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Elliott Sky Case on February 2, 2022
Real history and unreal characters bring real laughs. Jaclyn Backhaus’s MEN ON BOATS recounts real-life explorer John Wesley Powell’s 1869 traversal of the Colorado River with a cast of female and non-binary actors. For fans of Hamilton who wish they’d made fun of the founding fathers a bit more, Backhaus’s cross-gender versions of historical figures make for biting satire of the US’s obsession with figures of discovery and conquest—or, one could say, Man-ifest Destiny. Palo Alto Players offers a “Pick Your Price Night” one evening before the official opening, and the Feb. 10 performance also includes a talkback with the director and cast.
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Alec Adams on February 2, 2022
Incorporating anime aesthetic into your musical act isn’t exactly new; lo-fi hip hop and emo bands have been putting anime girls on the cover of their album art for years. But metal bands are historically more interested in appearing “metal.” Not so for Oakland’s Lucrecia, a prog-metal band who self-describe as “otaku scum.” With references to the most classic cartoons filling every corner of their merch and social media, the sparkly aesthetic is held up by true Shred-Certified riffs and chugs evocative of Opeth. The forward-thinking metal outfit headlines a Shredder’s Ball at the X Bar Friday night.
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Addie Mahmassani on February 2, 2022
Though deeply inspired by her late collaborator Prince, Judith Hill wants the world to know she is much more than a tabloid-making protégé. On her latest album, Baby, I’m Hollywood!, the Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist subverts the expectations that come with her LA upbringing and showbiz roots, telling her story with depth and vulnerability. And after a year-long wait due to COVID, she and her band are bringing every ounce of their soulful, psychedelic funk to Bing Studio this Friday. This tour’s spirit is nothing short of celebratory. As Hill told Spin: “You have to find a way to dance in the fire.”
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Mike Huguenor on January 26, 2022
It only took a moment for Cole Kakimoto to fall in love with hardcore. One night, while still in middle school, he followed a friend to see her sister’s boyfriend’s band play a church on the eastside of San Jose.
“I was expecting like a concert or something, because I had never been to a show,” he says. “But once the music started and people started moshing—which, I’d never seen anything like that—I was like, ‘This is where I belong. This is what I’ve been looking for.’”
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Mighty Mike McGee on January 26, 2022
In 2014, after 11 years on the road performing poetry, I moved back to San Jose on a permanent basis. Immediately, I began returning to the San Jose Poetry Slam, then held at the now defunct Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge.
I hadn’t seen Tshaka Campbell in years and was surprised and elated to run into him at the slam. Prior to that meeting, we had only seen each other at somewhat legendary poetry cathedrals: Justice League in San Francisco, Da Poetry Lounge in L.A. and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the Lower East Side.
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Addie Mahmassani on January 26, 2022
As the pandemic continues here on Earth, the recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has presented a welcome chance to explore celestial bodies above. This Tuesday evening, the Hammer Theatre offers a live-streamed conversation followed by virtual Q&A about the decades of preparation that led to the JWST’s launch and its current exhilarating journey through deep space. Panelists Ali Guarneros Luna, a NASA aerospace engineer, and Michael Kaufman, a professor of astronomy at SJSU, bring enthusiasm and insight to this special moment in the story of our universe.
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Alec Adams on January 26, 2022
Rock music can be a fascinating and intricate genre with plenty of room for sonic exploration. But at the end of the day, it’s at its best when listeners can just throw up the horns and bang their head to some tasty licks. Phoenix, AZ native Lucust French understood this when he moved to San Francisco to start his recording project Lazer Beam. Self described as “Desert rock”, Lazer Beam truly sounds like being stranded in the open sands, with no escape from the massive riffage no matter which direction one turns. Caravan hosts a bill headlined by French and his band for a heavy Friday night.
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Elliott Sky Case on January 26, 2022
Sometimes music feels like a soundtrack to the movie of our lives. And sometimes life feels like a cartoon. The Queen’s Cartoonists exist to score those moments. The Queens, NY-based sextet plays in front of a video projection of the TV shows and movies they cover, matching slapstick speeds as they run the gamut from classic to contemporary. Their Danny Elfman medley particularly slaps, riffing the Simpsons theme effortlessly into Nightmare Before Christmas and back. These cartoonishly talented multi-genre musicians have something delightful to offer for a whole family of ages and tastes.
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Alec Adams on January 26, 2022
The nostalgia around the 1990s has created such a fog that no one seems to know what actually happened in the era anymore. All anyone can remember is flannels, cheap rent and the movie Office Space. It sounds fun as hell in our heads though, and why should we be in such a rush to muck up that fantasy? A good ‘90s night should let us remember when the biggest problems we faced as a country were whether or not our man was a “Scrub” or a “Buster.” Whatever version of the ‘90s we hold in our hearts, it all lives on at the Ritz this Friday.
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Jay Edgar on January 26, 2022
Is it summer yet? While we’re stuck in the wicked doldrums of January, sometimes a warm, sunny day will surprise the valley. Friday’s looking to be one of those days, as producer duo ARMNHMR bring their breathy, festival-ready brand of EDM to the San Jose Civic. ARMNHMR’s big, soaring interludes lead into pulse-pounding drops, and the touring outfit promises to transport the listener to another world through a stupid large sound system. Ravers might be hiding their candy under long sleeves, but the beads will be there.
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