Arts Devo

Out with a bangin' party Things are going off at LaSalles. For its final two weekends, the soon-to-close club is bringing back many of the biggest, most popular bands (some out of retirement) to ever rock the stage of the longtime downtown nightspot.

This weekend: Friday, Aug. 28, it's Chico/San Diego pop-reggae quintet Mystic Roots making its 76th(!) appearance at LaSalles, and Saturday, Aug. 29, one-time Chico roots-rock faves Buffalo Creek return to town for its first show in eight years, an early evening dance party on the patio.

Next weekend: Thursday, Sept. 3, it's two shows in one night, with Chico's current favorite jammers Swamp Zen on the patio playing the final happy-hour show, followed by local indie-pop superheroes Surrogate joining forces with destroyers of worlds Armed for Apocalypse and retired emo studs Marked for Death reuniting for the evening. Friday, Sept. 4, the venue's one-time de facto house hip-hop crew, The Hooliganz, plays its last show ever, and on Sunday, Sept. 6, it's the grand finale, featuring a reunion of a band that has played hundreds of shows on the LaSalles stage, the kings of Chico's jam scene, the inimitable Electric Circus.

About Chico Beer Week First, the bad news. Just got word from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. that they will not be hosting their annual Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild Harvest Festival this year. But, not to worry, according to the brewery's communications manager, Ryan Arnold, the hop-focused brew fest isn't going away, it's just switching to a biennial schedule and will be back again in 2016.

The good news? The Chico News & Review Foundation (the CN&R's nonprofit committed to investigative journalism and journalism scholarships) is teaming up with the Fork in the Road street-food gang to host the 2015 Chico Beer Week kick-off event, Brewfork, a craft-beer and food-truck pairing featuring a dozen or so craft brewers pouring samples alongside a dozen or so food trucks on the back lawn at Manzanita Place. The rally will take place on the first day of Chico Beer Week, which runs Oct. 8-17 this year. Visit www.chicobeerweek.net for more details and to stay up to date on beer-week news and announcements.

And, if you are a local craft-brew purveyor and are interested in taking part in Chico Beer Week (and why wouldn't you be?!), drop us a line to chicobeerweek@gmail.com to get on the schedule.

More beer … much more “Coveted” and “unique.” Those two words are like sweet, sweet music to the ears of fans of craft beer (or maybe “like crack rock” is a better metaphor?). And according to Scott Marks, association manager for the California Craft Brewers Association, those are the kinds of beers he's expecting from the 150 Cali breweries (you read that right) that “have been asked to bring something special” to the Brewers Showcase, the beer-festival finale of the California Craft Beer Summit going down next month (Sept. 11-12) in Sacramento.

As excited as I am about the that promising prospect (Yeah, I'm going! Arts DEVO knows what's what.)—which will feature every great brewery in the state, from Sierra Nevada and Russian River to Stone and Ballast Point—that's just the capper on a what looks like a ridiculous weekend. Before the festival on the Capitol Mall, there will be two days' worth of demos and talks at the Sac Convention Center. The expo floor will be set up to “look, feel and taste like a brewery,” Marks said, with interactive displays on ingredients and beer making. And throughout both days there will be food/beer-pairing demos, tap talks with the biggest names in craft-brewing (e.g., “The Beginning of the CA Craft Beer Revolution” by Ken Grossman”), as well as educational sessions on all aspects of the craft-beer, from beer-style basics to opening a brewery.

Wake me up in two weeks. I need to rest.