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Kaylee Lawler on June 7, 2018
Standup comic Solomon Georgio hasn’t always had an easy time fitting in. Openly gay, with an Old Testament first name and an Italian last name, he scans as African American but might be more properly classified as a North African refugee. Fortunately for our funny bones, he’s got a knack for turning…
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Kaylee Lawler on June 7, 2018
Coming to the States from a galaxy Down Under, The Empire Strips Back is poised to touch down in San Jose this week with a show that embraces the naughty side of The Force. The brainchild of Russall S. Beattie—the Australian oddball also responsible for burlesque takes on The Wizard of Oz…
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Mike Huguenor on June 7, 2018
Within the world of heavy metal there is a magic word. Once it’s heard, it is impossible to go back. It is a single word capable of changing reality entirely, twisting the once-familiar into something mystic, epiphanic, otherworldly. That word is Dopesmoker. The third album by San Jose stoner metal trio Sleep,…
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Winona Rajamohan on June 7, 2018
This jukebox musical classic has been winning over audiences for more than a decade. Jersey Boys tells the tale of Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi—four blue-collar kids from Jersey who found great success with their pop vocal group, The Four Seasons—rising up from their working-class roots with hits…
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Bill Kopp on June 1, 2018
The original lineup of pop sensation The Monkees lasted for a brief period: The quartet that scored No. 1 hits with “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer” and “Daydream Believer” was together from fall 1965 to very early 1969. In the nearly 50 years since then, group members Micky Dolenz, the…
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Bill Kopp on June 1, 2018
Many of the bands considered part of the “British Invasion” of the mid-’60s drew from American soul and R&B. Some, like the Beatles, filtered those influences through their own musical sensibilities, creating something completely new in the process. Others—The Rolling Stones, for example—built upon an R&B foundation, getting their start playing their…
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Nick Veronin on June 1, 2018
Standup comedy has exploded in popularity in recent years, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the success of Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, which returns to the Bay Area for three days this Friday, Saturday and Sunday with major headliners—including Jon Stewart, Amy Schumer, The Lonely Island and Trevor Noah—along with myriad…
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Wallace Baine on June 1, 2018
In a political season of fear and loathing of all things Russian, Symphony Silicon Valley is reminding us that Russia has given us good and ennobling things as well. In this case, it’s Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the 19th-century Romantic Era composer responsible for some of the most memorable melodies in the classical repertoire.…
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Wallace Baine on June 1, 2018
Rockabilly was already a spent force by the time young Brian Setzer came along in the early ’80s with his hugely successful revival trio, Stray Cats. But if Setzer ever laments being born too late to take part in rockabilly’s golden age, the rest of us can only be thankful. Otherwise, he…
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Mike Huguenor on June 1, 2018
A dream tour for anyone who likes heavy music but doesn’t care for the machismo, Power Trip and Sheer Mag are for the people. While the metal genre can be a little cliquey and alienating, the Texas thrashers in Power Trip are refreshingly fun and inclusive—and they still tear through riffs like…
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