.Hit List: Best Music, Art & Culture Sep 7-11

The Los Altos Stage Company’s excellent production of the Stephen Sondheim musical “Assassins” continues it’s run at the Bus Barn Theatre. Read a review of the show in this week’s Metro. Funnywoman Wanda Sykes comes to the Montalvo Arts Center. Chart-topping ’90s alt-rockers Eve 6 play The Ritz. And the Bay Area’s very own Counting Crows play Shoreline Amphitheatre with Rob Thomas and the SoFA Street Fair returns.
Wanda Sykes
Wed, 8pm, $25-$99.50
Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga
Comedian, writer and actress Wanda Sykes started her career doing stand-up at night while working as a contracting specialist at the National Security Agency. She got her big break when she joined The Chris Rock Show as a performer and writer in 1997. In 1999 she won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. Since then, she’s appeared in films like Pootie Tang, Evan Almighty and the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine. The openly lesbian Sykes is also an avid LGBTQ activist and recipient of the 2010 GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award. (ST)
Eve 6
Thu, 8pm, $18-$22
The Ritz, San Jose
Eve 6 were all just juniors in high school when they got signed to RCA. Their first single, 1998’s “Inside Out,” topped Billboard’s alternative rock three times and spent nine weeks in the No. 2 spot. Soon after graduating they went platinum. For many, “Inside Out” still captures that feeling of high school vulnerability—all tender hearts and what-could-have-beens. Since reuniting in 2011, the band has been touring regularly, largely in support of their first new album since breaking up, 2012’s Speak in Code. (MH)

The Conference Of The Birds
Fri, 8pm, $18-$50
Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose
In this celebrated Sufi poem by Farid ud-Din Attar, the birds of the world unite in search of their king. The wisest bird, the hoopoe advises they find the mythical Persian bird, Simorgh. As they embark on their journey and finally reach the home of Simorgh, all they find is a lake where they see their own reflections. Sangam Arts and Enacte Arts—two local organizations dedicated to Indian arts—bring this nearly 1,000-year-old work of literature to the stage with art, music and dance. This contemporary interpretation is based on the play by Peter Brook and Academy Award-winning playwright Jean-Claude Carriere. (ST)
LEOTA
Fri, 7pm, Free
Seeing Things Gallery, San Jose
Named after their family’s matriarch, “LEOTA” showcases the latest work by artists Murphy Adams and Ivy Atoms. The mother-daughter duo exhibit together for the very first time—unveiling their personal experiences as women who are related but from very different generations. Murphy Adams works with mixed media while Ivy Atoms is a painter and illustrator of both comic books and zines. Their colorful and metaphorical compositions share a self-awareness that is capable of being critical of the world while also finding humor in the day-to-day. (ST)
Oktoberfest
Fri, 5pm, $10-$20
Courthouse Square, Redwood City
What began as the wedding celebration of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in Munich has since transformed into one of the most popular beer and food festivals around the world: Oktoberfest. Today, cities all over the world have replicated the brewfest, introducing it to new generations and keeping the tradition alive. Now in its third year, Redwood City’s Oktoberfest features live music from the AlpinersUSA Oktoberfest band, alongside German treats like pretzels, brats, sauerkraut and German potato salad. A variety of lagers, weizens and ales will also be on tap to fill even the largest stein. The festival runs through Sun. (ST)
The Faction
Sat, 8pm, $10
The Ritz, San Jose
The skate punk scene of the ’80s and ’90s owes a lot to San Jose—and to The Faction, in particular. Picking up their instruments only shortly after Black Flag and Bad Religion got started, the band, which featured legendary 408 shredder Steve Caballero, melded hardcore riffs with a skate-or-die attitude. All professional skaters, the Faction’s goal was to make the perfect soundtrack for carving bowls and grinding ledges. In the process they left a major imprint on punk music the world over. This will be the group’s first hometown show since 2014. (MH)

Lucia Di Lammermoor
Sat, 8pm, $55-$175
California Theater, San Jose
Opera San Jose kicks off its season with Lucia Di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. As in Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, this tragedy centers around two young lovers from feuding families who face adversity as they fight for their love. Lucia Ashton and Edgar Ravenswood’s forbidden rendezvous becomes challenging when Lucia’s brother, Lord Enrico Ashton, forces his sister to marry the nobleman Arturo out of political necessity. The production contains one of the most famously difficult passages in all of opera. Known as “The Mad Scene,” when performed as written it pushes even the most talented and dexterous operatic singers to their vocal limits. (ST)
FUSE—Cut and Thrust
Sat, 12pm, Free
Citadel Gallery, San Jose
A number of local artists will deconstruct and reassemble work to create something completely new in real time at “Fuse—Cut and Thrust.” A critical conversation about their work and what new meanings surface from it will also be a major focus. Artwork by Joe Gegan and Trudy Levy will be highlighted. Gegan’s recent work focuses on the deconstruction of his and others’ paintings to create new collages. Levy’s pieces emphasize the impact that colors, vantage points, angles and framing all have on visual perception. The exhibit runs through Sunday. (ST)
Chuck Ragan & The Camaraderie
Sun, 8pm, $15-$18
The Ritz, San Jose
Hot Water Music remains one of the beloved punk bands of the ’90s and early 2000s. Since going solo, singer Chuck Ragan has taken his music in a more stripped-down direction, blurring the lines between punk and earlier forms of folk and protest music. The Camaraderie, his current group, fuses his work with the Revival Tour (which had punk musicians playing acoustic instruments alongside bluegrass and alt-country artists) and his Hot Water days. Backed by drums, electric bass, violin and lap steel guitar, Ragan’s recent work has been about mixing old and new, and expanding the accepted tonalities of punk rock. (MH)

S’Wonderful
Sun, 7pm, $22-$62.
Hammer Theatre, San Jose
Iconic American composer and pianist George Gershwin penned countless film scores during the cinema’s classical era. His songs have been covered by the likes of Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. The San Jose Musical Theater celebrates the composer’s legacy with a fundraising concert, featuring performances of Gershwin’s greatest works by talented Bay Area musicians, as well as auctions and raffles. An optional reception with an open bar and light refreshments will be held before the start of the event. (ST)
SoFA Street Fair
Sun, 2pm, Free
SoFA District, San Jose
The SoFA Street Fair returns to San Jose’s South First Street arts, culture and nightlife district this Sunday for a day of music, food, beer, art and much more. It marks the fourth such event since festival organizer Fil Maresca brought the party back to life in 2014 after more than a 10-year hiatus. As has been the case with the past three fall SoFA Street Fairs—and 2016’s inaugural spring event—the focus will be on local bands. However, Maresca says, there is another focus he and his team have been devoting energy to this year: keeping SoFA Street Fair free and putting a little cash in the pockets of local artists. Read more about the event’s virtual tip jar here.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Giveaways

Enter for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Scott's Seafood in San Jose. Drawing April 24, 2024.
Enter for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Henry's World Famous Hi-Life in San Jose. Drawing May 8, 2024.
spot_img
10,828FansLike
8,305FollowersFollow
Metro Silicon Valley E-edition Metro Silicon Valley E-edition