Sound Advice: Costumes, closing venues and a Sammies alert

Almost Halloween: The Hangtown Halloween Ball returned to El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville last weekend much to the delight of thousands of returnees. The three-day festival, which featured a bevy of bluegrass, jam and boogie woogie bands, completely sold out on Saturday.

Now in its fifth year, Hangtown showcases some of the best regional and national acts around, and creates an environment that feels much like a Grateful Dead parking lot—except in an elaborately decorated fairground setting. Show-goers were mostly dressed in Halloween costumes. There were even two different guys dressed like deviled eggs.

While there was a huge downpour of rain from the first night, that simply meant all of Saturday’s scheduled Main Stage performers before 5 p.m. were relegated into a smaller, standing-room-only, indoor concert hall. Acts like North Lake Tahoe’s Dead Winter Carpenters filled the room to capacity with high-energy sets.

Saturday night also featured Colorado’s Leftover Salmon, a raucous bluegrass band who seemingly always skips the Sacramento Valley on their own tours. The crowd favorite, who had everyone on their feet and dancing, threw down a ferocious set on the Main Stage—even joined by local favorite Joe Craven on violin.

The highlight of the day came from San Francisco’s Brothers Comatose. This finely-honed string group delivered wonderful bluegrass fare replete with gorgeous harmonies, courtesy of bandleaders and brothers Ben and Alex Morrison. The band’s appearance on the much smaller Gallows Stage was packed to the rafters.

The annual event looks like it’s bound for yet another year. Start packing now and plan ahead.

—Eddie Jorgensen

Farewell Marilyn’s: Sacramento must wave goodbye to another live music venue on Saturday, as Marilyn’s on K is closing its doors for good.

The announcement came a couple weeks ago. Linda Swanigan told The Sacramento Bee that attendance had fallen and she had been looking to sell for about a year. A San Diego company will use the location for a bar arcade with old-school games and craft cocktails.

And with a new sports and entertainment arena set to move into the neighborhood in 2016, now seemed like a particularly good time to sell, Swanigan told SN&R.

“Anticipating it would be another two years before the arena is completed and the housing and retail construction will be ongoing, made it easier to consider our lease options for the club,” she wrote in an email.

But for the underground venue, which first opened on 12th and K in 1998 and moved to its current location in 2005, this weekend is an opportunity to revisit the glory days and invite regulars to play one last time.

The big farewell affair is Saturday. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the live music may start as early as 1 p.m. At press time, Marilyn’s was still finalizing the lineup.

Among those slated to play: New Orleans-inspired brass collective City of Trees Brass Band, classic rock band Playback the Hits, zombified Black Sabbath tribute band Children of the Grave, funk band Mercy Me!, rockers the Denver J Band and live karaoke band You Front the Band. Plus, a special one-time set with members of the Diva Kings and Cuesta Drive.

The live music will go all night—well, until 1 a.m.—so drop by in the afternoon, leave, return, leave, return, etc. With no cover, there won’t be much fuss at the door.

—Janelle Bitker

Sammies update: Everyone relax, the Sammies—SN&R’s long-running celebration of local musicians—have not gone the way of the 8-track cartridge. Promise.

Over the last few weeks we’ve received many emails and phone calls from readers inquiring about this year’s nominations process and awards ceremony.

After all it’s been nearly a year since the 2013 awards were handed out at Ace of Spades. By that calendar, we should have already been deep into the voting process by this point.

The Sammies are happening—just not next month. Instead, for various logistical reasons, they’ve been pushed to March 2015. Voting will start in January.

We’ll keep you posted here, or check www.newsreview.com/sacramento/sammies for future news.