On Tuesday, Fresno County sheriff candidates Cal Minor and Margaret Mims visited The Bee and met with members of the editorial board, as well as some reporters and editors. We recorded the two meetings, and you can find the audio files here.
Happy Friday ya'll. If you're looking for something to do that involves music and K-Fed night with the Grizzlies isn't your thing, then I have some suggestions. Below are my top five weekend picks. For a more thorough list of musical happenings, check out my Music Roundup column or flip through our calendar.
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers @ Selland Arena Anthony, Flea and the boys are cool and rocking again. Judging from ticket sales, It looks like people in Fresno couldn't be happier. Go soak up the California love Sunday night at Selland Arena. The Mars Volta opens for the Chili Peps. Ticketmaster is no mas on tickets, but Craigslist has some offers for you late-comers.
The Grizzlies have put together "K-Fed Night" for Saturday night's game against Sacramento. They're allege it's a tribute to K-Fed, commemorating his rise to music stardom. Say that with a straight face.
No need to wait until spring for some Rogue Festival flavor. Tonight is the third of the Rogue Review shows introduced this summer by Fresno's fringe festival, aimed at bringing shows that have had success at the Rogue to other venues in town.
Tonight, comedian Jaguar Bennett revisits his "Sexual Torture show" (as the title suggests, it's for mature audiences) while local singer/songwriter Lazarus Eden heads "Self Awareness," the musical portion of the show. It also features songwriters Kevin Lindholm and Kevin Rees.
It's shaping up to be Guns 'N' Roses week in Fresno. It was announced Monday that an Axl Rose-led tour would stop at the Save Mart Center on Sept. 27. Today, Adler's Appetite, the band of original GnR drummer Steven Adler, performs a set of Guns 'N' Roses tunes at Crossroads.
Adler played in GnR for five years, most notably on "Appetite for Destruction," but was fired during the recording of the "Use Your Illusion" albums. Adler and his band is on the road with L.A. glam rockers Faster Pussycat, whose guitar player Brent Muscat also plays in Adler's Appetite.
Bang Tango opens the show, which starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $16, get 'em online here. Check out the flier.
Guns 'N' Roses hit the Save Mart Center on Sept. 27
Guns 'N' Roses -- well, what's left of the troubled yet seminal '80s hard rock group, anyway -- will make a Fresno stop on its upcoming U.S. tour.
The Save Mart Center announced on Monday afternoon that Axl Rose and Co. are scheduled to perform on Sept. 27. Tickets will go on-sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, with ticket prices of $39.75, $50.75 and $76.75.
K-Fed: Lip-synching his way into the hearts of teenage America
I have a confession to make: This one time I heard a Kevin Federline rap song and thought "well, it's not that bad."
That time, however, was not last night at the Teen Choice Awards, where our hometown hero K-Fed gave the world his first televised performance. And, it was that bad.
Well, the crowd for Fresno's premiere of "Snakes on a Plane" did not live up to the hype suggested by the film's Internet fan-demonium. We checked out the scene at River Park, which had the largest showing with 200 tickets sold (out of 422 possible seats). Manchester had 20 "Snakes" fans and Broadway Faire ushered in 10 for its showing. Despite the lackluster attendance, the moviegoers we ran into were still excited for what they expect to be a blockbuster. Watch this video to see how excited the target audience is for the first Fresno screening of "Snakes on a Plane."
The great thing about downloadable music is that it gives people like me the opportunity to hear albums that they would never think of buying. In other words, you can listen to Paris Hilton's album for comedy's sake without having to put any more money in her album too-deep-for-her-own-good pockets.
So what did I do this week when I saw a link to the long-laughed-out Paris CD? Clicked and downloaded as quickly as possible. What you see below is my track-by-track thoughts on the album as I was listening to it, one time and one time only, as to minimize the exposure of Paris to my ears. Enjoy. The album hits stores on Tuesday.
You don't really want to go hear Chad Kroeger get all throaty, annoying and faux-sentimental as Nickelback comes to town tonight, do you? There's better stuff happening this weekend. Here are five music events to jump start your weekend:
1. The Casualties @ The Belmont
Straight from the streets of New York, The Casualties make the kinda punk rock that isn't lame and contrived. They're playing tonight at The Belmont. They'll be joined by Japanese band Extinct Government, Texas' KrumBums and local punks Not 4 Hire. Tickets here. [ more ]
How did 9/11 change your life? Some Americans lost jobs or family members because of the terrorist attacks five years ago. Some simply became afraid -- or angry. Tell your story here.
David Lee Roth is set to perform on Oct. 29 at Grizzlies Stadium, the third concert in the recent partnership between the Fresno Grizzlies and Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino. The ex-Van Halen singer will play his own solo work, plus hits from his Van Halen days. Opening the show is The Marshall Tucker Band and Shooter Jennings.
Tickets will go on-sale to the public on Aug. 27, with tickets costing $30 for grandstand general admission seats and $35 field general admission seats. Club Seats cost $50, and luxury suite tickets cost $55. Tickets will be available on Aug. 23 for Grizzlies season ticket holders. For tickets, go to the Grizzlies Stadium box office or call (559) 320-8497. Tickets also will be available online at www.tickets.com or by calling (800) 225-2277.
We may be a little behind here at The Beehive on this whole "Snakes on a Plane" Internet phenomenon. (We're more into bees. I'll tell you, if it were "Bees on a Plane," we would have been all over it. You should have seen the coverage we would have given to Ulee's Gold." Plus, I'm not a big snakes guy. I do like comedy, though. And this thing looks funny as ... well.)
But there's a bevy of entertainment to be found about this summer's most anticipated movie. And you don't even have to see the film to enjoy it all. While the parody trailers differ in concept from the ones for "Brokeback Mountain," there are some creative Samuel L. Jackson enthusiasts out there. Here are some links to get you ready for Friday's opening (or 10 p.m. Thursday):
Country music's reigning power couple, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, brought their popular concert tour to the Save Mart Center on Monday night and it was a love-fest -- more so between the fans and their country idols, than between Tim and Faith.
The show sold out, of course. And not one of those Madonna sell-outs -- a real sell-out. According to Ticketmaster, this "Soul2Soul II" tour is the most-in-demand concert ticket of 2006.
Like any good married couple, Tim and Faith proved they were good together, but could have plenty of fun by themselves, too.
Football fans have endured another offseason and are now ready for the action. So, which team is your early pick to win Super Bowl XLI? Which Calif. team will have the best season?
Have you heard those annoying commercials for the new dance movie "Step Up" on the radio or seen them on TV?
You know, the one where the movie voice-over guys declares "Once every 10 years, a movie comes along that captures the voice of a generation" or "No other movie will make you feel this good."
Memo to Touchtone Pictures: Who do you think you're fooling?
Looks like Def Leppard and Journey are getting ready to swing through Fresno again.
The Save Mart Center announced this morning that the rock bands would team up for a Oct. 11 concert. Tickets go on-sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, costing $39.75, $45.75, $55.75 and $75.75.
I decided long ago that Cassie's "Me and You" -- currently No. 5 on the Billboard singles chart and being played ad nauseum on your local hip-hop radio station -- is perhaps the worst song I have ever heard.
But I didn't feel compelled to put my disdain into words until two days ago, when I pulled into my house with that song playing on my radio. Then I left to go to the grocery store an hour later, only to turn on my car and find Cassie singing (horribly, I might add) on my radio again. I can't escape it.
What separates Cassie's "Me and You" from horrible songs from culprits like Black Eyed Peas, Nelly and others? Well, here's my philosophy: If I could make that song, it's horrible.
Over the last couple days, I've gotten a lot of new show dates coming through my desk. None of these are huge shows, but they're all decent stuff. Anything look good? Anything other new shows coming up that you're looking forward to?
High school football won't just end at the section level this season. There will be a state champion crowned for the first time. What are your thoughts on the BCS-style system that will add to the postseason drama?
A "good sign" for local "American Idol" contestant
It looks like Robert Barron-Gushel (aka Rob the Voice) made it through the first round of "American Idol" try-outs, which brought thousands out to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena today.
I say "it looks like" because no one can say for sure at this point. Fox is very tight-lipped when it comes to "Idol." When I called Barron-Gushel this afternoon to see how his "Idol" audition went, he said he couldn't talk to me because of a confidentially agreement he signed and referred me to Fox's PR department.
That is a good sign -- because if he went there and got sent home, there wouldn't be anybody telling him not to talk to the media.
In case you missed Sunday's A1 centerpiece story, four teams of Bee reporters and photographers will be hiking different legs of the 211-mile John Muir Trail. Today, Diana Marcum and Darrell Wong embark on the first part of this monthlong odyssey. Follow their adventures through daily photos and blog posts at The Beehive's offshoot John Muir Trail blog.
Also on the site are videos introducing you to the hikers, as well as the steps they take to prepare for this journey. There's more info about John Muir, too. Check it out.
Lots happening this week in music. There are some interesting out-of-towners coming through the Valley.
I could sit here and try to come up with an intriguing one-sentence run-down of each group, but in this day and age, when just about every band has a MySpace and when you're a simple mouse click can take you right to the band and its music, I'll just give you some links.
Robert Barron-Gushel, the singer from popular soul/funk band Super Lucky Catz is taking the plunge that every aspiring singer with a TV and the Fox Networks has considered: He's trying out for "American Idol" next week.
Plain and simple, there's way too much going on today. There's a week's-worth of activities all packed into one evening. I've already had a few people ask me what I'm doing tonight. And I don't know.
In December, I wrote a story about photographer Johnny Stafford and his "American Gothic" exhibit, which aimed to tell the stories of people's tattoos through the lens of a camera.
"The best type of ink is the kind that means something to the person and the artist," Stafford said back then.
After becoming a hit on the ArtHop circuit and a successful run at this year's Rogue Festival, Stafford has revived his photo project with new tattoos, new subjects and new stories. "American Gothic II: Skin and Ink" opens at Thursday's ArtHop at 3 Brush Gallery, 2932 Fresno Ave., across from Community Hospital.
On Friday, 3 Brush Gallery will host an opening reception for the exhibit, which will also feature the music of The Boxcar Saints. There's an open bar for the 21-and-over. Tickets cost $9, or $6 for the under-21 crowd.
To check out the first "American Gothic" series, go here.
Sheriff hopefuls speak with editorial board
The Friday Five: We Love K-Fed Edition
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