Monday – Why not take a little drive down to Visalia to see Maps & Atlases and Cults, thanks to our pals at Sound N Vision.

Tuesday – Support local murals by drinking some drinks at the latest Creative Fresno Bartender Challenge at Palominos.

Wednesday – Of course you’re not going to miss Avi Buffalo at Frank’s Place (with Fierce Creatures). There’s still time to save some money by picking up your ticket early at The Laundry Room, Iron Bird Cafe, or online.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=evu_MqAZpC0

Thursday – Yes, sports fans, it’s time for the second annual Great Fresno Tweetup brought to you by the Fresno Beehive and the Fresno Grizzlies. Find out how to get in on some cheap baseball fun. And if you’re new to Twitter, don’t forget to follow @LoveTheCaptive.

Friday – I don’t know. Any ideas?

Saturday – Finally, it’s the long-awaited Strange Vine CD release show at Audie’s!

All in all, not too shabby.

As you know, it was Love The Captive’s first time making things happen at Frank’s, and we learned a lot already. But we want to hear from you too.

If you were at one or both of the shows, what’d you like? What can we do better? Help us help you. Leave a comment. We love you.

Have you heard of Local Natives? You probably have if you keep up with music websites and magazines, or trust NPR for music recommendations. They’re an amazing indie rock band from LA. Earlier this year, their debut album, Gorilla Manor, earned wide critical praise and continues to win new fans across the country and in Europe. If you don’t already have it, I suggest you pick it up.

Why am I talking about them? Because I’m also wondering how many of you realize that early last year Local Natives played an amazing show to a nearly empty Tokyo Garden right here in Fresno. I was there. They were fantastic.

So it’s frustrating when I hear people say they would go see more live music in Fresno “if there were any good bands playing.” The fact is, there are good bands playing. And thanks to the hard work of guys like Johnny and the team, more and more good bands are coming. But they aren’t coming for Love The Captive. They’re coming for you. And it’s up to you whether or not they keep on coming.

Recently Johnny asked you to plan ahead to attend some of the great shows we’ve got lined up this summer. I’m going to make it even easier. All I want you to do is listen. When we announce an upcoming show, don’t immediately dismiss it just because you’ve never heard of the artist. You hadn’t heard of Local Natives either.

Spend ten minutes. Listen to a song on MySpace (it’s still good for that, at least). Watch a YouTube video. Keep in mind, the drawbacks of self-recorded music and the internet mean the sound quality may not be great. But look past that. Hear the music. If it’s something you might like, why not spend a few bucks to see it in person? It’s cheaper than a movie, with the potential to pay off big time.

Or maybe you have a friend you think might like it. Let them know. Drop a link into a Facebook comment, “Hey, thought you might like this,” no big deal.

How many of your favorite new bands passed through Fresno when they were too small for you to notice? Do you ever wonder? How cool would it be to say, “I saw them play to a crowd of 80 people in a little place in Fresno”?

Fresno is on the cusp of some exciting things, but it’s no cliché to say we absolutely need your support. Take a chance. That’s all we ask. You do that for us, and I promise we’ll work on bringing the bands you already know and love.

- Conlan

Let me tell you about Frank’s Place.

The “Frank” in Frank’s Place is one Frank Caglia. Frank was a self-made business man, active in various community organizations around Fresno. When the famous “Fresno” arch on South Van Ness fell into disrepair, he took it upon himself to fix it up. In fact, he was the one who added “The Best Little City in the USA” tagline.

He also loved theaters. Specifically, the Warnors Theatre. So much so that he bought it in 1973. Frank and his family owned the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts until his death in 2007. Frank’s Place, the newest addition to the complex, is named in his honor.

The Details

Frank’s Place is located at 1432 Fulton Street, Fresno, CA‎. That is right next to Warnors Theatre, directly across Fulton Street from the K-Jewel/KYNO building.

View larger map.

The front door on Fulton Street looks like this (we will have lights and signage to guide your way):

From the Tower District, just take Fulton towards Downtown all the way almost to Tuolumne Street (if you’re driving on the Fulton Mall, you’ve gone too far).

Parking. Plenty of parking is available directly across the street in the lot next to the K-Jewel/KYNO building. There is additional parking behind that lot in the Broadway Studios lot. Street parking is also available (no need to feed the meters; they aren’t enforced after 6pm). There will be a security guard in the parking lots as well.

Times. Doors for these shows, as with all our Frank’s Place shows (unless otherwise noted), will be at 8pm.

Ages. Unless otherwise noted, shows at Frank’s Place are All Ages. Full bar (21+) will be available at some shows (not all).

All of us at Love The Captive have already fallen in love with this place, and we think you will too. These opening weekend shows are just 6 bucks each, pre-sale (buy online or at The Laundry Room). This is a great chance to come check out what could be—with your help—Fresno’s next really great thing.

Join us, won’t you?

[via ModModMod Audio/Visual Propaganda]

Johnny here. At Love The Captive, you may have noticed we’ve been growing. It’s taken hard work and determination, but most importantly it’s because of you beautiful people.

We’re really excited to now be hosting shows at Frank’s Place downtown. We’ve been booking some great artists for Fresno, and we’ve been announcing them a month or two in advance. (For example, check out Admiral Radley on July 10 and Avi Buffalo on July 21.) We’re doing this to make sure you all have enough time to plan ahead, save money, get the night off, get a baby sitter, etc.

I want to encourage you to start saving $1 a day in your piggy banks for great live music in Fresno. At the end of the month you’ll have $30, and that’s enough cash to attend at least 3 or 4 Love The Captive shows.

We have big dreams for Fresno’s music scene, but we know we cant do it alone. We need all the help we can get.

We all live in this place called Fresno, so let’s do something special here.

Are you with me?

- Johnny Q

Also, in case you missed the announcement on Twitter, we’re pretty excited to welcome Admiral Radley—the Grandaddy/Earlimart mashup—to Frank’s Place in July. Read all about it and get your tickets now.

I think I screwed up that riddle.

That’s right, suckers. LTC has a home. We’ve staked our claim just few doors down from the venerable Audie’s Olympic. The Captive is the brand new headquarters of our massive multinational conglomerate. It’s where we’ll be conducting our biz-ness. You know: booking bands, typing things into computers, listening to music on our mp3 devices, and drinking whiskey.

But because we’re us, we wouldn’t be happy unless we used some of this prime real estate for some prime sound estate. Namely, live and uncensored rock and roll.

We’ll be kicking things off with a fairly magical show this Saturday, with Tokyo Death March, Microsia, and more. It’s the perfect time to stop by, pay 5 bucks, see some sweet bands, and say hi.

We’re still getting the situation set up, but we’ll be using the space for more fun, low-key affairs as we go. Feel free to leave some suggestions, come by and say hi, dance in an elevator, or whatever.

Photos will be provided later.

Other cool things

We’ve selected Ticketfly as our official online ticketing partner. We think you’ll dig the ease of use, low service fees, and sheer awesomeness of it. As of right now, we’ve got tickets available for Dan Black and A Place To Bury Strangers. Just look for the big pink “Buy Tickets” button or click the little green “$” in the show info box on show pages:

Easy as that. We won’t be offering online sales for every show, but if we think a show might sell out, we want to give you guys a chance to guarantee your spot inside.

Also, as the Beehive’s Mike Oz reports, things are picking up at the Warnors Theater complex with the new Fulton Street Project, and Love The Captive is excited to be involved. Keep an eye out for upcoming shows at Frank’s Place, the Star Palace, or even—dare we suggest it?—Warnors Theater. Stay tuned for exciting things.