Antiques you can strum

Good old gear: Stone Vintage Music Boutique held its grand opening Friday, sporting a retro vibe that’s out with the new and in with the old.

The R Street music shop, located a few doors down from Ace of Spades, showcased not only arcane guitars and amps ready to demo, but also live bands with scaled-back armory to fit the narrow stage in the shop’s back corner. Sacramento’s Petaluma opened with an intimate acoustic set, and you could imagine how the boutique’s stage might be perfect for their planned monthly open-mics in the future. The next two bands played throwback sounds, Mondo Deco with light ’70s garage rock and Death Party at the Beach with emotional, ’80s surf pop.

You could find co-owner Brendan Stone running around the crowded store, working the register, talking gear with visiting musicians and troubleshooting an authentic, 1950s jukebox near the entrance. Stone, whose love for things bygone is apparent in his blues-rock band Blue Oaks, filled the place with authentic machines and products from the past. Some of the retro amenities: an old gumball machine that spits out guitar picks for a quarter, a hulking metal dispensary that offers strings, and a real 1950s black-and-white tube television to accompany a 50-year-old black leather couch. Stone said he wants to eventually play old The Ed Sullivan Show and The Twilight Zone episodes on the tube.

As for what the store offers, there was a lot on display in the small space, a mix of new and vintage gear. Stone meticulously curates the stock, from hand-crafted guitar pedals made in the United States to classic and rare pre-1980s guitar models. It felt like a museum exhibit, except you could play and purchase the artifacts.

It’s one dream come true for Stone and his partner, Johnny Casino. Two months ago, the two banked on creating the townie music store Sacramento didn’t have. They lucked out on the R Street space, and the potential is obvious. Stone said he’s working on increasing the lot of gear: He wants to house preshow acoustic gigs and meet-and-greets with touring acts performing at Ace of Spades. Both envision the boutique as an all-ages communal space for musicians and music lovers in Sacramento.

“I haven’t made a dime since [we started], but it’s been worth every lack of penny,” Stone said.

—Mozes Zarate

Rock me like a bike wheel: At the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen, a riotous honky-tonk old-school country concert—punctuated by the sound of passing trains—drew a packed crowd for Second Saturday. With delicious beer from Bike Dog Brewing Co., the show on March 13 featured local bands Loose Engines and The Bear Flag Trio, with a middle set by Oakland natives Crying Time.

The enthusiastic crowd danced under bicycle tires in the small garage shop space, and the open patio filled up with the Saturday crowd—a mix of Second Saturday browsers and Amgen cyclists coming together to enjoy a high-energy show.

Leading off the night was The Bear Flag Trio, a three-piece playing old hillbilly music with an almost rockabilly sound. Kathleen Harvey led the group on a four-string tenor guitar. One of the band members acknowledged Harvey’s birthday weekend with a small cake and a lit candle, kicking off a happy birthday song along with the crowd.

Crying Time played next, with plenty of dancing to their Americana ’70s-inspired country pop songs. The band’s fiddle got most of the audience moving.

Next up, Loose Engines took the stage to headline, delivering a raucous performance to a still fully crowded venue, taking the show well past its advertised 10 p.m. finish time. Not that anyone seemed to mind.

Though punctuated by occasional train sounds, the country and Tex-Mex band played on. They delivered an extraordinary show featuring up-tempo foot-tappers and harmonious mournful original songs like “California Diesel,” belying the woes of travel and lost love. Grub Mitchell, founder, guitarist and lead singer of the band, walked out into the crowd while playing, keeping the energy high.

“This is my favorite place to watch a show,” Mitchell said. Clearly, at least on Saturday night, Mitchell had made it the crowd’s favorite place to watch a show, too.

—Matt Kramer