From the San Francisco Mime Troupe to the son of a famous Bay Area folk musician, there are many cool shows and concert events to see within the Bay Area this weekend.
Here is a partial overview.
Mime Troupe is back for summer fun
At a time when the political landscape seems about as solid as President Biden's debating skills, the San Francisco Mime Troupe returns to remind us, of their uniquely comical way: It might be worse. Much worse.
The politically oriented musical theater ensemble returns this week with one other recent production, which is traditionally performed in parks and other outdoor venues throughout the summer.
This 12 months’s show, created by Michael Gene Sullivan and Daniel Savio, Director: Velina Brown is titled “American Dreams.” It centers on an African-American man who’s so fed up with having his liberal dreams destroyed that he supports the conservative cause – to the dismay of a school professor's daughter, who wonders if her dreams of a political utopia are nothing greater than a mirage.
The show, which comically – and from a decidedly left-wing perspective – touches on controversial topics like AI, student unrest, election security and more, begins today at 2 p.m. at Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco and runs in Berkeley on Saturday. The tour runs through September 8. with mostly external stops in Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Orinda, Davis and more.
Details: Admission to all performances is free. For the schedule and further information, visit www.sfmt.org.
Oakland film series serves free comedy classics
Are you craving for a touch of Nineteen Eighties nostalgia? Or do you’ve got children who’ve never experienced the enjoyment of computer graphics? Then come to Jack London Square in Oakland on July fifth and see a special screening of “Honey, I shrunk the kids”, the classic 1989 comedy that, surprisingly, has not been remade like every other successful film.
The screening is an element of Oakland's ongoing Waterfront Flicks series, held outdoors on the Marina Lawn. Previous movies include “Toy Story” and “Beetlejuice,” but you won't need to miss Rick Moranis' best work as a mad inventor who by chance shrinks his children to the dimensions of ants after which throws them out with the trash, where they need to fend off terrifyingly large insects. (What stressed-out parent hasn't a minimum of dreamed of doing this?)
It will not be yet known whether the screening will probably be coupled with the Roger Rabbit short film “Tummy Trouble,” which accompanied the unique theatrical release.
Details: The screening begins at 8:30 p.m. Meet on the Marina Lawn near Heinold's: First and Last Chance Saloon; free; blankets and/or lawn chairs welcome; snacks and sandwiches may be ordered from Left Bank; jacklondonsquare.com/events
The son of an icon enters the stage
Although he grew up in a conservative New Jersey family, David Grisman was instrumental in shaping the catchy, syncopated sound that characterised the Bay Area's freewheeling folk scene within the late twentieth century. After moving to the Bay Area, Grisman, an incredibly talented mandolin player, began to develop his musical identity, which brought him into contact with Jerry Garcia. The two developed a lifelong friendship and musical partnership. Grisman was a member of the bluegrass band Old and In the Way, led by Garcia, and helped develop a musical blueprint that blended folk, bluegrass, classical string band music, and gypsy jazz. Garcia named it “Dawg” music in Grisman's honor, reportedly because sooner or later while the 2 were walking on Stinson Beach, Grisman was chased by a dog.
We don't know what happened to the pooch, but Grisman's music lives on, partly in the shape of Grisman's son, Sam, who can be a talented string player. Since his love of his father's music stems from each its sound and the enjoyment and camaraderie it exudes, the young musician has formed the Sam Grisman Project, which makes a speciality of performing Grisman/Garcia songs, particularly from the early Nineties, in addition to Sam Grisman's own songs. The band will perform on the Freight & Salvage Club in Berkeley on July 6.
Details: 8pm; $49-54; www.thefreight.org.
Star violinist lands within the Bay Area
It was clear early on that drive and talent could be a given for young violinist Damien Escobar from Queens, New York. At age 10, he became the youngest student ever accepted into the Juilliard School of Music. After honing his skills busking on the streets of New York, Escobar formed the duo Nuttin' But Stringz along with his brother. About a decade ago, Escobar decided to go solo, and he has hardly looked back.
Escobar is taken into account an outstanding musician with a talent for combining soul, jazz and hip-hop with contemporary classical music. He has built a following all over the world along with his melodic albums and activism. He founded the Violins Against Violence foundation in 2007 and has been involved with the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and UNICEF. In 2018, he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
Celebrated as an excellent live performer, Escobar is on tour to support his latest release, “Gemini,” and is coming to Yoshi's in Oakland for a weekend performance.
Details: July 5, 7:00pm and 9:15pm, July 6, 7:30pm and 9:30pm; $49-$89; yoshis.com.
Rare appearance by Dinnerstein
The incomparable pianist Simone Dinnerstein, who catapulted herself into the stratosphere in 2007 with an exquisitely expressive recording of Bach's “Goldberg Variations” that continues to be the primary alternative for a lot of devotees (the New York Times called her “a singular voice in the forest of Bach interpretations”), will not be often heard here within the Bay Area, so it is advisable to jump at the possibility to listen to her perform July 5 as a part of pianist Awadagin Pratt's Art of the Piano Festival, held on the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Barbro Osher Recital Hall on the eleventh floor of the Bowes Center at 200 Van Ness Ave.
Dinnerstein will draw a part of her program from the music of “Undersong,” the ultimate a part of a trilogy of albums recorded at her Brooklyn home in the course of the pandemic. She will play Couperin’s “Les Barricades Mystérieuses”; Schumann’s “Arabesque, Op. 18; Philip Glass’ “Mad Rush”; Erik Satie’s “Gnossienne No. 3” and Schumann’s “Kreisleriana, Op. 16.”
Details: Concert starts at 7pm; $20, www.artofthepiano.org.
Literature involves life
Have you ever found yourself tossing and turning uncomfortably in your seat on a plane, bus or train, attempting to avoid eye contact with a nosy, overly talkative seatmate who just doesn't appear to get the hint? Acclaimed Irish author Kevin Barry has written about this to hilarious effect in “The Wintersongs,” one in all three of his short stories performed with full text on stage by the dynamic San Francisco theater company Word for Word. Actors Stephanie Hunt and Ailbhe Doherty play the trapped young girl and her older seatmate within the story, which takes a somewhat surprising turn.
Also presented are “Who's-Dead McCarthy”, named after the annoying protagonist McCarthy, who enthusiastically desires to inform everyone in the town about who the last unlucky person to die is, and “The Coast of Leitrim”, which is about an ungainly Irishman who’s concerned with a younger Polish woman and eventually becomes obsessed along with her.
Details: Performances July 5-6, 8 p.m.; ZSpace Theater, 470 Florida St., San Francisco; runs through July 21; $40-65, zspace.org/barry.
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