Local Show Biz: Foreigner at John Ascuaga's; String Cheese Incident in Reno

The times, they feel...well, urgent.

Just ask members of the classic rock and roll band Foreigner, who will unleash their hard-driving 70s and 80s hits, including their smash 70s classic "Urgent" at the Rose Ballroom of John Ascuaga's Nugget on July 21-22.

After a few years of downtime and some creative reasssment, Foreigner is rising like a phoenix from the ashes with the hot vocals and stylings of singer Lou Gramm and guitarist Mick Jones.

Foreigner has stood throughout the years as one of the most influential bands to cut through the jumble of sound that characterized much of the 1970s and 1980s rock and roll scene.

Some even say that Foreigner recorded the sound track of their lives, with such songs as "Feels like the First Time," "Double Vision" "Cold As Ice" "Head Games" and "I Want To Know What Love Is."

Foreigner's newest release, "Mr. Moonlight" showcases the band's trademark impeccable arrangments, embellished with Mick Jones' crushing guitar and Lou Gramm's airborne vocals.

Catch this classic rock and roll band at the Rose Ballroom of John Ascuaga's Nugget and online at www.foreigneronline.com. Tickets are $30 and $35 with room and show packages from $75 per person double occupancy. Call 800-648-1171.

String Cheese Incident at Reno Hilton

In the parking lot of the Reno Hilton Amphitheater a couple of weeks ago, as we were waiting to see Bob Dylan, Phil Lesh and Friends, some good folks from Portland introduced us to the music of String Cheese Incident.

"They're so unlike anything you've ever heard," my friend Melody said. "Wait until you see them in concert."

Well, northern Nevada won't be waiting long as the String Cheese Incident returns to the Reno/Lake Tahoe area for a one-night only performance, July 22, at the Reno Hilton Amphitheater.

The band is back from their third annual International Incident tour this year, which took them to Costa Rica, where about 600 'stringcheese heads' followed the band south for a tropical, music-filled vacation. Now, as the bands gains more notoriety and with CD sales soaring, the leg of the tour makes its way westward.

If you like music set in the same genre as Phish or the Grateful Dead, you're sure to appreciate the tasty treats provided by String Cheese Incident.

Tickets cost $28.75 and are on sale now by calling SCI Gear and Ticketing at 303-544-5875 or by calling the Reno Hilton at 800-648-3568.

Louie Fontaine and the Rockets at the Nugget

Back home in Carson Country, catch Louie Fontaine and the Rockets, who will appear at the Carson Nugget Show Lounge July 18-23.

Only two years out of high school, Louie Fontaine formed his band, Louie Fontaine & The Rockets, in 1972 as a '50s nostalgia act, and has been performing classic Rock N' Roll ever since. In 1977, Paul Revere, of television and recording fame, saw Louie in Boise, Idaho, and soon hired him as the new lead singer for Paul Revere and The Raiders, replacing a retired Mark Lindsay. In the next four years as the lead singer of The Raiders, Louie performed at state fairs, amusement parks, clubs, concerts, Disneyland and Disneyworld. In 1980, Fontaine decided to go back out on his own and made his final appearance with Paul Revere and The Raiders at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. Louie served as best man at Revere's wedding and still counts the singer and his wife as good friends. Asked to sum up his experience with the Raiders, Fontaine says: "It was like going to a four-year university and graduating with a degree in show business!"

Since 1980, Louie Fontaine & The Rockets have been performing their classic Rock N' Roll show throughout the western U.S. and Canada at major fairs, corporate conventions and large Nevada hotel/casino's.

- Arts at the Lake

For more than 20 years, the Valhalla Arts & Music Festival has been offering high-quality exhibits, concerts and arts demonstrations in South Lake Tahoe. This year's summer-long event began last week and won't let up until the leaves begin to turn.

The turn-of-the-century buildings at the Tallac Historic Site create a perfect backdrop for fine art and music. This celebration marks the opening of art exhibits, concert series, art workshops and classic films that run throughout July and August. The Tallac Site Celebration includes a sampling of artwork that will be showcased this summer and music will be performed on the Valhalla lawn as well as the Valhalla Boathouse Theater by performing groups.

Here's a schedule of some upcoming events at the theater:

July

11 - Man of Worth, traditional Celtic music in Boathouse Theater

12 - "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Boathouse Theater

13 - Debbie DeFazio and Rocky Sleight in Boathouse Theater

16 -Celtic Festival, traditional Celtic music and dance on Valhalla lawn, noon to 4 p.m.

17 - "Wind of a Thousand Tales" in Boathouse Theater

18 - Hip Service, funk and R&?B i the Boathouse Theater

19 -"Top Hat" with Fred Astair, Ginger Rogers in Boathouse Theater

20 - Madison Avenue, smokin' R&B and cool jazz in Boathouse Theater

21 & 22 - "The Fantastiks" Sierra Tahoe Theater Co.

22 - Brew & Blues Festival, unique microbrews and imports, live concert at Horizon Resort

24 - "Romeo & Juliet" by the Lilliput Players in Boathouse Theater

25 - Robert Thies, piano centennial celebration in Boathouse Theater

26 - "Cabaret" with Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Joel Gray in Boathouse Theater

27 - Jackie Landrum, rhythm & blues in Boathouse Theater

28 & 29 - "Nunsense," presented by the Lake Tahoe Community College Theater Company in Boathouse Theater

- Prepare for THE FANTASTIKS

The Sierra Tahoe Theatre Company and the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City presents "THE FANTASTIKS."

With over 10,000 off-Broadway performances, "THE FANTASTIKS" is the longest running musical in the world. The show celebrated its 40th anniversary of continuous running Off-Broadway on May 3.

This time-proven audience pleaser will be presented on Thursday, Friday and Saturday July 27, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday July 30 at 2 p.m. at the Brewery Arts Center.

Directed by Robert Grant, "THE FANTASTIKS" tells a simple love story of a young boy and girl who fall in love when their fathers "build a wall and pretend to feud." But once the parents put an end to the "feud" and allow the children to be together, Luisa and Matt decide to go their own ways to "seek out their fortunes." In the end, after learning many tough yet valuable lessons around the world, they come together to start a newer, more mature love.

With a bountiful series of catchy, memorable songs such as "Try To Remember, "THE FANTASTIKS" has a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless musical Fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

The Sierra Tahoe Theatre Company was founded in 1999 by members of the Carson City and South Lake Tahoe theater communities. In the summer of 1999, the company produced "She Loves Me" and "The Pirates of Penzance" in cooperation with Valhalla Players. The company is also planning to perform the ambitious audience-interactive musical, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" in the summer of 2001.

The talented cast consists of Cole Forstedt as Matt, Stine Odegard as Luisa, Scott Anderson as El Gallo, John Hall as Huck, Susan Haas as Bellomy, Pat Hardy as the Old Actor, Camillo O'Kuinghttons as Mortimer and Desiree Hubel as Mute.

Tickets are $12.50 general admission, $11 students, seniors and BAC members. Call the Brewery Arts Center at 883-1976 to reserve your seats now.

- Music festival announces summer line-up

From Bach to Blues and Beyond is the theme for this year's Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival 2000.

The music festival has scheduled a variety of music for the performances under the stars, including classical orchestra music, jazz, big band, swing and pop tunes.

Jazz greats Chuck Mangione, Pete Escovedo and Marlena Shaw are on the bill, as well as world class violinist Phillip Ruder.

The Lake Tahoe Musical Festival is also the summer home of The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, led by musical director and conductor Barry Jekowski.

This summer's events will be held between July 12 and Sept. 2 on Wednesdays and Saturdays with most performances beginning at 7 p.m. Spectacular venues around Lake Tahoe and Truckee include Topol Pavilion in Homewood, Sand Harbor, Sierra Nevada College, Squaw Valley, Sugar Pine Point State Park, Tahoe Donner, Northstar, Valhalla and Granlibakken Resort.

The music festival schedule is:

- Sunday, July 16: Donor event with piano recital.

- Wednesday, July 19: An Evening of Shakespeare at Topol Pavilion.*

- Saturday, July 22: Pops Concert on the Green, Tahoe Donner.*

- Wednesday, July 26: Jazz headliner Chuck Mangione, Topol Pavilion.

- Saturday, July 29: Argenta Quartet featuring Phillip Ruder, Sierra Nevada College.

- Wednesday, Aug. 2: Family Night, Topol Pavilion.*

- Saturday, Aug. 5: Cabaret with Marjorie Tede, Granlibakken Resort.

- Wednesday, Aug. 9: Pete Escovedo and Marlena Shaw: An Evening of Legendary Jazz, Topol Pavilion.

- Saturday, Aug. 12: Beatrice et Benedict based on Much Ado About Nothing, Granlibakken Resort.

- Wednesday, Aug. 16: Sierra Swing Band, PlumpJack Squaw,Valley Inn.

- Saturday, Aug. 19: Classic Brass Quintet, Valhalla.

- Wednesday, Aug. 23: Swing Fever, Northstar at Tahoe.

- Saturday, Aug. 26: Chamber Music, Sierra Nevada College.

- Wednesday, Aug. 30: Bluegrass with the Slide Mountain Boys, Sugar Pine Point State Park.

- Saturday, Sept. 2: Reno Philharmonic's American Salute, Sand

* Performances by the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra

The Lake Tahoe Music Festival began as a small two-week summer series of concerts on Lake Tahoe's North Shore, providing classical music in beautiful surroundings.

The festival has grown into a Tahoe tradition with two months of summer concerts featuring quality music rarely found outside major cities. The festival also hosts a number of special events during the winter months.

For more information and tickets call the Lake Tahoe Music Festival office at 583-3101, visit the Web at www.tahoemusic.org or e-mail info@tahoemusic.org.

- Michael Franti brings hip-hop sounds to Truckee

Renegade Productions presents, SPEARHEAD featuring Michael Franti on Friday, July 28 at the Truckee Regional Park Amphitheater in Truckee, CA. An opening band will start at 6:30pm.

Songwriter, composer, musician, activist, producer, poet...a man with many roles that is an artist and will breaks boundaries, give back to the community and take social responsibility in sharing knowledge and in organizing events to support his beliefs.

Most of Middle America thinks of scowling gangstas like Tupac and Dr. Dre as the personifications of rap or hip-hop, so where does Michael Franti fit in? He has expanded the musical horizons of rap. No beat or instrumental accompaniment seems to be out of bounds for Franti's commentary. Nor does any message seem to be out of bounds. While plenty of his contemporaries fill their raps with sexual bluster and glorification of violence, Franti shows that there are serious intentions behind his funky, hip-hop sounds: his message is about conscious social commentary, political protest, as well as personal experiences.

Advance tickets are available at: Truckee: New Moon Natural Foods and Musaic; N. Tahoe: Joby's at King's Beach and Tahoe City; South Lake Tahoe: Mountain High Records; Reno: Soundwave CD's and Recycled Records; Carson: Java Joes; Quincy: Plumas Sights and Sounds; and at all tickets.com (formerly BASS outlets) - call 510/762-2277 (from inside CA) or 1/800-225-BASS (from outside CA).

Advance tickets can also be ordered Online at www.ticketweb.com; or over the phone with a credit card by calling 530/583-2801 or 510/601-TWEB. For more information please call the Renegade Hotline at 530/583-2801 or 775/746-8134, or visit us online at renegadeshows.com.

(Jeff Munson is the content editor of tahoe.com. You can reach him at 775

881-1216 or by e-mail: editor@tahoe.com).