Your monthly dump (of area concerts for October 2023)
The Big Fresno Fair, Taco Truck Throwdown, Kurt Vile, Amyl and the Sniffers and more.
Welcome to fair season in California.
Or, the end of fair season, technically, The Big Fresno Fair being the last county fair for the year. It runs Oct. 4-15, and for the sake of this post, is filled with live music choices.
That includes the Paul Paul Theater headliners, in order: War, En Vogue + Expose, Carlos Mencia (not music, but still), Elle King, the Quebradita Fest, Hairball, Danny Gokey + Ryan Stevenson, Midland, The Beach Boys, The Offspring, 2 Chainz and Ramon Ayala + Los TrailerosDel Norte.
Tickets on sale now. At least few could be sellouts.
The fair is also well represented by locals types, too, which, quick scrolling through this list includes Patrick Contreras, John Pemberton, RockOn!, Vibe Check, Pyrograph, Jnx, Cloudship, Wild Hair and others. Locals acts plays throughout the day (and nights) at the Craft Beer Court, Save Mart Beer and Wine Garden and O’Reilly Pavilion Stage.
Of course, the fair is only part of Fresno-area’s concert happenings for October 2023. I’ve collected the rest below in a semi curated, and somewhat, but not entirely comprehensive list (grouped by week for sake of ease).
Week 1 (Oct. 1-7)
Romeo Santos, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, Save Mart Center. $29.50-$199+
Tower Rats, Puppet, Dark Satellite, Blazed, DJ Abraxas Deity, 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, Tioga Sequoia Brewing Company. Free, all ages.
Fulton 55 had a pretty good run of shows announced this summer, which means they venue has pretty stacked calendar over the next few months. That includes Kurt Vile and the Violators, who are scheduled to perform Thursday, Oct. 5.
The show is being brought by (((folkYEAH!))), which hopefully means the promoter is looking to expand into Fresno and/or sees the city as a viable market (spoiler alert, it is, but people need to show up just to prove the point).
Side note: Fans of gig art should check out the show’s official poster.
Banda MS, El Flaco, Yahritza, Lenin Ramirez y mas, 5 p.m. Friday Oct. 6, Chukchansi Park. $70 to $500.
For the Masses, Depeche Mode Tribute, 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, Fulton 55. $20-$25.
Ten56, Until I Wake, Scoundrel, 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, Strummer’s. $18, all ages.
Metalachi, 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Fulton 55. $20-$25.
Roy Orbison Returns, Wiley Ray and the Big O Band, 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Tower Theatre. $39-$49.
BNICETOEVERYBODY birthday party, 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Strummer’s. Free.
Week 2 (Oct. 8-14)
Carl Kawaski, celebration of life, 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, Fulton 55. Free.
Bandalos Chinos, Sofía Valdés, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, Strummer’s. $18, all ages.
Monroys, 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, Fulton 55. $10.
D.R.I skate jam, with I, Madman, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, Destructive Warehouse. $20.
One’s level of excitement over Amyl and the Sniffers upcoming Fresno date is proportional to A.) their knowledge of upcoming/underground rock scene stuff B.) their love of loud brashish Australian pub rock.
Singer Amy Taylor has been compared to Iggy Pop and gotten big praise from Billy Corgan, if that means something to you.
This is the band’s first real foray into the U.S. aside from some festival dates last year and Fresno is one of three California dates on the tour.
The show happens Friday, Oct. 13 at Tioga Sequoia Brewing Company.
Flaw, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13, Fulton 55. $20-$25.
Motorbade, Motorhead tribute, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Fulton 55. $20-$25.
Taste the Arts, with Paranoyds, Taco Wagon, Sagey, Daze Baby, For the Record, 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, downtown Visalia. Free, all ages.
Week 3 (Oct. 15-21)
Loren Pickford Memorial Jam, 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Fulton 55. $10.
Iration, with Artikal Sound System and Cydeways, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Tioga Sequoia Brewing Company. $35-$200.
Est Gee - El Toro Tour with SkiMike and DonWon, 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Strummer’s. $30, all ages.
RBD, Soy Rebelde tour, 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Save Mart Center. $200-$750+
Awakebutstillinbed, Shop Dog, Lokeigh, Gazey Lacey, Go in Grace, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, Destructive Warehouse. $12, all ages.
Cheap Trick, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, Warnor’s Theater. $45-$125.
Little Miss Nasty, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, Fulton 55. $25-$30.
Adam Sandler has been around so long, and reconstructed his career in a way that it’s easy to forget he used to be a comedian and musician. Or maybe that’s just how celebrity works?
Either way, the guy who did “Hustle” and “Uncut Gems” and “Punch-Drunk Love” also won the “Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” and did … a whole crap load of other movies, including “Happy Gilmore” and “Airheads” and … He was also on Saturday Night Live and released several albums of musical comedy. NPR has a good interview on that slice of his career.
In September he announced date of a new concert tour, which includes a Oct. 20 dates at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno’s Taco Truck Throwdown is uniquely Central Valley proposition.
On its face, it’s an opportunity for attendees to sample the area’s best (or most hyped) foods trucks at one time in one place. That makes for some good competition, but also for some great culture building.
Fresno has the food-truck scene it does in large part because of what the throwdown has done over the last decade plus.
But the event also represents the scene in choice of entertainment. Over the years line up have included Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (playing alongside Fresno’s Carlos Montano Band) and DJ Quik opening for Ramon Ayala.
For this year’s event, which happened Oct. 21, the musical lineup is headlined by Cypress Hill.
Also on the bill is Tha Dogg Pound and That Mexican OT.
The latter is the one to look out for. The Texas rapper was just featured in Rolling Stone and is a leading voice in what the Los Angles Times is calling Third Coast Rap.
Wax Motif, 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, Fulton 55. $50-$60.
Extended Week 4 (Oct. 22-31)
Pat Travers, 8 p. m. Sunday, Oct. 22, Fulton 55. $35.
Rittz, Jehry Robinson, Noble Poets, Mitchell James, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, Strummer’s. $25, all ages.
Sad Park, 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, Strummer’s. $18, all ages.
Spooky Perro, 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, Fulton 55. $15-$20.
Skalloween, with Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra and Los Hooligans, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, Fulton 55. $20-$25.
Pancho Barraza, 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, Save Mart Center. $65-$175.
Pete and Fred’s Drums for Julian benefit, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, Fulton 55. $20.
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