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Erika Rasmussen on April 24, 2019
A home devoid of art is not a home at all. The Very Very Rare Affordable Art Fair gives a platform to burgeoning artists, placing their art in limelight while art-lovers peruse works from the established and the emerging. With prices ranging from $55 to $5,000, it is a chance for novice collectors to nab some original work without breaking the bank. The art shines in stark diversity, including the eerie-green, eco-architectural acrylics by Gabriel Restrepo; the nearly photographic candy-wrapper oils by Sabrina Abbott; and Amy Ahlstrom’s textile love letters to pop art masters Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. Runs through Apr. 28. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on April 24, 2019
For the better part of a century Tom Jones has kept his mojo running strong. A cultural icon, Jones is responsible for some of the biggest pop hits of the past 50 years—including “It’s Not Unusual,” “She’s A Lady” and “What’s New Pussycat.” The later of these took on new life after former Saturday Night Live writer and standup comic John Mulaney turned the song into a hilarious bit. It’s hard to believe Jones would take it too hard. After all the Welsh-born singer has a good sense of humor. Remember when he played himself in Tim Burton’s uproarious sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks? Continue reading »
One lone strand of stubble emanated from his upper lip, like a monolith in an open field. It caught my eye as soon as I walked in to the interview. My inner voice is having to scream, “Stop staring at it! Keep eye contact!” It’s difficult concentrate on his questions when I have so many of my own. Did he leave it on purpose? Is he saving it? Or did his razor just miss it? Do I even want to work here, based on the lack of attention to detail that my potential boss is wearing on his face? Is this a test? Does he want me to point it out to him? Can I pluck it? Do I have any stray stubble on my own face? Do I have OCD? I think I saw him notice me staring at his upper lip. “Stop staring at it! Keep eye contact!” I’m now pretending to thoughtfully consider a question while I casually run my right hand over my face to inspect for stubble. All clear. This confirms that I have the upper hand. I’ll have him reporting to me in less than a year. I still want to pluck it.
I Saw You is an anonymous “man on the street” column. Email your rants and raves about co-workers or any badly behaving citizens to [email protected], or send to 380 S. First St, San Jose, 95113. Submissions should stick to about 100 words.
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Mike Huguenor on April 17, 2019
About three minutes into “Only Acting,” the lead single from Kero Kero Bonito’s 2018 album Time ‘n’ Place, the whole thing falls apart. Like a CD player trying to read a scratched disc, the track skips on a fragment. A moment later it shuts down, pulling everything into silence. Then comes the noise. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on April 17, 2019
Where is AI taking human agency and democracy? It’s not a question for Alexa. Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, will moderate a conversation between Fei-Fei Li, a Stanford professor of computer science, and Yuval Noah Harari, a history professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Li, a former vice president for Google Cloud, has been identified as a top mind in AI by Forbes; he co-created ImageNet, changing the face of deep learning. Harari, a historian and author from Israel, counts Barack Obama, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as fans. Together the three will ruminate upon “The Coming AI Upheaval.” Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on April 17, 2019
The Dangerous—a brand new reggae project started by Edgar Fernandez and Kevin Azavedo, formerly of San Jose’s proggy alternative outfit Citabria—drop their debut, Made of Gold, on 4/20. It’s a seriously kind nugget of kinky upstrokes and eyeball rattling downbeats. As with any great reggae record, the 11-track album is packed with good vibes and heavy riddims. Lead single “Gangsta” is an ode to kicking back and getting into trouble with the homies. Check the music video shot, at the Plata Arroyo skatepark on the East Side, and catch them live at the SoFA Street Fair this Sunday. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on April 17, 2019
Stanford’s Taiwanese Cultural Society celebrates the Bay Area’s diverse Asian population by indulging visitors with a traditional Taiwanese open-air market. Student associations and vendors will share the cultural and culinary customs of Taiwan and the surrounding region. By virtue of its location—near mainland China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and Korea—the island state has long served as a crossroads for various Asian countries and as a gateway to the wider world. Visitors can snack on báhn mì while taking in contagious K-pop performances and punchy martial arts demonstrations. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on April 17, 2019
The touring production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway hit is back in the Bay Area, playing at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre through September. For those Hamilton-heads who can’t make it to San Francisco—or simply want to double their dose of Alexander and Eliza—the San Jose Pop Up Choir will perform all the big numbers at Hamiltunes: An American Sing-A-Long this weekend in San Jose. But that’s not even the best part. Over the course of the night, audience members will be invited up on stage to join in the action, so be sure to warm up before heading to the show. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on April 17, 2019
Thirty years in a shoebox. After spending more than a quarter-century in solitary confinement, Jack L. Morris has a lot to say. This play animates Morris’ friendship with Sheila Pinkel, an artist troubled by the rise of incarceration in the United States. Jack’s letters to Sheila come to life in a dynamic show of monologue, movement and song, which all work together to paint a portrait of a man determined to be positive through decades of isolation and violence. This production re-evaluates concepts of crime and punishment. Continue reading »
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Mike Huguenor on April 17, 2019
Pop music has changed a lot in the last 60 years, but there’s still something to be said for that little thing called melody. With an ear for the classics, South Bay power-pop group David Brookings and the Average Lookings have a knack for matching soaring melodies to jangly AM chord progressions. Hefty doses of sunshine and surf spray waft off Scorpio Monologue, their second album, which comes out the same day as their release show at Art Boutiki. A little bit Beatles, and a little bit Big Star, Scorpio Monologue is all about the enduring power of a great melody. Continue reading »
