Some more summer, please

Show me! Summer’s ending, college kids are back, reality in its various forms is settling in—blah, blah, blah. Make an effort to hit up some shows this week, show the new kids and the party poopers how it’s done. Thursday: There’ll be a benefit show for Sac Horror Film Fest, featuring Common Men, Con of Man, the Lemmies and NFH at the Blue Lamp; 9 p.m., $6, 21 and over. Friday: It’s Pyrate Punx Ken Fury’s birthday celebration at Javalounge, with Crucial Cause, Rat Damage (it’s also their split 7-inch release party), Nowheres, Unkut:Hunks, D.S.I. (from Reno, Nev.), and Plush Lush. 8 p.m., $5, all ages. Saturday: SN&R presents a night of all-ages music at the new Luigi’s Fun Garden, 1050 20th Street (don’t worry 21-and-overs, there’s beer and wine next door at Luigi’s Slice for your enjoyment): Dusty Brown, Chelsea Wolfe, Sister Crayon, Citystate—electronica meets folk rock; 8 p.m., only $3. Sunday: Russ Solomon’s R5 Records celebrates its one-year anniversary this weekend. Sunday’s lineup features the Secretions, No Admission, Storytellers, Th’ Losin Streaks, Rat Damage and more; free, all ages. Monday: The American Black Lung plays The Upstairs, which is, uh, upstairs above the bowling alley at 2600 Watt Avenue; 7 p.m., $8, all ages with a full bar for 21-uppers. Tuesday: Check out Mirah and the Spectratone International at The Press Club (see our story on Mirah on page 55); 9 p.m., $3, 21-plus. (Nick Miller)

That nervous feeling: It took a lot of water and B Monster to stop the award-winning headache I got from last week’s !!! show.

Synchro, who opened up at Harlow’s last Tuesday, began its set with an explosive boom from Jason Boggs’ saxophone that set the tone for the evening. Touchez was next, singer Margaux McFetridge appearing nervous during the first three tunes but eventually warming up halfway through the set, connecting with the crowd. Touchez has the feel of a band still trying to work out its sound.

Before !!! took the stage, I chatted up singer Nic Offer and was surprised to hear him say that he too felt nervous—he only gets that way playing in Sacramento or New York City. But when the Sac natives hit the stage, their dance-punk vibes got the Harlow’s crowd clapping and moving in ways you rarely see Sacramento fans groove. !!! played a mixture of new and old tunes, which were contagious: I got an urge to dance when “Must Be the Moon” started; it was all over: I pushed my way to the floor, got to the front and soaked in !!!. By night’s end, everyone felt the closeness.

The intimacy carried into Labor Day weekend: Chalk It Up! and Jerry Perry’s all-day music extravaganza in the park, Midtown’s Rainbow Festival and watching men in drag. By Sunday, however, summer ’08 would be no more … but it ended with an all-day Shaun Slaughter party at The Press Club, a holy day-of-no-rest featuring $3 Jell-O shots, $2 PBRs and a whole lot of mimosas. When I arrived at The Press, girls were sitting on the curb wearing bathing suits, which I thought were pretty funny—a little end-of-summer P Street beachcombing.

Inside, Slaughter was dressed in a green M&M costume and had a bet going with a friend to see who could wear a lame costume the longest. I’m not sure who won, ’cause The Press crowd rolled in around 11:30 p.m., deejays playing afro, disco, pop and hip-hop, and the rest of the night, and the summer, was a blur. (Kris Anaya)