San Francisco Metblogs » Music & Theater

Show me what you got, Nihilist. Dipshit.

Richard Ault — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:04:29 +0000

Lebowski Fest returns to the Bay Area on July 24th with the Bowling Party at the Classic Bowling Center and the Movie Party on July 25th at The Fox Theater. Two parties, two tickets… $28 for Bowling (includes shoes) and $22.50 for movie showing. More info…

Rumpus launches live performance evenings

Mark Pritchard — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:59:31 +0000

Thao Nguyen. Flickr photo by Switchburn

Musical guest Thao Nguyen, pictured at right at an Austin gig in 2008, heads the lineup Monday at the first monthly live event sponsored by The Rumpus, writer and editor Stephen Elliott’s website.

The evening also features readings from authors Peter Orner, Andrew Greer, Damion Searls, and poet Barbara Jane Reyes, performance by Word for Word Performing Arts Company, films by Wholphin, and music by The Yellow Dress.

The show starts at 8:00 pm Monday at the Makeout Room (map). Get information and advance tickets.

Film in the Fog: An American in Paris

Jeremy Hatch — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:33:21 +0000

An American In Paris

This Saturday the 27th, the San Francisco Film Society and the Presidio Trust are co-presenting the seventh annual Film in the Fog. This year they’re screening Vincente Minnelli’s 1951 film, An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. It’s a free outdoor screening on the lawn at the Main Post Theater in the Presidio (99 Moraga Ave), right near where they did Shakespeare in the Park weekend before last. The screening will be preceded at 5:30 by live entertainment from Pi Clowns: The Physical Comedy Troupe, and the screening itself will start at 7:00 with a vintage cartoon and newsreel before the feature. Quoth the Presidio Trust: “Bring a blanket, low lawn chairs and picnic under the stars! Food and drink from the Presidio’s Dish Cafe and Acre Cafe will be available for purchase.” Quoth the Film Society: “As always, it gets a little chilly in the Presidio this time of year, so bring warm clothes and blankets to sit on.” Quoth me: “Brrr!” And anyway, how can you picnic under the stars when the fog is obscuring them? Well, maybe we can give them that one. After all, it might be clear out.

Saturday night

Mark Pritchard — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:48:54 +0000

Tonight and tomorrow only, mugwumpin’s theater piece super.anti.reluctant is performed for the last times before they take it to the International Theater Festival in Cairo. Call 415-621-7978 for tickets.

The Treasure Island Music Festival is happening, with Justice headlining. But you don’t drive there; you to to the parking lot by AT&T Park and take a bus from there.

Tom Stoppard’s Rock and Roll, a play about would-be rock stars in Stoppard’s native Czecholslovakia, opened last night at American Conservatory Theater.

Nagano to conduct for last time at Berkeley Symphony

Mark Pritchard — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:53:38 +0000

Kent Nagano is leaving his post as Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, but not before conducting one last concert on Thursday, Sep. 18.

The program at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus features Mozart’s Symphony no. 41, Bruckner’s Symphony no. 7, and a tribute fanfare commissioned by the organization to honor Nagano’s service.

Nagano, who also has posts at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera, remained with the Berkeley Symphony long after he had become a world-famous conductor. His production of Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges with the Opéra National de Lyon came to San Francisco several years ago, and it remains the best single live performance I’ve seen in my life.

This Sunday: Shakespeare in the Park

Jeremy Hatch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:13:37 +0000

A Sketchy Character

[Attribution totally unknown; if you know it, clue me in.]

In case Opera in the Park last Sunday didn’t satisfy your hankering for high culture in the great outdoors, this Sunday features Shakespeare in the Park. The price is free, the play is the little-produced Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and it will take place in the Presidio, at the Main Post Parade Ground Lawn. (Man, that’s about all the alliteration I can handle.) Apart from its low cost, outdoor pretentiousness has one huge advantage over the indoor variety: a picnic lunch with several friends and almost as many bottles of wine. (If that’s your style. Tea is awesome too.) Pericles is not a well-known play, but I remember enjoying the Shakespeare Santa Cruz production back in — gulp — 1996. Oy vey.

Anyway, the show starts at 2:30, but you’ll probably want to get there early to lay your blanket out in a good spot. Dress in layers — but I don’t have to tell you that.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Jeremy Hatch — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:06:32 +0000

[Above, Harold Lloyd with a cute monkey, and Colleen Moore with a cute haircut. (The guy's not bad either.) All featured this weekend at the Castro Theatre.]

On Friday night the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will fire up the 35mm projectors once more for a solid weekend of film at the Castro, bringing forgotten (and often, formerly lost) works back to the big screen, with live musical accompaniment. On the second night last year, the line stretched around the block and way, way down the street. And it wasn’t even opening night! I had to ask myself: is this line really for a movie that was originally released in 1928? Yes, it was, and it was awesome. I expect that this year will be just as riotous, as opening night features none other than Harold Lloyd in The Kid Brother. In case you’ve never seen one of his films, let me explain something: he’s amazingly hilarious.

Another highlight of the festival is The Man Who Laughs, starring the principal from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in the role that inspired the appearance of a certain creepy character from the Batman comics. And of course there are nine other films, all worth checking out, including one that may well have inspired Monty Python. Or not.

Tickets run from $14-$20; they’re a little cheaper for San Francisco Silent Film Society members. They also have festival passes for $140, if you’re determined to see every minute and hear every note. Get your tickets here.

A Warm, Relaxing Night with 23,000 Friends

Kaili — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:51:18 +0000

The SF Opera’s free simulcast at AT&T park couldn’t have been on a more perfect night. As the opera ended near 11pm, it was still tank top weather! According to the Examiner, there were about 23,000 people there.

Here are some pix:

90 Degrees and a Perfect Night for the Opera!

Kaili — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:24:07 +0000

It’s going to be another warm night, so why not pack a blanket and picnic and head down the AT&T Park, tonight at 8pm!

The San Francisco will be showing a live simulcast of

Lucia di Lammermoor

…and it is FREE!

The park asks that you bring a blanket, if you intend to sit on the baseball field.

The simulcast will be projected in high definition on the park’s 3,200 square foot score board.

For advanced registration and more information;

Check out The San Francisco Opera’s Webpage

… and enjoy the weather tonight!

Are you ready to Raaaawk?

Kaili — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:06:32 +0000

The new and improved Warfield Theatre at 982 Market street will be reopened and filling it’s seats soon!!

The Warfield has been a popular venue since the 1920s. It was featured in the music DVD, Slayer: War at the Warfield, filmed on December 7th, 2001.

The auditorium’s last show before closing was Phil Lesh, but Ticketmaster.com now has a list of shows ready to go on sale June 22nd, 2008 for September and October dates. Here’s a few:

ON SALE Sun, 06/22/08 10:00 AM

Sat, 09/20/08
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Fri, 09/26/08
Rancid

Sat, 09/27/08
Rancid

(on sale in September:)
Sun, 12/21/08
Brian Setzer Orchestra

Tickets on Sale for the Warfield