BeatNonStop A Weblog by Chris Macias Bee pop music critic Music geek (n. myü-zik 'gEk) 1: A person who proudly wore KISS commemorative pajamas in third grade. 2: A person who owns multiple copies of the same album, still buys vinyl and has a room dedicated to 2,000 or so CDs and records. 3. A person who wrote a five-part series about traveling with a local band in their stinky van - and loved every minute of it. 4: Chris Macias, the Bee's pop music critic, serving Sacramento's music scene since 1999.

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« September 2005 | | November 2005 »

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October 28, 2005

Funk phenomenon

Woo wee, I’m still feeling kind of bleary eyed after a trip to San Francisco on Thursday night. It was an evening of Brazilian baile funk at Rickshaw Stop, a club near SF’s Civic Center. Baile funk doesn’t get much play around these parts. For one, the lyrics are in Portuguese so it’s hard to know what the lyrics are. But booming bass is loved universally, and baile funk is the kind of get down and get low party music that’s designed for fun, sweaty times. DJ Marlboro from Brazil spun for most of the night, and Diplo from Philadelphia also manned the turntables with Miami bass and baile funk tracks. Now I’ve got something of a bass hangover, and my Kraftwerk t-shirt really needs to be washed. Can’t wait to do it again.

Posted by cmacias at 5:01 PM | Comments |

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PodNonStop 006: Fall Out Boy

Time for some good, healthy PodNonStop fun with Fall Out Boy. The pop/punk band is huge on MySpace.com and is all over MTV, but there's a lot more to them than that. After listening, check out the story in Sunday's Ticket section in The Bee. And find our past podcast episodes at www.sacticket.com/podcasts.

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Posted by icahir at 12:39 PM | Comments |

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October 26, 2005

The bassist as a bard

Chi Cheng, bassist and back-up screamer for the Deftones, will be part of a poetry reading on Thursday night at Luna's Cafe (1414 16th St.). Even if you're not one for literary matters, Chi's spoken word gigs are good times. His previous readings have featured belly dancers and at least a few boozy moments (think a poem accidentally catching on fire). Keep in mind that his poetry is strictly NC-17 kind of stuff.

The reading starts at 8 p.m. No cover charge, but there is a one drink minimum. For more information: (916) 441-3931.

Posted by cmacias at 4:02 PM | Comments |

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October 25, 2005

Not so def

Friday's concert at the Memorial Auditorium was supposed to feature a reunion of Black Star, the dynamic rap duo of Mos Def and Talib Kweli. But I just got word that Talib Kweli just dropped off the bill, and won't perform in San Francisco either. Mos Def is still scheduled to perform, and openers Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae remain on the bill as well. Promoters are still trying to add another act in Talib's absence, so we'll keep you posted.

Posted by cmacias at 1:15 PM | Comments |

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October 21, 2005

PodNonStop 005: Butterscotch

In the fifth episode of PodNonStop, pop music writer Chris Macias speaks with Antoinette "Butterscotch," a quiet Sac State student who now is an international beatbox champion. Check her out, read Chris' story in Friday's Scene section and watch the video on SacTicket.com.

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Check out previous episodes of PodNonStop

Posted by icahir at 12:00 AM | Comments |

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October 20, 2005

All She Wants to do is Dance

The Eagles fan in Sec. 119 came to boogie last night. “One of These Nights” kicked in, and she jumped out of her seat and flapped her arms like a funky chicken. Then came the dirty looks – and then she was told to sit down by someone sitting behind her. See, it’s uncool to stand up during an Eagles concert. People pay way too much – upwards of $130 per ticket at Arco last night – to have any views obstructed. And the group that penned “Life in the Fast Lane” draws mostly a middle-aged audience that would rather kick back these days. But isn’t the whole idea of a rock concert to heal those 9-to-5 blues by losing yourself in the music? Maybe the Eagles should have “La-Z-Boy” furniture sponsor its next tour.

Posted by cmacias at 3:49 PM | Comments |

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October 18, 2005

I heard the news today (er, 24 years and 10 months ago)

The 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s death isn’t until Dec. 8, but the Bee jumped ahead of the pack by running a Lennon legacy story today.

Do you remember where you were when Lennon was murdered? Send an e-mail with those remembrances to scene@sacbee.com Keep those e-mails to 50 words or fewer, por favor.

As for me, I found out like a lot of folks from Howard Cosell. My dad was watching Monday Night Football and I was near the TV playing with some slot cars (yeah, this shows my age) when Cosell delivered the breaking news about Lennon. I wasn’t a huge Beatle fan at that point – I was more of a moppet metalhead who liked Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden – but I knew it was a very sad day for music. Once I appreciated the Beatles more, John was my favorite of the Fab Four because of his rock ‘n’ roll attitude. (He never would've written a tune like "Silly Love Songs"). So here’s to John – well, here’s to John on Dec. 8.

Posted by cmacias at 3:59 PM | Comments |

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October 13, 2005

Gwen Stefani, back in the day

Did you happen to catch No Doubt way back in the mid-1990s, when the band played at the Cattle Club or Crest Theatre? If so, send an email to cmacias@sacbee.com I'm working on a story about Gwen Stefani and could use your help. Thanks ...

Now playing: The Diplo remix of "Hollaback Girl."

Posted by cmacias at 4:04 PM | Comments |

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October 12, 2005

Sweet success

Cake's benefit show on Monday night at Empire netted $18,000 for two charities: The New Orleans Musicians Clinic and Habitat for Humanity. Yours truly was still recovering from System of a Down/Mars Volta the night before, so I missed out on Cake's gig. But word has it that the show was sold out and frontman John McCrea was in fine and funny form. The concert also doubled as a kickoff to Cake's latest tour, so here's to hoping that the band will come back to its native Sac Town in the next few months.

Posted by cmacias at 5:10 PM | Comments |

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October 11, 2005

Song of the moment

And for me, that would be “Wisemen” by James Blunt. He’s a British singer-songwriter and kind of like Jason Mraz with a slight cockney accent (and sans baseball hat). I’m not usually so big on this kind of singer-songwriter stuff that’s meant for SUVs and soccer moms (and dads). But I can’t stop playing “Wisemen.” I’m pretty hooked on the melody and melancholy chorus, and it all kicked in for me when I spun the song while making coffee over the weekend. Maybe the change of seasons is making me a bit more reflective, or I just need a hot bowl of soup and a sweater hug. I think the song also reminds me of my jaunt to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, earlier this year. I caught part of Blunt’s set and I’m pretty sure he played “Wisemen.” I was at that show to see The Go! Team, the U.K. band that came on after Blunt. But I remember hearing Blunt and thinking, “Hey, that sounds kinda nice.” Maybe I should play some Slayer next, just to make sure I’m not turning into a softie.

Posted by cmacias at 3:43 PM | Comments |

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October 6, 2005

PodNonStop 004

Double your pleasure this week with System of a Down. Chris speaks with Serj Tankian in The Bee's podcast Episode 4. After listening, read the story in Friday Ticket.

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Listen live in streaming audio

Posted by icahir at 4:39 PM | Comments |

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October 5, 2005

Deftones two-fer

Here are two bonus goodies from my Deftones piece which ran in Tuesday’s Bee. The article had Abe Cunningham and Chi Cheng from the band telling some of the stories behind their new album, “B-Sides & Rarities,” and some other moments over their career. They had some great anecdotes, but we didn’t have the space to run everything. Couldn’t we have just cut the movie times for a day? Just kidding …here are the outtakes.

“Around the Fur” promo shot, 1997 (Ed Colver)

Abe: This is a good time. This is on the river in Sacto. That’s actually Miller Park. (Points to Chino) There’s a budding frontman/superstar/Latin god right here. I have the moustache.
Damn this moustache! We were doing "Around the Fur" and I could never grow a moustache before. So I ended up growing this moustache ... no sideburns or chinny chin-chin hair. And then all of a sudden we started taking all of the promo pictures for the record. I got this moustache on everything, dude.

2003 promo shot (Roberto H. Romero)

Abe: This was at the “devil house” ... This is where we lived went we went down to L.A. to mix ("White Pony"). Orgy had this house at one time, Korn had it, too. It used to be Chuck Berry’s house and this house was haunted ... I fell on a knife here on the last night and got stabbed in my head. It sucked. I couldn’t wait to leave. We had bookshelves that would turn, Scooby Doo kind of (stuff). I’d be petrified to go to sleep ... I felt numerous times a hand pushing my chest and making me exhale, pushing my air out of me. And Chi’s flying here, too.

Posted by cmacias at 2:27 PM | Comments |

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Confession time

I cannot tell a lie: I'm listening to REO Speedwagon on my iPod right now. Yeah, I know. My headphones should be bumping some hipper-than-thou band like Xiu Xiu or Ratatat - not some has-beens that conjure images of mullets and Konocti Harbor. But I can't help it. "Roll With the Changes" is like sipping on black coffee: You drink in those guitars and charging drums, and next thing you know you're feeling all amped and ready to play video games or something. I've even got "Don't Let Him Go" and "Keep on Loving You" on my iPod - it's like re-living 6th grade crushes all over again. But I don't have "Can't Fight This Feeling" or their other hair farmer ballads on here. I do have some standards, ya know.

Posted by cmacias at 1:13 PM | Comments |

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October 4, 2005

Albums released today

Deftones, “B-Sides & Rarities”: Sacramento’s homeboys-done-good celebrate the 10th anniversary of their major label debut with a CD/DVD set of live and rare cuts. Hear the band cover tunes by Cocteau Twins, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Smiths, plus unreleased and acoustic tracks.
(see my story here.)

Franz Ferdinand, “You Could Have it so Much Better”: The Scottish band is back with its skinny ties and alternative-rock edge. But can Franz Ferdinand avoid a sophomore slump after its megahit, “Take Me Out”? Stay tuned.

Fiona Apple, “Extraordinary Machine”: It took six years and some false starts for Fiona Apple to deliver her third album. But she’s back, with help from producer Mike Elizondo of 50 Cent and Eminem fame.

Cream, “Royal Albert Hall: London: May 2, 3, 5 & 6, 2005”: Rock music’s ultimate power trio - Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker - reunited earlier this year in London. This CD captures how it all went down with Cream circa 2005.

The Go! Team, “Thunder, Lightning, Strike”: This group from Brighton, England sounds like one of the happiest bands in the land. And once you hear their sample-happy blend of power pop, funky soul and hip-hop, you’ll be smiling, too.

Posted by cmacias at 12:26 PM | Comments |

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October 3, 2005

PodNonStop 003

Here it is, folks. Episode 3 of PodNonStop. This time, Chris speaks with Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham, who speaks (quickly) about The Cure, cover tunes, the future and the band's new album. After listening, read the story in Tuesday's Scene. Beware, though: Parental discretion advised.

Download PodNonStop 003

Stream the podcast live

Posted by icahir at 5:18 PM | Comments |

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