Monday, June 17, 2013
What We Like: Stone Fruit, Public Art, Summer Drinking
Whitney Phaneuf — Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 6:00 AM
FOOD
It’s summer, which means lotsa stone fruits, which means lotsa creative usages of said stone fruit. Try this DELICIOUS nectarine galette over at Smitten Kitchen. If tart is more your thing, try this delish caramelized plum galette from the babely ladies over at Tanglewood Baked Goods. — Azeen Ghorayshi
Friday, June 14, 2013
Weekender: This Weekend's Top Five Events
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 10:12 AM
FUN FACT: Tomorrow is both Ice Cube's birthday AND World Juggling Day. This weekend is pretty much destined for greatness. Herewith, the top five things to do with your body/brain/time:
Bloomsday in Berkeley
Bloomsday in Dublin is an annual event that celebrates the life of author James Joyce on the day that the events of his epic novel Ulysses are set. It's traditionally filled with readings, dramatizations, and a retracing of Ulysses protagonist Leopold Bloom's route around Dublin —essentially a theatrical pub crawl in Edwardian attire. While attendees of the Bloomsday in Berkeley at the Garden Gate Creativity Center (2911 Claremont Ave., Berkeley) won't be able to walk the same streets as those in Joyce's tome, the event will include staged readings, a performance of the theater piece Portrait of the Artist's Mother by Dublin artist Marion McEvoy, and plenty of Joyce love. Sat., June 15, 5-10 p.m. and Sun., June 16, 2-6 p.m. $20-$25 — Azeen Ghorayshi
Oakland's self-described "Afro-indie soul" group Bells Atlas draws from a wide range of influences, including hip-hop, samba, R&B, indie rock, and pop, to craft its unique, lush sound. Nigerian-American lead vocalist Sandra Lawson-Ndu's smooth, sensual voice twinkles, lilts, and lifts, anchored by polished guitar stylings and steady drum beats. The band's music captivates and bewitches with a balance of jazz and pop beats, invoking good feelings and the urge to move. The band sounds even better live, which is why you should check out its upcoming show, which will celebrate the release of its debut self-titled album, at The New Parish (579 18th St., Oakland), along with seven-piece Bay Area band The Seshen, whose own dreamy vocals, mix of live and electronic instrumentation, and Afro-Caribbean vibes will serve as a perfect introduction. With DJ Treat-U-Nice. Fri., June 14, 9 p.m. $7, $10 — Madeleine Key
Monday, June 10, 2013
What We Like: Coffee, Bloody Mary Season, Nine Inch Nails
Whitney Phaneuf — Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 10:19 AM
ARTICLES
If you, like me, are more-or-less obsessed with the tech boom/bubble and what it means for the Bay Area, society, THE WORLD, etc. etc., I can’t recomment this piece, by a (n extraordinarily self-aware) programmer, enough. — Ellen Cushing
Friday, June 7, 2013
The Coup's Facebook Problem: It Wasn't Censorship
Whitney Phaneuf — Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 4:33 PM
On Monday, The Coup's label Epitaph Records attempted to purchase a sponsored Facebook post to promote its new video for "The Magic Clap" (which is awesome, BTW) — and today, the Oakland hip-hop outfit's leader Boots Riley wrote on his Facebook page that he thought the site was censoring the video because of its political message. It turns out, according to Facebook, it was not a case of censorship (phew!) and the site has agreed to approve the sponsored post.
Weekender: This Weekend's Top Five Events
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 6:00 AM
In honor of our annual PETS issue, watch this video of a hedgehog — one of the ~*ALT PETS*~ mentioned in this week's story on weird pets — taking a bath:
Then, partake in any or all of the following five fun activities taking place right here in your neighborhood this weekend:
Retro Pop-Up Restaurant
One of the East Bay's most historic hotels honors its long history in the best possible way: with food. While its bar is closed during renovations, FIVE (2086 Allston Way, Berkeley) is offering a pop-up restaurant in its Crystal Dining Room throughout the first week of June, with dishes and decor themed around the year 1910, when the hotel first opened. In addition to a la carte service, a Friday-only four-course prix-fixe dinner includes such retro dishes as Waldorf salad, filet of sole Oscar, Delta asparagus, and creamy Pavlova. Fri., June 7, 5-10 p.m. Five-Berkeley.com — Anneli Rufus
Oaklavía
This free-form event is based off of the idea that taking cars off the streets has the power to transform the way you see — and use — the space around you. Oaklavía first happened in 2010, shutting down the Broadway corridor, but this time around, it'll be a joint venture between Oaklavía and Love Our Lake Day, a celebration of the Lake Merritt beautification effort funded through Measure DD. Both Lakeshore Avenue and Lakeside Drive will be almost totally closed to traffic circling the lake, with just a smattering of food trucks, booths, and various dance and music performances along the way. The rest is up to you. 11-4 p.m., Lake Merritt redesign dedication ceremony at 2 p.m.; free. 510-654-6346 or Oaklavia.org — Azeen Ghorayshi
Thursday, June 6, 2013
New Videos: Warm Soda, Sage The Gemini, B. Hamilton, 100s
Bay Area Bands Whitney Phaneuf — Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Tough to beat The Coup's new video, but these local acts are worthy of a few minutes of your work day.
Warm Soda — "Jeanie Loves Pop”
Warm Soda invades the bedroom of a Sixties suburban teen queen in its video for the power pop track "Jeanie Loves Pop." Catch the band at Brick & Mortar on Thursday, June 27 before it embarks on an international tour, and keep an ear out for new songs, which frontman Matthew Melton said are shaping up to be “way more musical — lots of acoustic guitars and cellos, even violins.”
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Watch Patton Oswalt in The Coup's New Video for 'The Magic Clap'
Bay Area Bands Whitney Phaneuf — Tue, Jun 4, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Only comedian Patton Oswalt can get away with calling The Coup's Boots Riley "Kanye."
In the new video for "The Magic Clap," off the Oakland outfit's 2012 album Sorry To Bother You, Oswalt acts out the song's political lyrics in hilarious quick cuts of him prancing around a leopard-print sofa. There's also a bunch of silly props and a prism that shoots a rainbow out of Oswalt's hands. Tuesday morning on the Internet doesn't get better than this.
Monday, June 3, 2013
What We Like Right Now: Strawberries, Patrick Stewart, Lydia Lunch
Ellen Cushing — Mon, Jun 3, 2013 at 8:34 AM
FOOD
It's peak strawberry season right now, and there is no shortage of bright-red beauties available at your local farmers' market. This year I've been loving the strawberries from the Tomatero Farm stand at the Grand Lake Farmers' Market. They aren't the very sweetest strawberries you'll find (though they're plenty sweet), but they might be the juiciest — and, while YMMV, I'll take that tradeoff any day. Plus the farmers' market stand always has at least two or three varietals available each week. My favorites have been the Rosas (the juiciest of a juicy lot) and the small, intensely sweet Seascapes. — Luke Tsai
Maybe you heard: Patrick Stewart just ate his very first slice of pizza in his 72 years on this Earth, and he tweeted a picture to document the experience! New York Magazine's Dan Amira got to the bottom of this very important news item. His interview with Stewart was the most adorable thing I read all week. — L.T.
Friday, May 31, 2013
I Went to an ICP Show Last Night and I Think I Might Be a Juggalo Now
Ellen Cushing — Fri, May 31, 2013 at 12:29 PM
To be clear: I wasn't expecting this. When I told people I was going to an Insane Clown Posse show, it was always with that mixture of mock-sheepishness and eye-rolling dismissiveness we reserve for cultural events like this — cultural events that are populated by people that are, on some demographic or maybe existential level, different from us; cultural events that are really, really easy targets; cultural events that, you know, feature as prominent motifs murderous clowns and wanton misogyny and horrible, horrible music.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how a huge portion of both the fascination about and distaste for ICP is bound up in class: Juggalo culture has, for whatever reason, come to be pretty synonymous with a specifically blue-collar, white, male, often midwestern, archetype, one that's been pushed out of manufacturing jobs by recession and globalization and marginalized by lack of education — as Violent J told me on the phone a couple weeks ago, "we're not the college demographic," and as Cord Jefferson eloquently argued in a 2011 Good piece, making fun of Juggalos is one of the last acceptable forms of class bigotry. Which is significant generally, but also to the way I came into this show: I was fully expecting to be an elitist asshole about this, basically. I was going to tweet bitchy, condescending things and be somewhere disgusted by the whole affair. Because I'm a Berkeley-born, liberal-arts educated feminist with a somewhat-embarrassing-but-very-real-investment in the idea that I Am Defined by my Taste and That Said Taste is Generally Good. Because that's what people like me are supposed to make of ICP.
Weekender: This Weekend's Top Five Events
Fri, May 31, 2013 at 6:00 AM
Sad you didn't get to go see ICP in Oakland this week? It's ok! It's the weekend! Here are five perfectly fun activities that are sure to make you WOOP WOOP (ICP face paint always encouraged):
ISSUES 6-Year Anniversary
The East Bay has no shortage of niche-based shops — selling such items as tinctures, boutique camping goods, and imported Japanese kitchen-wares — but one my favorites is ISSUES, which is dedicated to stocking every magazine you've ever heard of, and many more that you probably never knew existed. Apparently owners NoellaTeele and Joe Colley decided to open the store after struggling to find a place to buy a magazine to pair with their brunch at Au Coquelet in Berkeley. Six years later — and despite the fact that print publications have suffered at the pitiless hands of the Internet — ISSUES is alive and well, hosting record swaps, readings, and art shows to boot. Swing by this weekend to celebrate its anniversary, with live DJs, beverages, desserts, and discounts on everything in the store. 12-6pm, free. IssuesShop.com — Azeen Ghorayshi
Friday Nights @ OMCA
In case you missed it, the Gallery of California Natural Sciences at the Oakland Museum of California is reopening after two years, and it's INCREDIBLY AWESOME. This Friday, OMCA will have special extended hours for guests to wander in and out of their newly jazzed up natural sciences wing, which houses — among other things — a mini replica of many parts of Oakland itself. Off the Grid will be there, as will a beer and wine garden, family fun activities (gold panning!), DJ's, and a re-screening of the much-loved Oakland Internet Cat Video Festival. Make sure to come back on Sunday — when there will be free admission — in case you miss anything amidst all the hullaballoo. 5-midnight, free. MuseumCA.org — A.G.
