SacMusicBlog

The show last Friday night was big fun. Luna’s is a great place to see music. The headliner, Anton Barbeau (learn more), has finally returned from “across the pond” and he played a lot of recent material from his new “Plastic Guitar” album. He left out the old classics (Banana Song, Drug Free, Third Eye, etc) but his new material was strong. Weird (let’s say quirky) in spots, as he usually is, but good.

He shared the stage with local singer Allyson Seconds for at least half of his set. He recently produced and wrote her new CD and they performed a number of songs from it, all of which sounded very good. Clever and catchy folk-pop songs, nice harmonies, good stuff. Their duet on Leave It With Me, I’m Always Gentle would have been perfect except for the whistling. Haha! Their voices worked well together on all their songs and Anton was content to showcase her warm voice. As an example, they did one of his odder tunes, On A Bicycle Built For Bicycle Nine, and make it sound smooth and irresistable. Next time they perform together, don’t miss it.

Also on the bill were Julie Swan and Brian Valenzuela. Julie’s songs were well-received, especially the cover song she ended with. Brian showed off his new technology, recording musical parts on the fly and playing along with them. But for us, Anton and Allyson were the stars of the evening.

And we got some crappy cellphone pictures too! (After the jump)

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Legendary local singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau has finally returned from The UK and Europe after many months. Let’s hope he wasn’t expecting warm weather here in Sactown. He’ll be playing at Luna’s Cafe on Friday December 11th, let’s welcome him back. The show also features Natives Are Restless (Brian Valenzuela), and Julie Swan. It’s at 8PM and there is a small $6 cover charge.

Alton will be promoting his latest album “Plastic Guitar” but if past shows are any indication he’ll include a variety of other Ant-tunes, maybe even his “Xmas Song”. Luna’s is located at 1414 16th Street in Sacramento.

Anton Barbeau web site

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Local weekly paper Sacramento News and Review has released it’s annual “Best-of” edition. Here at SacMusicBlog we concentrate on the music-related (mostly), so we’ll just concentrate on their music-related picks. The reader’s favorites are:

Best open-mic night

1. Luna’s Café & Juice Bar
1414 16th Street, (916) 441-3931
www.lunascafe.com

2. Fox & Goose
1001 R Street, (916) 443-8825
www.foxandgoose.com

3. Sacramento Comedy Spot
1716 Broadway, (916) 402-5747
www.saccomedyspot.com
Read More…

Saturday February 23 at Luna’s on 16th Street, check out local faves David Houston, Kepi (Groovie Ghoulies), and Anton Barbeau. Only $6 cover, cheap! How can you not?

As Anton puts it: “It’s david’s regular last-saturday gig and he kindly added me to the bill, knowing i was looking for a pre-leaving gig. kepi will have his “and friends” band, and will maybe then play drums with me. i’m not sure if i’m bringing any other players this time, it’s gonna be what we jazzers call “loose as a feather, duck doctor.” Hmm, I guess that says it all. Or enough anyway.

9:00 PM, all ages welcome. See you there.

** Updated 1/16 **

Anton Barbeau, one of Sacramento’s best, most unique, and most prolific singer-songwriters is back from the UK for a pair of a bunch of shows in our town. Let’s hope to hear Third Eye, The Banana Song, Drug Free, Please Sir I’ve Got A Wooden Leg, and more quirky Ant classics!

THURSDAY JAN 10 – TRUE LOVE COFFEEHOUSE 8pm with Steve Randall (maybe). Anton says: “since last week’s show went so well, i’m going to do an EXACT replica! all three hours of it! naw, i’m sure it’ll be all shook up and floppy. 8pm til 10 (or so!) if steve randall is recovered, hopefully he’ll join me up there, and who knows who else might…”

FRIDAY JAN 11 – LUNA’S CAFE 9pm with Michael Jordan opening (no, not that one). Anton says: “i will try and make sure my set lists are varied between the two gigs, so please fling me your requests. i might do something like feature songs from “a splendid tray” and “waterbugs and beetles,” par example. by now, i reckon a wide selection of songs is probably the best gimmick i’ve got, though i’ll never get a sammie for such a thing!”

SATURDAY JAN 19 – JAVA LOUNGE, SACRAMENTO the Antband (Steve Randall, Tom Monson and Gabe Nelson) headline, with Adam Goldman and the Envelope Peasant on before. 8PM

SUNDAY JAN 20 – OLD IRONSIDES, SACRAMENTOAntband (with same line-up TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!) in the middle slot on another great show. The Pink Snowflakes from LA on first at 9:30, and Pets on after.

See you at the Luna’s show.

“This one goes to 11″. So expect it loud and, well, noisy. The 11th annual Norcal Noisefest is happening this Friday (at Luna’s Cafe) and Saturday and Sunday (at the Space Theater). Fifty bands are scheduled. For more information check out the official web site and The Bee’s article here.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Noise music certainly isn’t for everyone. If you think that Einsturzende Neubauten is just an anagram for the alphabet, or John Cage is the fighter from “Mortal Kombat,” then Norcal Noisefest might be your soundtrack for a big headache. But open your mind, and all that noise might be music to your ears.

You are hereby warned and invited.

Big props to quirky/catchy local singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau. The local newspaper selected “In the Village of the Apple Sun” as their Sunday Single for the week. Way to go, Ant! It’s a song from his psychedelic pop album with the very same title. Check it out! Or if you want a little less psychedelic (for him, anyway) effort, pick up his classic 1999 album A Splendid Tray or the Sammie award-winner The Horses Tongue. Or go see him live, he is always entertaining.

And he has a wild sense of humor. A year or two ago, we saw him at Luna’s on our Anniversary. A friend told him it was our big day so he changed some lyrics in his infamous Banana Song to “anniversary song”. What a guy.