2023

Folsom’s Harris Center roars back with a show dedicated to the works of composing legend John Williams

Eddie May 29, 2023 No Comments

You don’t have to be a classic music afficionado to have heard the sounds of John Williams. His name is synonymous with iconic movie soundtracks, the credits being too numerous to mention. To date, there are more than 100 well-known scores that began in his imagination.

Two upcoming shows at Folsom’s Harris Center for the Arts will serve as a reminder of how influential Williams’ body of work is – and how well it has aged. Expect pieces from Hollywood favorites such as Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, E.T., Star Wars and more.

Concertmaster Anita Fetsch Felix will be the shows’ featured performer during Schindler’s List, as well as in John Williams’ arrangement of Jerry Bock’s Fiddler on the Roof, which includes Mr. Williams’ original violin cadenzas.

The John Williams Spectacular is a limited engagement and plays on two special days – Saturday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 4, at 2 p.m. Although tickets are already sold-out, there is always a chance a limited amount of tickets will be released at www.harriscenter.net. The Harris Center is located at 10 College Parkway in Folsom. All ages are welcome.

(SN&R)

Now into their sixth decade, The Exploited rolls through the Capital Region on May 31

Eddie May 26, 2023 No Comments

Led by the ever-so-nasty vocalist Wattie Buchan, this Scottish punk rock four-piece has been firing on all cylinders while trotting across the globe this year. Although The Exploited’s ‘Disorder USA 2023’ tour is a short one – only 11 dates on this side of the Atlantic – one of the stops is in Roseville on May 31.

Music fans who are easily offended, or have a great aversion to heaps of spit coming from both the crowd and stage, may want to dress inappropriately – or hide in the back of the room.

The last time this writer saw the band live was at the now-defunct San Francisco club, The Stone: It was the late 1980s and the show was an absolute zoo from beginning to end. And that had partly to do with lead antagonist Wattie Buchan being on an absolute tear. Political in nature and ferociously outrageous, Buchan and his cohorts-in-crime have an extensive catalog to draw from in their chaotic shows. And while The Exploited’s last proper record was 2003’s aptly titled “Fuck the System,” it’s the probably the 80’s releases that fans will inevitably be clamoring for.

Doors to their show at Goldfield’s Trading post in Roseville open at 7 p.m. before the show kicks off with Southern California openers Total Chaos at 7:45 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.goldfieldtradingpost.com for $29.50. Goldfield Trading Post is located at 238 Vernon Street in Roseville. All ages are welcome. “Don’t like the music? Don’t like the words? You can all piss off you’re a bunch of turds!”

(SN&R)

After a long reset, Mr. Bungle returns to Nor Cal for shows that weave some metal magic on May 23rd and 24

Eddie May 17, 2023 No Comments

Mr. Bungle. Photograph by Buzz Osborne

For music-lovers who grew up in the region during the late 1980s, chances are they knew of a band from Eureka called Mr. Bungle – a group that garnered a large following through word of mouth and eventually headlined sell-out shows all around California. What separated Mr. Bungle from other funk bands that were crowding the scene was its intelligent arrangements, awkward lyrics and a live, unrivalled energy at the time.

While the band’s line-up has changed from its earliest recordings, its core members – Mike Patton (vocals), Trevor Dunn (bass), and Trey Spruance (guitar) – still comprise the majority of the quintet. Today’s incarnation is rounded out by two well-known heavy metal legends: Drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Fantomas, Dead Cross) and guitarist Scott Ian (Anthrax, Stormtroopers Of Death).

Mr. Bungle released ‘The Raging Wrath of The Easter Bunny Demo” during the pandemic – October 2020 – on boutique label, Ipecac Recordings. It was basically a re-recording and revved-up version of the group’s first demo tape. It included a spirited cover of Corrosion of Conformity’s “Loss for Words,” as well as a Spanish-named version of Stormtroopers Of Death’s “Speak English Or Die.”

SN&R caught up with bassist Trevor Dunn before Mr. Bungle’s upcoming West Coast shows got underway. We wanted to understand the origins of the band and where they are today.

SN&R: Mr. Bungle’s rise to fame in the North Bay seemingly came from the ‘Goddammit I Love America!!!$ɫ!!’ EP, which was sold as a crudely photo-copied demo tape. I saw the band open a bill in Petaluma at the Palace Theatre with Victims Family, fIREHOSE, and The Doughboys, and it seemed much of the draw was your own. What do you attribute to your inevitable frenzy all over California?

Dunn: Back in the day we were fairly involved in the tape trading scene. I still have friends worldwide to this day who I met through snail mail. Honestly, I think the hype started a bit later — more around the ‘OU818’ demo. Either way, ‘Goddammit’ was our first demo recorded in an actual studio, our song writing was starting to mature, and we were taking the band more seriously; trying to get out of town to play shows, find management, etc.

SN&R: What’s the reason Mr. Bungle rarely played songs the same way live? Boredom?

Dunn: We played them a lot the same way live, so at a certain point, mostly in order to
keep ourselves entertained, we started messing with the arrangements. There’s
a lot you can do to a song to keep it familiar and interesting at the same time.

SN&R: Getting signed out of the gates to Warner Bros. was quite a feat for a band hailing from Eureka. What other labels were interested and what were the terms of the deal? Was the advance quite large given Patton’s status with Faith No More?

Dunn: After being more or less a garage band for several years we started taking the
band more seriously – recording ‘OU818’ – and shopping that demo around. In
Effect records (whose biggest band at the time was 24-7 Spyz) showed some
interest. Their A&R guy actually flew up to Eureka to take us out to lunch. But
ultimately, Patton couldn’t leave the Warner family. We, in turn, gave them an
ultimatum they couldn’t refuse and ended up on WB proper. If I remember
correctly, the contract was a seven-album deal with each one being “on option,” which
meant that after each record they would decide if they wanted to pick us up again.
It was all a matter of record sales and the potential for us to write some MTV hit which, of course, we knew would never happen. It was a very non-committal relationship, but they took us to dinner and we fucked them, haha. I think they gave us 100k for that first record, most of which we spent in the studio doing what we wanted. With a bit of leftover money we bought some gear.

SN&R: Do you own your Warner Bros. masters? Any plans for special re-issues?

Dunn:  At the time, the label didn’t bother us, which was great. We made the records we
wanted to make without anyone breathing down our necks trying to tell us how to
write a hit. As with most deals of this sort, the label owns the masters although
I’m pretty sure we ended up with all of the multi-track tapes ourselves. There are
plans.

SN&R: I was present at the first shows at the Fonda Theatre in Southern California, and the band seemed to be having a blast and didn’t adorn any costumes as previous Mr.
Bungle shows did. Did you get any feedback from fans wanting the funk/disco years
revisited?

Dunn: We are constantly getting that sort of feedback. No one is ever satisfied, which is
why we have to focus on satisfying ourselves. And yes, we were having a blast!

SN&R: What places had the most voracious fans during your recent touring cycles?

Dunn: Chile is notorious for its Beatlemania style support. I feel that in the states it
varies from town to town, but smaller towns are often the most hungry. I can
relate coming from a small town myself. Of course, we have mostly focused on
bigger cities in the last couple years as we are old and get tired very easily.

SN&R: How many times does the band rehearse for a tour and where given how members all live in different zip-codes and states in some instances? How did you go about song selection including Mr. Bungle material and covers?

Dunn: Rehearsing depends on how recent our last tour was. We were just in South
America in December so for this next run of shows we booked a whopping two
days of rehearsal. Everyone is feeling good about the material being under our
fingers. As always, Mr. Bungle has never been “Patton’s other band” or however
the media spins it. It has always been a collective but the ideas in the band,
covers or otherwise, come from all the individuals involved.

SN&R: Will we ever see Trio-Convulsant live anytime soon? How many shows did that
configuration play and where? Anymore music left to record?

Dunn: In October of 2022, I released the third Trio-Convulsant recording on Pyroclastic
Records. It’s called ‘Séances’ and is configured by the trio expanded with a
quartet. We did a record release show that month in NYC. I’m currently working
on more new music for that line-up and hope to be more active with it next year.
The previous configuration as simply a trio toured quite extensively in the U.S. at
least in respect to bands that play that type of music. We opened for Fantômas
and (the) Melvins back in 2004/2005. We played a handful of one-off gigs after that
but it took me a long time to figure out where I wanted to take the idea of new
music with that band.’

SN&R: The upcoming U.S. show schedule is very limited. Now that drummer Dave Lombardo has left Testament, Anthrax is on hold due to Charlie Benante’s Pantera involvement, and Mike Patton has no Faith No More plans, do you see more being added in 2023 and 2024?

Dunn: We recently announced another short run on the East Coast in September of this
year. There’s a chance we’ll go to Europe next year, but it remains to be seen. We
are taking things slowly and aren’t really interested in being in a bus for more than
a couple weeks at a time. Everyone in the band has a particular schedule to work
around, and for Bungle, that has always been the case, and totally fine.

SN&R: Will you ever re-issue ‘Goddammit I Love America!!!$ɫ!!’ and ‘OU818’ and revisit these songs live or is ‘The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny’ pretty much it for demos?

Dunn: I can’t imagine ever re-issuing those other old demos or re-recording any of those
songs. We moved on from that music in the early ‘90s. ‘The Raging Wrath…’ is a
different story in terms of the band’s history which is why we felt the need to
revisit it. Any of the songs from “Goddammit’ or ‘OU818’ that we felt strongly
about ended up on our first WB record so that has all been played out.

Mr. Bungle plays two nights – May 23rd (sold out) and 24th – at the Fox Theater located at 1807 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. Doors open at 7pm and show starts at 8pm. All ages are welcome. Support comes from (the) Melvins and Spotlight. Tickets start at $55 and top out at $135 for Platinum.

(SN&R)

Death metal horde, Necrot, to play a rare Sacramento show at Café Colonial May 19

Eddie May 15, 2023 No Comments

Courtesy photo

Fans of Necrot may remember the band played at Harlow’s back in 2019 with gore merchants, Exhumed, and Sonoran death metal cretins, Gatecreeper. Now, fans of early Grave, Sinister, Blood Incantation and even Immolation will appreciate Necrot’s latest album, “Mortal,” which was dropped during the beginnings of the pandemic in August 2020. The trio’s upcoming show at Café Colonial will continue to support that release.

If live video of their semi-recent East Bay show supporting death metal legends Possessed is any indication, Sacramento is in for a real treat. Necrot is comprised of bassist/vocalist Luca Indrio (Vastum, ex-Acephalix), drummer Chad Galley (Mortuous, Vastum) and guitarist Sonny Reinhardt (Saviours, Watch Them Die, Vorlust). Unlike some death metal acts with their configuration, Necrot produces a massive wall of sound and some of the most-nauseating, extreme arrangements around.

Rounding out this heavier-than-should-be-allowed bill is Mortiferum, Deathgrave and Abhorrency. Tickets can be purchased online (while they last) for $20. Cafe Colonial is located at 3520 Stockton Blvd. All ages are welcome. Demons will die hard.

(SN&R)

Aftershock previews its next line-up as early tickets and spots become available for fall extravaganza

Eddie April 18, 2023 No Comments

Pantera. Photograph by Carla Harvey

Produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, or DWP, Aftershock will be back to bring over 95 bands descending on Sacramento’s Discovery Park. The October event will showcase both big headliners and smaller, national acts who are warranting plenty of buzz. Last year’s installation drew a record-breaking 160,000 hard rock fans to the Capital, while also bringing some much-needed business to the Sacramento Valley.

Now in its 11^th year, this go-around’s biggest names include Guns N’ Roses, Pantera, Megadeth, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Turnstile, Queens of The Stone Age, 311, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack and Incubus. And the undercard is equally impressive with Polyphia, Dethklok, Coheed And Cambria, Deafheaven, Converge, Dance Gavin Dance, Pennywise, The Cult, AFI, Babymetal, White Reaper, The Bronx, L7 and more.

One of the greatest attributes of Discovery Park is the lines of sight at each stage, meaning fans will get an impressive look at these acts. The venue has a reputation for minimal noise bleed, which so often plagues other festivals of this ilk. Its many trees and covered VIP area have also been a welcome respite from skyrocketing temperatures on some years.

AFTERSHOCK 2023 line-up:

Thursday, October 5: Avenged Sevenfold, Incubus, Turnstile, The Cult, AFI, Pennywise, Nothing But Thieves, L7, White Reaper, Senses Fail, Don Broco, The Bronx, Nothing, Nowhere., DeathByRomy, Beauty School Dropout, Bob Vylan, Holding Absence, Pinkshift, Thousand Below, Starbenders, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Static Dress and Letdown.

Friday, October 6: Tool, Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, Megadeth, Coheed and Cambria, Skillet, Bad Omens, The Hu, Deafheaven, Memphis May Fire, Converge, Fire From the Gods, Polaris, Rain City Drive, Gideon, Currents, Varials, Strange Kids, Dragged Under, Tallah, HANABIE., Widow7, and Death Valley Dreams.

Saturday, October 7: Korn, Pantera, 311, Corey Taylor, Parkway Drive, Babymetal, Polyphia, Dethklok, Avatar, Fever 333, The Amity Affliction, Sleep Token, Escape the Fate, Boston Manor, Fame on Fire, Catch Your Breath, Ten56., Reddstar, Holy Wars, ’68, Ithaca, Devil’s Cut, Traitors, Fox Lake, All Waves and As You Were.

Sunday, October 8: Guns N’ Roses, Queens of the Stone Age, Rancid, I Prevail, Dance Gavin Dance, Daughtry, Badflower, Billy Talent, Mayday Parade, Suicide Silence, Movements, Ayron Jones, You Me At Six, Dead Poet Society, Austin Meade, Alpha Wolf, Jehnny Beth, Redlight King, Tigercub, Call Me Karizma, Ryan Oakes, Gnome, Luna Aura and Asava.

Promotion and logistics

Avenged Sevenfold

Beyond its famed Sacramento throw-down, DWP also produces shows in other states, highlighting different genres and with equally successful turn-outs: Bourbon & Beyond (Louisville, KY), GoldenSky Country Music Festival (Sacramento), Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival (Mansfield, OH), Louder Than Life (Louisville), Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival (Columbus, OH) and Welcome To Rockville (Daytona Beach, FL) are all events it’s responsible for hosting.  

Tickets prices for Aftershock can be found for single days and 4-day packages at  www.AftershockFestival.com. There are advance payment options for only $10 down followed by monthly installments. Door times and set times will be revealed closer to show date. The Aftershock festival is held at Discovery Park located at 1600 Garden Highway. There is no on-site parking so plan ahead and buy Park & Ride passes to avoid getting towed from local shopping centers and neighboring businesses.

Tool – photo by Travis Shinn

The Cult

The Bronx

Converge

(SN&R)

Hard rock heroes Y & T return to Rocklin’s Quarry Park Amphitheatre on April 21

Eddie April 12, 2023 No Comments

Courtesy photo

Easily one of the most influential hard rock band still playing live, Y & T – formerly Yesterday & Today – is still going strong thanks to the tireless energy of its leader, Dave Meneketti.

Sadly, the other three original and highly revered members – bassist Phil Kennemore, drummer Leonard Haze, and guitarist Joey Alves – all passed away within a couple of years of each other.

Meneketti has been carrying on with replacements, including guitarist John Nymann, bassist Aaron Leigh, and drummer Mike Vanderhule. Whatever iteration of Y & T shows up, the Sacramento area is like a second home to the band. It’s regularly played at Ace of Spades in addition to many other Northern California haunts.

Although Meneketti was most prolific during the 1980s with a string of potent records – ‘Mean Streak,’ ‘Earthshaker’ and ‘Black Tiger’ among them – his voice is still a thing of wonder and has aged like fine wine.That’s evidenced in how he sings some of the band’s more challenging, early material.

Local act Red Voodoo will get the evening started. Gates open at 6 p.m. and this curfewed show ends at 10 p.m. Tickets start at $35 and top out at $125 and can be purchased at www.Rocklin421.eventbrite.com. Quarry Park Amphitheatre is located at 4000 Rocklin Road in Rocklin.

(SN&R)

After a long wait, Sting fans can see him at Hard Rock Live in Wheatland on April 12 & 13

Eddie April 6, 2023 No Comments

Courtesy photo

At this stage in Sting’s – a.k.a. Gordon Sumner’s – career, after the massive sale of his catalog and countless successful tours as a solo artist and with The Police, it would seem he could retire 1000X over. Yet now that he’s 71, his voice and musicianship still rival when he started playing 46 years ago.

Thankfully, for those who enjoy Sting’s music, this highly prolific artist with seemingly boundless energy still loves to tour. And while his schedule in the U.S. is extremely limited – these two Wheatland shows are the only others aside from a preceding 6-day residency at Caesar’s Tahoe in Las Vegas – locals can take advantage of him including the region in his 2023 itinerary.

Dubbed the ‘My Songs’ tour, Sting will be playing a 22-song set that includes some of his biggest hits, along with his own favorites and a handful of tunes from The Police. As always, he’ll be showcasing new arrangements of his older catalog to keep himself and his band on their collective toes. He’ll also be playing a couple of songs from his latest record, ‘The Bridge,’ released in November 2021. The artist claims he wrote the album “in a year of global pandemic, personal loss, separation, disruption, lockdown and extraordinary social and political turmoil.”

The all-age show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are very scarce but, as always, there’s an abundance of resale tickets at www.ticketmaster.com. The Hard Rock Live is located in Wheatland at 3317 Forty Mile Road.

(SN&R)

Cosplay will cause the full-effect at Roseville’s SacAnime from April 7 to 9

Eddie April 5, 2023 No Comments

Photograph by Aung Khant-Maung

SacAnime fans love to dress up, and when they come out in force, there’s no shortage of awe-inspiring costumes.

For those who love people-watching, any SacAnime gathering becomes a star-studded event. Recent instalments show that it’s smart to get in line early for tickets. Expect a bevy of vendors selling books, costumes, comics, media, and much more.

Special guests for Roseville’s upcoming gala include actor/voice-over personality Jessie James Grelle (‘My Hero Academia,’ ‘Attack on Titan,’ ‘Yuri on Ice’), voice actress Jamie Marchi (‘Fairy Tail,’ ‘Dragon Ball Super’), Felician Angelle (‘Dr. Stone,’ ‘Genshin Impact’), and Jad Saxton (‘Food Wars,’ ‘Fire Force’).

Attendees should keep in mind that food lines are often long, and vendors prefer cash over credit cards. Visit www.sacanime.com for full exhibitor list. Tickets to the event are available at door, with the Friday and Sunday prices being $20 and Saturday being $25. Full weekend passes are $35. Children under 11-years-old are free. Doors open at noon on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Roebellen Center is located in Roseville at 700 Event Center Drive.

(SN&R)

Upcoming Esther Black show at Sacramento’s Cafe Colonial April 7 keeps a streak going  

Eddie April 3, 2023 No Comments

Esther Black. Courtesy photo

When live music finally opened up for post-pandemic, full capacity glory at venues in and around Sacramento, perhaps one of the greatest success stories was happening just outside the Downtown grid: Under the guidance of musician/soundman/bartender/booking agent Chris Lemos, the Cafe Colonial came back strong with a steady stream of metal, punk, alternative and everything in between.

Local group Esther Black, a metal-tinged industrial trio who’ve been causing a nice buzz, will add to that comeback this Friday.

The band is led by vocalist Erie Loch, whose resume includes studio work and video production for such disparate national acts as Ministry, Faith No More, Melvins, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, KMFDM, Prong, Lords of Acid, Front Line Assembly, and Rob Zombie.

The formidable group is rounded-out by bassist and vocalist Crash and guitarist and vocalist The Goht. They’re currently signed to Pittsburgh-based indie label, Distortion Productions, which released their “Dark Ways” full-length album back in April 2018. Sacramento music fans can check out those songs at Esther Black’s Bandcamp page at https://estherblack.bandcamp.com for a listen.

The group’s new platter, “Amongst the Monsters, Whores and Freaks,” is scheduled for a tentative July 17th release. Erie Loch boasts that “it’s a dark concept album comparing the entertainment industry to the circus.”

The band’s upcoming performance also includes Malcom Bliss and Ghosts Of Callisto on the bill. Tickets can be purchased at the door only for $15. Cafe Colonial is located at 3520 Stockton Blvd. All ages are welcome.

(SN&R)

Legendary rockers Blue Öyster Cult to make rare appearance at The Venue in Thunder Valley Casino on April 1

Eddie March 27, 2023 No Comments

Courtesy art

It’s hard to believe 56 years have passed since guitarist Buck Dharma – a.k.a. Donald Roeser – first formed a band under the moniker of Soft White Underbelly. It would only take a couple years to make a much-needed switch to Blue Öyster Cult and hire Eric Bloom as its charismatic frontman and singer.

Followers of early FM radio immediately took to the group after the release of its first, self-titled record in 1972, which was followed by a flurry of equally strong releases leading into the 80s. And while the majority of fans know Blue Öyster Cult for its hits – “Godzilla,” “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” and “Burnin’ For You” – a cult following continues to keep track of the band’s setlists and hope for surprise deep cuts at its shows.

Although the group was not as prolific during the 90’s and on, it did manage to release its 15th album, ‘The Symbol Remains,’ on the boutique Frontiers record label. Peaking at #10 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums, the new material showcases a powerhouse collective who hasn’t lost a step – and still sells records.

If recent shows are any indication, Blue Öyster Cult’s upcoming performance opening for Kansas will be something classic rock fans shouldn’t miss. Tickets start at $49.95 and top-out at $109.95. They can be purchased at www.thundervalleycasino.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the 21-and-over show starting promptly at 7:30 p.m. Attendees aged 13 to 20 must be accompanied by adult who’s 21 or over. The Venue is located inside Thunder Valley Casino at 1200 Athens Avenue in Lincoln.

(SN&R)