members. Mayor Kevin Johnson in particular has solicited huge sums from developers and others who have businesses before the council, in order to fund nonprofit organizations under his control. “The public has to wonder what these large donors expect in return for their sizable contributions,” said Pomer. He added there should be a discussion on the council about what size and kind of contribution are appropriate, and whether behests should be capped. Guerra didn’t go that far. He did say he was “surprised by how much money they have been able to raise.” Sacramento’s election rules heavily favor candidates who get in tight with big donors, like developers and unions. The city used to help grassroots candidates, with matching funds to qualifying candidates who agree to spending limits and fair campaign practices. But even though this public-financing program is relatively cheap—$300,000—the city council suspended it to save money. The budget is back in the black now, but for some reason the council hasn’t moved to refund the election kitty. BEFORE
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Guerra said he’d like to revisit public financing, and he believes it has been helpful in other cities, like Los Angeles. But he also said it can’t come at the expense of “bread and butter” spending priorities. Pomer likewise said that the city ought to fund the basics first, but added, “As we get closer to full restoration of these essential services, I would make funding of campaigns one of my priorities.” Regular readers know Bites is worried about the city’s decision to start deleting city emails more than two years old, instead of archiving them. Pomer said he disagrees with the emaildeletion policy. He mentioned Joe Rubin’s investigation in SN&R into the city’s water-meter program, which would have been impossible if the city had deleted the emails he uncovered.
Even the debate over Jeff Koons’ $8 million Shrinky Dink was largely over concerns that big donors are calling all the shots.
Unity Spiritual Community
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“The city should strive to be the most transparent in the country and keep the emails for as long as possible,” Pomer said. Guerra also said he was concerned about the policy. “If you are using a city email, it’s city business. I don’t understand why we’d be deleting vital government documents.” Bites asked both candidates for other ideas about increasing government transparency and promoting more meaningful public participation in the process. As a neighborhood activist, Guerra said he would bring “a grassroots perspective” to the job. He is interested in improving voter registration and engaging youth in the political process. He also suggested that council members should hold office hours in the district. Pomer wants to make city council meetings more citizen-friendly. Currently, members of the public who want to comment on items not on the agenda have to wait until the end of the meeting. Sometimes that means staying late at night, when it’s too late to catch public transit home. And citizens are limited to comments of two minutes. Pomer would put the comment section at the beginning of the meeting, and give citizens three to five minutes to testify. He also said the council needs to look at eliminating “ad hoc” committees that aren’t open to the public. Pomer also opposed the city clerk’s plan to hold a vote-by-mail only election for District 6, which he said would have discouraged some voters. So please, if you live in District 6, vote. Ω
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The missing watchdog There is zero oversight of the sheriff’s department—and critics say Sacramento County is dragging its feet on the issue Drumming her nails on a wooden communal table inside Temple Coffee Roasters, a couple of blocks from her office in City Hall, Francine by Raheem Tournour hardly looks like the only lawF. Hosseini enforcement watchdog in Sacramento. As the director of the city’s Office of Public r a h ee mh@ newsr evie w.c om Safety and Accountability, Tournour follows up on complaints against the police and fire departments. She also audits internal-affairs investigations and reviews critical incidents. “There is always the need for oversight,” she said of her role. “There should be someone who has the perspective of the people.” That perspective is exceedingly rare these days in Sacramento County. For the past two years, the office charged with monitoring the largest law-enforcement agency in the county has been vacant. Critics say the county isn’t really even trying to hire a new watchdog for the sheriff’s department. And a complaint line for the public to call when they do have issues has been non-operational for some time, an SN&R investigation reveals. As a result, the county says its Office of Inspector General has received zero civilian complaints against the sheriff’s department since former inspector Lee Dean resigned two years ago. Activists within the community have a different take, however. “That’s just a boldfaced lie to me,” said Rev. Ashiya Odeye, whose Justice Reform Coalition has pressed for greater law-enforcement oversight since forming in 2005. “The first chance [the county gets to] de-emphasize the office, they do it.” Meanwhile, the Department of Justice’s scathing report on systemic police abuses in Ferguson, Mo., reveals what kind of system emerges when public concerns are ignored. The cities of Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights, Folsom and Galt also lack external oversight of their police departments. But at least they’re upfront about it. The county says it tried to hire for the $100,000 annual inspector general position after Dean resigned. A request for proposals was released in March 2013, but responding candidates weren’t local, said county spokeswoman Chris Andis. Instead, the county opted to contract with a law firm to investigate civilian complaints and conflicts of interests, she said. But in two years, Andis claimed that no one has called the inspector-general complaint line. There’s just one problem: That phone line hasn’t worked for some time. Weeks before contacting the county, SN&R called the line. An automated voice responded, 10
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“You have dialed a vacant Sacramento County government telephone number.” The call was then disconnected. “That phone’s been dead a long time,” added Odeye. Andis said she doesn’t know when the line went vacant. In February, after being informed by SN&R, the county replaced the number with a working one that allows callers to leave a message. Those messages are then routed to the sheriff’s department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, the inspector-general website states. The catch is that an inspector general is supposed to exist outside of the agency it monitors, say Tournour and Dean. “It’s definitely important,” Tournour said of her office falling under the city manager’s authority rather than the police department’s. It’s not like there haven’t been incidents for an inspector general to review. The sheriff’s department lost two jail inmates to homicide, on January 16 of this year and December 14, 2014. Over the last two years, there have been nine in-custody deaths at the department’s jail facilities. The five that occurred last year—including one homicide and one suicide—were the most since 2008, when seven in-custody deaths occurred, according to information received through a public-information request. Another six people were wounded or killed in sheriff’s deputy shootings over the last two years, according to figures provided by the department. The department does not track the number of use-of-force incidents its deputies are involved in, said department spokeswoman Sgt. Lisa R. Bowman. Attacks on deputies and injuries to deputies are also not tabulated. All of these incidents would be grist for an inspector general—if there was one. In the absence of an inspector general to conduct external investigations, some have turned elsewhere to air grievances against the department. Several prisoners have filed civilrights complaints in federal court, but have seen those complaints dismissed because they couldn’t afford the $350
filing fees, or due to legal technicalities, a review of federal court cases showed. “No one can get through a case like that without an attorney. If you file the wrong thing in the wrong way the court just throws it out,” said Christine Morse, co-founder of Ascend, an offender rehabilitation program. “The trouble is that we don’t have attorneys willing to take those cases because civil cases are too expensive to litigate. I’ve had so many clients who had legitimate cases and I couldn’t find a civil attorney willing to represent them.” Morse said one such client was an incarcerated woman whose appendix burst inside the jail after deputies ignored her pleas for medical aid for days. According to past annual reports, more than half of the excessive-force complaints against the sheriff’s department originated from prisoners inside the jails. Reached by phone, Dean told SN&R he decided to resign “primarily” because
of budget cuts to the position, which resulted in the loss of a full-time assistant and an office, five blocks from the main jail. “It was just diminished,” he said of his role. (Andis said the reason for Dean’s departure was that he moved away.) Following multiple emails by SN&R, Andis said the county would release a proposal for new inspector-general candidates within 30 days. “It will have a [broader] scope of services including constituent relations and taking a proactive approach,” she wrote. “County leadership is fully committed to the function of this position and hopes to get a contract in place as soon as possible.” The county inspector-general office may have been compromised well before its current purgatorial state. The need for the position was identified in 2005—two sheriffs ago—due to multiple prisoner-abuse allegations inside the jails. Two years later, Dean, a former employee of the sheriff’s department, was
photo by evan duran
BEATS
Rent (aid) drops Families waiting to get into a housing voucher program may have to be extra patient. In its annual study, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development projected that Sacramento-area fair market rents will drop in 2015 to their lowest since the height of the Great Recession. That means HUD will shell out less money to local housing voucher programs. For example, funding for Shelter Care Plus, which offers rent subsidies to homeless individuals with HIV/AIDS and other underserved health issues, was cut by $300,000 for 2015. No one will be booted from SCP housing, said Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency spokeswoman Angela Jones. But it does mean that the money currently supporting more than 150 of the 500 total families being served won’t be reallocated when those families leave the program. HUD-projected rent prices also directly affect how much individual vouchers can be worth, so families in assisted housing may have to pay a larger percent of their rents. A projected dip in rents means smaller vouchers. That’s even though Sacramento Steps Forward Executive Director Ryan Loofbourrow said his organization hasn’t seen actual rent prices drop. Loofbourrow did note, though, that a $2.4 million bonus to create permanent supportive housing units put total HUD money in Sacramento at around $18.7 million, which is still more overall funding than last year. (Brooke Purves)
Health fair Undocumented immigrants have been going without health care coverage in Sacramento County since budget-strapped
Francine Tournour, director of the city of Sacramento’s Office of Public Safety and Accountability, is the only law-enforcement watchdog in the county.
selected from a pool of eight finalists. The choice wasn’t without its detractors, with the NAACP’s Sacramento branch opposing Dean’s selection. The defunct Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission offered a muted endorsement, noting “the possible public perception that [Dean] may be seen as an ‘inside’ candidate.”
“ That’s just a boldfaced lie to me.” Rev. Ashiya Odeye on Sacramento County saying it’s working to hire a sheriff’s watchdog Odeye found Dean accessible and frank about his limitations in trying to check a profession that resists outside nudging. But the reverend was surprised to learn that Dean ran a side business that later hired one of the sheriffs he was charged with monitoring.
In 2002, Dean founded a consulting business now called Capstone Solutions LLC. Among its services, Capstone conducts practice and training seminars on internal investigations, resolving conflict and media relations, telling potential clients on its website that it provides “proven techniques used to help control the message.” In other words, the firm helps its clients, many of which are public agencies, massage the very crises Dean the inspector general was tasked with uncovering. That particular assignment belongs to former Sheriff John McGinness, whom Dean hired as his vice president in early 2011, a few months after McGinness left office. Odeye and others expressed shock at learning that. “From what I understand, they didn’t like each other that much,” Odeye told SN&R. “That’s something that I did not really know about.” Dean said he hired McGinness specifically to develop the firm’s media-relations component, and that such discussions didn’t
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even begin until after McGinness left office. Dean also said he didn’t conduct Capstone business while inspector general. “I have the utmost respect for John, and consider him a principled, centered person,” Dean said. “But I also understand the perspective of the people who look at that [hiring] with hindsight and say, ‘Hmm.’ I understand that.” As for the office he vacated, Dean said an independent inspector general is especially necessary during times of crisis, like the country is seeing in Ferguson, but also critical for providing day-to-day feedback, oversight and corrective action plans. “I think it’s important,” he said. NAACP branch president Stephen T. Webb wants his organization to be involved in picking a new sheriff’s watchdog. “That’s very key right there,” he said. “We need to have somebody watching them.” Ω
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officials cut that aid in 2009. Nearly six years later to the month, county supervisors are finally workshopping a fix. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to consider what other counties are doing, as well as how the landscape has altered as a result of the Affordable Care Act and a presidential executive order that could shield an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and grant them provisional legal status. “Even with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and expanded Medi-Cal benefits, we have constituents who lack access to health care,” board chairman Phil Serna said in a statement. “It’s imperative we carefully explore restoring health services for our county’s undocumented population as we begin to consider next year’s budget.” Eleven other California counties provide health care to undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, enrollment in Sacramento County’s low-income and indigent health programs has plummeted 99.5 percent as a result of the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medi-Cal—from 30,600 recipients in 2012 to 154 in December. Serna stressed that the point of the March 18 meeting was not to settle on a path forward, but to hear “from stakeholders about this critical issue.” (Raheem F. Hosseini)
Organ trail Do you smoke weed? Did you know that, if you partake, you could be removed from an organ-donor list and be denied a transplant? It’s true. But this past week, Democrat Assembly member Marc Levin introduced a new bill that would prevent pot-smoking patients from being denied livers and kidneys and so on. The Medical Cannabis Organ Transplant Act, or Assembly Bill 258, mandates that a positive test for pot not automatically deny a patient a transplant. The bill boasts a good shot in the Capitol this year, as the California Medical Association recently came out in favor of similar policy. (Nick Miller)
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T Check out the Sammies at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, at Ace of Spaces, 1417 R Street. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door. For more information, visit www.sammies.com.
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he votes have been cast and counted and the bands booked to play: SN&R’s annual Sacramento Area Music Awards are set to take place on Thursday, March 26, at Ace of Spades. In the months and weeks leading up to the big night, we’ve had the local scene in our ears and on our minds. Following is SN&R’s totally noncomprehensive trip through the region’s sonic landscape. We asked local musicians, bookers and even a sound guy for advice on playing local, gassing up the van for that tour and, maybe most importantly, how to make sure the sound guy (or lady) has your back. Get to reading, this one goes to 11.
photo by wes davis
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t’s just past 9 p.m. on a warm Saturday night along a stretch of Stockton Boulevard and the air in front of the Colonial Theatre swirls in a thick haze of cigarette smoke, chatter and muffled instruments.
How healthy is Sacramento’s live music scene following a recent string of high-profile venue closings?
Nearly two dozen are here, hanging out in between sets of their favorite bands performing at Cafe Colonial and its neighboring venue, the Colony, where inside both spots dozens listen to music. In one room there’s a mix of pop-tinged punk bands; in the other a thunderous cacophony of industrial-strength guitars and Cookie Monster vocals. Not bad for a night of music in Sacramento—and that’s just on one city block. Not bad, in fact, for a city that often gets saddled with a bad rap: There’s no place to play. There aren’t enough all-ages venues. No one goes to see live music anymore. The latest wave of negative buzz started last year amid a string of
high-profile venue closings. First Luigi’s Fun Garden in Midtown changed hands. Then bookers at Assembly Music Hall, a club that drew higher-profile touring acts to the downtown block of K Street, announced their departure. Marilyn’s on K, a longtime spot for up-and-coming rock, blues and singer-songwriter acts, was next after its owners decided to sell. Finally in December, the owners of Witch Room, the hip Midtown venue that only just celebrated its launch nine months before, announced the venue would soon go dark thanks, at least in part, to a lack of paying customers. God save the music scene. There is no future, right? Actually, no. At least not according to many local bookers and performers. Josh Cox, for example. The 25-year-old took over booking at the Colony in December and now puts on an average of three shows a week. Some are wellattended—like this Saturday night hardcore show, for
Evan Clayburg and Sally Hensel are part of the collective that runs Third Space, a music and arts venue in Davis.
example—others not so much, of course. That’s part of the game. The problem isn’t about not having enough places to play. He says it’s in a way of thinking. Maybe this isn’t a city where bands come (or stay) to get signed, get famous or get rich, but there are plenty of stages. “Sacramento isn’t lacking in physical venues,” says Cox, who’s done time in local bands such as FFF and Ass Backwards. “It’s lacking in the mindset that OK, let’s do it and just have fun again.” Maybe some musicians want to move beyond the $5 cover/crappy PA paradigm, however. Is having fun enough?
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Sacramento’s music community has long fostered a scrappy DIY vibe. There are house shows aplenty. Coffeeshop gigs and basement parties. There are longtime mainstays such as Old Ironsides, Torch Club, Fox & Goose, Press Club, Blue Lamp and Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub. There are old places under new management such as the Starlite Lounge (formerly the Townhouse), and bars like The Hideaway now also book bands. There’s no shortage of venues—but is the scene inclusive? Are there are enough places for hip-hop acts to play? Up-and-coming touring bands? And, of course, the enduring question: Where are the allages places? Of all the venues that shut down last year it was, perhaps, Witch Room’s closure that sent out the biggest distress signals. The music room’s March 2014 launch been widely heralded as a chance for the scene to elevate itself. Here, three partners transformed the former Bows & Arrows music/cafe/art gallery/boutique space into a spot that put its emphasis solely on the music. It had a professional sound system and a stage that offered great sight lines. It had a well-stocked beer and wine bar. It even had a green room. It booked multiple genres, allages shows and touring acts. It was polished and professional. Polished and professional, however, doesn’t always pay the rent, and Witch Room’s expensive lease made business financially problematic, says Witch Room co-founder Liz Mahoney. In the weeks since its closure, Mahoney, who launched the room with Olivia Coelho and Liz Liles, says she’s watched other venues and musicians step up to fill in where Witch Room left off. “All these shows that would have been at Witch Room, were suddenly in other places,” she says. “There was never this catastrophic void.” That didn’t particularly surprise Mahoney, who in the mid-2000s booked art and music shows at the cavernous Fools Foundation in Midtown. She’s also played in numerous
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Cafe Colonial and the Colony, located on Stockton Boulevard, are two all-ages spots that regularly showcase local rock, punk and hardcore bands.
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bands and toured, most recently as part of Screature. This town’s most pressing need, she says, is an all-ages place that caters to the population at large. There’s no Cattle Club, the legendary ’90s-era dive bar of a club where young up-and-comers like Nirvana once shared a stage with local bands. That doesn’t bode well for younger generations, Mahoney says. “I feel bad for my 13-yearold son when I think of all the great bands that came through here during the ’90s.” There are still bookers with similar goals. Across the Yolo Causeway in Davis at Third Space, for example, the vibe is spirited and eclectic in a justmaking-the-rent kind of way. For Third Space co-founders Sally Hensel and Evan Clayburg, the 4,000-squarefoot building caters to Davis’ college town population with a DIY ethos. The couple launched the collective in 2012. Hensel had been booking shows at Bike Forth, a downtown Davis bike collective, until permit issues shut that down. There were always house shows, but Clayburg says they realized they needed something with a little more staying power. “The people who were doing [house] shows moved out and there was no place to play,” he says. The couple had recently moved in together and decided to do a show at their house. “It was really cool to get thos`e two different crowds together,” Clayburg said. After, Hensel says, “we started trying to get a posse together, something more permanent.” Initially they shared the space with another partner but recently expanded to occupy the entire building. Now, Third Space is entirely volunteer-run with decisions made by a collective. There’ve been a few bumps—after a neighbor complained, the group was
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Josh Cox, who’s been booking shows at the Colony since December, says Sacramento offers plenty of places for bands to play.
forced to plead its case to the Davis City Council for a temporary-use permit that allows them to stay open as they work with the city’s zoning department. Even so, Third Space operates on a month-to-month lease and there’s always the threat that a developer will come in and buy the building only to raze it. Until then, just about anybody can book a gig there. There was the show last summer, for example, put together by a local high school teacher who wanted to bring in the Australian pop band Dick Diver. He’d never booked a show before, so Hensel handed over a “nerdy, anal-retentive checklist” and let him at it. The resulting show also featured locals G. Green and drew in a respectable crowd, especially for a Monday night. For Hensel and Clayburg, it’s about creating the opportunity for creativity to happen. “We want to have an open door to people who want to be funmakers,” Hensel says.
‘There’s as much support for venues as necessary’ Local musician Charles Albright has been playing and booking shows in Sacramento for years and, he says, the scene’s always ebbed and flowed. “There are as many venues as there are a need and interest,” Albright says. “And
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“Sacramento isn’t lacking in physical venues. It’s lacking in the mindset that OK, let’s do it and just have fun again.” Josh Cox booker, the Colony
there’s as much support for those venues as necessary.” If people don’t start new things, new things don’t happen, he adds. And if people don’t support the things that are there, those things shut down. And, while Albright says he was disappointed about Witch Room’s closure, there are still options. “I don’t begrudge anyone closing,” he says. “There are always other places to take up the slack. We’ve lost some awesome venues but the shows can and do still happen. I mostly play at the Colony and Colonial and most of the shows that happened at Witch Room can fit over there, too.” Cox, the Colony booker, agrees. The options are plenty, he says, ticking off a list of places to see shows on a given night. “The Starlite, the Press Club—places like that get it. Most of the people running those places are in bands themselves and they’re not in bands that want to be big, they just want to play.”
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On the other end of the spectrum, however, are the bands that do want to find some degree of commercial success. There’s also the lingering question of having venues that attract touring acts. For many, building a healthy scene isn’t just about local bands drawing in friends for a good time, it’s about creating a community that supports artistry on different levels, financial or otherwise. That’s how Witch Room fit in; the room was as good—if not better than—similar spaces in San Francisco, Portland or Austin. Bret Bair and Eric Rushing, the team that books at Ace of Spades, considered taking over the space but decided against it for logistical reasons. Sacramento is a big enough town to support many different sounds and ambitions, Bair says, but it’s not easy figuring out the puzzle when it comes to booking shows and making money. Bair and Rushing had also been doing shows at Assembly Music Hall but found its downtown location challenging. In addition to
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Witch Room, they also considered buying the Townhouse but ultimately lost out on a bid to buy the property. Now the pair has taken over booking at The Boardwalk in Orangevale. “There are so many people out here,” Bair says of the suburban club. “They need a music venue.” The all-ages club also complements the bigger hip-hop, rock and metal shows he and Rushing are doing at Ace of Spades. “We needed a smaller room. At Ace of Spades, it costs $3,000 just to open the doors for a show; if a show doesn’t bring in at least 300 people then it doesn’t make sense to do,” Bair says. “We got offered a lot of shows that we just couldn’t do. “With The Boardwalk, we’re going to work with bands that tour, established local bands, bands that have good word-of-mouth.” Don’t fit into any of those categories? Just plug in and play, says Witch Room’s Mahoney. Venues open, venues shut down. Plug in, perform, repeat. “You’re always going to find a place with a PA where you can play, it’s fine,” she says. “The scene just constantly evolves.” Ω
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Photo by lisA bAetZ
One local artist-promoter gives a shout-out to the city’s peaceful, socially active and creatively thriving scene
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acramento has never been a mecca for hip-hop. It’s a B market at best. National tours hit our city in the middle of the week on their way to a weekend in the Bay Area. In the midst of these realities, some guy shoots up the sidewalk outside a packed Nipsey Hussle show at Ace of Spades, and the public begins scrutinizing hip-hop as not only a genre of music, but a culture. This is dangerous. Don’t judge an entire culture’s identity by a single person’s irresponsible actions. The Sacramento hip-hop culture is vibrant far beyond the neon of the nightclub stage. What is seldom recognized is the work of people like Miss Marianna, with her Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is campaign, a community service campaign to furnish the homeless with wellness care packages; Low End Theory’s involvement with Rock The School Bells, which uses the genre to “educate and empower students and the community” about the power of higher education and promoting social change; Sol Collective’s innovative youth recording/ beatmaking programs and Sacramento Area Youth Speaks’ powerful outreach through lyricism. At 17, Sacramento rap phenom Issa just dropped an anti-violence track that is currently being taught as curriculum at Sacramento Charter High School. Sacramento hip-hop may still be struggling for airwaves, but the revolution has never been televised.
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There’s an exciting new crop of talent with voices worthy of that “Most Diverse City in America” title that Sacramento is still trying to hold on to. From the communitydriven bars of Dre-T’s Sacramentality to Luke Tailor’s playful precision on TextBook Money, the new class of Sacramento hip-hop is loudly announcing its presence. Meanwhile, veterans like Task1ne and Century Got Bars continue to provide an example for the new generation, with major moves like Task’s TeamBackpack selection and Century’s iTunes feature following the release of her album 3 last year. Did I mention her recent performance at TEDx? It has been said that prophets are never recognized in their own towns. This seems to resonate for Sacramento hip-hop artists. Artists such as SBVCE and Maryann (Baegod) have been quietly gaining national attention with over a million Soundcloud plays on their hip-hop and trap tracks. JustKristofer’s soulful sonnets recently caught the attention of West Coast rap legend Warren G, who has been serving as his hiphop mentor. And the list goes on. Don’t forget hip-hop’s strides on local radio. Soosh*E and #TheNewAtNineBoyz on Hot 103.5 continue to push the limits of how much local music corporate radio can support. In this growing city, hip-hop culture is far from frail. It has proven to be one of the most powerful mediums we have to provide our communities with self-awareness and the tools to rise above self-destruction and violence—the very pitfalls that the person who pulled a gun outside the Nipsey Hussle show obviously wasn’t able to escape. Ω Andru Defeye is a local hip-hop artist and founder of ZFG Promotions.
Luke Tailor’s music epitomizes Sac’s empowering hip-hop scene.
Hey, can I crash with you tonight? Valenzuela We’ve run the gamut here— from sleeping on floors to some nice hotels. We’ve been lucky on recent tours because our bass player’s girlfriend works at a hotel and can get us some unbelievable deals. But other bands or people at shows have offered couches or air mattresses, too, and that’s where you get into some of the good (and bad) kinds of trouble. We always keep sleeping bags in the van just in case.
Just cause you don’t know a promoter or booker doesn’t mean you can’t convince them that they should know you. When emailing bookers or promoters, pregnant be lighthearted and keep professional jargon to a minimum except for telling them who told you to contact them. Send mad links to music videos, live performances, streaming music, etc. Always put a “<3” at the end of every email. You’re going to want to be friends with the people who book you. You don’t want music to turn into some business trap of humans you barely know or care about. photo by wes davis
Liles
Local musicians share practical advice for life on the road
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s great as going on tour with your band sounds, there’s also a lot of work involved: There’s getting directions, finding lodging and figuring out how to eat on the road. Then there’s working with promoters, or trying to promote the show yourself. And along the way, there might just the occasional speed bump—run-ins with a sketchy band in the boonies and drug-sniffing dogs in Texas, for example. Don’t freak out, though. Just read some of the practical touring advice a handful of local artists gave SN&R, and be careful out there—the road is hard.
Appetite for self-destruction
your only option is buying hummus located in the “oriental” aisle of a Wal-Mart.
Liz Mahoney—Screature
Daniel Trudeau—Pregnant
Have a big snack bag with you. Stay hydrated. The venue will always know the best and closest place to eat. Stop before you G. get too hungry. Read reviews only before, never after, eating.
Joe Kye— Joseph in the Well Don’t trust Yelp: 4.5 stars in the boonies could still mean diarrhea—the ultimate tour catastrophe. I try to pack a lot of nonperishables, like a loaf of bread and peanut butter. Buy a bunch of bananas and hang them from your rearview mirror for an edible decoration. If fast food is your only option, go with Subway.
photo by liz mahoney
Bryan Valenzuela— Exquisite Corps
Liz Liles—G. Green We have a vegan, vegetarian and two meat eaters in the band. Whole Foods tends to be the place I personally drag the boys to. We probably have been to every Whole Foods in America. There’s also the desperate moment where you are in a very desolate Midwest zone and
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When we internationally tour to Asia, I like to eat those shitty “equivalent to 7-Eleven” sushi rolls. Green They seem to fill you up for cheap even though almost everything in Korea is cheap. If one adopts the same rule in Japan where food is more expensive, it can work out. When touring in the states, I like to mix it up: a kombucha here, a Red Bull there, a gluten-free burrito here, a Del Taco there.
We try to stay pretty healthy lately, bringing snacks and stuff—“try” being the key word there. Can’t really help but do some guilty pleasure stops, though. California is all too epic by having In-N-Out Burger everywhere.
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We usually stay with friends or friends we make at the show. As we’ve become older, we will occasionally opt out of the punk house option and splurge on a $50 motel room.
Mahoney Stay with as many friends or friends of friends as possible. Tour is a great time to reconnect with an estranged family member. Loud music can be very therapeutic. They’ll forget all about the money or man or woman you stole when they see you backlit on stage.
Get the car running Kye If you’ve got your own whip, why spend more money? My Outback fits my violin setup, a full drum kit and an upright bass, not to mention the people who play them. Approach packing like a game of 3-D Tetris: Leave no hole unfilled. Bonus points if you hum the theme music simultaneously.
Liles We used to always take my 2007 Subaru Forester on tours. I got a Yakima SpaceBooster for the roof that perfectly fits my hardware and all of our guitars. Over the years I’ve realized I’d like to have a working car, so we rent SUVs and minivans. It’s pretty chill and way worth it.
Mahoney
Sometimes you show up and you have to set up the PA yourself and never see the promoters. But usually you show up and the sound guy is the only person who conducts business with you. A sound guy or gal is just a friend you haven’t met yet.
It’ll make a great story for the kids one day Liles I knew the Texas border was coming up on a SXSW trip and was fully aware we had a pipe and weed in the car. We quickly smoked it all and I proceeded to smoke a rolled-out cig in the pipe to get rid of the residue and smell. We got stopped, of course, and a drug dog cased the whole car. My trick worked and we were allowed to pass.
Kye Back when I was touring the country with my collegiate a cappella group, the Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, we bought some Roman candles at a fireworks wholesaler in South Carolina. Later, while hurtling down the highway in the dead of night, we happened upon one of our other vehicles, a minivan full of sleeping college singers. We promptly pulled in front and lit up the pyrotechnics, shooting flaming-hot shells of green and red at the unsuspecting idiots. It’s the closest I’ve come to a Harry Potter duel.
Valenzuela Trudeau Recently I have been touring with friends in their own cars. These friends are only the ones that love to take road trips. It’s a two-in-one for them if you offer to pay for gas and food.
How to make friends and influence people Valenzuela Some promoters are so awesome and some just are hard to work with and don’t put in the legwork to make shows pop off. We’ve had better luck, I think, with networking through other bands and musicians and friends. It always helps to start relationships with fellow musicians out there plugging away and doing some of the same routes and venues.
I think maybe the craziest story that I can remember, though, is when we played at a house show that was somehow beneath a bowling alley. Weird already. Then the other band invited us to stay the night at the house where the show was—their house, I guess. We quickly got the feeling—all of us, all at once—that they were gonna jump us and jack us, steal our stuff. Somehow in our sorta high, sorta drunk state we turned around the situation by challenging them to play Halo and our bass player annihilated them, which pretty much won all their respect. Close one. Ω
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Photo courtesy of Lory GiL
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Lory Gil (pictured, center) is a Sacramento musician and contributor to SN&R.
One musician’s open letter to Sacramento venues and promoters
O
K, Sacramento, It’s been long enough. When is the next generation of all-ages venues going to start sprouting up?
underground punk houses put on shows so often that some had to cut back their frequency in order to keep their neighbors happy. The scene felt like it was in full swing with no signs of slowing. But slow it did. Now, in the first few months of 2015, Trying to find a place to book a band in the all-ages scene is restricted by a lack Sacramento is getting harder to do, espeof available venues that are capable of cially if the band is an ’80s-era American handling the full-volume, mosh-loving hardcore throwback. Quaint little coffee punk and rock scenes. shops are great for acoustic sets and jazz It really isn’t that bad, though. ensembles, but they don’t mesh well with For example, the Cafe Colonial and the punk rockers looking for a pit to mosh in. neighboring Colony, both owned and operI’ve been in a variety of bands in ated by Matt Marrujo, have nearly singleSacramento since 1998, bands that have handedly kept the all-ages music scene been nominated for Sammies, bands alive with shows at both venues practically that have played on the same stage with every night of the week. The atmosphere iconic punk there is light. rock legends Marrujo and his There shouldn’t be and bands that incredible staff only one person in have gone work tirelessly to under the radar provide not only charge of setting with little or no a comfortable up shows. That just recognition. place for moving means opportunities I’ve also and shaking, but are limited and bands booked shows a place where from time to food and drinks feel left out when time for the past are available at they get overlooked. three years. So, reasonable prices. not only do I If there are any know the trials venues that are of being in a doing it right, it’s band and looking these two. for shows, I I would love to see more venues in know what it is like being a booker, lookSacramento provide the same level of ing for bands to put on a show. welcoming and inclusion. It shouldn’t be Just a few years ago, the downtown/ difficult to hear back from a venue owner Midtown area was brimming with pop-up about booking your band. There shouldn’t venues willing to allow local bands to turn be only one person in charge of setting up it up to 11 on any night of the week. shows. That just means opportunities are If Luigi’s Fun Garden was already limited and bands feel left out when they booked with pogo-ing kids, you could see get overlooked. what was happening at The Professional. I know the all-ages music scene will Short-lived R5 Records showcased bands bounce back. It always does. I look forward every weekend and Phono Select allowed to adding more memories from new venues the loudest rockers in town to play to my decades-old adventure. Ω while they served cookies. The various
The musicians’ guide to the dos and don’ts of the local music scene
We all love a good gripe fest. We here at SN&R are not entirely sure what we expected when we asked a bunch of Sacramento musicians for dos and don’ts of the scene. Definitely “Don’t have sex with a bandmate.” And we did get that tidbit of advice, but plenty more practical, worthy words of wisdom for any fresh up-and-comer as well. Take notes.
1
Do remember that a show is a party. As Dean Haakenson (Be Brave
Bold Robot) says: “Mama Venue has let you use the house, your friends pitched in for the booze and you promised entertainment.
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You might want to just zone out that day, but tough shit.”
2
Don’t perform too often. Once
every other month is just dandy. “No one is going to come see you and you won’t make any money,” says Noah Clark (Noah Clark and the Homewrecking Crew, Brilliant Red Lights). “Unless you really love performing and don’t give a fuck, then do whatever you want.”
3 4
Do practice. That was singersongwriter Sandra Dolores’ sole advice. Many others expressed the same thing, but why use more words? D on’t break down on stage when another band still needs to load in. “No one finds
a drummer taking their cymbals on and off the stands entertaining,” says Danny Secretion (the Secretions, the Knockoffs).
5 6
Do be nice to sound engineers, “because they have the
suck knob and can end you,” says Joe Castro (All About Rockets, Drop Dead Red).
Don’t be too loud. Drummer
extraordinaire Tony Ledesma (Odame Sucks, Autumn Sky, the Pressure Lounge, Drop Dead Red) shakes his head at bands who play at full volume in intimate settings. “That’s great if you’re 16 and you wanna rock out and have a good time,” he says. “But no one wants to go out and try to listen to a band and have to leave halfway through because you can’t fathom the sound.”
photo by Morgan anderson/MadruMs Media
M
att Thomas first became interested in audio engineering as a sophomore in high school. These days, the 29-yearold plays guitar in FallRise and has been running sound at The Boardwalk since August 2013. Thomas (pictured at left) took time to share with SN&R about what life’s like behind the sound board and offered pointers on the best—and worst—ways to work with the person working the dials.
Is this a full-time job? Working in audio rarely provides a steady paycheck. Like many trades, it’s a job-by-job basis. I am very fortunate in this case to have [it] as a full-time job. … I am also a performer in two bands and I have a personal life, so I do need to take my occasional days off. So I have good months and not-so-good months. But the bottom line is that I can finally say that after 12 years of work, I’m supporting myself and others as an audio engineer.
Rule No 1.: Don’t talk crap about the sound guy during your set
Typical day? On a show day, I will wake up around 9 a.m. and either rest with no work, or I will head to my studio for a practice session or FallRise rehearsal. I am at the club by 3 p.m. for load-ins and setup. Setup for a show takes a good four hours if you do it properly. Shows start around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. and go as late as midnight. Once the show is done, it’s about an hour of cleanup and tear-down. I get home by 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. and start over the next day.
7
Do go to lots of shows, even if you’re not playing. “To
truly be networking is to know about everything going on in your scene,” says rapper Chuuwee.
8
Don’t just play for your scene, though. Chuuwee: “Always
represent Sacramento but have an understanding that there’s an entire world out there for the taking. Don’t limit yourself or your sound.” Similarly, from Warren Bishop (Blame the Bishop): “The scene is always in transition, therefore the scene is not your audience. Find places and people elsewhere and make them believers.”
9 10
Do bring backup gear. This is just practical. “If you can have two of something, have two of something,” Castro says. Don’t have sex with a bandmate. This is also practical.
“If you do, keep it chill,” says Carly DuHain (Drop Dead Red). “Know what it is.
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I’ve seen some bands just decimate, hate each other, start writing songs in new bands about each other. That’s ugly.”
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Do give shout-outs to other bands on the bill. “It
makes people smile,” Secretion says. “Smiling is a good thing.”
Don’t take it personally.
A band is like an exercise in group management, and bandmates need to pull their weight for the good of the biz. “[It’s] an oddly emotional, friend-oriented, not-really-businessy-feeling sort of business, but business just the same,” Haakenson says. Business also means negotiations.
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Do be punctual. This is selfexplanatory. We’re not even going to quote someone.
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D on’t take yourself too seriously, or feel entitled to any special STORY
treatment. “No one owes you any show slots, and just because they know you in Meadowview doesn’t mean they’re supposed to respect you in Oak Park,” Chuuwee says. DuHain: “The best way for people to remember you is to be their friend.”
15
Do keep playing, no matter how old you are. “If that
spark still burns through myriad band breakups, failed relationships, shitty day jobs, horrible tours … if it still is there after all that, never stop,” Bishop says. “You’re a lifer and you have to play—you do not get old, you get vintage.”
16
Don’t look at other musicians as competitors.
“You all exist on a music highway but in different lanes,” says singer-songwriter Autumn Sky. “Challenge only yourself to one-up whatever was your last strong piece and look to other performers for camaraderie and community.”
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The Boardwalk sometimes has shows with 10 local bands on a bill. Is that a logistical nightmare? It can be a nightmare if there is no planning ahead. Often, lineups like that tend to be metal or hip-hop. Some of those metal bands will share gear. That helps me so there isn’t as much moving of equipment and microphones. Hip-hop shows can have a lot of acts by nature, but there is usually no equipment involved. In a venue like The Boardwalk or Ace Of Spades, it can be quite useless to fully sound-check the middle bands because everything changes around before you get back to that band—let alone the fact I typically only have 15 minutes to strike a whole band, load up the next, and set mics and line-check them just so they can start on time. I usually dial in the mix during the first song or two.
You’re a musician and a sound guy. As a musician, how do you make friends with a sound guy? Definitely make sure you are on the same page. Check in with him first thing after management when you arrive. Make sure he doesn’t need something specific from you. Each sound guy has their own routine and you cannot take the liberty of just walking in a club and throwing your gear around like it’s your own personal club and moving things and grabbing things like it’s your own gear. To me, it is quite disrespectful.
Quickest way to piss off a sound guy? Oh boy, I could write a novel on this, but I will stick with the basics: Not showing up on time. Not showing up with equipment (or all of it). Not having a song set prepared. Not having your set length prepared or memorized. Changing your amp volume mid-set. Dropping my microphones to the ground or spinning my microphones around. Throwing water around stage on my monitors, mics, stage box and even my amps. Slowly wrapping up each and every cable, pulling off every cymbal, packing everything into its case, and slowly unload off the stage—this one is a serious pet peeve of mine. You are not welcome to take your time. It’s not only disrespectful to me, it’s disrespectful to the other bands that don’t want to play at midnight. Lastly, don’t bad-mouth your sound guy on stage. It is a universal thing for a large number of venues that if you do bad mouth your sound guy on stage, he can turn you off. … I have not done that to anyone yet, but I’ve been pushed close. Ω
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Children come first
For the week of March 19
nonprofit organization features performers ages 8 to 20. Shrek the Musical Jr. costs $10 and performances are at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 20, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at the Cosumnes Oaks High School Performings Arts Center, 8350 Lotz Parkway in Elk Grove. Trumpette will host the Sac Baby and Toddler Expo (www.sacbabyexpo.com) for new and expecting parents at 2020 I Street. The free expo—happening Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.—will have more than a dozen vendors for parents and parents-to-be to shop from. Lastly, the Crest Theatre (www.crestsacramento.com) will screen Disney’s classic 1979 version of The Muppet Movie. Kids will appreciate the humor of Kermit the Frog and friends, while parents can look for old-school cameos by historic celebs like Milton Berle, Richard Pryor and James Coburn. There will be two screenings on Saturday, March 21, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at 1013 K Street. Tickets cost $8 for children and seniors, and $10 for general admission.
Of all the seasons, spring seems to remind me most of the joy of being a kid. It has the beauty of plants blossoming, the weather is generally pleasant and it feels like it’s possible to pack more and more (indoor and outdoor) activities into the lengthening days. With the first day of spring arriving Friday, March 20, now’s a good time to be a kid in Sacramento, because a whole ton of kid-friendly and kid-centric events happen this weekend. On Saturday, March 21, Fairytale Town will offer free admission thanks to a grant from Sutter Children’s Center. At the
Sutter Children’s Center Wellness Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., kids can play games and receive health screenings, and parents can get free information about childhood health and development. Fairytale Town is located at 3901 Land Park Drive, and more details are at www.fairytaletown.org. Young fans of fairy tales (and parents who appreciate wellwritten satire) can check out a community production of Shrek the Musical Jr., an adaptation of the popular DreamWorks movie by Musical Mayhem Productions Inc. of Elk Grove (www.mmp kids.com). The educational
—Jonathan Mendick
weekLY PICkS
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
Mud Factor 5K
Crafter and Artist Faire and Clothing Drive
Sunday, March 22 For some reason, just doing a 5K is no longer good enough. There have to be zombies or crazy neon colors—or for athletic RUNNING maniacs, additional obstacles. The Mud Factor 5K has one huge obstacle—mud—and lots of it. For anyone who thinks running in the mud is no big deal, just go try it and see. Other obstacles will make the course even harder. It should be fun, but save that double cheeseburger for after the race. $78.51, 10 a.m. at Granite Regional Park, 8181 Cucamonga Avenue; www.mudfactor.com.
Through Sunday, March 22 Continuing civil unrest amid charges of police brutality and racial profiling in Ferguson, Mo. illustrate that the subject matter in Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is alarmingly relevant. Twilight presents a raw and candid look at the riots and civil unrest PLAY following the Rodney King trial and the resulting acquittal of four white police officers who allegedly beat King, who is African-American. Powerful dialog is taken directly from post-trial interviews that offer wide-ranging points of view. $5-$12; various times at Sacramento State University, 6000 J Street, www.csus.edu/dram.
—Aaron Carnes
—Alan Sheckter
Sunday, March 22 Food and clothing are necessities every child is entitled to. The good folks at Liaison Lounge & Restaurant understand that need and are doing something about it. Come drop off extra CRAFTS food and clothes for children ranging from 5 to 16 years old. Additionally, shop from vendors on hand showing and selling their wares. With Sneaky Scottie Children’s Books, Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry and Carrie’s Yard Art, there’s certainly something for everyone. Free, noon at Liaison Lounge & Restaurant, 2667 Alta Arden Expressway; http://liaisonlounge.com.
Zouzou
The Sacramento Picture!
Sunday, March 22 Josephine Baker, recipient of the 1961 Legion of Honour award, might be best known for her banana dance at the Folies Bergère in Paris in 1926, her civil rights activism or her musical career—but she also performed the starring role in the 1934 film Zouzou. Directed by Marc Allégret, the French film with English subtitles is a story FILM of love, crime and a traveling circus. $10-$15, 2 p.m. at the Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; www.crockerartmuseum.org.
—Trina L. Drotar
WedneSday, March 25 Matias Bombal and Chad E. Williams premiere their film laden with images pulled from the Center for Sacramento History’s extensive archives, augmented by interviews FILM with historian William Burg and other notable Sacramentans. This film will take some down memory lane and open Sacramento’s history for others to view the 1950s and 1960s West End Redevelopment project, timelines of J and K streets and even a 1920 Senators baseball game. $15, 7 p.m. at the Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street, www.crockerart museum.org.
—Trina L. Drotar
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Smokin’ Bayou Belly Buster, Sticky Gator BBQ and Soul Food Co. I don’t think I was supposed to do the Bayou Belly Buster ($12.99) in one sitting. I am not a man of unnatural appetite, but I do have a primal hunger for smoked meats. It figures that I would skip more reasonable options to order this outright provocation of a sandwich: pulled pork, tri-tip, hot links, green chiles, coleslaw, barbecue sauce. Not a pretty thing, but a thing of beauty, and a dense one at that. Put aside your dignity and put your hands and face right in, because there’s no getting around it cleanly. For dessert, dump the fallen stuffing into a side of potato chip-laden mac ’n’ cheese. 2322 K Street, http://stickygatorbbq.com.
—Anthony Siino
Peachy keen Osmanthus black tea, Snobites
Illustration by Mark Stivers
Dine locally, eat globally by Janelle Bitker
New restaurant overload: If you’re bored with your current dining rotation, you officially can’t complain anymore. A slew of new and diverse options opened up in the Sacramento area within the past couple of weeks. Let’s start with Taste of Angkor (4566 Mack Road), quite possibly the first true Cambodian restaurant in Sacramento. There are a couple other spots that smush Cambodian cuisine with Thai, Laotian or Vietnamese, but nowhere else offers just Cambodian food. SN&R’s Jonathan Mendick went to investigate—the place softly opened for a couple of weekends— and found a remarkably Cambodian BEFORE | NEWS
janelleb@newsreview.com
chocolaty hue and pleasant heat. Cemitas are related to tortas, but with a sturdier, eggier, sesame seed-dotted bun, hand-pulled cheese, lots of avocado and, usually, beef milanesa, thinly pounded strips of deep-fried beef. The taco arabe (Arab-style taco) is most similar to the Greek gyro, with pork shaved off a vertical spit and rolled up in a thick, flour tortilla with chipotle sauce. In Rancho Cordova, Sky Sushi (2252 Sunrise Boulevard) opened its third restaurant, in addition to restaurants in El Dorado Hills and Roseville. Think elaborate, Asianfusion, heavily sauced sushi rolls in a modern, swanky setting. There’s also a new southern spot in the Arden area, serving standard all-American breakfasts as well as barbecue and southern favorites at lunch. No brisket or mac ’n’ cheese at Sarom’s Southern Kitchen (1901 El Camino Avenue), but there are St. Louis-style ribs, fried chicken and waffles, jambalaya, gumbo and fried seafoodfilled po’ boys. For dessert, feast on the likes of peach cobbler, sweet potato pie and banana pudding. Ω
menu. Sure, there are options like kao soy to appease the general Southeast Asian population, but you’ll also find traditional Cambodian dishes and spice combos of lemongrass, kaffir lime and galangal. Look for a hard opening on Friday, March 20. Meanwhile, Fair Oaks nabbed what might be the first Puebla-style Mexican restaurant in the region: Los Tres Reyes (8121 Madison Avenue, suite G1). The Southern state of Puebla is home to mole poblano, cemitas and the taco arabe, and Los Tres Reyes offers all three traditions. Mole poblano is the king of moles—the variety you’re probably thinking of right now, with a dark, | F E AT U R E S T O R Y |
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Snobites, which opened in Elk Grove in December 2014, is a new spot serving high-quality boba tea and some pretty inventive snacks: brick toast, Taiwanese-style shaved ice, ice cream-filled macarons, popcorn chicken, tacos and more. On my first visit, it was a tea that impressed: Osmanthus black tea with lychee-flavored aloe and grass jelly. Osmanthus tea comes from a tree called osmanthus fragrans (guihua in Mandarin), which has a sweet, ripe-peach-like smell. The aloe and grass jelly added a nice crunchy and chewy texture. A large drink with the aforementioned add-ons costs $5. 9170 Elk Grove Florin Road, Suite E, in Elk Grove; (916) 684-7669.
—Jonathan Mendick
Love me tender Artichokes Like oysters and durian, artichokes are not immediately loveable. You have to look past their spiny leaves and hairy hearts to find the tender, nutty flesh of these thistle flowers. Most likely grown in Monterey County, the artichokes at local markets are abundant in spring, with a smaller crop in the fall. Use sturdy scissors to snip off the leaf tips before steaming the choke whole, then dip the leaves in lemon butter and scrape them clean. Smaller “baby” artichokes can be quartered or halved and eaten entirely, pan-seared with bacon and tossed with garlic for a rustic side dish.
—Ann Martin Rolke |
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IT’S SNOWING DOWNTOWN! COME VISIT VAMPIRE PENGUIN, ONE BLOCK FROM CREST THEATER. STATE WORKERS GET 15% OFF!
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26 | SN&R | 03.19.15
a polenta perfectly clutching a once-thought impossible amount of cream and butter. I was gobsmacked by the branzino—incredibly fresh, cracker-like skin, and served with 1465 eureka road in roseville, (916) 789-8585, an all-too-appropriate foam of Meyer lemon www.cibo7.com (proof that foam can be practical). A musky Dinner for one: $40 - $60 sunchoke risotto was tucked beneath, along Good for: excellent food for a special occasion with Brussels sprouts braised with bacon. Notable dishes: breakfast for dessert, winter citrus salad, A dish of gnocchi served as our litmus sage gnocchi test—after all, quality gnocchi is difficult to fashion. These were light, poofy and suffused with the flavor of sage. Tossed with a shredding of coq au vin, bacon confit and oyster mushrooms, this dish is the tail end of winter I think we can admit that the average neatly composed in a skillet. Sacramentan likely doesn’t think of Roseville Barnum is also the pastry chef and he as a culinary destination. However recently, excels in the sweet as much as the savory. and admittedly with a reserve of trepidation, I What’s more is that desserts are thoughtful ventured to The Outlands on the recommendarather than simply an afterthought—something tion of a few eaters I implicitly trust. many restaurants fail to see the difference in. Cibo 7’s space itself is suburban chic and Take his Breakfast for Dessert plate—sweet appealing in its own way, but the room is and cinnamon-laced cornbread pan purdue noisy, so prepare to yell. topped with buttermilk ice cream in a Chef Christopher Barnum heads cast-iron skillet. Whimsical, playful, up the kitchen—an International astonishing. It’s reason enough Culinary Institute graduate The winter to go back again. who worked a number of The grilled pineapple kitchens before coming to citrus salad’s sorbretto was the refreshCibo 7. He’s turned the contemporary ing coda to our meal kitchen into a force to be that we all craved. It’s structure of supremed reckoned with. matched with a coconut Our meal began citrus was so beautiful shortbread cookie with lamb and wagyu and lemon verbena that it should meatballs nuzzled in whipped cream. A a cushion of fennel be installed as whimsical cilantro yogurt cream and artwork at the sugar any pastry fiend dressed with parsley oil. would happily snort off a Terribly addicting. Upon new downtown mirror finished it all. inquiring on what the curious arena. The bar seems to be in a flavor in the meatballs was, we state of self-discovery. It’s well were surprised we didn’t make the stocked, but the bartenders failed at connection ourselves. “It’s a mix of sweet making a Manhattan and had to inquire as to and hot paprika,” the waiter said. what a sidecar is. (“Is it whiskey in a shot glass Crispy sheets of flatbread toasted in the with lemon?”) Yet, we observed the staff learnwood-burning oven arrived topped with a ing more about the eclectic wine list, which is husky housemade chorizo, pickled red onions commendable. and a hauntingly floral saffron crema. The table On a personal note that I won’t factor in to went silent as we all bit in. the rating, it seems a shame there’s no cocktail The winter citrus salad’s contemporary menu taking advantage of the restaurant’s clear structure of supremed citrus was so beautiful talent and exceptional ingredients. it should be installed as artwork at the new Bar mishaps are what make this review just downtown arena. It topped a pungent arugula shy of five stars; it’s a negative mark I give pesto scaffolded by Grana Padano crisps and with reticence, as the meal itself was so specshards of dried pancetta—a bold and unextacular. Cibo 7 is a culinary destination that pected pairing. any true appreciator of fine food must experiFor the main course, an astonishing duck ence. Like Carpe Vino and Ella, it’s evidence breast was exquisitely seared with a crossthat the region is truly defining fine dining for hatched and crispy skin. It was served with itself, and that Barnum is one to watch. Ω
CALL FOR INFO • 916.321.9480 Go to events @ Gracianos.com
I’M A PIZZA GUY!
FS
A preview, previewed Right now the Sacramento Kings players seem to be lacking the chemistry they had in the first few weeks of the NBA season. Off the court, however, there’s at least a lot of exuberance being thrown into a sneak peek at the new arena and its new food program. This Thursday, March 19, the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom will host an event being billed as “a state-of-the-art glimpse into Sacramento’s new world class entertainment and sports center.” In other words, it’ll feature virtual tours of the arena on Oculus Rift Headsets—plus California wine, local hors d’oeuvres, and food by chef Michael Tuohy. There will also be chances to learn about the Ag in the Classroom program, which teaches kids where food comes from. Tickets are $125, and there are two preview showings at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. It happens at a new venue dubbed the Experience Center, located at 660 J Street, Suite 444. Find out more at http://learnaboutag.org/agweek.
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Vegetable medley by Shoka (code for vegan unmeat market, maybe?), foodies are going to have to trek to San Francisco. The other upside: There will be a live stream of the event available online (http://veganironchef.veg foodevents.com) if you can’t snag a ticket or make the trip. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door to see the chefs conduct vegetable orchestras in person— or just prop up your tablet in the kitchen, stream and cook along.
The culture of treating vegetables as mere garnishes still burns strong, despite all the slow-fooding and farm-to-tabling in recent years. But vegetables don’t need to play second fiddle, and there are four chefs to make that case at the Vegan Iron Chef on Thursday, March 19. The upside: It’s all vegan, of course, and it pits professional chefs against home chefs. The downside: To watch the action live and take part in the after-party
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PAID ADVERTISEMENT Staff at the Sacramento office of the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). Photo By Anne StokeS
Recovering Together A c o m m u n i t y b At t l e to f i g h t A d d i c t i o n
L
ike most public health concerns, drug and alcohol dependency is not limited to the poor and underprivileged. Addiction afflicts people from all walks of life, crossing every societal boundary of ethnicity, gender and income level. A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed that in 2013 nearly 23 million people over age 12 needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol problem. Of those individuals, more than 95 percent of them did not get the treatment they needed. Addiction is an insidious disease that creeps up slowly until the problem has completely taken over. But the effects aren’t limited to the individual who battles with it or the family and friends who struggle to help. The consequences and cost of alcoholism and drug dependence put an enormous strain on society as a whole.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs is costly to our nation, demanding more than $400 billion annually in costs related to crime and incarceration, addiction treatment, medical costs, time lost from work and social welfare programs.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what your circumstances are. You can have a problem with addiction and you do have a good chance at recovery.” Susan Blacksher
Chief Executive Director of CCAPP
Addiction is a problem that impacts the whole community, one that requires the efforts of everyone to solve. In an effort to encourage progress on the issue of drug and alcohol dependency, Sacramento News & Review has partnered with the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP) to produce a weekly, sponsored column about recovery. CCAPP is a statewide nonprofit organization based in Sacramento that serves addiction counselors and program providers by offering state certification, technical assistance, education and advocacy. With a membership comprised of more than 150 programs, 400 sober-living facilities, and 12,000 counselors, CCAPP allows representatives of treatment programs to come together and speak with one voice. Through the stories and programs discussed in this weekly
column, SN&R and CCAPP hope to share the joys of recovery, break down the barriers of stigma toward people who struggle with addiction, and employ individuals, families and the community to form a solid, united front against the disease of addiction. “We’re doing this so we can help break the stigma of addiction and really get the message out there that there’s help for people who have drug and alcohol problems, and great programs to assist them in the Sacramento area,” says Pete Nielsen, deputy director of CCAPP. Although the problems of addiction are widespread, there is hope for healing and recovery. The
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc. estimates that there are 20 million people who are living in long-term recovery from addiction. CCAPP Chief Executive Director Susan Blacksher believes in the power of addiction treatment to facilitate lasting change. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what your circumstances are,” Blacksher says. “You can have a problem with addiction and you do have a good chance at recovery.” Evan Tuchinsky contributed reporting to this piece. by brittany WeseLy
CCAPP’s Directory
Our Mission:
Some of Sacramento’s Drug & Alcohol Programs, Organizations, Recovery Centers, and Transitional Homes: MAAP Inc.
4241 Florin Road Sacramento, CA 95823 (916) 394-3489 www.maap.org
NCADD Sacramento
Clean & Sober Transitional Living Inc 8938 Madison Ave Fair Oaks, CA 95628 (916) 961-8934 www.clean-and-sober-living.com
1446 Ethan Way Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 922-5121 www.ncaddsac.org
Priorities Clinic
Strategies for Change
Gateway House
4343 Williamsbourgh Dr. Sacramento, CA 95823 (916) 395-3552 4441 Auburn Blvd Ste E Sacramento, CA 95841 (916) 473-5764 www.strategies4change.org
River City Recovery Center Inc. 500 22nd Street Sacramento, CA 95816 (916) 442-3979 www.rivercityrecovery.org
3647 40th Street Sacramento, CA 95817 (916) 397-2434 4049 Miller Way Sacramento, CA 95817 (916) 451-9312 www.gffw.org
Sacramento Recovery House
To Return the Men & Women back to society Med Aid
3100 Stockton Blvd Sacramento, CA 95817 (916) 736-3188
Harm Reduction Services 2800 Stockton Blvd Sacramento, CA 95817 (916) 456-4849 www.harmreduction.org
Sacramento County Dept of Health & Human Services Alcohol & Drug Services 3321 Power Inn Rd Ste120 Sacramento, CA 95826 (916) 874-9754 www.DHHS.saccounty.net
1914 22nd Street Sacramento, CA 95816 (916) 455-6258 www.sacramentorecoveryhouse.org
For more information about these companies please look on our website: www.newsreview.com/sacramento/CCAPP.us 28
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SN&R | 03.19.15
Treatment Programs:
River City Offers: • Men & Women’s Residential Social Model 12 step program •Transitional Living
Payment Options:
Kaiser cdrp, Veterans V.A. Sacramento County, and private pay
A basis for debate 5
Dia De Los Cuentos
Rapture, Blister, Burn Ah, women’s choices, always up for discussion and debate. Women, men and society are forever and exhaustively examining and passing judgment by Patti Roberts on which paths and options women should take along their journeys. In playwright Gina Gionfriddo’s Rapture, Blister, Burn, the subject matter of life choices is offered up in a thought-provoking and hilarious dark comedy that includes three generations’ takes on women’s issues. Capital Stage’s Shannon Mahoney, in her directorial debut, expertly guides her gifted cast through this Pulitzer-Prize-finalist play that includes fascinating examinations of gender politics issues as well as drink-infused conversations and escapades.
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the walls we put up and the homes we construct. Be prepared to have great discussions and debates afterward. Ω
533 Variations First, let’s stipulate that Ruby Sketchley is simply amazing. As the main character, Professor Katherine Brandt, in Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations, she is stubborn, insightful, brusque, loving, frustrated and, ultimately, full of joie de vivre. These are all things she has in common with Ludwig van Beethoven (Scott Divine), whose obsession with a second-rate waltz led to the composition of the incredible “33 Variations,” the piano work from which this play takes its title. Second, let us note that Big Idea Theatre has put professional-level values into this community theater production, with an astounding (and deceptively simple) set design by Elizabeth Hadden-McGuire that covers a lot of ground: New York City; Bonn, Germany; Vienna, Austria in the early 19th century; and, yes, even a transatlantic airplane flight. Add to that an elevated platform for a live—and exceptionally good—classical pianist (Richanne Roope) to play the works under discussion and some top-notch lighting and sound design (Nic Candito and director Benjamin T. Ismail, respectively), and it’s a production that any professional troupe would be proud to claim. Third, let’s point out that the depth of talent in the cast allows the major characters to shine by making their work seem effortless: Jamie Kale (Katherine’s daughter, Clare), Eric Craig (Clare’s boyfriend and Katherine’s nurse), Laura Kaya (Dr. Gertrude Ladenberger), Don Hayden (Schindler, Beethoven’s majordomo) and Paj Crank (Diabelli, a music publisher). They are, quite literally, note-perfect. And fourth, let us take a moment to reflect on the way that time sets up eddies that function as musical variations on a theme, so that in our individual lives we find ourselves facing the same sets of struggles, losses, griefs and joys of past individual lives, but with some distinct changes that elevate both major themes and minor elements of our common humanity. Space limits our variations on a theme of praise, but let us conclude this set by lauding the work of Ismail and the entire company at Big Idea, who have created something that is completely familiar and fresh at the very same moment.
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Italian Opera
Local playwright Leslie Lewinter-Suskind wrote Italian Opera as a graduate student in the late 1990s. The story of two well-to-do couples and a wisecracking maid is presented as an operetta with numerous ingenious references to famous, classical operas—though appreciated even by those with a passing familiarity of the musical art form. Director Ray Tatar gathers together a talented five-member cast that hits all the right notes, both dramatically and musically. F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 3/22. $15-$20. California Stage, California Stage Theatre at the R25 Arts Center, 1721 25th St.; (916) 451-5822; www.calstage.org. P.R.
PhoTo By ChARR CRAIl
Rapture, Blister, Burn; 7 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; $22-$38. Capital Stage, 2215 J Street; (916) 995-5464; www.capstage.org. Through April 12.
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The tension in this comedy/drama lies between a “tolerant,” secular, 40-something couple and their teenage daughter, who secretly goes on a church retreat (to Mom’s great distress). But the story’s core is actually the parents. Their marriage, and respective careers, have stalled out; they’re almost rudderless, especially when facing an inquisitive girl exploring something they’ve always avoided discussing—religion. The show’s reach exceeds its grasp, but contains several telling and effective scenes. Tu 6:30pm;
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5 SUBlIME–DoN’T MISS
W 2pm & 6pm; Th, F 8pm; Sa 5pm & 9pm. Through 4/19. $23-$35. B Street Theatre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreet theatre.org. J.H.
Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Jeff hudson and Patti Roberts.
Funny and true Often times, especially with observational humor, jokes come from uncovering unexpected hidden truths within true stories. That’s what comedian and actor Ari Shaffir’s Comedy Central series This Is Not Happening (Thursdays at 12:30 a.m.) is all about: Shaffir and other comedians (which have included Keegan-Michael Key, Marc Maron and Rob Corddry) talk about crazy, embarrassing and nasty stories in a Los Angeles strip club. Shaffir brings his wit and humorous storytelling to Sacramento for a weekend headlining the Punch Line. Check out his podcast The Skeptic Tank, which features humorous interviews with everyone from comedians to prostitutes. You can also find him in a sketch comedy film currently on Netflix, 2013’s InAPPropriate Comedy, in which he indeed tells a lot of inappropriate jokes in a segment called “The Amazing Racist.” Ari Shaffir, 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; $18.50-$23.50. Punch Line Comedy Club, 2100 Arden Way; www.arishaffir.com.
33 Variations; 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; $10-$18. Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Boulevard; (916) 960-3036; www.bigideatheatre.org. Through April 11. |
FoUl
“Yeah, that’s a stripper pole behind me.”
—Kel Munger
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A superb cast (Matt K. Miller in the title role, Jeb Burris as Brutus and Ryan Snyder as Marc Antony, for starters) and an inspired adaptation (by co-directors Kirk Blackinton and Brian Harrower) make Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy about political intrigue and manipulation most timely. W, Th 6:30pm; F, Sa 8pm; Sa, Su 2pm. Through 3/22. $34-$38. Sacramento Theatre Company, 1419 H St.; (916) 443-6722; www.sactheatre.org. J.C.
PhoTo By JESSE GRANT
Catherine (Megan Pearl Smith) and Gwen (Kelley Ogden) are college roommates who chose polar-opposite roads. Career-oriented Catherine’s world is her oyster; she’s a muchrespected academic who travels the globe. Gwen’s world is a bit smaller. As a stay-at-home mother, her world is her husband and her two children. The one person who binds the two women together is Don (Sam Misner), ex-lover of Catherine and now husband of Gwen. Decades from college, all three are going through mid-life wonder-if-I-should-have-made-different-choices crises. And so they find a way to live each other’s choices. Though the plot twist isn’t very realistic, it allows the story to play out on the what-if fantasies. The trio is sandwiched by the opinions of a younger college-aged babysitter (Madilyn Margaret Cooper) and Catherine’s mother, an older woman of the ’50s generation (Phoebe Moyer). While it’s too bad that the two main women characters are an either-or option— career versus motherhood, instead of the blended version most women try and balance—the additional generations insert much-needed additional viewpoints. The Capital Stage cast is captivating, expertly balancing comedy with drama, and the simple set has a twist that demonstrates the fragility of
“Let’s talk about women’s issues.”
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Julius Caesar
B Street Theatre’s newest Family Series production showcases four fables with Latin flavors. It also shows off the theater’s strong storytelling skills—both in the staging and in the writing, since all four tales are scripted by current company members. The four fables, highlighting cultural stories found in Spain, Mexico and New Mexico, may be familiar to those who know the general tales, but are given life and humor by B Street playwrights and directors Jerry Montoya, Buck Busfield and Dave Pierini. Sa, Su 1pm & 4pm. Through 3/29. $15-$20. B Street Theatre’s Family Series Stage, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreet theatre.org. P.R.
—Jonathan Mendick |
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Insurgent
10:00am-2pm
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Is it convoluted, perhaps a result of adhering too closely to the novel it’s based on? Maybe. Is the world it posits perhaps implausible? Could be. So what? by MaryAnn The same applies to the Harry Potter movies Johanson and the Hunger Games flicks. The essential thing about Insurgent is that it gets all of the important stuff right. And the really clever thing about Insurgent that elevates it a step above the first film, Divergent, is that it sneakily undercuts a lot of the tropes of what has become a subgenre: the young-adult hero’s journey.
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On the hunt to eradicate tropes and spoilers.
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Offering us a gal protagonist is the least of this series’ novelty, although that’s rare enough from Hollywood. There’s almost nothing here that boys can’t identify with in the exploits of Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) in her dystopian future sci-fi world. Boys should be able to recognize Tris’s difficulties in fitting in to a societal system that divides people into factions by temperament and talent but doesn’t recognize that no person can be so easily defined as, say, nothing but brutally honest like members of the Candor caste, who work as lawyers, or always hippie-happy like members of the Amity caste, who work as farmers or artists. Tris doesn’t fit in because she is a special case called Divergent, showing aptitude for all of the factions (which also include brainy Erudite, brave Dauntless and selfless Abnegation). Don’t we all bristle at attempts to shove us into one confining box? That’s a discontent that knows no gender bounds. In Divergent, the faction system, despite all its inherent unlikeliness, worked as a metaphor on an individual level for adolescent “no one understands me!” rebellion. Now, in Insurgent, it balloons up into something much larger and much more culturally encompassing: as dangerous tribalism that threatens peace and prosperity even as political leaders call, with unintended irony, for tribalism to protect peace and prosperity.
The plot here revolves around a mysterious artifact that ruthless Jeanine (Kate Winslet), leader of Erudite, believes holds “a message from the Founders that will ensure the future we deserve.” Jeanine wants to “eradicate the Divergent crisis,” which she keeps saying is going to ruin the little oasis of civilization they cling to in a ravaged world, yet only a Divergent can open a mysterious, plot-important box, which requires passing a test attuned to each Factional temperament. This might seem to be at odds with the rise of Divergents constituting a crisis … but gosh, is it really so unrealistic that a power-hungry leader with extremely conservative leanings might misinterpret— either deliberately or out of blinkered rapaciousness—the intentions of the Founding Fathers, er, Founders? Things get really, really dark along the way, and more brutal than YA stories usually get, as fugitive Tris and her friends alternately run from Jeanine’s Dauntless thugs and then run right into the hornet’s nest for reasons that do get overly complicated, but fine. Because, of course, Tris is the Divergent that Jeanine needs, and as her specialness comes to the fore—no spoilers!—it is accompanied by another busting of clichés: the power to affect real change in the world isn’t the result of anything fantastical, like the Force, but arises from our humanity, from our full, cross-factional humanity. Which means that it is a power that is within all of us, no midi-chlorians or magical parentage required.
Insurgent sneakily undercuts a lot of the tropes of what has become a subgenre: the young-adult hero’s journey. New director Robert Schwentke continues the series’ ethos of not looking like other sci-fi dystopias we’ve seen. Its interesting and probably fairly future-realistic urban ruin is punctuated by blips of high-tech reclamation. Women exist as full participants in this culture, doing all sorts of jobs and holding all sorts of positions of power (such as the Amity leader played by Octavia Spencer, and the factionless leader played by Naomi Watts), and not everyone is white. Nothing we see in this movie should feel as radical as it does. In a more adventurous movie environment, Insurgent wouldn’t feel this fresh. But this is where we are now. It’s kind of where Tris’ world is. That’s not a good thing for us. Ω
by daniel barnes & JiM lane
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Chappie
Given the tendency of technological advances to accelerate over time, the visual effects of Neill Blomkamp (District 9 ; Elysium) will someday look old-fashioned and ridiculous. Until then, I can’t help but be a little dazzled by his films, and a little charmed by his pompous ineptitude—he’s a Michael Bay who really, really believes he’s a Stanley Kubrick. Blomkamp muse Sharlto Copley provides the motion-capture performance and voice of the titular robot, a South African police android installed with artificial intelligence. Reborn as the childlike Chappie, he is forced to choose between the moral teachings of his creator and the questionable influence of his “parents,” a couple of slimy criminals. Think Short Circuit meets Robocop meets American History X meets 58 other things. It’s a scrap heap of undeveloped ideas and conflicting tones and Hugh Jackman mini-mullets, but I was never bored. Insulted, confused, embarrassed, sure … but not bored. D.B.
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The DUFF
That’s “Designated Ugly Fat Friend” —and while our heroine Bianca (Mae Whitman) is neither ugly nor fat, she still serves to make her best friends (Skyler Samuels, Bianca A. Santos) look better. So she reluctantly enlists the neighbor boy she can barely stand (Robbie Amell) to coach her out of her DUFF-hood. Josh A. Cagan’s script has some cornball gimmicks and it cuts the sex in Kody Keplinger’s novel to preserve a PG-13 rating. But it also (with a big help from Whitman, finally ready for her close-up) softens the edges of Keplinger’s snotty, full-of-herself Bianca. As in any romantic comedy, star chemistry is essential, and this movie’s got it: Whitman and Amell have an easy rapport that probably makes Cagan’s dialogue sound snappier than it is and smooths Ari Sandel’s sometimes jittery direction. J.L.
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2508 LAND PARK DRIVE LAND PARK & BROADWAY FREE PARKING ADJACENT TO THEATRE
RED ARMY SHADOWS “HUGELY ENTERTAINING.” - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
STARTS FRI., 3/20
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but serviceable enough. Penn’s mumbling and the occasional thick British accent sometimes make the proceedings a little hard to follow, but director Pierre Morel knows how to stage his shoot-’em-ups with a potent visceral charge. Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance, Jasmine Trinca and Javier Bardem come along for the ride. J.L.
3
Red Army
All that most Americans know about Soviet Union hockey revolves around their “Miracle” defeat to the U.S. team in the 1980 Winter Olympics, but Gabe Polsky’s documentary Red Army attempts to delve deeper. Through archival footage and largely uncooperative interviews, the film shows that the Iron Curtain-era players and coaches held not just a long tradition of innovative hockey and cohesive team play, but one of political enmeshment that continues to this day. Filled with cheeky musical cues and Best Week Everstyle graphics, Red Army holds open its arms and practically dares you not to love it. The film is slick but superficial, and it seems clear that the only people who would speak on camera held Polsky in a dismissive sort of contempt. Without a strong personal center to ground it, Red Army is a 76-minute feature in search of a short film. D.B.
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Run All Night
Although the “angry old action hero” phase of Liam Neeson’s career initially held some promise, he quickly fell into a rut of dumb scripts and hack directors, and the effort level plummeted accordingly. There is nothing wrong with Neeson reinventing himself as a 21st-century Charles Bronson, it’s just that he skipped directly from Death Wish-era Bronson to Death Wish V: The Face of Death-era Bronson without tackling any of the interesting stuff in between. Neeson reunites with Jaume Collet-Serra (he also directed Neeson in last year’s terrible Non-Stop) for Run All Night, once again playing a seemingly washedup alcoholic and deadbeat dad who secretly possesses a special set of skills, most of which revolve around the ancient art of wasting fools. With its taut action, relatively ambitious screenplay and a credibility-lending supporting turn from Ed Harris, Run All Night is actually a solid 97-minute thriller. Unfortunately, it runs 114 minutes. D.B.
The Gunman
A former professional assassin (Sean Penn), eight years retired, suddenly finds himself hunted by the kind of hit-team he used to work on; he doesn’t know who or why, but it seems to have something to do with his last job, the killing of a Congolese official. Based (apparently loosely) on a 1981 novel by French crime writer Jean-Patrick Manchette, Don MacPherson’s script is pretty standard stuff—not particularly original or suspenseful, a little muddled and not strictly logical,
NEWS
OSCAR WINNER! BEST ACTRESS
WED: 12:40, 3:10, 4:15, 6:00, 7:00, 8:45PM THUR: 12:40, 3:10, 4:15, 6:00, 8:45PM FRI-TUES: 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:25PM NO MON 7:00PM • ADD’L FRI-SUN 11:00AM
WED/THUR: 2:00, 9:30PM
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ENDS THUR., 3/19
Cinderella
Walt Disney’s definitive 1950 animated classic gets a live-action, nonmusical remake, elegantly directed by Kenneth Branagh and written by Chris Weitz with wit and graceful fairy-tale simplicity. This new version can’t improve on perfection, but it can stand beside Uncle Walt’s original and complement it—a gloriously sumptuous confection, played miraculously straight without irony, revisionism or cynicism, telling its familiar story as if for the first time. The casting is spot-on, headed by Cate Blanchett as an icy, imperiously cruel stepmother. In the title role, Lily James is a revelation: sweet without being sugary, simple without being simple-minded and beaming with what must be the most radiant smile in movie history. Dante Ferretti’s breathtaking production design adds to the general wonder. J.L.
Focus
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“HARD NOT TO ENJOY.” - Dave Calhoun, TIME OUT
FOR ADVANCE TICKETS PLEASE VISIT FANDANGO.COM
Fifty Shades of Grey
BEFORE
WED/THUR: 1:15AM, 3:20, 5:30, 7:35, 9:40PM FRI-TUES: 1:15, 3:20, 5:30, 7:35, 9:40PM NO TUES 5:30, 7:35PM • ADD’L FRI-SUN 11:10AM
STILL MARIGOLD HOTEL ALICE
“Someday my prince will ... do my laundry.”
After a solid decade of dreck, the seductive con man rom-com Focus allows star Will Smith to slip into a little suave adult sophistication, while rehabbing his image by playing the familiar part of the brash, smooth-talking charmer. The con game genre also offers him an opportunity to investigate and penetrate his celebrity facade, but writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are all about facades, and Focus is a film that exists entirely on its enticing surfaces. In the moment, it’s an entertaining enough hustle, but scratch the paint and a lot of formulaic chintz starts to show. All of the cinematic “glamour” on display—the lounge-pop soundtrack, the subdued sky bar lighting, the Out of Sight jump cuts—is part of Ficarra and Requa’s con, just osmosis of style from dozens of better movies. The whole film unravels the second you step away. D.B.
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WHAT WE DO IN THE
FRI-TUES: 1:25, 3:25, 5:25, 7:25, 9:20PM ADD’L FRI-SUN 11:25AM
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC
The E.L. James bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey is famous for bringing BDSM sex into the trash-novel mainstream, but this adaptation from director Sam TaylorJohnson (Nowhere Boy) is just a sleek and dull piece of lifestyle porn. Taylor-Johnson seems far more interested in fetishizing sports cars and tailored suits than whips and chains, and the vanilla sex scenes quickly become monotonous and familiar, offering the same oblique, candlelit tracking shots of undulating body parts that we’ve been getting for decades. This isn’t the next Basic Instinct; it’s the next Sliver. Dakota Johnson stars as virginal lip-biter Anastasia Steele, and Jamie Dornan plays the mysterious Christian Grey, a Seattle tech billionaire who entices Anastasia to become his sexual submissive. Both actors are trapped by the rigid banality of their characters, and they fail to manufacture any chemistry—without that heat, this is just a story about a contract negotiation. D.B.
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“FRESH, UNEXPECTED.” - Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER
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The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a two-hour long catnap, affable and picturesque enough to remain watchable between long, slow blinks, but also about as pointless and dull as a movie can get. Director John Mad-
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F E AT U R E
STORY
EntEr Sn&r’S
College Essay Contest!
den and screenwriter Ol Parker spell out every dramatic problem and its obvious solution in the film’s precredits sequence, and then they spend 122 minutes obstinately sticking to that plan, laying only the most hackneyed narrative roadblocks in the path. In one of the ensemble storylines, Judi Dench’s hardnosed spinster and Bill Nighy’s dizzy divorcee nurse an attraction to each other that they’re afraid to act on. Will they conquer their fears and find love together? Um … yes. For all of the lip service paid to exploring new horizons, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a film designed for people who never want to be surprised or challenged again. D.B.
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thE prizES: First place will receive a $2,015 award, plus $750 for second place and $500 for third place.
Still Alice
A distinguished Columbia University linguistics professor (Julianne Moore) finds herself suddenly forgetting simple words, getting lost on her own campus and suffering other baffling lapses. At the age of 50, she is developing early-onset Alzheimer’s—worse yet, it’s hereditary, and she may have passed it on to her adult children (Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish, Kristen Stewart). Writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (adapting Lisa Genova’s novel) avoid the weepy melodrama of diseaseof-the-week TV movies in favor of low-key naturalism, anchored by Moore’s subtle, textured performance and strong support from her screen family (including Alec Baldwin as her loving but flawed husband). It’s a quietly harrowing portrait of a family losing the woman they know—and a woman losing herself. J.L.
4
thE dEtailS: Essays can be no longer than 650 words. Email essays as a Word document or PDF attachment to collegeessay@newsreview.com, with the subject line “College Essay Contest.” Deadline is Friday, May 1, at 5 p.m. FirSt placE prizE SponSorEd by
What We Do in the Shadows
Written, directed by and starring Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, the uneven but uproarious mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows mines a vein of deadpan, observational goofiness that recalls previous Clement-Waititi collaborations like Eagle vs. Shark and the TV show Flight of the Conchords. Along with Jonathan Brugh and Ben Fransham, Clement and Waititi play vampire roommates trying to have fun in urban New Zealand while dealing with the realities of modern undead life (they can’t get into most nightclubs because they need to be formally invited to enter) and the difficulties of shared living situations (the chore wheel hasn’t moved in five years). The film excels at finding comedy in those mundane details, and although it never recaptures the comedic momentum of its opening minutes, and the mockumentary format mostly becomes a narrative crutch, there are enough big laughs to forgive a few shortcomings. D.B.
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thE rulES: High-school seniors graduating in 2015 are eligible. Only one entry allowed per student, and you must live in the Sacramento region to apply. No SN&R employees or their relatives may enter.
A RT S & C U LT U R E
third placE SponSorEd by
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K E E W E ON
6 .1 9 - 3 . 2 3 L SPECIA
T N I P A & S O C A T S A T I N PS R A C T E D TA E 3C L E S N O
M-F 3PM-2 AM SAT 11: 30AM - 2 AM SUN 11AM - 2 AM
How the Precipice’s words and beats create hip-hop’s yin and yang About a year ago, two Sacramento-raised rappers moved back home. They first met at a San Francisco open-mic, by Janelle Bitker cultivating a friendship based on respect for one another’s craft. One started with slam poetry; j a ne l l e b @ the other began as a 12-year-old choir boy. One ne w s re v i e w . c o m graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in creative writing; the other was expelled from high school, homeless for two years and most recently a San Francisco Art Institute dropout.
2019 O ST | 916.442.2682
No crap-rap here.
Catch the Precipice at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, at the Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Boulevard. The cover is $10. Learn more at www.facebook.com/ theprecipicemusic.
32 | SN&R | 03.19.15
and political. Though different, they both dig the other rapper’s style. “Tyler’s got a more flow-based approach to his rap,” Giovanini says. “It’s definitely about the flow. He’s got a bit more flair and energy when he delivers, and a lot of stage presence.” That flair—how Maciel-Todd chooses to enunciate each word—might come from his singing background. On “Find Your Way,” the chorus comes from his soulful pipes. “Anthony’s voice is really unique for hiphop—that contrast between his sort of monotone voice and his deeper lyrics,” Maciel-Todd says. “His stage performance is just wild. He’s so hyped, but his voice and his music are a little more noire.” It’s all about contrasts. At the same time, both rappers make small adjustments with the Precipice. Giovanini tones down the emotional vibes while Maciel-Todd tones down the dirty words. Together, they channel a classic, raw feel. The Precipice’s debut EP is written, and the duo plans to release it before summer hits. They’re already working on songs for the full-length, while also making progress on solo albums they hope to release sometime this year. PhoTo By Luke fiTz
5
$
Rappers on the verge
They are Anthony Giovanini, a.k.a. Sparks Across Darkness, and Tyler Maciel-Todd, a.k.a. TIP Vicious. On a recent afternoon, Giovanini’s suit and tie sharply contrasted Maciel-Todd’s T-shirt, jeans and long, gauged ears. Giovanini: “We’re like yin and yang.” Maciel-Todd: “Yeah, but we’re still trying to figure out who’s yin and who’s yang.” Separately, they’ve been working hard to break into the local hip-hop scene ever since they both—coincidentally—returned to Sacramento in 2014. And about eight months ago, they released their first collaboration track, “Find My Way,” an eclectic, uplifting indie hip-hop song with the pair trading off verses. It planted the seed for their new hip-hop duo, the Precipice, which debuts at the Blue Lamp on Wednesday, March 25. Expect to hear a little Sparks Across Darkness, a little TIP Vicious and then a little Precipice action, along with a stacked local hip-hop lineup including Charlie Muscle and Brutha Smith. As Sparks Across Darkness, Giovanini constructs songs like poems, focusing on content, employing literary devices and discussing dark, personal topics. As TIP Vicious, Maciel-Todd speaks his mind in a more straightforward way, preferring to get raunchy, comedic
Both rappers make small adjustments. Giovanini tones down the emotional vibes while Maciel-Todd tones down the dirty words. Together, they channel a classic, raw feel. And the group name? Maciel-Todd chose it from the 2008 science-fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still: “You say we’re on the brink of destruction and you’re right,” says Professor Jacob Barnhardt, played by John Cleese. “But it’s only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve.” “I figure with hip-hop, there are so many weird directions it’s going in right now that you either evolve and change to better hip-hop as a community, or be one of those one-hit-wonder, trend-following, crap-rap-style losers,” MacielTodd says. “We’re trying to do something that’s not like everyone else,” Giovanini says. “We’re trying to evolve.” Ω
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NEWS
SN&R
BEFORE
soured the night, but it didn’t. Yes, there were people removed who berated security from the sidewalk with threats like, “You think because you’re ex-military, I can’t fuck you up? Come find out.” But it only amounted to loud threats. The end. Back inside, Spielman wised to the situation and handled it. Lee stood center stage, not as a skinny longhair still clinging to adolescence, not the punk this city raised, but as a man returned who’s seen enough to shit to know how to deal with a security team that’s overflexing. It was like witnessing an actual Jedi mind trick as he stood midsong with one hand gently directed in security’s direction, palm down to assure them it was time to cease their tactics. His message: You’re the disturbance. “We all know how this works,” he said to the crowd after pausing the set. “If somebody stage dives, you catch them. If someone falls, pick them up. Knock a guy down, help him up. Don’t be disrespectful. We can police ourselves. So security needs to back the fuck up and let us handle our own.” And so they did. The muscle recoiled to the carpet, promoter Brian McKenna acted as buffer between the hired and the hardcore, and Trash Talk launched into “Sacramento Is Dead.” Sixteen stage dives happened in two minutes. Bodies somersaulted; otherwise collected members of the community were seen immersed in the pit; large bodies pushing 200 pounds landed securely like trust falls at a company retreat. Spielman lost his mic, but at the refrain those three visceral words exhaled from the scrum. Trash Talk played a homecoming show. Perhaps the first of many, but this first one will be remembered for the intimacy. We’ll remember it because no one played it cool and everyone was a 16-yearold renegade again. The only missing elements were actual teenagers. It was the lament of the night: To be 16 and witness a show like that is the type of awakening that can alter a kid for the permanent better. Still though, I’ll take the looks on the faces of Midtown mavens feeling young again.
Gift certificates to local merchants for up to 50% off
Welcome home: Hardcore does not have many homes in Sacramento, but Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub is the last venue expected to house a Trash Talk homecoming show. You go to Harlow’s for an aging indie rock show or the rap counterpart where there are fists in the air, but never gunshots. The only danger on the 28th block of J Street tends to billow into the street after a fight is broken up at Bar West. For many, Monday night’s Trash Talk headlining show was building to an impossible expectation. The idea that “we’ll be mobbin’ in the middle of J Street” or something to that effect was implanted in my ear a week prior. The makings of such an event felt possible. Not purely due to Trash Talk’s reputation, but in part to former Sac-native-turnedNinja-Tune-signee Lee Bannon and New York City’s experimental rap trio Ratking arriving in tow. Each performer specializes in a variation of tension and anxiety, expelled and absorbed into a headbang in solidarity, fist pump or an all-out pit. It never quite got to mobbin’ in the street. There was no riot against the establishment. It wasn’t a sold-out night, so the numbers that inspire invincible groupthink weren’t there. Mostly, Harlow’s hired the extra muscle to damage-control the few hundred in congregation. Still, the night was not without event. When Trash Talk took stage, frontman Lee Spielman set the tone: “I better see some fucking stage dives.” He challenged Sacramento immediately, that challenge being: Don’t make me regret coming home. The instigation swelled, which is the undercurrent of Trash Talk’s success. Spielman puts himself in harm’s way, as much as he orchestrates the pit like a symphony. He didn’t set rules or boundaries, nor did he back down as a performer. He instigates, but does not belittle in the process. We’re never pussies, but we’re challenged to give him more nonetheless. The extra security, like any poorly trained and misinformed peacekeepers, were the agitators. They were out of their element and given orders to remove anyone who stage dived—a serious miscommunication considering Spielman’s opening address. This could have
w w w. n e w s r e v i e w.c o m
No riots, just teenage kicks
—Blake Gillespie
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21SAT
21SAT
21SAT
24TUES
Magickat
Brubaker
Cosmopolitan Pirates
Jonny Lang
Old Ironsides, 6:30 p.m., $20
Blue Lamp, 8 p.m., $10
Magickat, a tribute to Cat Stevens, a.k.a. Yusuf Islam, does great justice to his storied catalog without sounding coerced or tired. Singer George Papailias does more than an admirable job of delivering Stevens’ songs and is aided by a fine backing band. They’ve sold out venues such as Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub and Miner’s Foundry Cultural Center and have consequently grown their fan base organically. This is a seated dinner show and benefit for The Mustard Seed FOLK School. Food will be provided by T&R Taste of Texas BBQ, and Adrian Bellue and Joe Kye open the show. Hurry and grab tickets, since this one will most likely sell out. 1901 10th Street, www.facebook.com/catstevenstribute.
—Eddie Jorgensen
Shine, 8 p.m., $5
Funk, metal, punk—these were readily available ingredients for NorCal club bands in the ’90s. Most of those bands have come and gone, but a lot of the members are still kicking around playing in other groups. Brubaker is one of those bands. Formed in 2013, the group features members of Kai Kln, Hellworms, Bluchunks and Walrus. Rather than funkified-metal-punk, ROCK Brubaker offers some mean ’70s hard rock riffage, with a flair of Southern rock and gritty, beer-soaked vocals. The band certainly has a no-nonsense approach to rocking out and headbanging, but it’s also clear the musicians come from eclectic musical backgrounds, with subtly complex influences. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard, www.facebook.com/brubakertheband.
Formed in late 2014, Cosmopolitan Pirates has been busy making a name for itself. Piracy is in the band’s blood. The three vocalists, two guitarists, trumpeter, alto and tenor sax players, keyboardist and percussionists will gladly funk up and pull from any genre. In a December concert, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” was given a new twist and the 1944 tune “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” a call and response duet, was updated for the 21st century while retaining what makes those songs classics. The Pirates met while attending American River FUNK/JAZZ College and cite Snarky Puppy, Galactic, Maceo Parker and other funk and jazz fusion performers as influences. Also on the bill is Miros. 1400 E Street, http://tinyurl.com/cosmopirates.
—Aaron Carnes
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
LIVE MUSIC
EVERY FRI & SAT 9PM
March 20 THE SOUL SHINE
FRI MAR 20
NUNCHUCK TAYLOR
March 21 KINGSBOROUGH March 22 DYLAN CRAWFORD *
PREMIER PARTY AND DANCE BAND / $5
SAT MAR 21
March 28 HARDLY DEAD (A TRIBUTE TO THE GRATEFUL DEAD)
INNERSOUL SOPHISTICATED R&B / SACRAMENTO OLD SCHOOL DANCE BAND / $5
March 29 RICH KRIEGER *
FRI MAR 27
April 3
YER MOM ROCKS
April 4
FABULOUS FUNKY BAND
April 10
IN THE NO
April 11
VAGABOND BROTHERS
BLUE VANDALS ECLECTIC MIX OF ROCKIN’ ORIGINALS AND ENERGETIC COVERS / $5
SAT MAR 28
SET IN STONE CLASSIC ROCK / $5
MARCH MAYHEM SPECIALS
*SUNDAY ACOUSTIC SESSIONS FROM 2-5PM
27 BEERS ON DRAFT TRIVIA MONDAYS @ 6:30PM OPEN MIC WEDNESDAYS SIGN-UPS @ 7:30PM KARAOKE THURSDAYS @ 7:30PM
101 MAIN STREET, ROSEVILLE 916-774-0505 · LUNCH/DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK FRI & SAT 9:30PM - CLOSE 21+ FACEBOOK.COM/BAR101ROSEVILLE
34 | SN&R |
HAPPY HOUR DURING ALL GAMES $5 NEWCASTLE / KEEP THE GLASS PINTS WITH $3 REFILLS
HALFTIME BAR & GRILL INSIDE STRIKES UNLIMITED 5681 Lonetree Blvd • Rocklin 916.626.3600 HALFTIMER OCKLIN.COM
03.19.15
Crest Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $39-$65 Harsh winters come to mind when one thinks of Fargo, South Dakota. It’s got to be a tough place to keep your hands warm enough to play the guitar—unless you’re Jonny Lang. The fair-skinned, BLUES 40-year-old blues guitarist who hails from the cold city has been blowing away national audiences for more than 20 years with his gritty singing style and searing solos on his Fender Telecaster. Lang has been a regular at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival and the Experience Hendrix tours, but those brief high-energy appearances pale in comparison to seeing his full live set. Nashville’s Runaway Saints, who recently played at Ace of Spades, open. 1013 K Street, www.jonnylang.com.
—Paul Piazza
—Trina L. Drotar
THE HIDEAWAY BAR & GRILL
RESTAURANT •• BAR BAR CLUB •• RESTAURANT COMEDY COMEDY CLUB
VOTED BEST COMEDY CLUB BY THE SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW!
UPCOMING EVENTS WEDS MARCH 18 & 25TH:
THURSDAY 3/19 - SATURDAY 3/21 FROM CONAN AND CHELSEA LATELY!
THURS MARCH 19& 26TH:
RHEA BUTCHER, LYDIA POPOVICH
TWISTED TRIVIA. NO COVER
CAMERON ESPOSITO
TRASH ROCK THURSDAYS. NO COVER
SUNDAY 3/22
LANCE WOOD AND FRIENDS
FRI MARCH 27TH:
EVIL BEAVER, TEENAGE BRAIN, PROBLEMS WITH DRAGONS.8PM $7
THURSDAY 3/26 - SATURDAY 3/28 FROM THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE AND COMEDY CENTRAL’S THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!
SAT MARCH 28TH:
DREAM IN RED, PUNCHOUT. MATINEE. 5-8PM. ALL AGES. $5
FRI MAR 20 SUN MAR 22
SUN MARCH 29TH:
ACE GUILLEN
THURS APRIL 2ND:
WITH RYAN NOACK
MALE GAZE, TIARAS. MATINEE 4-8. ALL AGES THE LOWER 48S, ROCKIN' TRASH ROCK'S 1YR ANNIVERSARY.8PM. $5
SAT APRIL 4TH:
SONIC LOVE AFFAIR (REUNION SHOW), LECHEROUS GAZE, WILD HONEY.8PM $7
FRI APRIL 10TH:
SIR COYLER & HIS ASTHMATIC BAND. 8PM. $5 SUNDAY SINEMA DINNER FOR TWO HOUSE COCKTAILS
2 1 APPETIZER 2 ENTREES
$30
(VALID SUNDAY ONLY.LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER. IN HOUSE ONLY. EXP 4/30/15)
2565 FRANKLIN BLVD • 916.455.1331
FRI MAR 27 - SUN MAR 29
BRYAN RICCI WITH KRISTEN FRISK FRI APR 03 - SUN APR 05
HAILEY BOYLE WITH SKIP CLARK
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:
Laughsunlimited.com Call Club for showtimes, prices and reservation (916) 446-5905 • 446-8128 Two item minimum - 17 and over
1207 Front Street in Old Sacramento
ARI SHAFFIR DEAN DELRAY, JOE GORMAN
SUNDAY 3/29 BOOMERAGING: FROM LSD TO OMG
WILL DURST
TUESDAY 3/31 WWE HALL OF FAMER AND NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR!
MICK FOLEY BRENDON BURNS
THURSDAY 4/2 - SATURDAY 4/4
KABIR SINGH, KEVIN CAMIA & FRIENDS
DASH KWIATKOWSKI, DJ SANDHU, KRISTEE ONO WEDNESDAY 4/8
SARAH COLONNA: “HAS ANYONE SEEN MY PANTS?” BOOK TOUR
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! TWITTER.COM/PUNCHLINESAC • FACEBOOK.COM/PLSAC
WWW.PUNCHLINESAC.COM
CALL CLUB FOR SHOWTIMES: (916) 925-5500
2100 ARDEN WAY • IN THE HOWE ‘BOUT ARDEN SHOPPING CENTER
2 DRINK MINIMUM. 18 & OVER. I.D. REQUIRED.
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE CLUB BOX OFFICE WITH NO SERVICE CHARGE.
25WED
26THURS
Chk Chk Chk
Angelina Moysov
Sammies
Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 8 p.m., $15 Indie punk-funksters Chk Chk Chk (a.k.a. !!!) near their 20th year still in full possession of their signature dance-floor vibrancy and heady grooves. The Sacramento sextet emerged in the mid-’90s like the love child of Slint, Steely Dan and Sly & the Family Stone. Its crisp, jazzy, sometimes steely minimalism often gives way to driving, Gödel-esque psychedelica threading INDIE/DANCE the needle between billowy mind drift and mantra-like insistence. On its latest, 2013’s Thr!!!er, Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno translates his own band’s rubbery pulse into spooky slink, as Chk Chk Chk critiques the limits of shame: “I’d rather worry about my existential crisis on a beach where the sun sets nicest.” 2708 J Street, www.chkchkchk.net.
Naked Lounge, 8 p.m., $5
PHOTO BY JONATHAN MENDICK
24TUES
Inner Ear Brigade
Ace of Spades, 7 p.m., $5-$10
If you were going to shows in the East Bay or even the Sacramento valley from 2000 to 2007, chances are you heard of Persephone’s Bees. Russia-born Angelina Moysov and her husband Tom Ayres were the chief songwriters and eventually got signed to Columbia Records and released the fabulous Notes From The Underworld in INDIE POP 2006. And while the band received considerable accolades and the couple made some great publishing and sync licensing revenue from placement on The Sopranos, Weeds and many advertisements, it wasn’t enough for them to keep their record deal. If you’re a fan of well-crafted pop, you will enjoy Angelina’s solo material. 1111 H Street, www.persephonesbees.com.
26THURS
Shine, 8 p.m., $5
The votes are in. SN&R hosts the 23rd annual Sammies award ceremony and multi-musicgenre concert, bursting with local pride and sound once again at Ace of Spades. Sixteen months in the making, after AWARDS the Sammies awards season was moved from the fall to early spring, the 2015 party, put together by local music bon vivant Jerry Perry, will be chock full of live performances by Sammies nominees including Massive Delicious, Joseph In the Well (pictured), Chris Gardner Band, Element Brass Band, James Cavern and Shoujo Kitten. There will also be a collective tip of the cap to Musical Charis (also performing) for their induction into the Sammies Hall of Fame. 1417 R Street, www.sammies.com.
—Eddie Jorgensen
—Alan Sheckter
With conventional rock-band gear, a funky horn section and a Moog synthesizer, Oakland-based seven-piece Inner Ear Brigade melds several genres into one eclectic it-shouldn’t-work-but-it-works style. Improvisational jazz, heavy guitar riffs, strange chord progressions and brass lines all layer into extremely detailed, composed orchestrations. Throw in a vibraphone, organ and slew of vintage keys for good measure; and spacey, at times operatic, at times shrieky EXPERIMENTAL vocals; and difficult-to-place noises; and a smooth jazzesque sax solo, once in a while. It works, I swear—it’s even approachable, somehow. Also on the bill: Doofy Doo and Nick Parker. 1400 E Street, http://innerearbrigade.com.
—Chris Parker
BEFORE
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NEWS
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F E AT U R E
—Janelle Bitker
STORY
| A R T S & C U L T U R E
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AFTER
| 03.19.15
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NIGHTBEAT
THURSDAY 3/19
FRIDAY 3/20
BAR 101
Karaoke Night, 7:30pm, no cover
THE SOUL SHINE BAND, 9:30pm, no cover
BLUE LAMP
The Grind Hip-Hop Show, 8pm, $10
JULIE’A, SOFA KIN TINGHT, 6pm, $5; BRUBAKER, BLACK CAT GRAVE, Reggae w/ Wokstar and guests, 10pm, $3 HELLBENDER; 8pm, $10
101 Main St., Roseville; (916) 774-0505
List your event!
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1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400
THE BOARDWALK
9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247
BROOKSIDE RESTAURANT & BAR 9819 Horn Rd., (916) 361-1797
COUNTRY CLUB SALOON
Trivia night, 7pm Tu, no cover; Karaoke, 9pm W, no cover
MYON & SHANE 54, 10pm, $10-$15
DIVE BAR
Deuling Pianos, 9pm, no cover
FOX & GOOSE
THE MIKE JUSTIS BAND, 8pm, no cover
MASSIVE DELICIOUS, RGB, STRAWBERRY GIRLS; 9pm, $7
CUSTOM DEBRIS, RED UNION BLUE, FIVE THREE OH; 9pm, $5
G STREET WUNDERBAR
THE BUMPTET, 10pm, no cover
DJ Mouf, 10pm, no cover
SKUNK FUNK, 10pm, no cover
THE GOLDEN BEAR
DJ Shaun Slaughter, 10pm, no cover
DJ Crook One, 10pm, no cover
DJ Luke Brown, 10pm, no cover
1016 K St., (916) 737-5770
228 G St., Davis; (530) 756-9227 2326 K St., (916) 441-2252
CALIFORNIA CHILD, THE MISGUIDED; 6:30pm, $5 DJ Billy Lane, 10pm, call for cover
ONE DOLLAR CHECK, 9pm, no cover
NORTHERN TRADITIONZ, 9pm, no cover
HALFTIME BAR & GRILL
NUNCHUCK TAYLOR, 9pm, $5
INNERSOUL, 9pm, $5
CONNOR AND KARLEE, 6:30pm, $7; MIKE STUD, KAPTN; 10:30pm, $20-$25
Felipe Esparza, 7pm and 10pm, $17-$20
1603 J St., (916) 476-5076
5681 Lonetree Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 626-6366
HARLOW’S
2708 J St., (916) 441-4693
MOON HOOCH, SCOTT PEMBERTON TRIO; 8pm, $10-$12
THE HIDEAWAY BAR & GRILL
Trash Rock Thursdays, 9pm, no cover
2565 Franklin Blvd., (916) 455-1331
LUNA’S CAFÉ & JUICE BAR
Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm, $2
1414 16th St., (916) 441-3931
MIDTOWN BARFLY
1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779
NAKED LOUNGE DOWNTOWN
ZACH MACLACHLAN, SWAHILI PASSION, JULIET COMPANY; 8:30pm, $5
1111 H St., (916) 443-1927
3/22 7PM $15
HONEYHONEY COVE
DANNY OFFER
THE LIVELIES, ELECTRIC SNORKEL, TAYLOR FINE; 8:30pm, $5
LIABILITIES, FUKU & THE DEADLY VENOMS; 8:30pm, $5
Jazz session, 8pm M; PORTRAITS, ANGELA MOYSOV; 8:30pm W, $5
COMING SOON 3/27 Ewan Dobson
3/29 Matalachi 3/30 Pete Rock, Slum Village
4/03 Wonderbread 5 4/04 Cream of Clapton
KAPTN, THE KID RYAN 3/26 6PM $15ADV
3/21 6PM AND 9:30PM $17ADV
FELIPE ESPARZA (SOLD OUT)
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SN&R
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TYRONE WELLS
DOMINIC BALLI, EMILY HEARN
4/04 Saved by the 90s 4/10 Fleetwood Mask
WEDNESDAYS KNCI 18 & OVER COLLEGE NIGHT
THURSDAYS NO COVER BANDS IN THE BACK OPEN MIC UP FRONT
FRIDAYS COUNTRY DJ IN THE BACK, BAND UP FRONT
SATURDAYS
ON STAGE AT THE
STATE THEATRE Saturday, March 21, 7:30 pm Sunday, March 22, 3 pm
Tea for Three: Lady Bird, Pat and Betty
One Woman Show Emmy Award Winning Elaine Bromka Tickets $20
COUNTRY DJ IN THE BACK KARAOKE UP FRONT
Saturday, March 28, 2015, 7:30 pm Mike Amaral’s
SUNDAYS
Tickets $25
18 & OVER COLLEGE NIGHT
Saturday, April 11, 8 pm Pink Floyd Tribute Band
STONEYS SERVES GREAT DINNERS AND SANDWICHES WEDENSDAY - SUNDAY
GARTH BROOKS AFTER PARTIES MARCH 27TH THRU APRIL 1ST
California Beach Boys
The Floyd
Tickets $30/Limited VIP $40 Thursday, March 19 • 7 pm • $6 Oscar Winner For Best Picture
Birdman
4/11 Sizzling Sirens 4/12 Black Milk
03.19.15
Roger Carpio, Tim Matranga, 9pm M; Cactus Pete, 8pm Tu; Trivia, 8pm W
Salsa lessons with Nicole Lazo, 7:30pmmidnight W, $5
4/02 Johnny A
MIKE STUD
Sunday Sinema, 8pm, no cover
LANE 8, JODY WISTERNOFF; 10pm, $15-$20
4/01 Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band
3/20 10PM $20ADV
CHK CHK CHK, DANNY OFFER; 8pm Tu, $15
That Thing on Friday, EDM, 10pm, $5
3/28 Doey Rock
CONNOR & KARLEE LARISA & WILLIE, GRANT CHESEN
HONEY HONEY, COVE; 7pm, $15
Nebraska Mondays, M; Comedy, 8pm Tu; GLENS OF SMOW, SAMBANDHA; 7pm W
3/28 Stillwood Sages 3/24 7PM $15
Open-mic, 7:30pm M; Pub Quiz, 7pm Tu; Northern Soul and Cornhole, 8pm W
POCKET PEOPLE, THE LILY PROJECT, ORANGE MORNING; 8pm, $5
3/27 Mustache Harbor
!!! (CHK CHK CHK)
BILLY MANZIK, 9pm Tu, no cover; BRIAN ROGERS, 9pm W, no cover
City Spin Slam Poetry w/ Jenny Davison, 8pm, no cover
2708 J Street Sacramento, CA 916.441.4693 www.harlows.com
36
PANIC CITY, 10pm, call for cover
GOLDFIELD TRADING POST
3/20 6PM $7
Open mic, 8pm M; THE PRECIPICE, CHARLIE MUSCLE, BONEY JAY; 8pm W, $10
DINORAH’S TRIO, 8pm, no cover
DISTRICT 30
MOON HOOCH, SCOTT PEMBERTON
TIM BARRY, JENNY OWEN YOUNGS, CORY BRANAN; 7pm, $12-$15
MOD SUN, DILLON COOPER, BLACKBEAR, KR, KARIZMA; 6:30pm Tu, $15-$50
Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover
594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481
3/19 7PM $10ADV
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 3/23-3/25 Trivia Night, 6:30pm M, no cover; Open-mic night, 7:30pm W, no cover
TEE FLII, 7pm, $20-$40
THE COZMIC CAFÉ
1001 R St., (916) 443-8825
Hey local bands!
SUNDAY 3/22 DYLAN CRAWFORD, 2-5pm, no cover
MARSYAS COMPLEX, 9pm-1am, no cover CLUSTERPHUNK, 9pm-1am, no cover
4007 Taylor Rd., Loomis; (916) 652-4007
1022 K St., (916) 737-5999
Want to be a hot show? Mail photos to Calendar Editor, SN&R, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815 or email it to sactocalendar@ newsreview.com. Be sure to include date, time, location and cost of upcoming shows.
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
SATURDAY 3/21 KINGSBOROUGH, 9:30pm, no cover
1320 DEL PASO BLVD
STONEYINN.COM | 916.927.6023
985 Lincoln Way, Auburn • 530-885-0156 www. livefromauburn.com
THURSDAY 3/19 OLD IRONSIDES
1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504
ON THE Y
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731
THE PALMS PLAYHOUSE
140 Harrison Ave., Auburn; (530) 885-5093 5461 Mother Lode, Placerville; (530) 626-0336 614 Sutter St., Folsom; (916) 355-8586
WHISKEY MAIDEN, 10pm, call for cover
THE PRESS CLUB
2030 P St., (916) 444-7914
SHADY LADY SALOON
HARLEY WHITE JR., 9pm, no cover
1409 R St., (916) 231-9121
MAU, THE VERGE, SOUTHLOT; 9pm, $6
SUNDAY 3/22
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 3/23-3/25 HEATH WILLIAMSON, 5pm M; Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 9pm W, no cover
IMBIBED BY THE QUASAR, WURM FLESH, Karaoke, 9pm, no cover ABORTICIDE, NEWTDICK; 8pm, $7
Open-mic comedy, 9pm, no cover
Karaoke, 9pm Tu, no cover
RICK ESTRIN & THE NIGHTCATS, 8:30pm, $20
Karaoke, 9pm, no cover
PJ’S ROADHOUSE
POWERHOUSE PUB
SATURDAY 3/21 MAJICKAT, ADRIAN BELLUE, JOE KYE; 6:30pm, $20
PETER CASE, 8pm, $20
13 Main St., Winters; (530) 795-1825
PISTOL PETE’S
FRIDAY 3/20
THE BONEDRIVERS, 9pm, call for cover
Karaoke, 9pm Tu, W, no cover
HUMBLE WOLF, 9pm, $5
ROADHOUSE RATS, 9pm, $5
TAINTED LOVE, 10pm, call for cover
SOME FEAR NONE, ZEN ARCADIA, HERO’S CAFE R&B, 10pm, call for cover LAST MISSION, ROSWELL; 8pm, $10
STREET URCHINS, 8pm W, call for cover
Top 40 w/ DJ Rue, 9pm, $5
Top 40 w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9pm, $5
Sunday Night Soul Party, 9pm, $5
DJ Chrispy Tofu, 9pm M; L.A. WITCH, 8pm Tu; ASTRAL CULT, 8pm W, $8
JULIE AND THE JUKES, 9pm, no cover
JAZZ GITAN, 9pm-midnight, no cover
EMILY KOLLARS, 9pm, no cover
SOL COLLECTIVE
Sacramento Young Feminists Alliance Dance, 7pm-midnight, $5-$7
STARLITE LOUNGE
BILL MYLAR, 5:30pm; CRESCENDO, EVOLVE, SPACEFUNK, 59CRIME; 9pm
STONEBERRY, GLUG, EMPIRE OF DIRT; 8pm, call for cover
Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover; $5 after 8pm
Country dancing, 7:30pm, no cover; $5 after 8pm
Country dance party, 8pm, no cover
RIFF RAFF, CATS BARKING; 2pm, call for cover
HEARTBREAKER, 3-7pm, $5
LARA PRICE, 9pm, $8
Blues jam, 4pm, no cover
RANELL CARPENTER, 8pm Tu; Open-mic, 5:30pm W; BRIAN ROGERS, 9pm W, $5
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, BORN OF OSIRIS, THE WORD ALIVE; 6pm, $18
DAN + SHAY, CANAAN SMITH; 6:30pm Tu, $20
2574 21st St., (916) 832-0916 1517 21st St., (916) 704-0711
STONEY INN/ROCKIN’ RODEO 1320 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 927-6023
JACKSON MICHELSON, 9pm, no cover
SWABBIES
5871 Garden Hwy, (916) 920-8088
TORCH CLUB
X TRIO, 5pm, no cover; RED’S BLUES, DEREK IRVING; 9pm, $6
904 15th St., (916) 443-2797
PAILER AND FRATIS, 5:30-7:30pm, no cover; HAMILTON LOOMIS, 9pm, $12
L.A. Witch with Monster Treasure, Vasas, Death Party at the Beach and Radiator King 8pm Tuesday, call for cover. Press Club Punk
Open-Mic Comedy Jam w/ Brandon Lee, 7:30pm W, no cover Comedy open-mic, 8pm M; Bluebird Lounge open-mic, 5pm Tu, no cover
All ages, all the time ACE OF SPADES
REBEL SOULJAHZ, TRIBAL THEORY, CRSB, ELI MAC; 6:30pm, $18
1417 R St., (916) 448-3300
CAFÉ COLONIAL
CLUB AMERICA, WAYNE JETSKI, TAYLOR FIELDS MUSIC, CURING ADAM; 8pm, $7
3512 Stockton Blvd., (916) 718-7055
THE COLONY
IDLEHANDS, GHOST PARADE, BELLE NOIRE; 6pm, $7
GEHENNA, RAT DAMAGE, AUGURS, DEATHGRAVE, XTOM HANX; 8pm, $10
SHINE
Charity: Water open-mic/jam, 6pm, call for cover
KALLY O’MALLY, CLOUDSHIP, SETH A. ELSOM; 8pm, $5
3520 Stockton Blvd., (916) 718-7055 1400 E St., (916) 551-1400
PONY VILLAGE, WHERE; WITH ALL, LIVE IN A SPIRAL; 7pm $6
THE COSMOPOLITAN PIRATES, MIROS; 8pm, $5
ACE OF SPADES SATURDAY, MARCH 21
Open jazz jam, 8pm Tu; Poetry with Bill Gainer, 7pm W, call for cover
1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95814 www.aceofspadessac.com
ALL AGES WELCOME!
SATURDAY, MARCH 28
REBEL SOULJAHZ
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FREE!*
*Nominal fee for adult entertainment. All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. Further, the News & Review specifically reserves the right to edit, decline or properly classify any ad. Errors will be rectified by re-publication upon notification. The N&R is not responsible for error after the first publication. The N&R assumes no financial liability for errors or omission of copy. In any event, liability shall not exceed the cost of the space occupied by such an error or omission. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.
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Write, email or leave a message for Joey at the News & Review. Give your name, telephone number (for verification purposes only) and question—all correspondence will be kept strictly confidential.
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42 | SN&R | 03.19.15
In most people, clinginess is a symptom of infatuation. But in others, refusing to let go points to an older, unresolved wound of abandonment.
916.487.8241 / oPen 9AM-10PM
MEN’S SPA Full Gym Sauna Pool Lounge Area Locker Room
My ex-girlfriend won’t let go. She uses every excuse to contact me, or my sister, and try to reinsert herself into our lives. She acts like she’s just being social and caring but the conversation always turns into an argument. I stopped returning her calls about six months ago and I blocked her number. Now she harangues my sister, complaining that I owe her thousands of dollars and by Joey ga won’t pay. (She never said this rcia to me and it’s a lie, anyway.) Then she cries about how she a s k j o e y @ne w s re v i e w . c o m can’t live without me because I’m her soul mate. They both work in the same field so my sister feels like she can’t cut my ex off Joey without repercussions. Do you have is coming to a Rotary advice for us? Club near you. Choose your girlfriends more carefully? Seriously, your exgirlfriend’s desperation didn’t suddenly lurch to life after the breakup. Anyone who is terrified of losing control shows signs long before panicky, adrenaline-driven barnacle behaviors take over.
massa
SACRAMENTO’S ORIGINAL
» » » » »
True love and other clingy lies
NEW
Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email askjoey@ newsreview.com.
Unfortunately, initial clinginess is frequently ignored or mistakenly translated as a symptom of true love. It isn’t. In most people, clinginess is a symptom of infatuation. But in others, refusing to let go points to an older, unresolved wound of abandonment. That can’t be healed through a romantic relationship, but it can be healed through therapeutic self-examination while in a romantic relationship. Your sister’s situation is particularly difficult, but she has to cut the cord, too. Here’s how: Be less available to chat. When engaged in a conversation with your ex, your sister must insist on a boundary: no more conversation about you or the old relationship. Your sister must shift away from being your ex-girlfriend’s confidant. Eventually, your ex will understand that she cannot use your sister as a release valve. She’ll also learn that your sister is
not a route back into your heart. Although establishing a boundary may seem unkind, it’s actually an act of love that can nudge your ex to heal and move on. Every time I try to talk to my boyfriend about our relationship, he immediately says he realizes that he can’t make me happy and that we should break up. I find myself going crazy, trying to make everything OK for him because I don’t want to break up. But then what happens is the point I was trying to make gets lost and nothing gets resolved. I love him and don’t want to lose him. I don’t know what to do. Please help. Start to listen without fear. Fearless listening connects you to reality, so you can begin to understand your situation clearly. Like this: Your boyfriend is saying that he feels inadequate and that thought pushes your panic button. Why? Are you afraid that you have invested so much in the relationship that you can’t risk losing him? If so, you might be enslaved by your ideas about love, rather than free to love and be loved. And, yes, I know that your man’s “I can’t make you happy” story might be an excuse to avoid growing into the partner you believe he’s capable of becoming. But if he really doesn’t have the chops for intimacy, counseling can help. Girls’ night out used to be a blast, when my friends and I were single. Now that we all have boyfriends, everyone talks about every little thing their boyfriends do and they sound like my co-workers who exaggerate every little thing their babies do. I’m so sick of it. Oh sweetie! You are not a victim of your friends’ blessed lives. Refuse the invites to the outings, or accept the invites and soak in the sweetness. Or find another friend group. Channel your annoyance into a life makeover, if that’s what you really desire. Ω
Meditation of the Week “You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame,” wrote Erica Jong. Are you ready to accept responsibility for what you have done and what you have failed to do?
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Initiatives spark up
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I see plenty of people getting excited about legalizing marijuana in California, but are there any ballot initiatives ready to go? Any you can recommend? —Ivana B. Puffingwun There are a few ready to go, but I am not sure they will have much of a chance. The folks behind the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative are trying (again) to get their initiative on the ballot. While I really like the language of their proposal (the tax on pot is really BEALUM by NGAIO low, you would be able to grow an incredible amount of weed in your home and it would free people in jail for nonviolent cannabis crimes), I don’t think they a sk420 @ n ewsreview.c om have a chance. The CCHI has no money, and no real organization. Sigh. ’14 The people working on the Marijuana Control, Legalization and Revenue Act are crowdsourcing ideas for a new initiative (follow this link to see the initiative on a Google Doc: http://bit.ly/18iSM2q). These folks tried to get something on the ballot in 2014. I wish them luck in 2016. Cannabis advocate and superlawyer Omar Figueroa has started drumming up support for his California Cannabis Artisan Initiative (www.californiacannabis2016.com). It would seek to support “mom and pop” marijuana busiSeemingly everyone nesses and create “reasonable regulatory oversight by a has a different idea newly created, elected, and of what cannabis highly transparent governmental agency subject to term legalization limitations, the California Commission, with should look like. Cannabis the dual requirements to facilitate the safe access of medical cannabis for seriously ill Californians and also to ensure that Californians 21 years of age or older have access to cannabis for responsible adult use from open, transparent, and highly reliable sources.” This is a good and interesting idea. ReformCA, a sort of supergroup composed of people from CA NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project, Oaksterdam University, the NAACP, the Drug Policy Alliance and a few more folks, is working on the language for its initiative as we speak. These folks may have the best chance, seeing as they will probably have the most money Must bring ad. Limit one per patient. Must bring ad. Limit one per patient. to spend on a campaign. It costs about $20 million to get an Some restrictions apply. Some restrictions apply. initiative on the ballot and the ReformCA team are excellent fundraisers. One of the challenges in California is that seemingly Ngaio Bealum is a Sacramento everyone has a different idea of what cannabis legalization comedian, activist should look like. Some people want it super controlled, and marijuana expert. like it was Sudafed or some other dangerous drug, and 2 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU Email him questions some people would like a way more liberal approach to at ask420@ 2100 Watt Ave, Unit 190 | Sacramento, CA 95825 | Mon–Sat 10am–6pm newsreview.com. marijuana legalization. I hope we can a find a workable, 2633 Telegraph Ave. 109 | Oakland, CA 94612 | 510-832-5000 passable balance. Also, people seem to think that marijuana Mon–Sat 10am–6pm | Sun: 12am-6pm legalization in California is inevitable, so the fervor and RECOMMENDATIONS ARE VALID FOR 1 YEAR FOR QUALIFYING PATIENTS passion of previous campaigns hasn’t really started yet. WALK-INS WELCOME ALL DAY EVERYDAY Maybe we should just do what Texas Representative 420 MD OPERATING IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA David Simpson has proposed: he recently filed a bill with the Texas legislature that would simply remove any YOUR INFORMATION IS 100% PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL law prohibiting marijuana from the books. Seems simple VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT ONLINE 24/7 AT enough to me. Of course, if that happened, errybody and their momma would start a weed farm, but so what? I feel like we should grow weed everywhere anyway. It’s good for the planet. Ω B E F O R E | N E W S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R | 03.19.15 | SN&R | 45
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Serving the
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• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Baked Banana Bread
• Fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly in the pan.
1/2 cup cannabis butter, purchased from a dispensary or homemade 2 medium bananas, sliced 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup sour cream
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• In a large bowl, stir together melted cannabis butter and sugar. • Add the eggs and vanilla; mix well. • Combine the flour, baking soda and salt into the mixture until smooth.
• Bake at 350 F for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. • Cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Recipe adapted and reprinted with permission from www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com. Original recipe available at: www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/ marijuana-recipe-banana-bread.
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hen patients walk into a dispensary, they see shelves lined in an array of strains. Novices may not know what experts fully grasp: placement says a lot about a product. Not all cannabis is equal. Different plants have different appearances and chemical compositions, leading to wide variances in scents, flavors, potencies and medicinal uses. The stronger and better-looking strains are considered higher quality. Dispensaries emphasize differences in their offerings with a tiered system of display. Top shelf — usually the products literally on the highest shelf — represents the best that dispensary has to offer. Shelves in the middle have cheaper strains, some nearly as potent as top-shelf varieties but not as attractive. Bottom shelf … well, that’s self-explanatory. Why go top shelf? Why spend extra for marquee cannabis? “The reason that it’s top shelf is because it’s generally produced with greater care than some of the lower
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are you connected to medical marijuana?
If you’re a cannabusiness owner, patient advocate or medical professional, we want to know what you think should be covered in Capital Cannabis Guide. Share your story ideas with Evan Tuchinsky at evant@newsreview.com
sacramento, ca | 916.387.6233 mon-sat 10am to 9pm | sun 11am to 8pm | cc101sac.com
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DOCTORS
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by Nick Miller
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re
entering a time and space known as the Adlib Zone. In this territory, fertile chaos and inspirational uncertainty are freely available. Improvised formulas will generate stronger mojo than timeworn maxims. Creativity is de rigueur, and street smarts count for more than booklearning. May I offer some mottos to live by when “common sense” is inadequate? (1) Don’t be a slave to necessity. (2) Be as slippery as you can be and still maintain your integrity. (3) Don’t just question authority; be thrilled about every chance you get to also question habit, tradition, fashion, trendiness, apathy and dogma.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Without
your wound where would your power be?” asked writer Thornton Wilder. “The very angels themselves cannot persuade the wretched and blundering children on earth as can one human being broken on the wheels of living.” Let’s make that one of your ongoing meditations, Scorpio. I think the coming weeks will be an excellent time to come to a greater appreciation for your past losses. What capacities has your suffering given birth to? What failures have made you stronger? What crucial lessons and unexpected benefits have emerged from your sadness and madness?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): By 1993,
rock band Guns N’ Roses had released five successful albums. But on the way to record their next masterpiece, there were numerous delays and diversions. Band members feuded. Some were fired and others departed. Eventually, only one original member remained to bring the task to conclusion with the help of new musicians. The sixth album, Chinese Democracy, finally emerged in 2008. I’m seeing a similarity between Guns N’ Roses’ process and one of your ongoing projects, Taurus. The good news is that I think most of the hassles and delays are behind you, or will be if you act now. You’re primed to make a big push toward the finish line.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
“Creating is not magic but work,” says Kevin Ashton, author of the book How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery. In other words, inspiration is a relatively small part of the creative process. Over the long haul, the more important factors are self-discipline, organized thinking, hard work, and attention to detail. And yet inspiration isn’t irrelevant, either. Brainstorms and periodic leaps of insight can be highly useful. That’s a good reminder as you enter a phase when you’re likely to be more imaginative and original than usual. I expect creative excitement to be a regular visitor.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The
anonymous blogger at Neurolove.me gives advice on how to love a Gemini: “Don’t get impatient with their distractibility. Always make time for great conversation. Be understanding when they’re moody. Help them move past their insecurities, and tell them it’s not their job to please everyone. Let them have space but never let them be lonely.” I endorse all that good counsel, and add this: “To love Geminis, listen to them attentively, and with expansive flexibility. Don’t try to force them to be consistent; encourage them to experiment at uniting their sometimes conflicting urges. As best as you can, express appreciation not just for the parts of them that are easy to love but also for the parts that are not yet ripe or charming.” Now feel free, Gemini, to show this horoscope to those whose affection you want.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The
fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was a good Capricorn, born January 6, 1854. In the course of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 60 stories about his life, he revealed his exceptional talent as an analytical thinker. His attention to details was essential to his success, and so was his expertise at gathering information. He did have a problem with addictive drugs, however. Morphine tempted him now and then, and cocaine more often, usually when he wasn’t feeling sufficiently challenged. Let this serve as a gentle warning, Capricorn. In the coming weeks, seek more relaxation and downtime than usual. Focus on recharging your psychic batteries. But please be sure that doesn’t cause you to get bored and then dabble with selfsabotaging stimuli.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You have
recently been to the mountaintop, at least metaphorically. Right? You wandered out to the high frontier and ruminated on the state of your fate from the most expansive vista you could find. Right? You have questioned the limitations you had previously accepted, and you have weaned yourself from at least one of your devitalizing comforts, and you have explored certain possibilities that had been taboo. Right? So what comes next? Here’s what I suggest: Start building a new framework or structure or system that will incorporate all that you’ve learned during your break.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): English
is my first language. Years ago there was a time when I spoke a lot of French with my Parisian girlfriend, but my skill faded after we broke up. So I’m not bilingual in the usual sense. But I do have some mastery in the language of music, thanks to my career as a singer-songwriter. Having raised a daughter, I also learned to converse in the language of children. And I’ve remembered and worked with my nightly dreams every day for decades, so I speak the language of dreams. What about you, Aquarius? In the coming weeks, I bet you’ll be challenged to make more extensive use of one of your second languages. It’s time to be adaptable and resourceful in your approach to communication.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to the
international code of food standards, there are 13 possible sizes for an olive. They include large, extra large, jumbo, extra jumbo, giant, colossal, super colossal, mammoth and super mammoth. If I had my way, Leo, you would apply this mindset to everything you do in the coming weeks. It’s time for you to think very big. You will thrive as you expand your mind, stretch your boundaries, increase your territory, amplify your self-expression, magnify your focus and broaden your innocence.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Do you
need a reason to think sharper and work smarter and try harder? I’ll give you four reasons. (1) Because you’re finally ready to get healing for the inner saboteur who in the past has undermined your confidence. (2) Because you’re finally ready to see the objective truth about one of your self-doubts, which is that it’s a delusion. (3) Because you’re finally ready to stop blaming an adversary for a certain obstacle you face, which means the obstacle will become easier to overcome. (4) Because you’re finally ready to understand that in order to nurture and hone your ample creativity, you have to use it to improve your life on a regular basis.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Half the
troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough,” proclaimed humorist Josh Billings. That’s an exaggeration made for comic effect, of course. (And I think that some of life’s troubles also come from saying no too much and not saying yes enough.) But for you, Virgo, Billings’ advice will be especially pertinent in the coming weeks. In fact, my hypothesis is that you will be able to keep your troubles to a minimum and boost your progress to a maximum by being frugal with yes and ample with no.
You can call Rob Brezsny for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope: (900) 950-7700. $1.99 per minute. Must be 18+. Touchtone phone required. Customer service (612) 373-9785. And don’t forget to check out Rob’s website at www.realastrology.com.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your mind
says, “I need more room to move. I’ve got to feel free to experiment.” Your heart says, “I think maybe I need more commitment and certainty.” Your astrologer
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Brezsny
suggests, “Be a bit more skeptical about the dream lover who seems to be interfering with your efforts to bond with the Real Thing.” I’m not sure which of these three sources you should heed, Libra. Do you think it might somehow be possible to honor them all? I invite you to try.
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PHOTO BY NICK MILLER
by ROb
For the week of March 19, 2015
Meaningful streets James “Faygo” Clark is one of Sacramento’s leading social-justice activists. Last summer, when dozens of protesters shut down south Sacramento’s Nestlé water-bottling plant, he was there at the corporation’s front gates. And every Tuesday night when volunteers feed the hungry out in front of City Hall before council meetings, Clark is there, too, risking arrest by giving food to those in need. The Occupy Sacramento veteran is also homeless himself. He spends most mornings looking for food, but joined SN&R for breakfast on a recent Tuesday to discuss what it’s like trying to impact social change while living on the streets.
Are you unfairly harassed as a homeless man in Sacramento? Since I’ve become more active, the cops leave me alone a lot more.
How many times have you been cited? I’ve lost count of that number. Camping, lightrail tickets—so you can actually access all the services around town—I’ve had a couple drinking-in-publics way back in the day. And I’ve been arrested way too many times.
Did you ever deserve being arrested? There’s been a couple, when I was younger, when I was doing stupid stuff. But over homeless-related stuff, nah. All I’m doing is existing. What the heck?
How long have you been on the streets? Off and on, a good portion of my life. I spent some time as a juvenile on the streets, too. Since about ’04.
What’s the biggest obstacle to obtaining housing? For me, I don’t want to work a corporate job, and I don’t want to a job that hurts other people, or damages the environment. … That’s my personal issue. But for a lot of other people, it’s either not being able to get a job or, when they get their Social Security, not being able to afford rent. And then there’s also a prejudice against people who are homeless when it comes to housing.
That homeless people are drunk and on drugs. Sometimes I drink, but I try not to make a big habit about it. … I try not to be the drunken crazy guy out in the street, because that’s everywhere. Even the people that are new to the streets end up falling into it because of different issues. I did fall into it for a long time, but I kind of pulled myself out.
In the past 10 years, how has homelessness changed? I’d say it’s definitely trending in the wrong direction. For one, the continued
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James “Faygo” Clark with Cosmo the dog. criminalization is an issue. There’s also the problem of low-income housing. And also there’s a boom in youth … and there’s just not that many jobs for them. I do see some steps that are being taken, mostly at the federal level with the housing-first programs, where they’re reallocating funding from temporary or transitional housing to housing first.
What are you reading these days? I’ve been doing a lot of research on Nestlé, again, finding stuff about them. About the baby-formula scandal over in Africa: Basically, [Nestlé] went over there and started pumping water in villages in Africa, that are impoverished, and started selling infant formula and weened a bunch of mothers off using breast milk. … So now, not only did Nestlé drain the water supply, but people can’t afford the formula. So kids got malnourished or got sick from contaminated water, and ended up dying.
You mentioned that you had to go find food this morning. Do you have SSI, any income? I receive no government aid at all. So, I usually either end up holding a sign in the morning, that basically says “Non-GMO food, please.” Or I go out at night and do a little busking, whether it’s telling jokes or trying to sound good playing my recorder.
Where do you see yourself in five years? I don’t see myself leaving Sacramento any time soon. I guess I kind of put where I will be in five years on where the movement will be.
What one issue would you like to see discussed during next year’s presidential election? Police militarization. Because it’s something that truly does affect everyone.
When did you start using the name Faygo?
Do you think you will be living homeless forever?
That was 2002-ish. I used to listen to a lot of [Insane Clown Posse] and then go around with one of the Faygo shirts … and I’d just go up to people and say “Faygo, drink it!” … I still go by it, because that’s the name that people gave me.
I could see myself in the next five years not being homeless. But it kind of just depends on where things are going with the movement, if I have time to worry about getting myself off the streets, or if I feel like I need to keep moving forward with things that affect other people, too.
How easy is it to get Internet when you’re homeless? It’s spotty. For the most part, you have to buy something somewhere. Or find free Wi-Fi somewhere. It’s iffy. But I’ve been pretty lucky. |
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Learn more about James “Faygo” Clark’s social-justice actions at www.facebook.com/ communitydinnerproject.
03.19.15
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