Fresno Famous

Everyone has that one friend who's not good for much, other than passing along good leads on the latest hot spots, up-and-coming bands, or stupid-cool Web sites. Let Famous be that friend. Here's a quick rundown of some things we're all about this week.
No need for thanks.

Abigail Nolte

www.myspace.com/abigailnolte

What we know about Abigail Nolte comes from either a.) her MySpace page, or b.) what others have said.

So: She's from a sexy van in Central Cali, and writes quiet love songs, the kind made with just an acoustic guitar and a voice. In her case, a soft, sweet and incredible beautiful voice.

Catch her tonight at Tokyo Garden's “Quiet” show with Malcolm Sosa, Kara Harris, Tomas Medrano and Radioactive Cauliflower.

This review pretty much sums her up:

“Abigail rocked my face. I think her vocal quality is one that cannot be imitated.”

Milano

1243 Fulton Mall, 497-5066, www.milanofresno.com

Milano bills itself as a community-oriented pizzeria /Italian restaurant located on the historic Fulton Mall — which means it's pretty mom-and-pop. The restaurant, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in April, has always been a good place to grab a quick slice (under $5 with a soda) at lunch, or a couple beers after work (good happy hour prices on pints and pitchers). But lately Kendall Simsarian and the staff have been pulling double duty, establishing Milano as a weekend music venue.

This week see Quarter-Circle Jab (Friday) and The Neptunes (Saturday). Shows start at 9 p.m. Check out www.myspace.com/milanolivemusic for a complete listing.

Shout Outs!
The directions on LateUpdate's Shout Out section read a bit like the theme to a Japanese horror flick. You enter your phone number on the site, press “call me,” and the computer rings you right up.

Then you hear how you're going to die!

Not really. Actually, it just calls you so you can record a message that is saved and loaded straight to the site for others to hear. The listening is pretty sparse now, but we can't imagine this not catching on.

Sadly, obscene messages will not be posted.
But we're pretty sure you'll have no problem finding a site for that.

T-shirts

Sam Hansen can break Fresno down, geographically, by the types of T-shirts people wear. Because, everyone, everyone, loves a cool graphic T. It's the new little black dress.

Hansen's store, FTK, is all about T-shirts, from designers like LRG and Orisue, as well as its signature (and Mike Oz approved) Nickel-Nickel-Nine series, which continues to sell out.

We see a lot of ironic hispter-type tees, with slogans like “Guns don't kill people. Guys with moustaches kill people,” or “My Marxist Feminist Dialectic Brings all the Boys to the Yard.”

But we really like Fresno themed-shirts. This week's favorite is “Fresno: Don't cha wish your city was hot like mine?” See it here: www.fresnofamous.com/content/fresno-t-shirts

Powell's Sweet Shoppe
1260 Shaw Ave., Clovis, 298-7761

Powell's Sweet Shoppe is the perfect place when your sweet tooth gets cranky and gives up on vending-machine candy.

Here, you can get all the retro-candy favorites, stuff that hasn't been seen in years — Fizzies, candy cigarettes, Jolt cola, Idaho Spuds. Plus, there's lots of other wacky stuff, like the Liar's Breath Spray (to make all of your lies sparkle) and Tastes Like Chicken gum, which sounds fun, even though it's probably total yuck.

The capper? The original (and superior) version of “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory” plays all day on a big screen TV. There's theater seats if you'd like to watch.