THE FRESNAN

Tonight @ Audie's: The Growlers, The Fling and the Quiet Americans

Really solid show at Audie's Olympic tonight. Two good traveling bands, two good local bands.

Costa Mesa's, The Growlers, (pictured above) they've got a surf psychadelic roots rock kinda vibe. The Fling is from Long Beach but is familiar with Fresno as they've been through town a couple maybe three times.

Listen to some new stuff from The Fling, see whatcha think:

Fresno's Quiet American's keep getting better and more important in the local scene - even Internet dudes are noticing their shows. (El Olio Wolof was scheduled to play but won't be able to make it)

[Time: 9:00 Cost $6]

Video from The Growlers

Just Sayin': The Fresno PD's Ghettobird? Pretty Easy To Get Away From (Not That We Know Or Anything)

In this video, Fresno's police chopper looks for a dude that somebody thought they saw walking through their backyard. They find nothing.

Did you notice something? You can't see shit. The light seems to make it worse. It's what we always suspected: just hide under a tree and you're invisible to the bird. Good to know. Good to know. And don't let them fool you when they get on the loudspeaker "We see you Mr. Burglar. You stay right there, guy, cause we totally know where you're at." They don't know where you're at.

Thanks for regularly waking us up for nothing, Mr. Ghettobird.

[Video from jbmendoza24]

Dude. You Were Walking Around All Day Saturday Not Knowing It Was 'Patrick Contreras Day'

Too much cool stuff happened over the past few days (besides maybe the nicest August weekend in history). Hope you weren't out of town or working or some crap. Besides the big Fashawn show, Storyland Jazz, Greek Fest and NoTown Roller Girls' "FresYes Fest", there was the Patrick Contreras Block Party.

And if you were there, you know that August 29th is now officially "Patrick Contreras Day" in Fresno. You can debate that Fashawn deserves one too (and he sure as hell does!), but Saturday was Patrick's day.

Mayor Swearengin showed up to give him the award. We were lurking around and caught some of it on film, as Patrick warmed up, seemingly unaware:

Bandgeek: If You Like Live Music In Any Way, Fresno Has Something For You This Weekend, Promise

You've got a lot to do and good weather to do it in Fresno. But there's even more to do inside this weekend. Both Friday and Saturday nights are action packed. Seriously. So let's get to it. Let's BANDGEEK!

FRIDAY

STAR PALACE: This is going to be the party of the night, for sure. Fashawn comes home and is putting on a big show with some new friends, such as Curren$y, Balance and Iceman. Have a look in today's Bee, we hear Mike Oz has something cool setup with Fash and that violin dude. [8:30 $20 All Ages]

KUPPAJOES: Bring all of your ages out to listen to some female indie pop-ing by Omotola, Fresnan See You Soon, Sactown's Reggie Ginn, plus I Do Not Exist.  [7:30 $6 All Ages]

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Man, there is a lot of good bands playing at Audie's tonight. The fact that Shiver Fox is playing Audie's is real interesting, not sure if they have before. Plus there's Lance Canales & the Flood, Style Like Revelators and Austin, Texas psychedelic rock band:  Smoke and Feathers.  [9:00 $8]

 

BABYLON:: Noteworthy So Cal hardcore punk band and veterans of Vans Warped Tour, Voodoo Glow Skulls with SLO band The Action League, and Fresno's own, The Notones. [9:00 $12]

  

STARLINE: Wow, this is a pretty interesting show happening here and we would have totally not seen it if it weren't for a late night check of Michael Osegueda's music roundup - dammit Starline, when ya gonna update your calender!? Oh, the show, you kids know him as the guy you can't understand on Dr. Drew's show, to the rest of us he's the guy less stable than Axl: Steven Adler.

Are You Kidding With All The Cool Shit Happening?

We already know there are some big shows this weekend (more band stuff in Friday's "Bandgeek"), but there's other cool stuff happening too.

>>>The NoTown girls are having a "FresYest Fest" on Saturday. They've created multiple Fresno teams from their own ranks and decided to battle each other for the night. Mike Oz has some more details and profiles of some of the girls. Info:

>>>Over at the bestest park in Fresno history, Storyland & Jazz Night is happening. It's the big fundraiser for Storyland/Playland, you've got food, silent auctions and music from Blue Street Jazz. Tickets are $50 and it runs 6-10, more info here, it may help to bring your key.

>>>It's the 50th version of Fresno's Greek Fest. It's the food. The beer. The dancing. And Kopi in a dress.

INCOMING! Fashawn and Patrick Contreras Band

This weekend is lining up to be one of those that you'll have to miss out on something because you'll be at something else (more on those choices later).  Fresno can be awesome like that sometimes.

Luckily, for local music fans, the two big shows this weekend don't conflict. Those being Fashawn playing Star Palace on Friday and the Patrick Contreras Band having a block party behind the Tower Theater on Saturday.

FRIDAY!

Not only is it triumphant return for Fresnan-done-good, Fashawn. You've got Curren$y, Balance and Iceman. Yeah, the Star Place is big, but Fashawn is pretty comfortable with big crowds by now.

SATURDAY!

Patrick did this last year and it was a wild success. And since the band has a new EP, why not do it again!? Plus, any excuse you have to play a show with Strange Vine and Fierce Creatures, you use. (Did you catch Fierce Creatures on TVLGFHF?)

Damn dudes, you've got two of Fresno's most successful music acts ever, headlining shows this weekend. No doubt this will be fun (and extreme heat free)!

Olly Neasham Loves Him Some Spinners Records

A few weeks back, soulful UK singer, Olly Neasham, while winding his way through the country, played a couple shows in town. The dude apparently loved Fresno. In particular, Spinners Records in the Tower District. So he found a way to come back through town so he could make an in store appearance and play a little music. That day is today. He'll be at the store around 6:15 and it's free.

So if you're not meeting up with pixelated Internet nerds and you think guys with British accents are sexy, you might want to swing by Spinners after work and check out Olly:

Pic stolen from Victoria Hughes.

Feeling Rather Generous: Fay Wrays Offer Up 'Mata Hari'

Not sure what got into them but Fresno post-punk band, Fay Wrays, are letting everyone download their album "Mata Hari" for free.

Just follow this link, then enter the password: MatahariJAX0152009

Hey, cool for us. But too bad for Fay Wrays. We were totally going to download, like, 30 or so "Mata Hari's" for Christmas presents this year. Now, we don't have to pay for crap. Suckers.

Tonight @ Audie's Olympic: The Blasters

Whatcha got at Audie's tonight, ya got The Blasters, that's whatcha got. The Blasters are a long time rockabilly band that have been playing (in some form) since their early days in the 70s in Downey. They are historic and highly respected in L.A.'s punk rock scene. Henry Rollins has said

"In my mind, they were a great band that not enough people found out about. Bill Bateman is one of the best drummers there is, and then of course, there are the Alvin brothers. A lot of talent for one band."

Also playing tonight is Cattie Ness and the Revenge - highly respected in their own right amongst the Fresno scene. Check out some Blasters to get amped:

Something Kinda Awesome You Might Have Missed: Paddleboarders In Fresno

Last week, Fresno Bee reporter, Marek Warszawski, wrote a great story on some dudes utilizing something highly underutilized around here: The San Joaquin River. Not only are they utilizing it but they're doing something cool: paddleboarding.

It's basically a combination of surfing and kayaking. You can do some semi gnarly things with a paddleboard but there isn't much opportunity on the Fresno section of the SJ river. But when you have surfers (like Dan Hogg, Hans Wiedenhoefer and Evan Lloyd, pictured above) having fun with it in Fresno waters, that's cool enough for us.

Apparently it's not that difficult, so if you want to get in on this, you can find the boards at Herb Bauer - they can be a bit pricey so maybe see if they'll rent ya one to get started. Find out some info on getting started with the sport here. And the unofficial spot to park and find your way down to the water is the lot that's at the end of Palm, north of Nees.

Since it's kinda hot at the moment, today might be a good day to start this new Fresno sport.

*Photo taken by Gary Kazanjian of the Fresno Bee. More can be found here.

Tuesday At Neighborhood Cafe [not! Frank's Place]: Girl In A Coma [ohhh, and an after party at Audie's]

Hey folks, check out who's NOT at Frank's Place as previously, BUT at Neighborhood Thrift Cafe, tonight: rock trio: Girl In A Coma. They're out of Texas. They play the rock. And they've got a lot of good press floating around with folks saying things like:

“The “Coma” girls come across self-assured and in total possession of their sound throughout  Trio B.C. They’re asserting their Latin identity while staking their claim as an utterly American rock act.”  - ALL MUSIC GUIDE

“Nina Diaz’s expressive tremble deserves bronzing.  The frontwoman for diverse Texan rock trio Girl in a Coma is one of indie’s – scratch that, the world’s – most distinctive, emotive singers.”  -THE DAILY NEWS

“Trio B.C. is a richly textured document of alternative pop and ear-piercing punk, with slight hints of country, Latin music and shoegaze adding to the fun. Trio B.C. is nothing short of fierce.”  -HOUSTON PRESS

Also on the bill is Lallapalooza vets, Gringo Star, plus "Victorian punk" female trio: Agent Ribbons. Sounds like a good reason to be downtown in the Tower District tonight. Neighborhood Cafe doors open at 8. Tickets are $8. Show is 18 and up.

Have a look and listen:

And, a cool edition to this show is the after party at Audie's Olympic!:

Tell Fresno You're Saving Fulton Mall For Saving... sake

Have you been sitting around thinking "Dammit! When is somebody going to make a green shirt that tells everyone I support the Fulton Mall?!" "Not a white one. Not a red one. A green one. With maybe, like, the clock tower on it or something." Well, finally somebody has done it.

The Facebook campaign to Save The Fulton Mall now has t-shirts you can purchase... almost on the Fulton Mall. Two locations now have them, one being the All Things Fresno Store on Fulton in the Warnors Theatre complex. The second location being Yoshi Now.

Basically you're saying "no" to traffic being returned to that infamous stretch of Fulton. Or, wait, can it still be the Fulton Mall with traffic? Can you still support the Fulton Mall but want traffic rolling down it? Probably not. No... You know what, just buy the shirt, it's only ten bucks. Gezzz, we don't need to make this into a thing do we?

Side note: One wonders if this past weekend's wildly successful Central Cal Invitation Rib Cook-off would have been as successful on the Fulton Mall.

Tonight In The Tower: Brother Luke At Veni Vidi Vici's

 

Local musician Luke Freeman, he of Circles & Circles and Brother Luke & The Comrades fame, has been in Oregon for the Summer. Who cares, right? I mean really, who the hell cares!?

Well, alright, we care some. Because, he's a good local musician, a cool dude and he's doing a free show tonight at Veni Vini Vici's as a "welcome home" of sorts. So if you too care about Luke or free shows, be at Veni's tonight around 10:00.

Bandgeek: Body Singing, Zep Chicks, Frenchies, Tokyo Nights, Mayer Assheads and Augfests

If you're going to be 'ribbing' all weekend long you may need a break or two. Why not enjoy your break with local music? There is a lot of talent floating around Fresno and some of it is luckily underneath the radar of Fresno's Nightclub Permit Czar, Rick Mirsnitchian. So grap your proper ID and head out.

Fresno. Let's BANDGEEK!

FRIDAY

KUPPAJOES: Not sure who does the fliers for Kuppajoe but they're always sweet. Well, as the sweet flier tells us, tonight is Sing The Body, Achievement House, Troubled By Insects and Jeffrey Conway. Plus all kinds of artwork! [7:00 $6]

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Tribute bands are always fun, especially when it's an all female tribute. Tonight that would be Zeppelin tribute band, Zepparella. Plus the local and very good, Gypsy Cab. [9:00 $12]  

BABYLON: It shall be a night of metal and it shall be good. With, Azazel, Obsidian Seraph, Good Time Addiction, Remnants of Man, and War Starts Sunday. [7:30 $10]

STARLINE: It'll be interesting to see how well a band like Fierce Creatures, that has a lot of fans under 21, draw at the now 21+ only Starline. Well, Argyle Pimps should help with that:

CYC: It must be some sorta punk rock thing or something, but it seems like a lot of of International acts come through the CYC. Tonight, French band Baygon Vert - geez, I hope they don't just look around Chinatown and think "This is it, Fresno?"  Hopefully Your Hero Is A Villain will tell them what's up. Along with My Low and Alive & Well. Details:

 

STARLINE GRILL: Michael Faeth plus Triumvirate are Live and Eclectic:

SATURDAY

TOKYO GARDEN: Cool, One Night In Tokyo #2. It's another fundraiser for Creative Fresno's Mural Project. This one has a nice little mix of music with Bicicleta, Almost Winter and Love Pollution. More info is here. And here:

F.u.S.E. Fest 2010: Fresnans Are Givers. Givers!

In case you haven't noticed, the Fresno Urban Sound Experience's Kickstarter campaign is off to a good start (knock on wood). Turns out we have some folks in Fresno that want to see a Fresno music festival be awesome. There is still plenty of time to give your support and get something in return, just check the Kickstarter page to find out how.

Festival creator, Joshua Tehee, did a presentation about F.u.S.E. at the last Pecha Kucha and below is video proof. (Side note: if you haven't been to a Pecha Kucha before, this gives you a little bit of an idea of how it goes):

Expect an updated (bigger) list of bands for the October 23rd bash, next week. Meanwhile, your backing of the festival is much appreciated, and yes, if F.u.S.E. reaches the $2,500 mark you can still donate - just sayin'.