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Wallace Baine on February 7, 2019
Russian-born pianist Vyacheslav Gryaznov comes to town with a long list of honors and competition prizes, many of which evoke Rachmaninov, the Russian legend whose name has become shorthand for virtuosic piano mastery. A faculty member at the Moscow Conservatory, Gryaznov is also known around the world for his transcription work. He returns at the behest of the Steinway Society for an encore performance of his celebrated West Coast debut in 2016. Continue reading »
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Wallace Baine on February 7, 2019
Silicon Valley’s ace vocal choir The Choral Project addresses the issue of homelessness head on with Art of Sound: Seeking a Home. The program features David Lang’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning showcase The Little Match Girl Passion, inspired by the music of J.S. Bach and the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. The concert will also feature a reprise performance of “Somewhere” from West Side Story. Proceeds from the concert will be shared by a trio of homeless activist organizations in the South Bay. Continue reading »
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Wallace Baine on February 7, 2019
In case you need proof that reggae is the music of the world, check out the singer known to fans as “Sammy J.” He brings to reggae fans his own musical narrative as a New Zealander with Maori bloodlines and a background in social work. Steeped in the deep soul and R&B heritage of Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder, Johnson is a familiar name on the reggae circuit. He makes his way to the Bay Area with a new album, Moonlight Lovers. Continue reading »
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Wallace Baine on February 7, 2019
British playwright Alan Bennett has given the world a number of great stage productions, including The History Boys and The Madness of King George. His latest work, Allelujah!, focuses on a decades-old hospital known as “The Beth,” as it deals with closure and the fate of its geriatric patients. This celebrated musical comedy was captured live on film at London’s Bridge Theatre. This filmed version of the play that comes to the Hammer as part of its National Theatre Live series. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on February 7, 2019
The San Jose Institute of Contemporary art has teamed up with Social Policy Cafe for a truly communal art exhibition at the coffee shop and eatery located at 200 S 1st St. in downtown San Jose. The show features a collection of personal objects and mementos from current or past romantic relationships. All of the items on display were contributed by members of the local community—both by artists, aspiring artists and those who simply wanted to participate. “Curate Your Heartache” will run through Feb. 24 with a special Anti-Valentine’s Day Happy Hour on Feb. 14. Continue reading »
It was getting late in the evening and the sun was slowly disappearing into the night as I pulled up to your gate. I buzzed you from the call box and you said you had been expecting me. You showed me around and requested I add more lights to a big tree way way in the back of your huge, and I mean huge, property. No problem, I said, and then you headed back inside your home. I went to my truck that was parked in the front to grab a ladder. As I was on my way back, I saw you standing with your pants around your ankles, nothing but cheeks showing. You may have scarred me for life, mister.
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 January 30, 2019
Swaggering and cool, RJD2’s production work is known to many more than probably realize it. He penned the tune used in the opening credits of AMC’s hit period drama, Mad Men. First emerging on El-P’s Def Jux label in the early 2000s, his beats have always been at once forward-thinking and classic NY cool—mixing samples culled from dusty jazz records, cinema scores and world music records in exciting, challenging and yet accessible ways. On 2016’s Dame Fortune, he charts a journey across hip-hop, EDM, prog rock and spacy soundscapes. Continue reading »
It seems appropriate in the Trump Era to describe a public debate between two intellectuals from opposite sides of the political spectrum in the language of professional wrestling. But let’s give the benefit of the doubt to these two high-profile economists and commentators—former presidential adviser and UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich, and economist and TV personality Ben Stein—and assume they won’t resort to throwing chairs at each other. If the audience can leave its polarized team allegiances at the door, maybe we might all learn something about where the U.S. economy is heading. Continue reading »
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Wallace Baine on January 30, 2019
Downtown San Jose’s Clandestine Brewing has been tapping kegs and pouring up frosty glasses of locally crafted brew for a full year now. To celebrate, they are inviting beer lovers from all over Silicon Valley to pull up a stool or, if the weather allows, enjoy their spacious patio—with a beer in hand, of course. San Jose’s Artisan Candies will be there serving meat pies, vegetarian pasties and other goodies. But the star of the day will be Clandestine’s brew. They’ve spun up a chocolate barleywine called “CocoaBW” and a Scotch ale with the irresistible name of “Lucifer’s Casket” specifically for the occasion. Continue reading »
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Mike Huguenor on January 30, 2019
Oakland’s Sugar Candy Mountain is one of the most recent contributions to the Bay Area’s long and storied tradition of gritty, lysergic rock. This East Bay duo mixes synth pop with swirling psych and elements of tropicalia (check out the castanets on “Crystalline”). The neon boat on the cover of this the recently released Do Right is about as good a symbol for the band as one might hope to find: small but sturdy, glowing in the night, and sailing away on a thick sea of analog sine wave oscillations. Continue reading »
