Opening night at the Symphony, 2013

What's going on here? Marcher and Margarita. Photo by Stephen Lam (SF Chronicle)

I've lived in the Tenderloin for a little over eight years. Eleven years ago I lived on the top of Nob Hill, in a small one-bedroom apartment with a great eastern view of the Financial District and the Bay Bridge. Then I became engaged to a woman from Little Rock, Arkansas so I gave up that apartment and together we rented another, larger one on the opposite side of the hill which had Golden Gate views out of every window including the bathroom. I was told the apartment was once the home of a famous billionaire's ex-wife.

The girl from Little Rock and I parted instead of married, and since it was my decision to do so it was I who had to leave the rooms with the views. I ended up doing something I swore I would never do, which was to move south of California Street, and I took an incredibly fantastic apartment on Geary Street with an oval bedroom, huge windows facing west and south, a lovely and whimsical backyard, and a neighbor who had a baby grand in his apartment from which he filled the air with impeccably nuanced interpretations of Chopin and Rachmaninoff. It was the greatest apartment I had ever lived in, even though it was on the outer edge of the 'Loin.

Then I met the woman from New Orleans, and rolled even further south into an apartment on O'Farrell half the size of my previous place, but with a stunning, 180-degree view of the south side of the City, the tawdry grit of Ellis Street eleven floors beneath me, and the myriad happy sounds of the Tenderloin drifting up to the windows 24 hours a day. The moral of this story is if you like where you live, don't date Southern women, no matter how charming they are- it only leads to an inevitable downward roll into the Tenderloin, and if you're lucky, rehab.

Living in the 'Loin, I always feel extremely conspicuous when I step outside my building into the street wearing a tux. The only upside is that it makes it very easy for a cab to spot me from two blocks away and soon I was in one heading to Margarita's place- which is only slightly more than a mile away but at times feels like twenty. I arrived at 7:00 and she was almost ready. Fifteen minutes later another cab took us to Davies Symphony Hall and soon we were in the Green Room, nibbling at slices of lox and trying to figure out who was who among the packed, buzzing crowd. Many of the faces I recognized, but an equal amount were new to me. Along one wall sat two young people with large plastic badges stating "PRESS" strung over their necks busily typing into laptops without ever looking up. I wondered what they were writing and for whom, but not enough to ask them. I guess the badges were to let others know not to ask them for more champagne, because I didn't see any of the people I know who are actually "press" wearing badges of any kind, except for a small few who chose to display their status by opting not to dress properly for the occasion.

We exited the Green Room to watch the fashion parade taking place in the main lobby. Margarita has an astute eye, and as we discussed the clothes and their wearers, she filled me in on their designers, fabrics, and prices, and I offered what I knew regarding identities, backstories, and dirt. The crowd was noticeably younger this year, and among this group the women made a valiant effort to match the glamour of their elders, some succeeding with unconventional choices which yielded stunning results, others not so much.

I also noticed 3 of my neighbors among the throng, which means that - gasp! - other people from the TL had somehow managed to crash this party, which also means not everyone who attends the opening night gala for the SF Symphony (or the SF Ballet or SF Opera, for that matter) lives in Sea Cliff or Pacific Heights. How did this happen?

I note this only because I was reading the generally class-consciously resentful/nasty/ignorant comments on SFGate that make it seem like these events are only for the very rich and powerful. While it's certainly true that these evenings are designed for and cater to that audience, that's not a bad thing- an incredible amount of money is raised from these folks which in turn supports these organizations, and in this country, the financial support of the rich is a necessity. Without it, these institutions would cease to exist. So stop carping and next year get yourself a relatively inexpensive ticket (they are available), which would cost you much less than a good seat at a 49er's game, and go enjoy the party. And believe me, it is a great party- the drinks are free, the food is good, people are out to have a good time and the entertainment is top notch- before, during, and after the concert. You will have a good time and you can choose to just ignore the fact that the mayor, the Speaker of the House, and the Yahoo woman are there in the room with you- just like they're ignoring your presence. Everybody wins!

After the obligatory singing of our national anthem, the Symphony launched into George Antheil's Jazz Symphony. I've never heard the thing before, which has heavy doses of Stravinsky and American big band thrown together into a big, messy stew, but it came off as something of a hot mess. Whether or not this was by Antheil's design or the orchestra's execution I can't rightly say, but it did give Principal Trumpet Mark Inouye a glorious opportunity to get seriously down and greasy with a mute, and Robin Sutherland also had some fine solos on the piano. Gershwin's An American in Paris mines similar territory with greater effect and substantially more coherence, and the orchestra was more persuasive with it as the finale, but both choices seemed to be programmed more as vehicles to accompany a celebration than for making a case about the importance of the intersection of classical and jazz.

However, these paled compared to singer Audra McDonald's appearances during both halves. Conveying sex appeal and elegance in equal measure in a fantastic dress, McDonald, launching her own national tour with this performance, has a voice better-suited to Broadway than the opera house, and her first set of songs were all by Leonard Bernstein, including a gorgeous version of "Somewhere" from West Side Story and a completely delightful version of "A Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man" from Wonderful Town. As good as she was here, she was even better in the second half with "The Music That Makes Me Dance" from Funny Girl and had the entire house singing along with her on "I Could Have Danced All Night" which somehow she made fun rather than schmaltzy. Her banter with Michael Tilson Thomas was natural and easy- they seemed like two old friends having a good time together, especially when MTT tried to mislead her about the composer of one of the songs.

The after-party is always my favorite part of this event and this year was the best, most fun-filled version of it I've attended so far. In the tent next to the hall The Cheeseballs were tearing it up, with everyone dancing pretty much from get-go (they need to work on those vocals for Daft Punk's "Get Lucky), and a DJ performing in between sets. There were tables of delicious food (coldcuts, crab cocktails, and chocolates) scattered along the walls, short lines for drinks, and plenty of room to dance or just sit and watch women approach Willie Brown and have their photo taken with him. Both he and his date seemed to take it all in with good humor.

The DJ in the tent set up on Grove Street was none other than composer/electronica artist/DJ Mason Bates, who was accompanied by a guy (I didn't get his name) on an electric 5 string double bass. Bates' set was alluring, and drew Margarita's attention, and it was only after listening for awhile and then approaching the table we were surprised to discover it was the composer. We ended up talking with him a bit and he was extremely gracious. His music will be paired with Beethoven's in two separate programs this season. I was leaning toward attending the one featuring Alternative Energy, which he performed here with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when they came to town during the Centennial Season, but after hearing that Liquid Interface, which hasn't been heard here before, is (I'm paraphrasing here) like a waterfall, I'm inclined to want to hear that perhaps as much if not slightly more than the return of the tremendously successful Alternative Energy.

We left around midnight. The party was still going, but we had jobs to be at in the morning. It was easily the best night out I've had in a long time.

The best of the rest: a dozen and 1/2 for 2013-14

Khatia Buniatishvili

Here are another dozen and a half shows coming up during the next season from different Bay Area performing arts organizations which should be interesting, listed in chronological order.

The Artist Sessions. Sept. 17
Lara Downes created this series of concerts last year with the intention of present classical music in non-traditional venues and formats to knock down walls and change perceptions about the music and the people who play it. She's succeeding. Each session includes a performance as well as an onstage discussion, resulting in intimate revelations. The second season kicks off at Yoshi's San Francisco location with Gabriel Kahane and Eleni Mandell. Get tickets and more information here.

New Century Chamber Orchestra: Daugherty Perspectives. Sept. 26-29
The New Century Chamber Orchestra opens their season with a program dedicated to the works of composer Michael Daugherty ranging from a solo piece performed by New Century's Director Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, pieces for various small ensembles, the full chamber orchestra, and one for quartet + tape titled Elvis Everywhere.

Ann Dyer: Vak: Song of Becoming. Sept. 20 & 21
If you are interested in using your own voice, or reclaiming it, this may be for you. Inspired by the ancient Indian goddess Vak, who creates the world through sound vibration, Vak: Song of Becoming calls on ancient yoga philosophies to create an immersive sonic experience. The new work, commissioned by YBCA, comes out of a period in which Dyer withdrew from a successful recording and performing career as a jazz vocalist to explore her personal relationship to voice and self through the study of Indian sound practices. In the piece, Dyer experiments with these ancient principles in a new, contemporary context, creating a monumental work at a new intersection of art and mindfulness. More information can be found here. There are auxiliary events as well.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Sept 20 through Oct. 20
The 2013 Tony winner for for Best Play opens Berkeley Rep's new season with Christopher Durang's farcical homage to Chekov. Click the link for more information.

West Edge Opera: Vanessa  Sept. 21, 22
West Edge Opera performs Samuel Barber's 1958 Pulitzer-winning opera for only two performances at Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage. Starring company stalwart Marie Plette, Jonathan Khuner conducts a 30-piece orchestra along with members of Berkeley's Chora Nova. Chances to see this are rare. The theater is an easy walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

David Daniels with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.  Oct 2-6
Perhaps the world's leading countertenor, Daniels joins the orchestra along with soprano Carolyn Samspon, for performances of  rarely heard Handel, Durante and Perlegosi. The concerts take place in three San Francisco, Atherton and Berkeley. I've heard Daniels sing a handful of times and his voice is a truly special instrument. Complete information is here.

ZOFO Duet performs The Rite of Spring and Rachmaninoff's Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor. Oct 4
Eva-Maria Zimmerman and Keisuke Nakagoshi have their hands in an inordinate amount of the Bay Area's most interesting musical experiences. The twice Grammy-nominated duo has performed around the world and return as part of the alumni concert series to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In a perfect world these two would be superstars. Tickets are $20 for the general public.

Blueprint. Oct 5
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music's New Music Ensemble, led by Opera Parallele Music Director Nicole Paiement, starts off their season of adventurous and engaging programming with “Short Stories,” a series of new works inspired by novels, plays and documentaries. Paiement welcomes special guest Tobias Picker, whose Dolores Claiborne premieres at San Francisco Opera this fall. The ensemble also takes on works by David Del Tredici (Dracula), Terry Riley (Y Bolanzero), John Adams (Son of Chamber Symphony) and Ryan Brown (’05), winner of the Conservatory’s Hoefer Prize, given each year to a distinguished alumnus composer. Listeners can meet featured composers (Picker on this evening) at informal pre-concert “tête à tête” events or learn about their work in greater depth at free Friday seminars called “Composers Talk Shop.” Tickets are $20 for the general public.

Cypress Quartet Salons Oct 18-20.
The intrepid and talented Cypress Quartet take the salon concept to three different locations for three different programs, offering exceptional musicianship and challenging rep in intimate settings. The salons take place at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, the Joe Henderson Jazz Lab in the SFJazz Building, and the Women's Club of Palo Alto. The first program features two Beethoven quartets: Op. 74 in E-flat ("Harp") and Op. 59, No. 2 in E-minor, along with Bartok's String Quartet No. 2. Tickets and additional information including information about the rest of the salon series is here.

The Airfield Broadcasts. Oct. 26 & 27
This is why I live in San Francisco. The first of two highly original and mammoth events hitting the Bay Area this fall. Lisa Bielawa (a member of the Phillip Glass Ensemble among other musical endeavors) has created something which probably can't be fully described and if it goes right will be even harder to explain to those who missed it- so don't. Taking place at San Francisco's Crissy Field,it involves more than 800 musicians of every level from professional to amateur including orchestras, bands and experimental music groups spread out among the space. There will be three 60 minute performances, at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM Saturday, October 26 and 12:00 PM Sunday October 27. Free, and probably once-in-a-lifetime. More information can be found here.

Myra Melford: Language of Dreams. Nov. 8, 9
YBCA presents Myra Melford in the world premiere of the powerful, multi-sensory experience, Language of Dreams. Incorporating music, movement and video imagery, Melford invokes reflection and provokes dialogue about our collective histories and our path forward as “Americans” in the broadest sense, recognizing our diverse cultures and landscapes as well as the tensions and harmonies that define us. This newest work draws its inspiration from the composer’s deep fascination with Genesis, a 1982 novel by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano. The novel, a part of the author’s Memory of Fire trilogy, strings together seemingly disjointed bits of text to form a deeply textured picture of life in the Americas in the era before and during European colonization. Tickets are $30. More info here.

Rhys Chatham's A Secret Rose. Nov. 17
Last June I attended a preview for this event at The Lab in San Francisco that blew my skull open in the best possible way, making this the number one performance I am looking forward during the entire season.
Other Minds will present the West Coast Premiere of Rhys Chatham's awe-inspiring work for 100 electric guitars at Richmond's Craneway Pavilion. Led by composer/guitarist Chatham, who's credited with creating a new type of urban music by fusing early 1960s minimalism with the relentless, elemental fury of punk rock, this large-scale performance features an international team of section leaders working in concert with amateur and professional guitarists from all over the Bay Area and beyond. The performance will cover a wide range between minimal rock and roll grooves and hushed, lush ambiance - the sound of 100 guitars playing as quietly as possible. The guitar orchestra will be joined by a local rhythm section featuring Jordan Glenn (drums) and Lisa Mezzacappa (bass). Doors will opens early to allow concertgoers to eat, drink and enjoy the view, with a bar and food trucks on site. I recently found a link with a recording from the June event- check that out here, read the entire press release from Other Minds about the event here, and get tickets here. Do not miss this.

Be Bop Baby. Nov 19-23Narrated through musical vignettes and monologues, Be Bop Baby follows award-winning actor, director and playwright Margo Hall's eccentric and wild times growing up in a house frequented by Detroit musicians, extended family and friends, and colorful neighborhood characters. Be Bob Baby explores strong bond between Hall and her stepfather, strengthened through their mutual love of music, contrasting it with her difficult relationship with her biological father. Bay Area jazz legend Marcus Shelby's original score animates Hall's heartfelt story with jazz, with a touch of Motown and 70s style-soul. Directed by Sheila Balter, the cast includes Hall and Bay Area actors Halili Knox, Dawn Troupe-Masi and Mujahed Abdul-Rashid. The 14-piece Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra performs live onstage. At Z Space, tickets here.

La Boheme. Dec 6 & 8
The students of the Opera Program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music take on Puccini's classic. It's been said "if you don't like Boheme you don't like opera" and I agree. Youthful singers will only make it that much better, and it's free, though reservations required.

Nora Chipaumire: Miriam. February 13 – 15
YBCA presents renowned choreographer and dancer Nora Chipaumire, as the former member of the acclaimed dance troupe Urban Bush Women, creates her first character-driven work, Miriam. The work is a deeply personal and immersive dance-theater installation that reverberates with tensions between public expectations and private desires, between objectification and power, and between darkness and light. The unusual format and staging of the piece invite the audience to bring their senses, memories, hearts, and minds to bear to fully inhabit and comprehend the experience of being an outsider. $25 advance/$30 at the door.

James Ehnes. March 8
Chamber Music San Francisco presents one of today's most highly regarded musicians in a solo recital at the Marine's Memorial Theater. Ehnes will perform Copland's Sonata, Grieg's Sonata No. 2 in G major, Brahms' Sonatensatz and Schubert's Fantasy in C major.

Khatia Buniatishvili. April 12
Even if she wasn't gorgeous, it would still be worth attending Buniatishvili's local solo debut. Last year she brought down the house at Davies performing the 2nd Rachmaninioff Piano Concerto. She'll be performing Liszt's Sonata in B minor, Ravel's La Valse, Chopin's Sonata No. 2, and Stravisnky's Petrushka in this recital presented by Chamber Music San Francisco. I'm very excited.

Opera Parallele April 25-27
Opera Parallèle, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s resident professional opera company hasn't released the details about A Surreal Evening with Opera Parallèle at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, but based on the company's track record, this promises to deliver. For tickets call 415.978.ARTS.

And finally, Led Zeppelin. Sometime in 2014. Yes, this is going to happen. Really.

Recovering, A Maze, House of Cards, and Walter White will not be killed

It's been over two weeks since an SUV made a left turn into me and my motorcycle. For a couple of days I was elated to have walked away from it, especially by the fact that I could indeed walk, since my legs took the worst of it- the left getting smashed between the vehicle's front end and my bike, the right taking on the weight of the bike as it met the pavement. A few days later a different mindset, much darker, settled in as I had to take some time off work and realized that although nothing broke, my middle-aged body was certainly beaten. Lethargy, depression, and a vague dissatisfaction with the shape of everything began to take root and I felt seemingly hopeless to reverse any of it as I lay on my couch with my legs elevated and iced, watching television and the bruises change color.

I went back to work last week not because I thought I was necessarily ready, but because I couldn't sit around anymore. It was the lesser evil. On Wednesday I awoke feeling halfway decent for the first time in over a week, only to realize I wasn't as far along as I'd hoped when I touched my leg while showering and felt a deep throb run through it. I made it outside a couple of times during this to see a few things, most of which I wrote about with the exception of Just Theatre's production of A Maze, a remarkably plotted play by Rob Handel which was given an excellent staging under the direction of Molly Aaronson-Gelb and an exceptionally strong cast led by Frannie Morrison as Jessica, a young women who is kidnapped and held captive for years by an obsessive, deranged, illustrator/graphic novelist named Beeson (split into equal parts of nerd/creep/iconoclast by the talented Clive Worsley).

That's just one of the plot's threads, though it is the one which ties the rest together, and I couldn't keep from thinking of the Ariel Castro story as the play unfolded, though certainly Handel's script is a far cry from that real-life horror story. However, the Castro story is an inescapable noise in the background. A concurrent plot revolves around two musicians, one of whom knew Beeson in rehab, who decide to make a concept album based on his constantly-expanding graphic novel. The couple are portrayed by Sarah Moser and Harold Pierce- they're kind of like a grungier version of the band She and Him, or the Eurythmics pre-break-up. Pierce is interesting to watch, full of nuance, but Moser, with her rock-star attractiveness and fully-realized portrayal, is the magnet for one's attention. Handel's characterization of the two walks right up to the line of pop-star histrionic caricature but never crosses it, which in no small measure may be the result of Moser and Pierce's skills.

Also in this labyrinth is Janis DeLucia as an unnamed Queen with a newborn who has been abandoned by her King. The King has enlisted a nasty a troll-like being to build an endless maze to protect her and their heir. Lasse Christiansen and Carl Holvivk Thomas played those parts, respectively, and Lauren Spencer plays a TV journalist ready to exploit anyone she can, including Jessica, her mother (DeLucia, again), Beeson, and the musicians. That Handel balances these three narratives into a cohesive, satisfying whole by the time it ends is something remarkable, especially since the first half of the play yields almost no clues as to how all of this will tie together. The run is over, but should you see another company take it on, A Maze is a play well-worth seeking out. I think a film adaptation could be quite interesting, especially in the hands of someone like David Fincher

Speaking of Fincher, adaptations, mazes, and monsters, the downtime from active life has given me the ability and ennui to watch the first season of Netflix's engrossing House of Cards. As South Carolina Congressman Frank Underwood, Kevin Spacey is a political Hannibal Lecter- watching him provokes that curious response of equal parts of attraction and repulsion that only the most well-written monsters can inspire in a viewer. By the end of the thirteen episodes Spacey has broken bad in a way that makes Walter White look unambitious by comparison. As Breaking Bad begins it denouement (let me go on the record here and now as saying I believe Walter White will not be killed), House of Cards looks ready to pick up the mantle as the best thing on TV- especially since it too has a cast of excellent actors on board that make every character seem real and unexpected. Robin Wright, 47 years old and exquisitely dressed in every scene as Underwood's wife/accomplice, is without a doubt the sexiest woman on television and her prime seems far ahead. Hopefully somewhere in the future of this show is a Lady Macbeth moment for her, though Frank Underwood needs no one to tell him where to screw his courage since he's already screwing everything that comes under his squinty gaze. House of Cards is brilliant.

In my own prosaic existence, I regret not being able to have seen Paul McCartney's set at Outside Lands last night, but there was just no way I could have stood out in the cold night air of Golden Gate Park on weakened legs and enjoyed the show. But I do cringe when I consider the opportunity to see live shows by The Who, The Stones, and a Beatle in the same year is one that will surely never come again. C'est la vie. I'm just hoping that I'm feeling well enough to go back to my Sunday morning yoga class tomorrow- the practice of which I attribute playing a major part in being able to walk away from the accident, and one I'm beginning to sorely miss.

As for whether or not I'm going to get another bike, I still haven't made that decision.

Get out and about

The amazing Bernadette Peters

Sometimes summer can be a bit slow in these parts but there’s actually an awful lot going on this month. Now that San Francisco Opera’s summer season is over the Merola program takes over for the next couple of months with a production of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia this Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, followed by Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in early August as well as concerts both indoors and out, all culminating in the Merola Grand Finale which takes place in the War Memorial Opera House. Check their site for dates and event descriptions- Merola never disappoints in delivering an abundance of talent while identifying the next generation of opera stars. 


The summer season of the San Francisco Symphony has some serious talent taking the stage of Davies in the next few weeks with Bernadette Peters, Michael Feinstein, & Jessye Norman. The pianist/topic of conversation in some quarters Valentina Lisitsa performs the 3^rd Piano Concerto on an all-Beethoven Program (Jul 18^th), Teddy Abrams conducts a program of classic all-American pieces the following night, and that most epic of classical pop crossovers, Carmina Burana returns July 30^th. 


There are numerous interesting shows taking place in the galleries at 49 Geary over the next month, including this one which looks especially brash or intriguing, depending on your aesthetic leanings. Upstart opera companies/academies are performing at Fort Mason, and the SF Silent Film Festival runs from 07/18-21, which the Symphony is complementing by presenting Cameron Carpenter performing a live accompaniment to Eisenstein’s classic Battleship Potemkin (07/27). If that’s a little too tame-sounding for you, there’s always The Matrix Live with the San Francisco Symphony (07/27). You can get $2 off the price of admission to the Silent Film Festival with the code FILMSFS. 


Also, there's the West Coast premiere of Rob Handel’s A Maze unfolds in Berkeley at Live Oak Theatre from 07/12 thru 08/04. “A dizzying, dazzling, ambitious work, Rob Handel's A MAZE interweaves a teenage girl recreating her identity after eight years held captive in a suburban basement, a pair of rock stars re-inventing themselves after a hit song, and a self-taught artist gaining a cult following for his 15,000-page comic book.” DC Theater scene said "A Maze explores the depths of our own prisons in an arresting portrait of obsession, addiction, and fear of the unknown"- on top of all that, it stars the talented and gorgeous Janis DeLucia among an especially strong cast. Tickets here.

And if that weren't enough, there are still some tickets left for what will likely be the best version of Outside Lands so far.

Little Women in May

April's Operapalooza rolls into May as the San Francisco Conservatory of Music presents Mark Adamo's Little Women only weeks before San Francisco Opera stages the world premiere of his new work, The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene. Performances will be May 3rd at 7:30 and May 5th at 2:00 PM. Free admission, fully staged, with piano accompaniment. Details on the cast can be found here.

Set adrift...

The strike by the San Francisco Symphony is now into its 2nd week and the musicians should have been on the East Coast this weekend performing a four concert tour with Yuja Wang. Instead, everyone is at home writing letters to Board President Sakurako Fisher or busking in front of Davies and elsewhere in Hayes Valley. As has been the case so far, Janos Gereben has the best account of where things stand over at SF Classical Voice, but reading his latest summary, posted on Wednesday, only makes it painfully apparent how horrible communication has been on both sides of this contretemps. There are far too many unanswered accusations and claims, and more insinuation than facts and proposals. Apparently, the ability to reason and effectively make one's case to the public has been lost to both sides.

One small, but positive change that occurred this week is the musicians seemingly realized they made a grave tactical error out of the gate in the tone and language used toward and about the Symphony's administration and have been trying to ameliorate that via a series of open letters to Fisher- all of which can be read on the musicians' Facebook page or website. It may too late to remove the bad taste left by David Herbert and Dave Gaudry's initial remarks, but at least no one else is waving around a spoon with a turd stuck on the end and screaming "eat this!" Thankfully those two have gone silent.

One small note: in the comments of an earlier post this week (hint: look for the picture taken from Blazing Saddles), a member of the orchestra reveals her own interesting perspective on all of this, and gives a sense of some of the issues which I don't believe have been discussed publicly anywhere else.

Free for All next weekend

On Sunday, September 30th, Cal Performances presents its third annual Free For All- an all-day event which takes place on the UC Berkeley campus in a multitude of venues both indoors and out. Last year's  festivities attracted over 10,000 people, so this year the family-friendly event has been expanded to provide even more things to do, see and hear, including dance performances, concerts, puppet shows, and an instrument petting zoo. The event is completely free and if you RSVP online (which is not necessary to attend- you can just show up and have fun) you'll receive a 25% discount off tickets to any Cal Performances event during the upcoming season (you must purchase them at Free For All). 

Schedules by stage and by time, as well as list of all the artists who'll be performing are on the Cal Performances website. Food and beverage vendors will be onsite. Among the performers are the Chitresh Das Dance Company; Cypress String Quartet; Davitt Moroney; story tellers Diane Ferlatte and Eth-Noh Tec; shadow puppets with Daniel Barash; Gamelan Sekar Jaya; saxophonist George Brooks' jazz/Indian fusion music; Kitka; Kronos Quartet; Lily Cai Dance Company; Pamela Rose; Marcos Silva's Brazilian jazz; pianist Shai Wosner; Shotgun Players with songs from Stephen Sondheim's Assassins; San Francisco Taiko; plus ensembles from the UC Berkeley Departments of Music and Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies; Student Musical Activities vocal and jazz ensembles, the Cal Band; and more. See you there?

In a hidden red room, watching Dido

Once in awhile I find myself in the strangest places. For example, early last Saturday evening I entered the Wattis Room- a gorgeous, capacious hideaway within Davies Symphony Hall. The deep red walls, upon which large mirrors and abstract art are hung strategically, were as inviting as the buffet laid out in the center of the room. The ceilings must be twenty feet high, allowing conversations to float upward, instead of across the room. Even with everyone chatting at once one can't really overhear any conversation other than the one with which one is engaged and that seems to be by design. The room feels clubby and exclusive. In the corner a sat a grand piano. I knew the chance of hearing it played this evening were slim, but I did hold out some hope. It wasn't that I wanted to hear the piano itself. What I wanted was for someone to sit at that piano and accompany the guest of honor.

Scanning the crowd she was easy to spot with her long blonde hair, looking dazzling in a long pink coat. We had never met before but I was determined to change that before I left. I made my way over to the two people in the room I knew and chatted them up a bit. A bit out of sorts, since I was unexpectedly stag for the evening, I meandered and struck up a conversation with a couple of warm, older gentlemen, who shared some inside information I found interesting but should keep to myself, because perhaps they'll invite me back again if I don't share all the dirt.

Suddenly a brunette struck some random keys on the piano, creating a discordant sound within the room bringing all conversation to a halt. The guest of honor was introduced (though it seemed many present already knew her) with a recitation of her accomplishments and biography. Twenty five years ago she was a young woman living in Midland, Texas with a dream and a unique talent. An audition resulted in a phone call and soon she was on her way to California for the first time, bags packed with summer clothes, completely unaware that a summer in San Francisco is not the same thing as a summer in California.

Unlike many of her peers, she spent most of that summer studying roles rather performing them in front of people, and it obviously paid off, because when she finally did perform for an audience that summer, she won the highest award given. Since then she's reached the highest levels of acclaim, Gramophone calls her "America's favorite mezzo" and really, when you think about it, who else could it be but her? On this night she was joining a short list of only six other people who have been similarly honored: Thomas Hampson, Patrick Summers, Ruth Ann Swenson, Carol Vaness, Deborah Voigt and Dolora Zajick.

When she spoke she was funny, warm, and sincere, naming many in the room and offering the highest praise for the program honoring her this evening, calling it the "best in the world" and telling Director Sheri Greenawald "I say that even when you're not in the room." She told us of her just-concluded travels around the world, and connected these experiences to the those she had with this group twenty-five years earler.

When she finished speaking a tall blonde clad in head-to-toe black armed with a big camera snapped away while well-wishers queued up to speak to her. Out of the corner of my eye I watched her admiringly from the buffet, sampling coconut-encrusted shrimp on skewers and soon found myself talking with a woman of a certain age, a charmer named N______, who also had some interesting stories and anecdotes. I could have chatted her up for awhile but I realized if I continued to do so I would miss the opportunity to introduce myself to the center of attention. I excused myself and found an opening.

I introduced myself and she was incredibly gracious yet open. She did let one small thing slip: the next time we would see her locally onstage would be in Berlioz's Les Troyens, in 2015. I didn't have the presence of mind to ask if she would be singing Dido or Cassandra (I presume it's the former), as I found myself too taken by her.

After that what was left to do but casually slip back into the cool crisp night, back to a far less well-appointed room just blocks away but in what might as well be a different universe, where Thaïs awaited, and upon my entrance performed a scorching "Ah! je suis fatiguee a mourir!"

Congratulations, Susan Graham, on being awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Merola Opera Program.


Former Merola Opera Program President Patrick Wilken, Susan Graham, Donna Blacker. Photo by Drew Altizer.



A master class with Carol Vaness

Carol Vaness and Rolando Villazon in a Merola master class in 1998. Photo by Lisa Kohler

Despite having seen her perform half a dozen times, I was still taken aback when Carol Vaness walked onstage at the Herbst Theater last night to begin a master class for the Merola Opera Program. She looks fantastic. I could go on about this but I won't because it's beside the point, which is that Vaness' class was incredibly illuminating.

I've found master classes to be an excellent way to learn about the art and craft of opera singing and what's really involved in making it work. Attending them has made me a better listener, giving me a greater appreciation for what a singer is doing (and how). There's an awful lot to absorb in a performance and it's been my experience that the more I know the more I appreciate what I'm seeing and hearing (or in some cases, why I don't). All of this, of course, is meant to encourage you to attend one if you never have, and the Merola season offers excellent opportunities given by teachers of the highest caliber.

Vaness, who has starred in most of the world's leading houses and now teaches voice at Indiana University, worked with five singers. What was really interesting about last night was what she did with the wide range presented to her- the performances ranged from one derailed from the start by nerves to one so polished and effective there seemed little if anything to be improved. And yet with each student, within a space of time ranging from 15 to 25 minutes, tremendous progress was achieved by all, even with the one who pretty much killed it from the get-go, who not only got even better, but was given some seriously good for thought regarding his choices of material and how it could limit his career.

Vaness not only brought her formidable experience to the exchanges, but also keen intelligence, genuine warmth, and an obvious interest in the success of her charges. I learned at least a half-dozen things to watch and listen for of which I was previously unaware and even more to think about regarding the choices a singer makes. Whether you're new to opera and want to learn more, or a seasoned enthusiast who relishes in the finer points and details, I doubt you'll walk away from these master classes unimpressed and without knowing more than you did when you walked through the door.

There are two more for this year's Merola participants on the schedule: Thursday, July 26, with Steven Blier and Tuesday, August 7, with Martin Katz. The singers are not announced beforehand. Both will be held at the Herbst Theater and begin at 7:00 PM (they last about 2 hours).

About last weekend...

Anastazia Louise

Last weekend actually began on Thursday night and pretty much ran all the way through Sunday evening. I don't recall ever cramming so much into so little time. Besides the Mavericks concerts on Thursday and Sunday, Jeremy Denk and I had cocktails on Friday night. Denk is a charming and funny guy, full of anecdotes, gossip, and questions. More I'll save for another time, but it was serious fun chatting with him. After taking my leave of him at Jardiniere I met up with Isabella and headed over to Herbst to attend the Cypress String Quartet's Call and Response program, which featured the world premiere of Phillipe Hersant's String Quartet No. 3, a piece I'm sure is going to be featured on many future programs. Cypress also performed a Haydn Quartet and Beethoven's Op.127, but Hersant's work was the highlight of the concert.

The next morning I met up with Chip Grant (founder of Urban Opera) and Barnaby Palmer over breakfast to discuss the upcoming SF Lyric Opera production of David Lang's "the little match girl passion" and from there I went with them to observe a rehearsal. The production has a palindrome structure, which the audience will be able to follow by listening to the different voices and noticing the lighting by Matthew Antaky, who recently did exceptional work on Ensemble Parallele's The Great Gatsby. I also had a chance to meet the very intriguing Anastazia Louise of Bad Unkl Sista and watch as she rehearsed her Butoh-style performance with the singers present for the first time. She said she's been absorbed in little but this project lately and it showed. She's an intense performer and I think this is going to be a moving performance. All four singers are excellent- I've heard Eugene Brancoveanu numerous times and every time I do I wonder how much longer Bay Area audiences will get to see him in small, intimate productions like these before he completely succumbs to the temptation of the larger houses for which he seems destined. Ann Moss is an exceptional soprano, and Celeste Winant, a chorale member of Philharmonia Baroque as well as Volti, also possesses a gorgeous voice. But I was particularly curious about Eric Maggay Tuan, who seems to be capable of singing almost anything. There are only three performances at the ODC theater in the Mission this weekend, and though the scale is small (the four singers double on instruments and it will run less than an hour) the return of San Francisco Lyric Opera is a major event on the local arts scene.

Later in the afternoon I attended the American Orchestra Forum at Davies, where a group of panelists including composers John Adams and Mason Bates and San Francisco Symphony's General Director Brent Assink helmed a three-hour chat on creativity in the arts, focusing on classical music, current culture, and especially, delivering content to audiences online. I didn't plan on staying for the whole thing, but it was so interesting that I did just that. They'll have another one on May 13th featuring Alan Gilbert discussing audiences (which should be highly interesting in light of the recent I Phone incident), while the NY Phil is in town for the American Orchestras series. The event is free.

Afterward I went over to the Paramount in Oakland to hear Chrissette Michelle's SFJazz gig, a show that was so poorly mixed I left my seat in the seventh row to go sit in the very back near the sound board, which only helped a little. I left after an hour, dismayed about so many things I don't even want to write about it. Making my way home through the throngs of amateurs celebrating St. Patrick's Day, I was immensely pleased not to be in a bar on this night, or even worse, to be one of those idiots actually lined up outside of a bar waiting to get in- in San Francisco (where there is a bar on practically every corner).

Sunday afternoon was the last concert of the American Mavericks Festival, which ended at 4:20, leaving me just enough time to make it a few blocks down the street to hear "A Celebration of Bay Area Music"- a concert organized by clarinetist Brenden Guy featuring musicians mostly from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (as well as Sarah Cahill, Miles Graber and Barnaby Palmer) performing a diverse program. Cahill performed John Adams' China Gates, a work dedicated to her and she brought along the original score. Also on the program were two delightful works by composer David Conte, including a highly engaging sextet. Although everyone onstage possessed a high level of talent, the show was stolen by the extraordinary violin playing of Kevin Rogers, whose solo in Ernest Bloch's Nigun- No. 2 (from the Baal Shem Suite) was stunning.

You don't really want to know what I did after that, do you? I didn't think so.

Other music besides Mavericks this coming weekend- and the next

Cypress String Quartet. Photo by Basil Childers

Yes, the big show is certainly the American Mavericks festival taking place at Davies, but there are two other classical concerts coming up this weekend that are also well worth your time.

The first is the return of the Cypress String Quartet's "Call and Response" program, which takes place Friday night, March 16th, at the Herbst Theater. This year Cypress will perform Phillipe Hersant's String Quartet No. 3, commissioned by Cypress as the "response" to the other two works on the program: Haydn's Op. 20, No. 1 and Beethoven's Op. 127. Hersant will lead a pre-concert talk beginning at 7:15. You can purchase tickets here.

Then on Sunday, March 18th, at 4:30, Brenden Guy presents "A Celebration of Bay Area Music," taking place just down the street from Davies at The First Unitarian Universalist  Church at 1187 Franklin Street (on Cathedral Hill between O'Farrell and Geary). You can easily make this after the final Mavericks performance, which will end around 4:00. Featuring a stellar line up of local musicians, the event is free, though suggested donations of $5-$10 will go to the Winter Homeless Shelter Fund.

Check out the program (and who's performing it):

Conte: Sonata for clarinet (Brenden Guy, clarinet, Miles Graber, piano)

Pavkovic: Eight Figment (Valinor Winds- Sasha Launer, flute, Jessica Huntsman, oboe, Brenden Guy, clarinet, Alexis Luque, bassoon, Sivan Adato, horn)

Adams: China Gates (Sarah Cahill, piano)

Stillwell: Clarinet Quartet (Kevin Rogers, violin, Erin Wang, cello, Brenden Guy, clarinet, Aaron Pike, piano)

Pike: Child’s Play, Kevin Rogers, violin, Brenden Guy, clarinet, Aaron Pike, piano)

Becker: S.T.I.C (Kevin Rogers, violin, Michelle Kwon, cello, Sasha Launer, flute, Brenden Guy, clarinet, Miles Graber, piano, Barnaby Palmer, conductor)

Bloch: Nigun (Kevin Rogers, violin, Miles Graber, piano)

Conte: Sextet (World Premiere- Tess Varley, violin, Cassie Bequary, violin, Kevin Rogers, viola, Michelle Kwon, cello, Brenden Guy, clarinet, Miles Graber, piano, Barnaby Palmer, conductor)

And don't forget next week two new opera productions come to town: San Francisco Lyric Opera presents David Lang's Pulitzer winning the little match girl passion, and the world premiere of Erling Wold's Certitude and Joy. 

The Yodeling Dominatrix

The first time I saw her, I thought she would be perfect as Maria von Trapp in a Russ Meyer remake of The Sound of Music. Sure, she caught my eye- with that figure and those legs in that get-up, how could she not? True, she was funny, but there are lots of funny women, though I can't think of one who looks quite so good. She wore her hair in pigtails- something I'll admit having a fetish for, but even that small, delectable detail, which under normal circumstances would have caused me to lock my gaze on her like bear trap snapping shut, couldn't gain my full attention. She was a sexy red clown competing with a table full of food and booze, people chatting away and a circus swirling around her. 

But it's true what they say- that clothes make the woman, because the second time I saw her (I have no idea how much time had elapsed- an hour? two? twenty minutes?) she strode to the center of the floor, all 6'10" of her, in a pleated, skin-tight, black pleather dress. The front was cut low, removed actually, the better to expose a blood-red, patent-leather bra. It was like my brain split in half- everything stopped, yet I was aware of of every single sensation, like I had plunged underwater. I heard the distinct crack of a whip- a well-made one, signaling a baptism was about to start.

The familiar chords of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" started up somewhere from the stage, the drums kicked in, she took over the room, strutting in time to the beat. A remarkably tall siren beckoning from the deepest recesses of my repressed fantasies, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She sang with a German accent, which only made it all the more decadent and delicious- Marlene Dietrich on a "one-way ride." Then, where the chorus was supposed to be, she let out a tremendous "Yodel-ay-hee-huuuuu!" and I think the audience went a little nuts. I'm not certain, because my brain split into quarters at that moment.

The Yodeling Dominatrix had arrived and proceeded to turn the audience of Teatro ZinZanni into her slaves.

I had to meet her.

After the show we were introduced. She immediately held me in the palm of her hand and within minutes (moments, actually) at her feet. I dared to touch the eight-inch heels without her permission. She bent me over and held her crop aloft- a warning to behave. I succumbed. You would have, too.

Two weeks later we had our first rendezvous at one of my usual haunts. She had arrived before me, so the hostess led me to her. It wasn't so much that she sat in the booth, but was holding court waiting for a supplicant- at least that's how I felt. Everything she wore was skin-tight- including alligator boots which climbed to her knees. I thought the encounter would last an hour, maybe one and a half at the most. Seven hours later I returned to my apartment, spent, tired, and in a daze. That's what happens when one spends time in the company of Manuela Horn.

We ate. We drank. We drank more than we ate. We were told we had to leave.

Our next stop was for some real food, though more beverages were brought- Manhattans, of course. She ordered sausages, as any true Austrian woman would. Delicious, thick, juicy sausages, which she ate with her hands. I used my fork simply as a matter of defense, though it was of no use. I was aware we were seated in the middle of the room and all eyes, regardless of gender, were on her. I watched her too, with what? Desire? Lust? Fascination? Does it matter? All I can remember was the slow-motion sensation of watching her lick the juice from the tips of perfectly formed tendrils (merely fingers on most humans).

I felt the genie spring from the bottle. It was one of those moments you live for.

"Come with me," she said.

Helplessly, I acquiesced.

Soon we were in another part of town to see a show featuring performers who were friends of hers. As we walked in the door she was greeted by numerous people and I understood what Arthur Miller felt when he entered a room with Marilyn. There's no place for you. You don't exist- you are merely there, sucking up space where a well-wisher would like to be- to get closer to her. The fact that you are there with her doesn't even register because she's already taken up all of existing space in the room just by her presence alone. It's an ineluctable truth.

Then the party girl came out (I've learned it doesn't take much)- she lives for a good time and loves to entertain people. The show was pretty damn funny and included a pudgy, naked man dancing onstage holding a tissue over his genitals. She acted as if it were the kind of thing one sees everyday. After it ended, we wound up at Martuni's and somehow the hour passed midnight and then the cast of "Hair" came in and took the place over. Before taking my leave of her, we agreed to meet again and I watched her watching me as the train pulled away from the platform. I would think of the look on her face at that moment for days afterward.

The next morning I awoke exhausted and elated. She had told me about being on "America's Got Talent" as the Yodeling Dominatrix and of her day-to-day experiences working with companies like Cirque du Soleil and Teatro ZinZanni. It was illuminating and more. She has such a unique presence- intimidating and mysterious because of her looks and height, but completely open and unpretentious. She's a pussycat, truth be told, and she likes to purr.

A week later she arrived at my apartment early in the evening in white pants, black turtleneck, a short, white jacket trimmed in faux fur, fivefinger shoes, an eight-inch-wide leather belt, a jaunty black cap over her long blonde hair... and a black, well-oiled, hand-tooled whip. She had been eating oysters all day in Tomales Bay. I had prepared a pot roast and bought some Italian wine. Once again, the gaping disparity opened up before me.

I wanted to know where the Dominatrix came from. How did a mother of two, well-versed in the nuances and history of traditional yodeling, learned from her father as a child, end up dressed in pleather, expertly wielding a whip? Somewhere beneath the surface there was a different truth, and I wanted to uncover it. It turned out to be simpler than what I constructed in my imagination, yet layered with textures from a surprising array of life experiences.

Her physical stature impacted her career in unintended ways. Sure, she would love to be cast as Juliet, but a stage director once told her, "We can't hire you- where are we going to find an entire cast over six feet tall? Romeo would have to be almost seven feet!" Instead of fighting it, she's made it work for her by creating her own cast of characters. The Yodeling Dominatrix is just one facet of who she is- as is the Oktoberfest girl, and there are more- Roxie the gangster moll, a sexy milkmaid named Gretchen, the stern Fräulein Brunhilde von Schmetterling. She's a singer. A comedienne. An entertainer first and foremost. And she lives for it.

She also admits to relishing the control she has over people when she's dress to thrill. The power of the role intrigues her and its pull is strong. There was a man in Seattle in who came repeatedly to see her in a show and each time he'd ask for her crop across his behind, always requesting it land harder than the last time. The dominatrix persona creates an invisible but palpable psychological boundary between her and the audience.  That so many wish to cross it is something she ponders often, causing her to want to understand the triggers of desire she pulls in people.

But there's also a playfulness to the masquerade. Take a look at this video on YouTube called Parenting 101 with the Yodeling Dominatrix - instructions and helpful hints for parents to "train your kid like you train your dog."

Manuela  told me about Mr. Big, a fearless 3'2" dwarf she works with, whom she met at an erotic fair. Sometimes she dresses him up in drag. I flashed back to 1987, when I was working as a DJ in a North Hollywood strip joint, and Herve Villechaize used to come in frequently to take home one of the dancers- a six-foot-tall heavy metal queen named Jana whose hair added six additional inches to her height. He'd come over to the booth, say hello, and then pull out a gun- his most recent purchase, usually. They were always ridiculously large handguns. Watching them leave together always made me smile, knowing the gun would be brandished again before the night was over.

I asked her to tell me more about the erotic fair, deciding Herve and the strip joint were best left undiscussed, and she did. Somehow I knew we shouldn't linger too long on this topic, but I kept asking her for more details, which she gave. I found her forthrightness disarming. Nothing was off the table with her. She appreciates burlesque, erotic art, and painting naked bodies. This was a tangent I could have stayed on forever, but I also knew I could end up chained to it, so we moved on eventually, though not before I had some interesting images set in my mind.

We talked about music. I have this fantasy of her incorporating Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" into her act. She wants to be on David Letterman and the idea of Paul Schaffer leading the band through the classic riff as Manuela towers over Letterman is almost too delicious to contemplate. I can hear her yodeling in the part where the guitar slides downward after "wanna whole lotta love.... yodel-lay-hee-huuuuuu, wanna whole lotta love... yodel-lay-hee-huu." I see it as the first step in her inevitable path to world domination- "... you... need... me... BAM. BAM... whoaaa, yodel-lay-hee-huu!!!"

She's committed to furthering her career as a singer and has a recording studio in her Seattle home. After her current appearance in Teatro ZinZanni's "On the Air" closes, she'll resume work on an album of  covers including "Highway to Hell," "Tainted Love" and "Like a Virgin"- all with yodeling of course. She also wants to move toward rock, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Zeppelin cover will get made one day.

Manuela also performs in her own shows, where she incorporates a variety of her characters. Next she year she'll take her act on the road, hitting festivals and rock concerts in her "Rock and Yodel Show", bringing the party with her, and encouraging audiences to "Get your yodel on..." She loves to see people having a good time and she feeds off of the audience's energy.

There's a joyful exuberance in everything Manuela does. She can walk into any room and own it without an effort. But underneath the raven-haired dominatrix in her pleather dress exists a thoughtful, inquisitive blonde who speaks in a soft voice with a lilting German accent. This is the woman who really entertains the audience- who knows that life's not always a party and that's the very best reason to have one.

She can't see herself ever retiring. Instead, she wants to die onstage- to take a final bow and then expire on the spot- in about 70 years. She imagines she'll be naked, with her costume projected onto her. I hope to be there that night, in the front row of the audience.

Manuela will be performing with Teatro ZinZanni in the company's terrific On the Air-   their last production before the Speigeltent comes down and relocates to Broadway and the Embarcadero sometime next year. The final show is New Year's Eve, leaving you plenty of time to hear her yodel (and get a spanking should you desire one).

While it's best to experience Manuela live and in the flesh, if you're too timid to seek her out in person, you can find her here:
Manuela Horn.com
Facebook
My Space
YouTube

While another mugging took place across town, I was having dinner with an artist...

Two evenings prior to the opening of her show at the McLoughlin Gallery last week, I was having dinner with Christy Lee Rogers and her companion. After we left the restaurant and I was escorting them back to their hotel,  we spoke of the lovely weather of this particular evening and what a pleasant rarity it was, among other things.  It was only later I discovered that while we were seated at dinner, the Femme Fatale was busy enacting a vicious mugging of Penelope. The perverse nature of the revulsive attack, and its aftermath, brings the long-running subplot of the bizarre love tetrahedron to an ugly denouement, both here and in reality. I write of it only to tie the final knot in the thread.

Now, back to dinner.

Christy and I have maintained a loose correspondence since we first met a couple of years ago in Los Angeles and this  was our first chance to have an extended conversation, which took place over Thai food at Ler Ros. When I first saw Christy's Sirens collection I was deeply moved by the beauty and mystery of the images, so it took me a little by surprise to discover the artist behind them was an open, warm and engaging personality. For some reason I expected her to be more elusive, guarded perhaps, about who she is and how she approached her art. She was neither, and during dinner we had a long, revealing conversation, touching down in numerous places.

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Two nights later I went to the opening of the show, which coincided with the monthly First Thursday Art walk. There were plenty of people about the entrance of 49 Geary and milling through the corridors of the building, which contains seventeen or eighteen different galleries, but soon I entered owner Joan McLoughlin's warm, well-lighted space, and saw Christy standing in front of the triptych Sackcloth and Ashes, talking with a couple of people while others stood around apparently eavesdropping. I espied her companion, went over to say hello and he led me through the exhibit, entitled "Odyssey," which makes sense as the palette of her work has expanded beyond Sirens to include images with more color, male subjects, subjects whose gender is hard to determine, and the one in Battle of the Flesh looks an otherworldly feline.

Battle of the Flesh

Her new work presses further into ambiguous territory while looking back with deliberation toward the Renaissance in its use of color and depiction of cloth, though the view is submerged underwater and seen with a contemporary eye. Though she claims it was just a fortuitous result, the green spectre haunting the subject of Innocence evokes an infralapsarian nightmare.

Innocence

Also on exhibit in the gallery is the delirious work of Dalia Nosratabadi, a globe-trotting Iranian woman who lives in Belgium. Her images are also created from water- in this case reflections viewed in puddles, which she photographs and then turns upside down to creating a disorienting vision of the world that's recognizable yet looks like a parallel universe. The exhibit is called Eau La La!, which nicely captures its energy and sense of playfulness.  Imagine Narcissus, armed with a passport and a camera, found the world reflected around him a much more interesting subject. Dalia, her husband, and their baby were present and I asked if she was doing any local shooting while she was here. She hadn't yet found any satisfactory puddles, so I suggested some corners downtown where she might have some luck. I would love to see what she could create here. The exhibit contains large digital images she's shot around the globe- it's compelling work that really captures the energy, confusion, and chaos of urban life.

1010 Xiang Hao

Viewed together in one space, the work of these two artists creates an irresistible juxtaposition- Joan McLoughlin has a keen eye. You can see for yourself until December 3rd.

Bend Over Times Square

Afterwards, we headed off for another meal and conversation, this time to Morac, where I found myself stimulated by the conversation taking place, the incongruous blonde Sirens floating through the room, and the décolletage of one in particular. Thankfully, no one was mugged that night, but crime season is now over- there's no one left to victimize.

Laura Marling, Big Art Group this weekend

There's an awful lot going on this weekend- Yo-Yo Ma is in town, Booker T opens up SFJazz's fall season, Turandot and Heart of a Soldier are both onstage at the War Memorial Opera House. And there are two other things you should see if you can.


First of all, on Friday and Saturday night YBCA presents  Big Art Group's The People: San Francisco at Z Space - a narrative constructed from interviews with members of the local community who voice their thoughts about democracy, war, terrorism and justice as it relates to their personal histories. Live theatrical reenactments are intercut with earlier, taped interviews, which will be projected via large-scale video onto the side of the Z Space building where the live-play and video will be viewed by the audience at street level.  Perceived as a kind of “living television,” The People repurposes commonly used media strategies such as video clips, interviews and re-enactments, to explore extraordinary forces reshaping contemporary government. It then sculpts these developments into a performative action that takes as its inspiration the foundational idea of community dialogue and the birth of democracy. Below is a video prepped for the event:

Starting at 6:00 p.m., there will be a pre-show, no-host party with a beer garden at the Coffee Bar, which is across the street from Z Space at Mariposa and 17th streets. Friday night will feature a Taco Thrown Down with special guest chefs, and on Saturday surprise specialty chefs will prepare some of their favorite dishes. The cost is $10, free for YBCA members.


The other big deal this weekend is Laura Marling's debut in the U.S. at Bimbo's 365 Club on Saturday night (she hits LA for gigs Sunday and Tuesday, Chicago on Thursday). Touring in support of her third album, the stunning A Creature I Don't Know, the young British singer is a recent NME and Brit award winner and seems on the verge of breaking out in a tremendous way. She's popping up in the press all over place, and in this case you can believe the hype. Alessi's Ark opens the show. Tickets are $20.


Below is a video of Marling performing "Sophia" from her new album:

See you there?