Eight Gigs: The Skins and Friends

Midtown has changed a lot since the '70s, of course. Almost unfathomably so. You can read about what the nightlife used to be like back then, or you can come see the Skins play, a Davis rock 'n' roll and R&B band that played there and across the Causeway all the time. They packed the Crabshaw Corner/Oasis Ballroom and kept folks dancing with their boogie-woogie, roots-rock, power-pop sound. They were a band between '69 and '79, never scoring a record deal, but not for lack of trying. Watching the Skins play is like literally taking a time machine to this heyday in Sacramento/Davis' music scene before anyone ever heard of Cake, Deftones, Death Grips or Tesla. 2708 J Street.