Monday, March 28, 2011
music Mar. 23-30: Across the Bridge
Posted by Gabe Meline on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 8:35 AM
Naughty By Nature
Commercially acclaimed hip-hop heroes still down with O.P.P.
Mar 24 at Yoshi’s SF.Toro Y Moi
Chaz Bundick’s excellent one-man, every-genre solo project. Mar 25 at Great American Music Hall.David Dondero
Unpredictable Bay Area boy returns with a brand new bag of songs. Mar 27 at Hemlock Tavern.Irma Thomas
Classic soul songstress and Allen Toussaint collaborator still has time on her side. Mar 27 at Palace of Fine Arts.Crosby & Nash
Stephen Stills stays home to nurse his voice while two legends sing. Mar 28 at he Warfield.
More San Francisco events at www.sfstation.com.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
music Mar. 20: Gretchen Wilson at the Uptown Theatre
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:48 AM
click to enlarge
When even Sarah Palin wants your autograph, you know you’ve gotta be doing something wrong. That’s just fine for Gretchen Wilson, who since her breakout in 2004 has reveled in her white-trashiness by singing about driving 4-by-4 trucks, drinking cheap beer and how she can shop for panties at Wal-Mart “and still look sexy.” After a token greatest hits record and the formation of her own label, Wilson is currently on a Southern rock kick, luring the Lake County crowd to the jewel of downtown Napa on Sunday, March 20, at the Uptown Theatre. 1350 Third St., Napa. 8pm. $60–$70. 707.259.0123.
music Mar. 19 & 20: Paul Kanter's Birthday at 142 Throckmorton
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:43 AM
click to enlarge
Few tourists walking by on Grant Street in San Francisco’s North Beach district would recognize the stringy-haired regular sitting at a cafe table and swilling espresso, but to locals, the sight of Jefferson Airplane founder Paul Kanter is unmistakable. Kanter turns 70 this week, and to celebrate, 142 Throckmorton is hosting a two-day, all-star soiree with Jefferson Starship headlining. Guests throughout the residency include members of Hot Buttered Rum, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Mother Hips, Prairie Prince, Slick Aguilar, Pete Sears, David Freiberg and many more. Join the party on Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, at 142 Throckmorton. 142 Throckmorton, Mill Valley. 8pm. $45–$125. 415.383.9600.
music Mar. 19: San Quinn at 19 Broadway
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:39 AM
click to enlarge
In 2006, while the rest of the rappers in the hyphy-crazed Bay Area were making Thizz faces and dancing the Bird, the Fillmore district hip-hop icon San Quinn made what’s probably the best album of his career, The Rock: Pressure Makes Diamonds. “I think people sleep on the Bay Area,” he said in an interview before the record’s release. “We wearing gold teeth and you can wear any color you want up here, we ain’t trippin’ like that. No disrespect to Los Angeles, but that ain’t what’s crackin’ up here.” Four albums later, San Quinn is still crackin’, unconcerned with national attention. He lights it up on Saturday, March 19, at 19 Broadway. 19 Broadway, Fairfax. 10pm. $10–$15. 415.459.1091.
books Mar. 18: Kristi Yamaguchi at Redwood Empire Ice Arena and Copperfield's Books
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:25 AM
click to enlarge
Like her Olympic predecessor Debi Thomas, the San Jose-bred Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi has long been a Bay Area favorite. When she’s not on the ice—or on Dancing With the Stars—the Olympic gold medlaist roots for the San Jose Sharks, tends to her Always Dream Foundation and writes books for kids. Her latest, Dream Big, Little Pig, is an inspiring tale for kids; she reads and signs on Thursday, March 17, at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena (1667 W. Steele Lane, Santa Rosa; 5:30pm) and Friday, March 18, at Copperfield’s Books (140 Kentucky St., Petaluma; 4:30pm). Free. 707.762.0563.
music Mar. 17: DJ Mark Farina at the Hopmonk Tavern
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:20 AM
click to enlarge
Known for his classic Mushroom Jazz albums throughout the ’90s, the San Francisco DJ Mark Farina combines beats in a fluid, mellow style—the aural equivalent of a lava lamp. Farina’s aesthetic is decidedly pre–Aphex Twin, fertilized in an acid-jazz era before electronic music splintered into a thousand scattered subgenres. Call it all-purpose beatmaking: music that’s perfect for driving, reading and, this Thursday, dancing. Farina returns to the Juke Joint in an epic two-hour set showcasing his signature style of hip-hop, downtempo and jazz breaks on Thursday, March 17, at Hopmonk Tavern. 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. 9:30pm. $15. 707.829.7300.
music Mar. 16-23: Across the Bridge
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:20 AM
Marc Ribot
Longtime Tom Waits guitarist accompanies Charlie Chaplin film. Mar 16 at YBCA Forum.Marnie Stern
Incredible indie guitar shredder from Brooklyn. Mar 18 at Bottom of the Hill.Girl Talk
The lucky winner of the Great Mash-Up DJ Lottery of 2003. March 18 at the Fillmore.Regina Carter
Jazz violinist explores African melodies in improvisation. Mar 20-21 at Yoshi’s SF.Destroyer
Plaintive and insightful indie songwriter on a slow but sure rise. Mar 21 at the Great American Music Hall.
More San Francisco events at www.sfstation.com.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
music Mar. 15: Great Big Sea at the Mystic Theatre
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 9:42 AM
Canadians! What will they think of next? First socialized medicine, then . . . rock versions of sea shanties? Great Big Sea, who formed in Newfoundland in 1993, have been thrilling Canadians for nearly two decades by adding an edge to 500-year-old folk songs. A phenomenon in their own land, where YouTube comments such as “Sean McCann: Sexiest bodhran player in the world” seem perfectly normal, the group routinely wins Juno Awards and sells out “Ships and Dip” cruises, performing for a week on a cruise ship. They fare thee well on our shores on Tuesday, March 15, at the Mystic Theatre. 21 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. 8pm. $26. 707.765.2121.
books Mar. 12: J. Tony Serra and Paulette Frankl at Book Passage
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 9:40 AM
click to enlarge
Called the “greatest counterculture lawyer of his time,” J. Tony Serra is a criminal-defense wizard whose reputation as a passionate defender of minorities and the underrepresented is known far and wide in legal circles. Courtroom sketch artist Paulette Frankl took note of Serra’s cases, and began a 10-year research project into his life, philosophies and working methods. The result is Lust for Justice, a biography which eloquently captures Serra’s renegade approach to law while painting the judicial system as a merciless steamroller for minorities. Frankl and Serra both appear on Saturday, March 12, at Book Passage. 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 4pm. Free. 415.927.0960.
music Mar. 11: John Pizzarelli at the Napa Valley Opera House
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 9:30 AM
click to enlarge
Kids: all they wanna do is shred. Say you bought your teenager a Stratocaster last year, and every day you have to hear Cradle of Filth songs emanating from the amp in the bedroom. No dis to Cradle of Filth or anything, ’cause you’re a hip parent and all, but you’re dying to introduce a different type of music to the neverending barrage of Boss Distortion pedals. Try then, if you will, John Pizzarelli. The jazz guitarist shreds the hell out of songs like “Avalon” and “I Got Rhythm” with the kind of speed and dexterity that would inspire even the crustiest metal diehard, and he plays Friday, March 11, at the Napa Valley Opera House. 1030 Main St., Napa. 8pm. $40–$45. 707.226.7372.
