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Wallace Baine on May 11, 2018
If for no other reason, Bill Withers achieved pop-music immortality by giving the world “Lean On Me,” the moving anthem to intimacy and loyalty that has been comforted people since its heyday as a No. 1 hit in 1972.
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Stephen Perez on April 20, 2018
The South Bay welcomes two all-star poets as they make a stop on a national book tour celebrating the release of their new poetry collections. Renowned performance artist and founder of Write Bloody Publishing, Derrick C. Brown, will read from his new book, Hello. It Doesn’t Matter. along with national and international…
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Nick Veronin on March 9, 2018
Local fans of indie rock band Darto may find that the band they thought they knew has changed in the four years since they last played Cafe Stritch. Back in 2014, the Seattle quartet were blasting out fuzzy post-rock swells and jangly tangles of noodly math leads over pummeling drums. During that…
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The hottest variety talent show in downtown San Jose returns for its monthly installment at Cafe Stritch, and this time around the Metro editorial staff will be in the house—as guest judges Josh Koehn, Nick Veronin and Jennifer Wadsworth will be holding the score cards and the sacred gong’s hammer. Hosted by…
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André Jaquez on October 6, 2017
If the world were run by diehard jazz fans, Thelonious Monk’s likeness might have been chiseled into Mt. Rushmore’s granite face. This Sunday, the iconic pianist turns 100, and Panamanian dynamo Danilo Pérez is celebrating. Pérez will be joined by bassist Ben Street and drummer Adam Cruz. Together, they’ll play selections from…
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André Jaquez on September 22, 2017
There are few names more synonymous with jazz than John Coltrane. The great saxophonist was a seminal figure in the development of bebop and one of the pioneers of free jazz. This Sunday, several artists will pay tribute to Coltrane. Veteran jazz saxophonist Steve Heckman will be joined by bassist Marcus Shelby,…
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A decade ago, rapper, Blu, and producer, Exile, caught lightning and bottled it on Below the Heavens. Over Exile’s soul-sampling, boom-bap beats, Blu packed tracks with intricate storytelling and unpretentiously profound insights. The album has rightfully endured as a stellar example of the era’s style, and this summer, the pair are capitalizing…
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Speaking with Derek See and Maxwell Borkenhagen, guitarists for local psych rock quartet The Gentle Cycle, it seems that place may be the chief bonding agent in their music’s winding lysergic chain.
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Avi Salem on November 2, 2016
People kind of know us now for playing ‘Turn Down For What,’ for better or worse, but we only play ‘Lil Jon’ if we feel 100 percent comfortable.” That’s not entirely what you’d expect to hear from Grant Goodrich, the bassist for San Francisco-based sextet Battlehooch, a spacey and psychedelic rock &…
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Nick Veronin, John Flynn, Mike Huguenor, Stacy Torres on August 25, 2016
In decades past, five big arts groups dominated the Silicon Valley culture scene, slurping up the majority of public support and private donations, while dozens of much smaller organizations fought over the table scraps. With annual budgets that in better times passed the $5 million mark, Ballet San Jose, San Jose Rep,…
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