Sacramento?s biggest and brightest musical stars all gathered together last Wednesday to honor each other at the 10th annual Sacramento Area Music Awards at the Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento.

The annual award show highlights the Sacramento music scene and its musicians and raises money for local charities. This year the proceeds from the show went to the Wind Youth Center and Joe?s Style Shop.

Hosted by local music moguls Eric Bianchi and Laura Ingle, the show was a mix of awards, performances, and hijinxs typical of a gathering of musicians.

The show started off with a bang, literally, with a performance by Sacramento Taiko Dan, a highly energetic Asian drum troupe.

The big winners of the evening included country rock group Forever Goldrush for Outstanding Country Band, the lead singer, Damon Wycoff, took home the Critic?s Choice Award for male vocalist.

The group also played an amazing three-song set during the show, wowing the crowd.The Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Group award went to The C.U.F., who won the award for the second year in a row.

Taking home the award for Outstanding Rock Band was Sacramento?s big boys Oleander.

The group accepted their award via satellite from a hotel room somewhere in Ohio. The group also presented the award for Critic?s Choice New Band, which went to the Freight Train Riders of America.

The Outstanding Pop Band award went to The Skirts, an all-female pop group. The Skirts also presented the award for Outstanding R&B/Funk Band, which went to Funkengruven.Probably the most anticipated band of the evening, Luxt, a heavy metal band that closely mirrored their performance to Korn, won the Outstanding Metal award and played during the concert.

The Outstanding Folk Band award seemed to hold a lot of controversy behind it. As the nominations for the award were being read, the crowd chanted for David Houston, one of the nominees. Houston lost to second-time winner Xenophilia and the crowd did not seem content with the decision and continued to chant Houston?s name.

The award show also included the SAMMIES Hall of Fame awards, which went to long-time winners Tattooed Love Dogs, Los Elegantes and Mick Martin & The Blues Rockers. The award for longest speech of the evening went to Critic?s Choice Guitarist winner G.B. of Magnolia Thunderfinger. His speech was so long that hosts Laura Ingle and Eric Bianchi dubbed him the Julia Roberts of the 2001 SAMMIES.

Though the show did have its high points, it also had some serious low points. Easily the lamest point in the evening came when long-time Sacramento band Tesla announced the award for Band of the Decade to……themselves. In a video shot the previous week, Tesla and host Laura Ingle, opened the envelope and presented the award to themselves. The crowd was far from amused.

The hosts, Bianchi and Ingle, left much to be desired. The pair has hosted the show for many years, however, this year they seemed to have left their humor at home. Bianchi and Ingle slowed the show down to almost a halt every time they had the microphone. The show would have been much better hosted by real representatives of the Sacramento music scene.

Bobby Jordan of The Knockoffs and Red Star Memorial and Skid Jones of Magnolia Thunderfinger would be prime candidates for next year?s hosting position. In the two minutes that Jordan and Jones were on stage to present the award for Critic?s Choice for Bassist, they were funnier and wittier than Bianchi and Ingle could ever hope to be. The most redeeming moment of the evening came at the very end of the show, after most of the audience and the musicians had already gone home.

After the last award was presented, punk rocker icons 7 Seconds, the winners of the Outstanding Punk Band award, played an amazing set to the die-hard crowd that stuck around till the end.

The set by 7 Seconds was a perfect finish to the awards show as it was a perfect example of how music should be. 7 Seconds invited fellow punk band The Knockoffs on stage to engage in some serious rock and roll hijinxs. At one point, Knockoffs singer Danny Secretion was down to his underwear sliding around on the water-soaked stage. Regardless of the lack of hosting and some unwanted upsets in the awards, the show was a success and did a fine job of acknowledging and embracing the huge Sacramento music scene and all of its hard-working musicians.