It begins:

Much has been made of midtown and downtown Sacramento’s resurgent night life scene, with its wine bars and swank cocktail lounges. But a different renaissance is occurring as well – one less shiny, more grass-roots and definitely aimed at a younger crowd.

Sacramento’s all-ages music scene, once mostly spread out to suburban venues such as the Boardwalk and Club Retro, both in Orangevale, has centralized over the past few years and especially the past several months, with several intriguing all-ages (as opposed to 21-plus or 18-plus) venues opening either in or within a guitar pick’s throw of midtown.

And it goes on from there, check it out. Then let us know, did they get it right? Did they leave out the best place? If you have an opinion or an addition, feel free to leave us a comment.

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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)

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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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

Best live music

1. Old Ironsides
1901 10th Street, (916) 443-9751
www.theoldironsides.com

2. Blue Lamp
1400 Alhambra Boulevard, (916) 455-3400
www.bluelamp.com

3. Harlow’s
2708 J Street, (916) 441-4693
www.harlows.com

Best all-ages music

1. Luigi’s Fun Garden
1050 20th Street, (916) 552-0317
www.myspace.com/luigisslice

2. The Boardwalk
9426 Greenback Lane, Orangevale; (916) 988-9247
www.boardwalkrocks.com

3. Javalounge
2416 16th Street, (916) 441-3945
www.thejavaloungeisrad.com

Best dance club

1. Faces Nightclub
2000 K Street, (916) 448-2000
www.faces.net

2. Badlands
2003 K Street, (916) 448-8790
www.sacbadlands.com

3. The Park Ultra Lounge
1116 15th Street, (916) 442-7222
www.theparkdowntown.com

What do you think, are those good choices, great choices, or would you have chosen a different option? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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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.

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.

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.

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.