While starting down the “20 ways to be a better Fresnan” checklist.
1. MAKE YOURSELF EXPENDABLE
Laid-back reggae/rockers The Expendables are playing what’s probably the biggest gig of the weekend, tonight at Fulton 55. If you like Slightly Stoopid, you’ll like them. We hear it’s closed to selling out. So don’t slack. [More]
Other than going to The Big Fresno Fair one last time this year.
1. SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR COFFEE AND MUSIC
Saturday’s “For the Love of Coffee” event at Fulton 55 is the best $5 you can spend on local music this weekend. Look at that band lineup! It’s a celebration of Cafe Corazon’s coffee goodness too. And we hear there’s going to be a special coffee beer collabo with Corazon and Tioga-Sequoia? Win. [More]
While you play with your shiny new iPhone 5 …
1. ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR CANOE TO FULTON 55
If you ask me, the coolest show in Fresno this week stars Canadian band Royal Canoe, who is at Fulton 55 tonight and whose sound I really dig. They lead a plump lineup that also includes local indie rock faves Fierce Creatures and been-here-a-few-times-and-knocked-em-dead soul artist Ssssnake. [More]
In addition to the concerts I already recommended.
1. FILL YOUR EARS WITH LOCAL MUSIC
Tonight is the kick off of an interesting campaign by the folks behind Fuse Fest. They’re starting a Fresno Covers Fresno compilation. In short, as the name suggests, it’ll be Fresno musicians covering the music of other Fresno musicians. Hope is for the comp to be done at this time next year. This Tokyo Garden show is the start of fund-raising efforts for Fresno Covers Fresno. [More]
Other than listening to the first installment of Ozmosis on New Rock. 104.1.
1. SEE WHAT LUKAS NELSON IS ALL ABOUT
Country/rock/blues singer Lukas Nelson and his band The Promise of the Real roll into Fresno tonight for a gig at Fulton 55. Lukas, 23, is the son of country icon Willie Nelson. He’s not exactly like his pop, so don’t expect that. Read more about Lukas and his crew in this interview from The Bee.
While you sharpen up your Tetris skills
1. SEE A DEEP DARK ROBOT
Lindy Perry — the former 4 Non Blondes singer and songwriter/producer whose credits include Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Grew Stefani and Alicia Keys — brings her new band Deep Dark Robot to Audie’s Olympic tonight. Read more in this interview with Perry from today’s Bee. [Info]
I’m soldiering through a taco throwdown hangover and have quite the busy day ahead, so please pardon my lack of full explanations on these. You don’t read the words anyway, you just look at the fliers, right? So here are the Five Things You Should Do This Weekend, in flier form … aside from, of course, stuffing your face.
The generally bland North Fresno ArtHop (sorry, it’s true), gets kicked up in the cool department tonight when Hide & Seek Gallery does a pop-up show (get familiar) at clothing boutique The Laundry Room. Oh-so-hip local band Fierce Creatures is playing the show, and money is being raised Shaela Warkentin — so all-around good stuff.
More ArtHop options here via Donald Munro.
Welcome to another busy Thursday in Fresno. Donald already gave you the scoop on the ArtHop options, but here are some other things to do in town tonight:
FULL CIRCLE TURNS 10
Full Circle Brewing Co., the fun little brewery in Chinatown, celebrates its 10-year anniversary with ArtHop and live music. If you’ve never been, it’s quite the interesting place to explore.
ROCK AND WORSHIP
The Rock and Worship Roadshow stops at Save Mart Center again. Last year, it was one of the biggest attended concerts of the year, drawing more than 13,000 people. Read up on what to expect at this year’s show in this interview with headliners Mercy Me. Tickets cost a mere $10 and are available at the door only.
BURLESQUE AT AUDIE’S
April Fool’s Burlesque? Well, tease me twice. It’s happening at Audie’s Olympic, for your post-ArtHop pleasure.
IT’S RADEMACHER
The kings of post-ArtHop indie rock shows, Rademacher, return to Tokyo Garden tonight, heading up a nice bill of music that includes Trumpet Solo and It’ll Grow Back.
A bunch more event fliers below …
It was way back in January, but who can forget Joan’s Scoopy ice sculpture? I finally got the photos organized I took of Beehive Birthday V, which attracted hundreds of Beehivers to the Full Circle Brewery.
For more pics, click here.
If you’d prefer to see a slideshow, click here.
To make up for me not posting a Rogue Recommendation yesterday, I’m giving you two today. Consider is “Beehive Birthday Redux” — as both performed at Beehive Birthday V.
CAP’N SCURVY’S APOCALYPSE HOEDOWN REVIVAL
If it doesn’t have you by name alone, know that Scurvy also breathes fire and juggles machetes. We didn’t see this at the Beehive bash, but apparently, there’s banjo playing too. Sounds like one heck of a good time.
SHOW INFO: Cap’n Scurvy’s Apocalypse Hoedown Revival plays 2:30 p.m., Saturday, 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, and 8:30 p.m. March 13 at Million Too, 1153 N Fulton St. Admission: $5.
VALLEY BURLESQUE SOCIETY
The tantalizing ladies of the Valley Burlesque Society are Roguing again this year — with three different shows, all at Full Circle Brewing Co. These will be full shows, beyond the teases we saw at Beehive Birthday. If you haven’t been to a VBS show, the Rogue is the perfect chance to expose yourself to something new.
SHOW INFO: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 10 p.m. March 12 and 10 p.m. March 13 at Full Circle Brewing Co., 620 F St. Admission: $7.
We’re a week away from my favorite annual Fresno event — the Rogue Festival.
Year after year, the Rogue has proven to be a jewel of Fresno’s entertainment community, offering theater, music, dance, visual art, movies and comedy during its 10-day run. All told, more than 70 different shows are part of this year’s Rogue.
Everything gets started with the Rogue’s annual kick-off on Thursday — including RogueHop at Ashtree Studios, 5-8 p.m., and the Rogue preview at Full Circle Brewing Co. at 8:30 p.m. The festival opens on Friday and continues through the weekend.
As usual, the Beehive will be buzzing with Rogue coverage this year. Check out fresnobeehive.com/rogue for all our reviews from last year. That’s where everything will land once the fest gets going this year too.
The Rogue can be daunting to navigate, so we suggest you start planning now. Aileen from Ashtree Studios says this year’s Rogue Maps (basically: the Rogue program) are available to be picked up at her studio. Use that to see what shows are offered this year, and when they’re playing. Get your Rogue Map today until 6 p.m. or 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. If you’re stuck behind a computer, you can download a PDF of the Rogue Map here.
Let’s start the Rogue talk with one simple question: What shows are looking forward to this year? (And, yes, performers, feel free to plug your show).
Lots to do around the ‘Burg tonight, starting with country megastar Brad Paisley, who makes an appearance at Save Mart Center.
That’s where all the country fans will be tonight. Miranda Lambert and Justin Moore are also on the bill. Tickets — ranging from $26.75 to $57.75 — were still available at last glance.
If you go, come back and give us your review tonight or tomorrow.
ELSEWHERE
There are lots of options this evening, including:
Last week, I wrote about a number of local music events aimed at helping Haiti. The list has kept growing, so I figured an update was in order.
Remember that Rock 4 Haiti is still coming up on Tuesday at Starline, and the Sound-N-Vision benefit in Visalia is also this weekend. Here are a few that are new to schedule.
GOING ACOUSTIC
While you countdown to the “24″ premiere …
1. WISH AUDIE A HAPPY B-DAY
Over at Audie’s Olympic, it’s owner Audie’s birthday, but he’s got a present for Fresno music lovers. His two-night Audiepalooza is jam-packed with talent. Tonight is rockabilly/Americana night, while Saturday is straight up rock.
We owe a hearty thanks to Beehive readers for making Saturday’s Beehive Birthday V a roaring success. I’m sure I speak for the rest of the bloggers here when I say we were blown away by the turnout, and happy that everybody seemed to have so much fun.
Personally, I’m always worried when we have events, because it’s not something we do every weekend. So I wonder whether people will really show up. You could ask Kathy or Heather — I was pretty nervous this time around. But by 8 p.m., just an hour in, the turnout was more than I had ever dreamed.
Beyond the sheer numbers, I was happy to see such a diverse sampling of the community. Downtown businessmen, bloggers, teachers, librarians, punk rock dudes, film-makers, art gallery owners, bar hoppers, roller derby players, furry mascots and many, many more were there trying to master our games (tough, huh?) and win some great prizes.
It’s our hope that many of you experienced something new — whether it was Full Circle’s brews, or the ladies of the Valley Burlesque Society, or just a Fresnan you met for the first time. And hopefully you came away loving Fresno just a little bit more.
OK, I’m going to step off that soapbox now, because there are many people who deserved to be thanked for making the party success.
[photo credit: Joe Osejo]
The Beehive (with help from the Dumb Drum) headed to Full Circle Brewery last night to take a quick tour of the place and talk with co-owner Don about what’s happening Saturday. Check it out:
The party starts at 7 p.m. and ends at 11, so make sure to get there early. And remember: 21 and older only, so leave the kiddies at home.
See you there!
Remember to wear your raincoat …
1. PICK PICKFORD
Jazz lovers, head down to Club One Casino tonight to see saxophonist Loren Pickford. It’s nice to see Pickford, considered a Fresno music icon by many, back in town. He’s a Fresno native, who spent many years in New Orleans, then set up shop in Kansas City after Hurricane Katrina. Pickford was nominated for a Grammy in 1991, making him one of the few Fresno musicians to get that honor. It’s also nice to see Club One Casino doing more concerts. It was a great venue at the re:FUSE Festival. More details here.
It’s another of those a-dozen-cool-things-happening Thursdays. We already told about the Cirque Du Noel event and the theater offerings tonight. But there’s plenty happening in the music and club scene too.
We start at the Crest Theatre, where Breathe Carolina oughta pull in the youngsters with its screamo-meets-electronica sound. A bunch of other like-minded groups such as Cash Cash and Kill Paradise are on the bill too. Tell the nearest teenager.
Other than walking Christmas Tree Lane …
1. HAVE A TASTE OF BRAZIL
Local music wunderkind Eva Scow has brought her most recent band to Fresno (seriously, she’s in more bands than probably even she can keep count of). This one is the Brazilian Jazz Collective and it’s playing Saturday night at Hero’s. You can also try the under-new-ownership Hero’s and report back to us.
Don’t think we forgot.
The Beehive’s official birthday may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working on a little something to mark the occasion.
As you well remember, last year’s party was pretty amazing. However, we’re certain this year’s party, which will take place at Full Circle Brewing Co., is gonna blow that one out of the water.
So mark Saturday, January 9, on your calendars, and keep an eye on the Beehive in upcoming weeks for further details.
[Special thanks to Mr. Brodiemash for hooking us up with a birthday logo]
We’ve got quite a Thursday night on our hands, folks. There are some seriously cool touring acts in the area tonight. I’m not going to waste anymore time and just get into it.
TORI SPARKS: I guarantee you Tori Sparks is going to earn some new fans tonight in Fresno. This Nashville singer is equal parts soul, blues and folk — an intersection that leads to comparisons to both Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell. She’s at Full Circle Brewing Co. at 8 p.m. $6.
MELT BANANA: As one of Japan’s most famous rock bands, Melt Banana has made a considerable name for itself in the United States — having toured with Tool and Lou Reed. Expect a night of noisy and fast rock ‘n’ roll at Visalia’s The Cellar Door. 9:30 p.m. $10.
I could make another post mentioning the Lamb of God show or roller derby, but we’ve talked about those already. Here’s some other great stuff you should consider for this weekend:
1. GET WITH YOUR KIN: Enjoy a night of cool local rock over at Crossroads on Saturday night as Kinship, The Dirty Sanchez, Euphoria and Crush Groove take the stage.
