Other than getting sufficiently lubricated at the Fresno Craft Beer Festival (even if it is at a winery in Madera), what’s a music-loving boy (or girl) to do this weekend? Quite a bit turns out. Let’s break it down with this week’s BANDGEEEEEEEK!!
Fresno Urban Sound Experience (known by some as F.U.S.E.) has announced the dates for the 2013 festival. So, circle Sept. 20 and 21 on the calendar for this locals-only music event. The festival will once again be held in downtown Fresno venues (including Fresno Brewing Company, Frank’s Place, Tokyo Garden and more) and will feature an insane number of local, original bands.
This will be the festival’s sixth year.
Because the lineup is still in the works: Who do you think deserves to be in this year’s lineup?
First off: Make time to get out to the Fresno Ideaworks Mini Makers Faire on Sunday. It’s one of those ahead-of-the-curve things that you may not understand now, but give it a few years. Everyone will be talking about it. That’s my take anyway.
You may also want to block out some time for all the great music events. So, let’s get to it. Once again, let us BANDGEEEEEEEEK!
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)
UPDATE: If you’re eagerly waiting to get tickets, there will be a student pre-sale 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. The tickets are available to students only (with valid ID) and only at the Save Mart Box Office. There’s an 8-ticket limit. Good only while supplies last.
Original post: Here’s one that should end any question about hip-hop shows returning to the Save Mart Center after the incident at a Rick Ross show last year.
Q97 announced the “Light It Up Tour,” will be in Fresno May 3. The tour features the return of young hip-hop star Wiz Khalifa, along with R&B neo-soul artist Miguel and a whole bunch of others (Jonn Hart, Baby Bash, DJ Pauly D and more). Tickets are $28-$78 and go on sale Friday.
Khalifa last played Fresno headlining a show with Common and Aesop Rock in 2011.
If dealing with the sequester news and possible drone attacks and the death of dictators seems like too much to handle right now, relax. It’s the weekend. There’s more than enough music stuffs to take your mind off it all. Let’s get at it. Let’s BANDGEEEEEEEEK!!
It’s a few days before Rick Ross announces he’s coming to Fresno’s Save Mart Center. I’m talking to my buddy Sam. Some synth-heavy indie rock song is booming overhead, but for some reason I’m thinking about Rick Ross. Raaaawssssss! (Sorry, can’t resist).
I ask, totally serious, “Does anybody actually like Rick Ross?” What I mean specifically is this: Are there diehard Rick Ross fans? People who wear Rick Ross T-shirts or put things like “Rick Ross is my favorite rapper” in their Twitter profile. Do these people exist? Because I don’t know them.
I know people who say they like Rick Ross because he’s on the radio a lot. Because he’s on the top rappers in the game — whatever that means in 2012. Or because he does songs with Drake. Or because he raps about money and fancy cars and yachts.
Fast forward to right now. Tonight, Ross and his goon squad clique bring their Maybach Music Group Tour to town. This includes star-in-the-making Meek Mill, perpetual bridesmaid Wale and Machine Gun Kelly, a white dude that Puffy signed who notably went nuts in a Microsoft store. There was a Groupon for tickets last week, so it’s not exactly Bieber Fever up in here. Tickets cost $46.75-$66.75. Does Fresno like Rick Ross that much? Does anybody? Yeah, we’re back to that again.
UPDATE: The Rick Ross concert was officially announced today. Tickets are on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. with tickets costing $39.75, $49.75 & $69.75.
ORIGINAL POST, 9/27: Country legend George Strait and hot-rapper-of-the-moment Rick Ross are Fresno-bound, according to new tour announcements from each artist.
Strait announced 2013 tour plans at a Wednesday news conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Strait said the tour, titled “A Cowboy Rides Away,” would be his last. Strait will perform Feb. 1 at Save Mart Center. The tour includes Martina McBride. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Oct. 12. They’ll cost $72.50 and $92.50.
Meanwhile, rapper Rick Ross announced his Maybach Music Group tour would stop at Save Mart Center, too. Tour dates tweeted by the rapper include a Nov. 29 show in Fresno. That tour includes Ross labelmates Meek Mill, Wale and Machine Gun Kelly. Save Mart Center has not confirmed the Ross date, nor have ticket details been announced. Watch for those in future updates.
Also: Superstar DJ Tiësto has postponed his October concerts because of a back injury. His Fresno show, originally Oct. 17, has been rescheduled for March 6. Tickets from Oct. 17 will be honored at new date. But refunds are also available.
Every food seems to have its own day of celebration — because how else would you know when to eat them, right? — so accordingly, today is National Cheeseburger Day. While there are many worthwhile cheeseburgers in Fresno and the Valley, by far our greatest contribution to the cheeseburger culture is this classic video from nationally-renowned local rapper PtheG, “Cheeseburger.”
So let’s sing, “We gettin’ cheeseburgers” today while we trek to our favorite cheeseburger slinger. If you need some recommendations, revisit this “Best Burger in Fresno” post from 2008. Or add new faves in the comments.
Politically charged rapper Immortal Technique is in town tonight capping off what’s been three straight nights of quality shows at Fulton 55. And for him, Fresno is a stop after doing the big Rock the Bells hip-hop festival in SoCal this past weekend. An underground favorite, Immortal Technique harkens back to the days of Public Enemy, when rappers were outspoken instead of frivolous. Is it revolutionary rap you’re after? Here you go. Tickets here.
One of my favorite Immortal Technique songs is below. Warning: Language NSFW.
Sorry, New Boyz fans (if any of you actually exist), but I’m not the type to get excited about a dumbed-down version of The Cool Kids that’s re-packaged for radio rap fans.
But here’s why I’m writing this instead of just yawning and looking forward to the Elzhi show: I’m dumbstruck that people continue to bring these dudes to the Valley. Not because they don’t have pull. But how many times are they going to come here before we all yawn at them.
A New Boyz concert in the Valley is like a Katy Perry hit single — they keep coming one after another. Don’t believe me. *Ahem*
Nineteen-year-old rapper Baeza recently achieved something that no other local artist not named Ryan Beatty has done: Topped one million views on YouTube for his song “Far From Ready,” which was released in December.
Baeza — who is very obviously cut from the Drake cloth — has built a strong fanbase online, mostly of women. Ask Drake, that’s not a bad business model. Baeza says he’s already talking to record labels and prepping future releases. I did a Q & A with him that will appear in Friday’s Fresno Bee. Next This weekend, you can catch Baeza performing a headlining concert (flier below) at Veterans Memoral Auditorium in downtown Fresno.
I’m probably just a prisoner of the moment on this one, but current Fresno rap king Fashawn just dropped a new hometown anthem featuring Omar Aura and did something so brilliant I don’t know why it hadn’t been done before.
He rapped over Timmy T’s 1991 chart-topper “One More Try,” creating a song that overdoses on Fresnawesomeness. I’m not going to lie, I totally marked out when the beat came in. Even the artwork for “One More Try” is great. Listen to or download the song below. (Warning: NSFW language)
Meet young rapper Krispy Kreme, a viral Internet sensation who is being dubbed rap’s Rebecca Black. His first video, “The Baddest,” zoomed past a million views. And his second video, “Haters Wanna Be Me,” has only been up for a day and is already at 150,000+ views. Thanks, in part. of his mean-mugging sidekick Money Maker Mike.
I don’t know that this really is Rebecca Black-ish. There are plenty of unintentionally bad rappers out there. This seems like the opposite. There’s some well-placed comedic know-how at play. (The pool of snot under his nose? Come on, that’s great).
The whole thing kind of reminds of me that Kanye West video that starred Zach Galifianakis. I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody like Andy Samberg was ultimately revealed to be behind this. The whole story will certainly emerge. That’s the Internet’s job. For now, let’s all just enjoy Krispy Kreme.
Yauch, 47, had recently battled throat cancer. His death hasn’t yet been formally linked to his cancer fight, but it has limited him recently. For instance, he skipped the Beastie Boys induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Here are a few classic Beastie Boys tracks and, at the end, one of my favorite and more underrated cuts from them. Condolences to Yauch’s family, friends and fans.
Southern rap icon Scarface is at Rome Nightclub tonight for what is supposedly his first ever appearance in Fresno. It’s hard to believe, with such a long career. But that makes the show even more of a coup for the Granite Park nightclub.
Scarface was a member of Geto Boys and has had a successful solo career with songs such as “I Seen a Man Die.” He’s also one of the first rappers to emerge as a star from the South.
If you’d like to see Scarface for FREE, then you’re in the right place. We’re giving out five pairs of tickets to tonight’s show. Be the first, third, fifth, seventh or ninth commenter on this post and you’ll win a pair of tickets. We won’t publish any comments until we have all of our winners — so this is all about timing.
Winners will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real address and please check it. We’re gonna have to turn this one around quick. No multiple entries allowed. You’re ineligible if you’ve won’t something from The Beehive in the past 30 days. Full rules below.
I’ll say it and stand behind it: Pharoahe Monch is one of those most criminally-slept-on rappers. Monch, an ex member of Organized Konfusion, is not only a great lyricist, but he has a dizzying, unconventional delivery.
Pharoahe — “God’s gift to vocabulary,” as he’s called himself — is at Fulton 55 on Wednesday night. Every self-respecting hip-hop fan in Fresno should be there. But they won’t. He’s hardly the guy the radio-listening masses will turn off that latest New Boyz song to go see. The closest thing Monch has had to a hit is 1999′s “Simon Says.”
Nonetheless, here’s hoping he gets a good crowd in Fresno next week. He certainly deserves it. Tickets cost $15 in advance and are available at TicketFly, as well as Iron Bird Cafe and The Laundry Room.
Here are a few Pharoahe favorites. (Warning: NSFW language)
Hip-hop group Das Racist is at Audie’s Olympic on Friday night. And before you make assumptions about them based on the phrase “hip-hop group,” know that these dudes are about as far from a stereotypical rap group as you can get.
Das Racist is best known for its viral hit, “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,” which makes them seem like one of those Andy Samberg-type gag groups. But they’ve actually put out some cool material since then, such as their most recent mixtape “Sit Down, Man.” (Free downloads here).
Their music is comedic, no doubt, full of oddball references, wacky punchlines and smartsy wordplay. (example: “Call me Dwight Schrute, the way that I eat beats/beets.”) It’s also got this steam-of-consciousness, we’re-more-clever-than-you vibe that’s endeared them to Web-savvy hipsters.
So get familiar with Das Racist below and if you dig them, check them out on Friday. (Flier with show details is at the bottom of the this post). This 8-bit video gives you a good idea of what these dudes are all about. This and every video here are NSFW.
Turns out a lot of hip-hoppers were left on the outside looking in, Tuesday night at Fresno State’s KRS-One concert. Only about 150 were let in to Satellite Student Union, leaving many KRS fans upset and unfulfilled.
This was all pulled together on Wednesday, so it’s terribly last minute, but KRS will be performing at Karma (2039 Kern St. — it used to be 2039 Ultralounge and Fagan’s Irish Pub). Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 or $25, including meet-and-greet. The show is open to the 18-and-up.
Pretty frequently, I get aspiring local rappers hitting me up trying to find places to perform. Here’s one place I send them: The “Who’s Hot Now” showcase on Tuesday nights at The Next Bar. It’s basically open mic night for rappers (since not all open mic nights allows rappers).
Basically, you show up, pay your $5, put your name on the list, then you get to perform two tracks. If you’re dope, you might even win some prizes. More details in the video below.
If you like non-moving fliers, you can find that below:
The tour is stopping at The Cellar Door on Dec. 18. Disregard that the flier says The Cellar Door isn’t in Fresno. (We Fresnans can only wish, right?) This is definitely happening in Visalia.
Tickets go on sale next week. We’ll give you all the ticketing info once we get it.
TECH N9NE + WOODWARD PARK? Rapper Tech N9ne is at playing at the Woodward Park Amphitheatre tomorrow night. So far we haven’t heard any upright North Fresnans complaining about a kinda-juggalo rapper playing the park, so that’s good. E-40, Krizz Kaliko and others are there too. More info here.
THE FAIR BEGINS; QUESTIONS ABOUND: The Big Fresno Fair starts on Wednesday. Sammy Hagar kicks off the concert series, making his first appearance in Fresno since the demise of Fresno Wabo. What will he say? Anything? Will he make fun of Milt Barbis again? Will Fresno still love him? Also, comic Carlos Mencia performs Thursday. Doesn’t the fair have a rule against act swearing? How is that going to work?
THE TREASURY DEBUTS: A cool-sounding spot opening for Thursday’s ArtHop is The Treasury, a downtown art gallery, office space, by-appointment fashion boutique. It’s on Van Ness, near Divisadero, not far from Iron Bird Cafe.
THE MASQUERADE OF THE RED DEATH:Woodward Park Regional Library is hosting a Edgar Allen Poe-themed masquerade party on Friday night, tied into Fresno Big Read, which is all about Poe this year. Get fancy!
1. GO DEF
All the hard rockers are gonna be out to see Deftones on Saturday night at Woodward Park Amphitheatre. Circa Survive opens, and they’re big too. So not only is it a top-notch show for Fresno, but it’s the biggest-name concert in the amphitheater since it was renovated two years ago. To get ready, check out my interview with Sergio Vega, who joined the band to replace Chi Cheng on bass after his brutal car accident.
Other than getting sufficiently lubricated at the Fresno Craft Beer Festival (even if it is at a winery in Madera), what’s a music-loving boy (or girl) to do this weekend? Quite a bit turns out. Let’s break it down with this week’s BANDGEEEEEEEK!!
