Thursday, February 23, 2017

Art Street, don't miss it!!! Only a couple of days left to visit.

Art Street
Art Street, 2017, Sacramento
If you haven't been yet, there are only a couple of days left to visit the Art Street temporary, free and multi-disciplinary arts project. In a warehouse (owned by the Mill at Broadway) and around the property at 300 1st Avenue, Sacramento -- close to the river end of Broadway, there's over 65,000 feet of space... full of inspiring, thoughtful, thought-provoking, provocative, sometimes-shocking, sometimes-not, art and painting and sculpture and photography and just about everything you'd include in "the arts".

(And yes: the property is going to be demolished sometime soon.)

Art Street
Collidescope, Art Street, Sacramento
Brought to us by M5Arts--the same folks from last year's Art Hotel project--and with contributions by over 100 artists and performers (there's music at night), there's also food and drink available. But the main thing: drink in the art.

Homeless, Art Street
Remembering Sacramento's lost homeless people
Each work is likely to create a different reaction in everyone who visits. The homeless-people piece brought me to tears, the sexual assault alley to anger and more tears; several pieces of art I wanted to cut down and bring home and put on my wall; one set of paintings made me think I'd forgotten to put my contact lenses in (and that might have been the objective... if you see that set of paintings, you'll understand exactly what it means to be near-sighted/short-sighted).

Art Street
Painted by the light, Art Street, Sacramento
A huge thank you to all the artists and the M5Arts team.

Art Street
Art Street, Sacramento, 2017
Here's my complete photo gallery: click here. I'd love to label all the works with the artists' names, but was unable to find many of them. If you are one of the artists, and wish to be credited in the gallery, email me with the URL of the photo plus a link to your website/info.



Sunday, February 19, 2017

The Growlers, City Club tour, at the Ace of Spades: sold out show!

Brooks Nielsen, vocals, The Growlers
Brooks Nielsen, The Growlers, Ace of Spades
Reportedly one of Ellen DeGeneres' favourite bands this year, creators of the annual Beach Goth festival in Southern California, The Growlers filled the Ace of Spades last night, selling out way before the day of the show. The line stretched right around the block long before the doors opened at 7 p.m., and even though the evening was cold, drizzly and grim, many fans were dressed for the beach, no doubt inspired by the band's beach-goth style: a mix of West-coast surf-rock-and-pop, country, with Brooks Nielsen's vocals often reminiscent of a young Bob Dylan.

The Growlers
The Growlers, Ace of Spades, Sacramento
There was no support act: instead, the stage remained dark, anticipation building in the crowd, until 8.30 p.m. sharp, when Brooks Nielsen, Matt Taylor, Kyle Straka, and the touring members of the band took the stage, to the delight of the young fans crowding the floor.

The Growlers
The Growlers, Ace of Spades, Sacramento
A neon light to stage right shines out: "City Club", the same words on the back of Nielsen's boiler suit. The show did have a club feel to it; the audience were certainly a club of fans. This photographer would have loved to see a little more light on stage...
Brooks Nielsen, vocals, The Growlers
The Growlers
For more photos of last night's show, click here!

The Growlers' major City Club Spring Tour continues: check out all the dates here. And check out the album, City Club, here.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

AWARD: ZO magazine, Platinum photography award, for "Multitudes" from Chicago Open Air


Chicago Open Air
Fans in the crowd at Chicago Open Air, 2016
I won another award for a photo! From ZO Magazine.

This photo was taken at Chicago Open Air, a Danny Wimmer Presents event, last summer, and entered into the competition as "Multitudes".

I'm ready for festival season to begin already... aren't you???  See you in the crowd!!!

Friday, February 10, 2017

Rag'n'Bone Man: debut album, Human, out now!


I've just spent a few weeks in England, and usually I return with a handful of new music to share and to listen to further. This time, with BBC Radio One tuned in the rental car, driving from London to Leicester, then to North Norfolk and back, much of the playlist was annoying, high-pitched, auto-tuned disposable electro-pop, with a very, very few exceptions: Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, (who are receiving good airtime here, on Octane),  and this man, who I first heard when driving the M1 a while back: the exceptional, wonderful Rag'N'Bone Man.



Rag'N'Bone Man's debut, full-length album, "Human", is available today, worldwide: the vinyl goes on sale in the USA very soon, but you can already download the digital version (I did).

Soulful, bluesy, strong and such a very memorable voice. Take a listen to the title track above, and the entire album. There are some beauties: it's an album that will grow with every listen. And find out more about Rag'N'Bone Man on Facebook and his website. Nominated for the Breakthrough award at this year's Brit Awards: if you're a UK resident you can vote here!

(For those who wonder, what's the meaning of "Rag'n'Bone": you can find out here.)

Thursday, February 9, 2017

KITE: look out for them! SXSW, DNA Lounge in San Francisco, and many more dates!


Swedish electric-indie-pop duo, KITE, will be back in the USA for a tour, which includes dates at SXSW (17-18 March) and at San Francisco (DNA Lounge, 26th March). The tour kicks off at the Mercury Lounge in New York on 28th February: all the dates can be seen here.

If you like Depeche Mode, if you like upbeat music that you can't sit still to; if you like huge dance parties, and simply, if you haven't heard KITE before, check out this video of Up for Life:


I know what I'll be listening to for the rest of the day. 

KITE are Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Berg. Find KITE on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KiteHQ/

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Sammie awards--nomination time!


Now is the time to nominate your favourite singers, musicians, bands and performers for the annual Sammies (Sacramento Area Music Awards, sponsored by SN&R). Go for it!!!

https://vote.newsreview.com/sammies-nominations-2017/ 

But they still don't have a category for music photographer or music blogger... sigh.