Still looking for something to do on Halloween? Just focus on getting your costume ready ‘cause we’ve got you covered with these 14 killer parties throughout the Sacramento region featuring live bands and DJs!
Don’t worry, The Nibblers won’t bite too hard, but they will bring the funky and soulful goodness that the local seven-piece powerhouse is known for to The Torch Club! 9 p.m., $10 with costume, $12 without. 21-and-over.
You’d think they’d be in some sort of post-fest hibernation right now but nope, the folks behind TBD Fest are throwing a Halloween rager. “Bleepy Hollow” will feature Com Truise {pictured}, Slow Magic, and local DJs Shaun Slaughter and Adam Jay. 18-and-over, tickets are $35 in advance. Facebook.com/tbdfest for details.
Blue Lamp and Abstract Entertainment are teaming up for a rockin’ Halloween with the legendary Tav Falco’s Panther Burns featuring Mike Watt and Toby Dammit. Tickets start at just $12.50, 21-and-over, doors open at 8 p.m.
Former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland will bring his new band The Wildabouts to The Boardwalk on Halloween night! $30 in advance, $130 for a meet-and-greet with the man himself! All-ages, 7 p.m. doors.
Requiem’s “Things That Go Bump In the Night” at Midtown BarFly will satisfy your needs in the following departments: deep bass, much dancing, crazy costumes, epic light show. San Francisco’s Ardalan and Portland’s Dallas Cotton {pictured} headline with support from Young Aundee, DJ Whores and many others. $20 (21-and-over) or $30 (18-and-over) at the door.
The Hideaway will host a rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza featuring an Andrew WK cover set by members of Bastards of Young and City of Vain! Trash Rock DJs, costume contests, horror movies on the tiki patio and more! Just $5, 8 p.m., 21-and-over.
Two shows, one night! That’s how Harlow’s rolls! Seattle’s Noah Gundersen {pictured} plays the early all-ages show at 7 p.m., with tickets being just $10 in advance, $12 at the door. New York’s Matt Pond PA headlines the 21-and-over late show at 10 p.m., tickets are $13 ahead of time, $15 at the door.
Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive is currently on a North American rampage and will tear down Ace of Spades on Halloween night! All-ages, 6:30 p.m. doors, $25 in advance.
Well over a dozen local bands will descend upon Old Ironsides for their annual Dead Rockstars Show! Hear cover tunes from, well, you guessed it, dead rockstars! $5, 21-and-over, 8 p.m.
The Park Ultra Lounge will host SKAM Artist DJ Crooked {pictured} with an early set from Sacramento’s own DJ Peeti V. A whopping $1,000 is up for grabs in a costume contest! 9:30 p.m., tickets start at $15, 21-plus.
Two great local punk/rock bands, Garble and The Rollin’ Blackouts, will play a costume party at Fox and Goose. 9 p.m., $5 at the door, 21-and-over.
Starlite Lounge wants you to celebrate darkness and horror with them as they host two awesome bands, Children of the Grave (a “zombie tribute” to Black Sabbath) {pictured} and Archangel (a badass Misfits tribute group). 9 p.m., 21-plus.
Country Club Lanes will house Lite Brite Productions’ 9th Annual Beetlejuice Party with 35 DJs, five dance areas, free bowling, zombie laser tag, video games, two bars, an outdoor movie theater and more! 8 p.m.–4 a.m., $40, all-ages welcome, costume required.
The night before Halloween (Friday, Oct. 30) the Sacramento Convention Center gets invaded by KSFM 102.5’s Gravedigger’s Ball featuring a DJ set by Lil Jon, live performances from Natalie La Rose and Charlie Puth, a $5,000 costume contest and more. 21-plus, $35 in advance.
Submerge has got your first look at the lineup for this year’s Friday Night Concerts in the Park series. The 13-week shindig kicks off on May 4, 2012 at 5 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park in downtown Sacramento. You can see the entire lineup right here. Major brownie points to anyone who can name all of the artists that have been on the cover of and/or featured in the pages of Submerge (hint: there’s a lot of them).
May 4
Arden Park Roots (reggae/rock)
Island of Black and White (acoustic/blues/reggae/rock)
The Storytellers (roots/reggae/ska)
Shaun Slaughter (indie/electro/pop)
May 11
Middle Class Rut (rock)
Lite Brite (rock)
Horseneck (rock)
DJ Whores (electro/indie/dub step/alt)
May 18
Nickel Slots (alt-country/Americana)
Infamous Swanks (rockabilly)
Blackeyed Dempseys (Irish rock)
DJ Adam J (indie/dance/alt)
May 25
ZuhG (funk/reggae/jam)
Element of Soul (acoustic/jam rock)
Playboy School (electronic indie/pop)
DJ X’GVNR (pop/top 40/electro/dance/dub step/house)
June 1
Oleander (rock)
Allinaday (rock)
Trackfighter (rock)
Verdugo Brothers (house/top 40)
June 8
Mumbo Gumbo (zydeco/roots/dance)
Todd Morgan and the Emblems (blues/rock/jazz)
DJ Mikey Likes It (top 40/‘80s/‘90s/party groove)
June 15
Relic 45 (blues/rock)
Out of Place (acoustic/alternative/rock)
Sexrat (alternative/rock)
Reggie Ginn (pop)
Shaun Slaughter (indie/electro/pop)
June 22
7 Seconds (punk)
Bastards of Young (punk)
City of Vain (punk)
DJ Whores (electro/indie/dub step/alt)
June 29
The Nibblers (funk)
The Coalition (world beat)
Diva Kings (folk/pop rock)
DJ Fedi
July 6
Full Blown Stone (reggae rock)
Dogfood (alternative rock)
Street Urchinz (reggae/rock)
DJ Nate D
July 13
Another Damn Disappointment (ADD) (punk)
Walking Dead (punk)
A Single Second (punk)
The Left Hand (punk)
DJ Blackheart (house/electro/punk/indie)
July 20
Walking Spanish (blues/indie rock)
Jack and White (alternative/pop rock)
Autumn Sky (folk/pop)
CrookOne (soul/pop/hip-hop/Motown/indie)
July 27
The Brodys (pop/rock)
Early States (pop/rock)
Hero’s Last Mission (pop)
Chaotic Fusion (DJ Oasis & !nkDup) (rock/top 40/dance/mash-ups)
As you probably know by now, this year’s lineup was not booked by longtime promoter Jerry Perry, but instead by a committee of local promoters, musicians and music enthusiasts that go by the name Play Big Sacramento. One committee member, Andy Hawk, who works at Entercom radio stations and promotes Wednesday night shows at Powerhouse Pub in Folsom, recently told Submerge of this year’s lineup, “As a committee we worked with venues, clubs, bookers and musicians in an effort to create a lineup of the best Sacramento has to offer. We have 13 weeks of shows filled with the biggest headliners in town, and have added the most talented DJs in Sacramento to play in the beer garden. Friday Night Concerts in the Park this year will truly be the centerpiece of entertainment in Sacramento this summer.”
The Nibblers
Friday, Aug. 13, 2010 – The Torch Club – Sacramento
“Thank you for showing up early. It’s going to be a long night, and we can’t think of anything better than spending it with you,” announced Hans Eberbach, The Nibblers’ frontman.
A good 75 people were in the house at The Torch Club to hear the funk and soul grooves of The Nibblers, and it was only 9 o’clock (good thing I was on time!).
Eberbach is supremely cut out for his job, with a charismatic personality that was trumped only by his outfit. Donning a huge metal belt buckle that matched his chains that hung over his black tank top and vest, he peered out from behind a pair of black sunglasses as he approached the microphone to exhale his lyrics. Behind him, an eight-piece band was bangin’, strummin’ and blowin’.
A good funk tune is something of an aphrodisiac for the older crowd, apparently, because there were some love makers on the dance floor. The 35-to-60 crowd was out in full effect, and unlike the wallflower crowds seen all-too-often at dance and indie clubs, mom and dad can cut a rug. Not to say that I’m surprised, it’s just that I’m used to seeing young whippersnappers having a hard time walking from too many shots of Jameson, not from a recent hip replacement.
But I digress. The Nibblers are a solid band with members that have musical credentials as long as my arm. Jon Wood (guitar), Mike Palmer (bass) and Reggie Marks are of Mumbo Gumbo fame, and the very talented Ryan Robertson was sitting in on trumpet. All the elements to crush a set were in place, and the boys ran through a mix of originals and covers that you could tell were picked out very carefully. Songs like “Who’s Making Love to Your Old Lady” by the late Johnnie Taylor absolutely killed. One of my favorite covers of the night was a song called “Snatching It Back” by Clarence Carter. Eberbach smoothly and soulfully sang, “How can I get your love, when you keep on snatchin’ it back?” Great question.
What really does it for me when I’m watching a funk/soul band like The Nibblers is the presence of the keys player. I don’t want to play favorites here, but damn, a solid keys player like Jeremy Spinger takes a good song, turns it upside down, shakes out all the contents of its pockets and leaves it red hot like an iron in the coals. I just want to shout like James Brown!
At the 11 o’clock hour it was standing room only with the head count up to a hefty 125. The boys took a well deserved break and then returned shortly after for a second set that they dared to have rival the first. James Brown covers set the tone and their list of originals was standout rather than filler. It’s clear these guys are real students of the genre and really take the time to weed through what seems like an endless pool of music that dominated the charts of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Their sets just feel good. It’s too much work at times to come to a show and have to be seriously concentrated on what’s going on. There’s a time and a place for that, but it feels nice to see a band like The Nibblers and the only thing to worry about is spilling your drink on the dance floor.
