The Valley's new online video portal GottaLoveFresno.com -- I wrote about previously here -- got its official launch this morning at downtown eatery Brick. Mayor Ashley Swearengin introduced the new site and many of the local folks who create content for the site were there to mingle. The Bee's John Walker was there too -- to snap some photos. See his entire gallery here.

Check out GottaLoveFresno.com for its new original web shows -- including Nothing To Do, which I appear on each week.

I'll admit: I was a little skeptical about Club One Casino's Summer Splash Beach Party this weekend. I thought the idea was great and it was exactly the kind of thing we should be doing downtown. But with first time events, I'm always worried if they're going to deliver.

Seeing as how I stayed there until 1:30 a.m. on Saturday night and had a great time -- I'm going to say this delivered. SlideZilla was cool, the atmosphere was chill, the crowd was a good size and everyone seemed to be having fun. The key, I think, is that it was something different from the typical nightclub happenings. There was a different energy. And, for that, I didn't mind leaving with sand in my shoes.

Here's a story about the event from Sunday's Bee and here's another from today's paper -- which says about 5,000 people attended. Enjoy the video below by The Bee's John Walker. There are also some photos below that I snapped, which show you the after-dark portion of the party .

I went to my first dubstep show last week, the Crest Theatre event from Level 10 Productions that brought star DJ Datsik to town. I'd be lying if I told you anything other than being there -- among a thousand or so sweaty teenagers -- made me feel super old. That aside, I was totally enthralled in the scene. Check the video above (with photos from The Bee's Craig Kohlruss) for a glimpse at what was going on.

I think my favorite part of the night was actually the fashion. Some people dressed like they were going to the beach, some dressed like they were hippies. Some, well, some had their own individual styles. I saw guys in bright orange Cal-Trans vests, someone in suspenders and a bow tie -- with no shirt. There was a girl wearing a tiara, multiple girls wearing fuzzy boots and tutus, a bunch of them sucking on pacifiers and one girl wearing a Buzz Lightyear backpack. I swear one guy was wearing the same headband Daniel wore in "The Karate Kid." Gotta applaud them for going all out.

If you wanna check out this scene for yourself, Level 10 has these upcoming events: The Bass Monsters Tour (Aug. 27), Bassnectar (Sept. 15) and Steve Aoki (Dec. 3).

Here's another video that's WAYYYY better than mine, courtesy of Art Became Culture -- which has a bunch of fresh-looking videos from local events on its YouTube channel.

As you might recall, I've been pretty psyched about local singer Sahab, whose indie/electro/hip-hop sound I've been digging for a few months now. His album release party was Saturday night at Fulton 55. I went to check it out and captured this video of show opener, "Dastaneh Layli O Majnun."

Heading into the concert, I was curious to see how Sahab's sound would translate live (this was my first time seeing him). It was hit and miss. I was happily surprised to see Sahab come out with a full band, complete with back-up singers. This song, for instance, had a nice energy to it. Others didn't move me as much. Sahab's voice captivated me, but his performance didn't -- not 100% of the time. It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't at the level I was expecting, given my fondness for his tunes.

While I'm still totally sold on his recorded music, I'm hoping, with a little fine-tuning, that I'll see a more polished performance from Sahab and his band next time.

Saturday night were the finals of the second annual Central Valley Comedy Competition, held at the lovely ApCal Winery in Madera (technically, but it's only one exit north of Herndon, so it's not as far as you might think, Fresnans).

I was one of the judges -- thanks to organizer Andre Covington for having me -- tasked with picking the best comic out of the six finalists. The six: locals Chris Cruz, Johnny Osburn and Michelle Rowe, as well as out-of-towners Insane Wayne, T.J Young and Matthew Nouriel.

Here's a taste of each comic, starting with winner Insane Wayne (from Stockton) -- who also recently won the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition. The rest of the videos are below, in the order the comics finished.

Warning: Each video is littered with all sorts of foul language, so they're quite NSFW.

UPDATE: Congrats to Floydy who scored the autographed record.

ORIGINAL POST: L.A. buzz band Foster the People was able to exceed my expectations in its Saturday night show at The Cellar Door. That was pretty tough, since I had pretty high hopes for this band after getting hooked on their debut song "Pumped Up Kicks" over the summer.

What Foster the People showed us Saturday night is that it has enough hooks and catchiness to keep fans of "Pumped Up Kicks" happy for a while. I immediately wanted more after the band's short, tight 30-minute set. We'll have to wait until spring for the band's debut album, but it's atop of my most-awaited list now. Honestly, I'll be surprised if in a year's time Foster the People isn't too big to be playing venues like The Cellar Door.

We've got some videos from the show, starting with "Pumped Up Kicks." Head all the way down to the bottom, 'cause we've got an autographed record from the band that you can enter to win.

On Tuesday night, Picture Fresno hosted its first Holiday Extravaganza -- a sort of IRL version of its site, with winning pictures on display, lots of photogenic folks, wine and the sounds of local band Achievement House. It all happened within the chic confines of The Laundry Room. Here's what you missed if you weren't there:

Here's a bonus video of Achievement House playing a bit of its song "Summer Spirit:"

'Twas a busy concert-going week for me. So busy, in fact, I wasn't able to get these videos up until now. So enjoy these looks back at Wednesday night's sold-out Ghostface Killah show at Starline and Monday's packed Cold War Kids show at The Cellar Door.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH
Just wanna say, for the record, that I don't know that I've been a show in Fresno that was this live in a long time. I think the video should make it clear how wild it was in there. Props to all involved.

Mucca Pazza could be the house band at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory -- part insanity, part magic, all mind-bending fun. Its performance Wednesday night at Audie's Olympic was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

Here was this marching band with mismatched uniforms and cheerleaders who had pom-poms made of "Caution" tape, either crowding onto the stage or crawling around the club, playing where ever they wanted. The crowd was smiling and laughing the whole time, something you don't always -- but should -- see at a show. If you ever get a chance to see Mucca Pazza, do not hesitate, do it.

Here's what you missed if you weren't there.

The inaugural Frebby Awards were Thursday night at the Downtown Club, honoring the best of the local web. About 150 people were there, making for an event abuzz with creative energy and innovative people. Seven main awards were handed out (full list below) and a slew of honorable mentions were announced (they'll be online soon). Read the full story by The Bee's Bethany Clough.

Here are some visuals of what you missed if you didn't Frebby it up: