Alternative/emo-band Jimmy Eat World will be in town Sept. 7 at the Star Palace Ballroom. Tickets are $32 and went on sale Friday. The band is probably best know (to me at least) for its hit “The Middle,” the second single from the band’s fourth album, released after the band was dropped by Capitol Records.
It (the band and the album) was later picked up by DreamWorks, so everything was cool.
The band’s latest “Damage” (its eighth), came out last Tuesday.
On a side note: This show is being promoted by Numbskull Productions, which seems to be making moves on the Fresno scene. Numbskull has been booking for 20 + years mostly in southern California and on the Central Coast, but has recently announced a string of Fresno shows including: Zavala (June 26), Machine Head (June 18), Kottonmouth Kings (July 17), Guttermouth and Agent Orange (July 23) and Joyce Manor (July 24). Numbskull founder Eddy Burgos is part of the team that has taken over the Starline venue in Tower District, so it’s logical the company would look to have a larger presence in the area.
Check out videos for “The Middle” and “How’d You Have Me” (from the new album) below.
Uploaded and ready to put in your iPod (or iPhone or whatever other device you use to listen to podcasts), it’s another episode of Flowing with Famous, where I sit down with Mike Seay to talk Fresno arts, entertainment, politics and more.
It might help if you picture us sitting at a dive bar somewhere.
In this episode we discuss:
Kenny Wizz (or Wizz as he’s known) has done the moonwalk more times than Michael Jackson ever did. As the world’s No. 1 Jackson impersonator, Wizz has performed as Michael since 1984 and done shows all over the world. He estimates he’s done 15,000 shows in Las Vegas alone.
Right now, he’s in the midst of a two-month U.S. tour followed by trips to Australia and Indonesia. Wizz’ tribute “Michael Jackson HIStory” comes to the Saroyan Theatre on Friday. The show is a recreation of what Jackson did live Jackson — a two-hour performance covering 22 songs from pop icon’s catalog of music.
And the Beehive will be giving away tickets to three lucky readers. Enter to win by leaving a comment below. We want to know what’s your favorite Jackson song and why. For my money, you can’t get better than “Dirty Diana,” which probably tells you how old I am. The contest will run through 5 p.m. Wednesday (June 19). Winners will be chosen at random and notified via email. These are actual, physical tickets, so they will need to be picked up at The Fresno Bee office (1226 E. St.) before 5 p.m. Friday.
Good luck.
See the full contest rules (and a video of Wizz) below.
Uploaded and ready to stream it’s another episode of all-things Fresno podcast, Flowing with Famous. As always, I sit down with podcast guru Mike Seay to discuss the best (and worst) in Fresno news, entertainment and more. We hit on all our favorite topics, including:
There’s another set of show announcements coming through this morning.
UPDATE: And now we have confirmation from the Save Mart Center that tickets for Bon Jovi’s Oct. 8 show will go on sale at 10 a.m. next Monday (June 10). Tickets will start at $19.50 and be available at select Save Mart Supermarkets, online at
www.ticketmaster.com, on the phone at (800) 745-3000 or at the Save Mart
Center Box Office.
FYI: If you are an American Express card member, you’ll have access to advanced tickets starting 10 a.m. Wednesday (June 5). The offer runs through Friday. Go to www.BonJovi.com for more details.
Original post (May 30):
It seems like I’ve been hearing rumor of this show for awhile, but ’80s hair-metal icon (and current mega-rock band) Bon Jovi is coming to the Save Mart Center. According to Pollstar, the band will be stopping in Fresno Oct 8. on the West Coast swing of its “Because We Can” tour. This should come as welcome news for fans. The last time Bon Jovi was in town was in 2006. The Save Mart Center has announced the show, but there’s no word on when tickets go on sale. We’ll keep you updated.
Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino is hosting comedian/late-show host Jay Leno June 29, which is soon. Tickets are on sale now. This is part of a really solid lineup of acts coming through this summer, including The B-52s on July 20, FresnophileChris Isaak on Aug. 9 and George Thorogood Aug. 24. Tickets are on sale now. These casino shows tend to be sell-outs, so you’ll want to act now if you want to catch any of these.
Let us acknowledge the great debt the city of Fresno owes its latest superstar council member, Steve Brandau.
The news about the bike-lane decision last week by the Fresno City Council got lost a little in the crush of Memorial Day weekend and the ensuing cram-five-days-into-four work week, but it shouldn’t be forgotten. The vote to ignore the city’s Bicycle Master Plan and turn down $1.57 million to repair a bedraggled section of Fruit Avenue — a maneuver that allowed the city to keep those eco-freakish bike lanes out of the God-fearing suburbs — turns out to be a victory not only for car supremacy (Can I hear a “woot! woot! woot!”?) but for common-sense government everywhere. (Council members Xiong, Quintero, and Baines voted for the bike lanes. Brandau, Brand, Caprioglio, and Olivier voted against them.)
Who needs expensive traffic engineers and scientific methods when determining urban road policy? Brandau showed us how it’s done. He marched out to the stretch of road in question, planted his made-in-the-U.S.A. heels on the sidewalk and counted cars and bikes going by. Forget fancy degrees. Like the citizen patriots who settled the West and sent a man to the moon, he didn’t need so-called “experts” to make things happen. (Well, maybe the moon thing did require a few uppity educated types from NASA, but you know what I mean.)
Think of all the money Brandau and his three fellow bike-lane-council-member-naysayers can save the city! Whole departments can be abolished. The movement can spread to other levels of government as well. Think of the possibilities:
Health inspectors: Who needs thermometers to check refrigerated foods at your local hole-in-the-wall? We all know we can feel if a restaurant is clean when we walk in, right? A good stick of the head in a fridge should do just fine. From now on, the City Council will split up for lunch and rate a place each day.
Update 3:23 p.m.: The victim has been identified, The Bee reports:
The victim was identified by the Fresno County coroner as Eric Catlapp, 32.
Police say Catlapp was a member of The Hashtag, a 24-hour work center for local professionals in the 1200 block of North Wishon Avenue.
Original post 9:54 a.m.:
Photo by Jim Guy/The Fresno Bee
Sad news to report this morning: Police are investigating a fatal stabbing in the Tower District, which apparently happened on Wishon Row near the Hashtag. Here is a link to The Bee story, which doesn’t have many details at this point but should be updated today with more information.
I’ve seen a lot of longtime Beehive readers express concern, dismay and anger about the events in social media this morning. I too am saddened by this news. There’s no reason for such needless violence and my thoughts are with those affected by this crime. I really hope this doesn’t deter the business owners on this row who have really tried to make something nice for the people of Fresno, or keep people from visiting these businesses.
There are many reasons I like Audra McDonald. She’s an award-winning performer, has an angelic voice and, despite her star status, has always been willing to do an interview. It’s what she does during those interviews that may be one of the most impressive things about McDonald.
The majority of the time, when I talk to a celebrity, they don’t mention their hometown. Sometimes, where a person grew up, can say a lot about the kind of person they become.
What I’ve noticed with McDonald is that even when she talking to press that isn’t from Fresno, she has no problem mentioning her roots. Her willingness to talk about Fresno is really important for the city because it shows the kind of talent that has come out of this area.
Two wheels tomorrow and the next day and the next and so on for the entire month. At least that is part of my plan to celebrate BIKE MONTH. This Wednesday (May 8) I will be taking part in the Mall to Mall ride — from Manchester Center to the Fulton Mall in downtown Fresno. The event is being put on by the good folks at iBikeFresno.org. who are inviting riders to meet at Manchester for a start time of 7:45am. Check out the iBikeFresno website for more details.
Uploaded for your listening pleasure: Another episode of the all-things-Fresno podcast Flowing with Famous. Once again, I am joined by Fresno podcast icon Mike Seay, and once again we hit on all our favorite topics.
Like:
Fresno vs. Clovis
Some local music scene news
Fresno Grizzlies and the state of downtown
Plus, we’ve named another band of the episode. Spoiler alert: It’s Light Thieves.
And once again, the whole thing is slightly NSFW (sorry).
W/audio engineering by Reid May. You can stream or download the episode here or find it on iTunes, Sticker and the like.
In today’s Bee, Rick wrote a story about SemiFormal Studios — makers of Ensemble Online, a game where players can built, explore, fight and interact in a mystical world — and how the local game makers are trying to help independent game creators get a foot in the door at the E3 electronics convention in June.
I’m not a huge video game person, though I do love to play Ms. Pac-Man and compete like a madwoman on various Wii games. But I was totally delighted by this “hand-drawn sketch card” Ensemble Online team created for me. I think it definitely wins as the most creative and fun press item I’ve received. Thanks, Ensemble team!
The 9th Annual Fresno Film Festival kicks off tomorrow night at the Tower Theatre. The festival, presented by Fresno Filmworks, runs the full weekend, with five feature-film presentations, more than a dozen short-film screenings and a number of post-screening discussions and other fun stuff for all you cinephiles.
Our movie critic Rick Bentley screened two of the features (“Paris-Manhattan” and “Blancanieves”) and word around the office is they were stellar. You can read his reviews in tomorrow’s 7 Section.
In the mean time, we have tickets to festival to give out to couple Beehivers (that’s you). Because the festival starts tomorrow, this is a quickie. Leave a comment on this post. Tell us why your love Fresno Filmworks (or haven’t yet been introduced). We’ll pick two winners at random. Contest will close at 4 p.m. today and winners will be notified by email. NOTE: These are actual physical tickets, so winners will need to come down to The Bee’s front lobby by 5 p.m. tomorrow to pick them up.
No repeat entries, please. Check your email tonight to see if you’re the winner. Complete rules are on the jump.
In case you forgot how great it is to have an arena like the Save Mart Center in town (from both an entertainment and an economic standpoint), the venue was just ranked 50th in the world (the world) for first-quarter ticket sales (for events between Jan. 1 and March 30 of this year), according to trade-publication Pollstar. It ranked 27th, when looking at U.S. venues only, and was 2nd for venues on a college campus.
To recap the year so far: The Save Mart Center has had George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Tiesto, Jeff Dunham, Rock & Worship Roadshow, WWE Super Show, Run For The Dream Indoor Track and Field Invitational meet, Harlem Globetrotters, Professional Bull Riders Invitational and Monster Jam. Plus Fresno State men and women’s basketball. And you can still look forward to: Chris Tomlin, Q97’s Light It up Tour starring Wiz Khalifa, Sesame Street Live’s “Can’t Stop Singing,” A Ladies Dream Night Out (featuring Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank)and Kenny Chesney.
Steve Tadlock, regional general manager for SMG, the company that runs the arena, says the ranking validates Save Mart Center’s position as the premier entertainment venues in Central California.
I’ve spent a lot of time in bowling alleys. Bowling alleys have arcades. So I’ve spent my time playing (but mostly watching other people play) pinball. I’m no wizard, but …
This week Pinball News announced metal band Metallica is getting its own pinball game. For fans (of pinball and the band), it looks (and sounds) like a freakin’ awesome game.
Also awesome: the general feel and design is taken from a custom machine the band had made by artist Dirty Donny and Wade Krause.
Krause is a local guy who plays drums in Sparklejet and Backstabbers. He also does screen printing and collects and restores old arcade machines. Their Metallica machine was one of 400 shown at the Pacific Pinball Expo in 2009. He and Donny also collaborated on a custom machine for the Swedish rock band The Hellacopters, which they talk about in this video:
After waxing nostalgic with some 3-D ninja fights at a showing of “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” there’s a crap load of musical offerings this weekend, from the wild (Royal Canoe and Sssssssnake) to the weird (Foxtails Brigade). So let’s jump right in. It’s time to BANDGEEEEEEEK!!!!
Brother Luke plays Piazza Del Pane (Cedar and Nees) for the restaurants Russian Standard Vodka tasting. 7 p.m. $20 or $25 day of the event. (Flier link)
Fresno’s connection to reality dating shows continued this week with the launch of “Burning Love” on E!. The show — originally a web series from Ben Stiller — is a parody of programs like ‘The Bachelor.” Comedian Ken Marino plays the bachelor who is looking to find love in front of millions of TV viewers. His choices range from a girl in a bear suit to a woman who could be his grandmother.
One of the hopefuls is Julie, described as the woman who is “damaged goods.” According to her bio, Julie is a 28-year-old dental hygienist from Fresno. Her favorite book is “Healing Your Emotional Self” and her favorite movie is “Titanic 3D.”
Julie’s being played by comedian June Diane Raphael who has appeared in the movies “Year One” and “Bride Wars.”
You can watch her pitiful attempts to find love when the second episode airs at 10:30 p.m. Monday.
It’s Rogue Festival time, which means that Fresno’s cultural arts landscape will be on overload straight through to next weekend. One might think the music scene would take the time off. YOU. WOULD. BE. WRONG. The weekend is as full up as any we’ve seen in awhile. So, let’s get to it. Let’s BANDGEEEEEEEEK!!
I’ve often had “double header” days as a reviewer, but I think Sunday was a first for me: a triple-header. I went to two plays (“Tape” at 2 p.m. and “Ordinary Days” at 4 p.m.), and at 7 I headed to the Saroyan Theatre for the combined Fresno Youth Philharmonic and Fresno State Symphony Orchestra “Planets of Fire” concert.
Throw in Saturday night, when I caught the 8 p. m. performance of “A Year with Frog and Toad,” and I saw four performances in a 24-hour period. (Add to that the fact that I attended a memorial service in Spokane for my great-uncle on Friday afternoon, with my flight back to Fresno landing at 6:14 p.m. Saturday., and I had quite the weekend.)
I’ll be cranking out reviews of the plays soon, but I can say in general terms that my 24 hours of performances were exhilarating.
What’s more, I know there was a whole ton of stuff I didn’t make it to this weekend. (Don’t worry, “White Christmas,” you’re top of my list coming up.) Feel free to share your own weekend experiences in a comment.
Yeah, I might have just hit play on “Everlasting Light” again. What of it? If you’re still thinking about Monday night’s Black Keys concert too, then consider this your Twitter time capsule. Here are our 11 favorite tweets — funny, true, odd or just plain amusing — about last night’s concert:
This video tribute to Fresno State Football from local country duo Whisky Row — made up of Mike Pereira and Jason Ruffoni, both of Kerman — is making the rounds on social media today.
You can catch Whisky Row in concert tomorrow night (Thursday, Sept. 6) at the Craft Beer & Wine Music Festival near Eureka! Burger in northwest Fresno. The festival runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Park Place shopping center at Palm and Nees avenues. Admission is $15.
As part of the festival you can pick up the band’s wine, Westside Ride Red. The wine is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah. This is what Ruffoni said about the wine in a recent Bee column from Bethany Clough:
“It would have been predictable for us to go, ‘Oh, here’s some whiskey, ” he says. “We should have our own wine. Other acts back east have a whiskey or a moonshine.”
Taco Truck Throwdown 2 was huge last night. The Fresno Grizzlies report attendance at 11,463, with more than 7,000 presales. No word yet on how many tacos were sold. But based on what I saw, it’s going to be a huge number. Look at all those people in line!
Thirteen taco trucks competed in the throwdown and two awards were given: People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice. Anybody who bought a taco was eligible to vote for the People’s Choice crown. Six judges sampled all 13 trucks and rated them 1-10. Our panel included: Liz Gonzales from KMPH, Danny Salas from Q97, Jason Oliveira from ABC 30, Richard Franco from New Rock 104.1, Bobby Salazar and me. Here are the results.
People’s Choice:
1. El Premio Mayor
2. La Elegante
3. Dusty Buns
Judges’ Choice:
1. El Premio Mayor
2. Dusty Buns and La Elegante (tie)
3. El Super Antojito
4. Tako BBQ
5. El Mexicano
UPDATE 2: More memes arrived over the weekend. I’ve added them to the end of this post.
UPDATE 1, Friday afternoon: Wow. The response has been great. I’ve added several submissions from Beehive readers at the end of this post.
ORIGINAL POST at 12:13 p.m.:
It’s been a humorous week on the meme front, from the McKayla Maroney “not impressed” images to the Mars landing extravaganza. So photographer Craig Kohlruss and I couldn’t resist having a little fun and turning Mike Oz’s birthday crown photo (a gag inspired by Blimprov’s performance at his birthday party) into a meme. You can join the fun. Just download the file, create your meme and email me the photo for the Beehive.
Suddenly, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia.
Uploaded and ready to put in your iPod (or iPhone or whatever other device you use to listen to podcasts), it’s another episode of 
In case you forgot how great it is to have an arena like the 
