Your monthly dump (of area concerts for Dec. 2022)
There's Christmas music, obviously, but also some '80s metal, old school punk and Andrew McMahon.
Here’s something to help plan the Holiday season.
It’s this month’s semi curated, and somewhat, but not entirely comprehensive list of the concerts happening in the Fresno area.
Without actually checking the archives, if feels like Trans Siberian Orchestra never misses an opportunity to roll through the Save Mart Center. So, let’s call it a holiday tradition. The band plays Dec. 1 on its Ghost of Christmas Eve tour.
It’s been years since we’ve seen Mercury Bullet out on the scene. The heavy rock band started in the early 2000s and played around for the better part of a decade before calling it quits in 2013. They’re back, playing a show Dec. 3 at Fulton 55 with fellow Fresno rockers Stoneshiver.
In the band’s last message on Facebook it promised there were songs that they had been working on that would get shared one day. So … maybe, now?
Stygian Bough Volume I is the collaborative recording from Seattle doom metal band Bell Witch and the Portland based dark folk project Aerial Ruin. The five-song full length has a run time of more than an hour, which should tell you what you are in for. The group is presenting the project live at two headlining shows, including Dec. 4 at Strummer’s.
New Rock 104.1 is doing another of its SoundHouse showcases. This time its with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. The exclusive solo performance happens 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at Tioga Sequoia (doors at 5:30 p.m.). This is a Toys for Tots drive, so bring a new, unwrapped toy to get in.
I caught the Meteors when they rolled through town last year and they delivered on whatever psychobilly dream I may have had about them. The band is an original certainly, oft times credited with creating the entire psychobilly genre (alongside the Cramps??). They play Dec. 8 at Full Circle Brewing Company with locals Hour 13 and Mantis Watch opening.
In returning from the pandemic, the Save Mart Center has filled its calendar with any number of big-draw Latin and regional Mexican artists — from Ángela Aguilar and Karol G to Wisin and Yande and Grupo Firme. The later performs Dec. 10 on its Enfiestados y Amanecidos tour.
Also on Dec. 10, the forefathers of ’80s Satanic panic metal, W.A.S.P. are at the Tower Theatre. The band is currently on its 40 year live tour with Armored Saint opening (which for some is worth the ticket price alone).
One of my earliest memories as a working journalist was interviewing Nate Butler about his annual Christmas concert (aptly called Mmm Mmm Christmas, for all the holiday songs you don’t really know the words to).
It was a musical experience sure, in that Butler would be playing songs and there would be singing and whatnot. But it was also a community gathering that played heavy on a shared sense place and experience.
This mark’s Butler’s 30th year hosting the annual event. It happens Dec. 17 at Fulton 55.
Tuba Christmas is exactly self explanatory. Its a buncha tuba nerds (nerds being used as a total compliment here) playing tuba versions of your favorite Christmas songs). There are Tuba Christmas concerts happening in cities across the country every year. You can read up on it here if you’d like. This year, Fresno Tuba Christmas presents two concerts, at noon and 1 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Manchester Mall.
Old school punk rocker alert: Circle Jerks play Strummer’s, Dec. 29 with TSOL and Scowl. This is one of those shows that people would likely drive out of town for, so it’s a treat it landed in Fresno.
Here’s a few more shows worth note:
Agent Orange, with Life Jackets, 8 p.m. Dec. 2, Strummers. $18.
Twin Tribes, 8 p.m. Dec. 7, Strummers. $15, all ages.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, 8 p.m. Dec. 8, Strummers. $25, all ages.
Joey Quinones, Holiday Soul Jam, with special guests Danielle Rondero and the Nitty Gritty, 9 p.m. Dec. 9, Fulton 55. $20-$25.
Fuerza Regida: Del Barrio Hasta Aquí tour 2022, 8 p.m. Dec. 9, Save Mart Center. $39.50-$229.50.
Cumbiatron, returns to the Wakehouse, 7 p.m. Dec. 10, the Wakehouse Reedley. $10.
Secrets, 10th anniversary tour, with HillBlocksView, 6 p.m. Dec. 14, Strummers. $18, all ages.
Mark Hummel Band, Lowdown to Uptown tour with Junior Watson, 8 p.m. Dec. 15, Fulton 55. $25.
The White Buffalo, 7 p.m. Dec. 15, Strummers. $22, all ages.
Merry Moshing Christmas Toy Drive, with Scoundrel, Centerpath, Mohler, Discordian Dismemberment and Ex Oblivion, 6 p.m. Dec. 18, Fulton 55. $10 or a new, unwrapped toy.
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com