Two hot dog street vendors stood next to each other on the sidewalk corner, cart to cart. Each one sizzling dozens of bacon-wrapped dogs, cutting up onions and heating up buns for the post-last call passersby. They were quite the synchronized tandem. These were no frankfurter foes. I admired their hustle, but was a little bemused by what happened when I walked past them. The first vendor asks if I’d like a hot dog. “No, thanks,” I reply as the second vendor in such close proximity sees the exchange. I take one more step, and as I pass Brat Bro No. 2, he asks “Would you like a hot dog?” To which I respond with only a look of perplexity. Did he not see me turn down his buddy just now? Did he think that somewhere in that half-step from declining No. 1’s offer, I worked up an appetite? Did he think that in that half-second my mind suddenly changed? Or was he just being a weenie wise guy?
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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Erika Rasmussen on May 23, 2019
Though not the kind Denver just legalized, the fungi at this year’s Mushroom Mardi Gras will still dazzle the senses. Think mom’s creamy soup and parmesan-stuffed, garlic-laden bite-sized snacks. Or savory portobellos, sautéed and sandwiched between toasty artisan slices. Learn to replicate these treats at home by checking in to a cooking demonstrations, while the kids play in MunchkinLand. Local vendors will be selling their wares while Mardi the Mushroom makes the rounds. All this, plus beer, wine, and live music. It’s a trip well worth taking. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on May 23, 2019
After a 5-year hiatus, Wisin & Yandel are back, como antes. The Puerto Rican reggaetón duo formed in 1995, as reggae en español was evolving into what’s now known as reggaetón. After taking the time to nurture their own solo careers, they are embarking on this current world tour, which comes on the heels of their latest record, Los Campeones del Pueblo: The Big Leagues. These Grammy-winning reggaetón pioneers know how to get a body moving—deploying syncopated shoulder-jerking riddims and deep, earth-rattling bass. The duo’s technicolor mix of singing and rapping is positively contagious. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on May 23, 2019
Anamaría—sometimes Ana, sometimes Anita—Tijoux Merino was born in Lille, France to a Chilean family. Politically exiled during the Pinochet dictatorship, her social-worker mother regularly brought her daughter to the office in France. It was there that Tijoux fell in love with hip-hop and picked up anti-colonialist philosophies. After moving back to Chile, Tijoux joined other immigrant artists to start the hip-hop group Machika. Since 2006, she has flourished with her own solo career, blending hip-hop with other South American instruments and sounds like those of acoustic indigenous Quechua music or traditional Latin cumbia. SuenaTron and Fulminante share the bill. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on May 23, 2019
The Baby Boomers have seen a lot in their time. From sitting cross-legged in front of remoteless TVs, watching commercials touting the convenience of canned cheese, microwave dinners, and (one word) plastics, through Civil Rights and Counter Culture movements, to Reaganomics, Slick Willy, America Online, the internet in every pocket and self-driving cars. Humorist and cultural commentator Will Durst brings his one-man show to San Jose. BoomerRaging: From LSD to OMG finds Durst ruminating on everything from acid flashbacks to dementia to the irony of having to explain himself in a youth-obsessed culture that he and his peers created. Continue reading »
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Anne Gelhaus on May 23, 2019
Purveyors of adult-oriented reggae since the early ’80s, UB40 is known for originals with a political bent (“Rat in the Kitchen” was a veiled reference to Margaret Thatcher), poppy covers of Neil Diamond ballads (“Red Red Wine,” anyone?) and irie versions of Motown hits (“The Way You Do the Things You Do”). The band is also one in a long line of British groups headed by two brothers whose feuding eventually broke them up. So while the iteration of UB40 featuring Duncan Campbell on lead vocals is currently touring the U.K., the band fronted by original lead singer Ali Campbell is playing on this side of the pond. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on May 23, 2019
Some love belting out off-key Top 40 hits over a few pints. Others catching the game or playing cornhole with a cold one in hand. When it comes to Japantown watering holes, the former can head to 7 Bamboo Lounge. But locals know that Jack’s Bar & Lounge is the place laid back locals head after punching the clock. This Friday, Jack’s celebrates 12 years of cheering on the Earthquakes and Sharks, lazing on the back patio and inadvisably large, late-night Wienerschnitzel orders. Wear your Jack’s gear for half off all day long. Continue reading »
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Erika Rasmussen on May 23, 2019
The magical, the mystical, the manga… This weekend, fanatics and creators come together to revel in one of Japan’s greatest gifts to the world. FanimeCon features a 24-hour gaming hall for early birds and night owls, vendors selling memorabilia, creative cosplay and more. Guests include YouTubers from The Dex, in-character cosplayer VampyBitMe and bouncy musical group The Beat Garden. The convention features everything from speed dating to dance—including K-Pop, to Anime-core to ballroom—and a highly anticipated music video showcase. The festivities continue through Monday, May 27. Continue reading »
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Nick Veronin on May 23, 2019
The times they are a-changin’—indeed. One wonders what Teve the Dairyman would think of this oft-quoted Robert Zimmerman lyric. He’d probably roll his eyes. After all, The Wisdom Books teach us there is nothing new under the sun, including perpetual change. Teve, the central figure of Broadway classic Fiddler on the Roof, is dealing with serious generational shifts as he seeks to reconcile his old-school Jewish convictions with his thoroughly modern daughters’ insistence that they should marry for love. “Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Matchmaker Matchmaker” are among this production’s best-known tunes. Runs through May 26. Continue reading »
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Anne Gelhaus on May 23, 2019
Smuin Contemporary Ballet celebrates its 25th anniversary season through Sunday with a program of works by founding choreographer Michael Smuin, designed to showcase his vision of “a lean and agile dance company.” Until his death in 2007, Smuin was also supportive of dancers who wanted to show the company some of their own moves. This includes Amy Seiwert, who served as Smuin’s first choreographer-in-residence before leaving to head the Sacramento Ballet and form her own dance company, Imagery. Smuin commissioned Seiwert’s “Renaissance,” set to the music of Oakland’s Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, for this silver anniversary show. Continue reading »
