The Bleeding Edge: 8/1/2016

Writing as one who has been following the BayImproviser Calendar for some time, I have to say that today’s mailing was one of the shortest I have received. However, of the seven items listed, six of them were within the San Francisco city limits, three of which are overlapping. Given that last week’s embarrassment of riches included both the Fifteenth Annual Outsound New Music Summit (which occupied a generous share of my personal time) and the presence of the Soundwave ((7)) Biennial at Grace Cathedral, it would appear that there will be no rest for the adventurous in San Francisco, at least for the first week of this new month! Here are the specifics in the usual chronological order:

Monday, August 1, 8 p.m., Make Out Room: Since this is the first Monday of the month, it is time for The Monday Make-Out at the Make Out Room. This is the monthly three-hour program of cutting-edge jazz and improvised music featuring Bay Area talents. Tonight some of those talents will actually be from beyond the Bay Area, but they will be working with local performers. The first set will be taken by the Sacramento-based Instagon, which calls itself an “arcane garage jazz” quartet. The members are Lob on bass, Thomas Dimuzio on a Moog-controlled guitar, Karl Evangelista on guitar, and Mark Pino on drums. This will be followed by an all-electronic set of the creations of Matt Stalcup and Mulva Myasis (Noa Vir), who perform as the duo God Dog. The final set will reflect back on what the psychedelic era in this town did to blues and jazz. The performers, Phillip Everett, Ray Schaeffer, Anthony Flores, and Valentina O, call themselves the Tri-Cornered Tent Show. They are all multi-instrumentalists with O providing the vocals. The Make Out Room is located at 3225 22nd Street in the Mission, near the southwest corner of Mission Street. The Make Out Room is a bar. That means that tickets are not sold, nor is there a cover charge. Nevertheless, a metaphorical hat is passed between sets; and all donations are accepted, not to mention welcome!

Thursday, August 4, 8 p.m., Luggage Store Gallery: Now that the Outsound New Music Summit has concluded, business as usual returns to the Luggage Store Creative Music Series. “As usual” includes the format of a two-set evening. The first set will be taken by the Tom Weeks Ero Guro Ensemble, led by Weeks on alto saxophone. He will be joined by two drummers, Robert Thompson Pruett and Harry Gibbons, and Mike Srouji on electric bass. The second set will probably depart from the usual format of free improvisation at these concerts. L.J. Altvater, who creates experimental recordings under the name Mission Hypnotic, will play one of those recordings. “Intrusion” is a 40-minute piece of tape music based on manipulated field recordings, with all of the initial sound sources recorded in Altvater’s own home. The Luggage Store Gallery is located at 1007 Market Street, across the street from where Golden Gate Avenue meets Taylor Street (which happens to be the site of the Golden Gate Theatre). As usual, admission will be on a sliding scale between $6 and $15.

Thursday, August 4, 8 p.m., Turquoise Yantra Grotto: This will be a two-set evening with both sets featuring the pioneering performer and composer of live electronic music and computer music Tim Perkis. In the first set Perkis will perform as a member of the Fuzzy Bunny trio, whose other members are pianist and electronic musician Chris Brown and instrument inventor Scot Gresham-Lancaster:

 

The Fuzzy Bunny Trio (courtesy of BayImproviser)

 

Perkis' second set will be a duo with Tania Chen, who works with pianos, other keyboards, found objects, toys, and vintage and low-fidelity electronics. This will be the latest installment in the house concert series at the Turquoise Yantra Grotto. The venue is located  at 32 Turquoise Way. Admission is between $10 and $15.

Thursday, August 4, 9 p.m., Hemlock Tavern: Once again the Hemlock Tavern will host a bleeding edge evening in what they call a “weird-o noise-o avant-jazz-improv-rock triple bill.” This will be a three-set evening led off by Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and Jason Levis on drums performing as duo B. They will be followed by the PG13 trio, named for leader Phillip Greenlief on alto saxophone (rather than the nature of the content). Greenlief’s rhythm section will consist of guitarist John Shiurba and drummer Tom Scandura. The final set will be taken by the Host Family quartet of guitarists Karl Evangelist and Nathan Clevenger, bassist Jason Hoopes, and drummer Jordan Glenn.

Friday, August 5, 7 p.m., Grace Cathedral: Soundwave ((7)) will return to Grace Cathedral to present a second four-set three-hour program in which artists and ensembles explore the interconnection between our built structures, the communities that inhabit them, and the dualities that lie within. The program, entitled Invisible Fortress, will again be presented in collaboration with the Ghiberti Foundation. The first set will be taken by the Meerenai Shim Quartet, whose performance will involve the reading of a “score” based on architectural blueprints. In the second set Kinetech Arts will “activate” the space by moving through it with both dancers and instrumentalists. This will be followed by a new work featuring Jeff Ray, Alison Niedbalski, and the Qualia Choir based on sound recorded inside cathedrals and open spaces. The evening will then conclude with a site-specific performance based on both the acoustic properties of Grace and the play of light. This will be presented by Gabriel Dunne and Stephanie Sherriff.

Grace Cathedral is located at the top of Nob Hill at 1100 California Street. General admission will be $20 with a $15 discount for students and seniors providing proof with identification. Tickets may be purchased in advance through an Eventbrite event page.

Saturday, August 6, 8:30 p.m., The Lab: Senyawa is an ensemble based in Yogyakarta on the island of Java in Indonesia. They use the aural elements of traditional Indonesian music as a point of departure for their own experimental music practices. The result is a truly contemporary Indonesian new music that strikes just the right balance between avant-garde influences and the performers’ shared cultural heritage:

Senyawa (courtesy of The Lab)

The Lab is located in the Mission at 2948 16th Street. This is a short walk from the corner of Mission Street, where there is both a BART station and bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel. Admission will be $20 with a $15 charge for members of The Lab. Doors will open at 8 p.m.; and, since there is usually a large turnout for these events, early arrival and/or advance registration are highly recommended.

Senyawa’s visit to The Lab will also include an Instrument Making Workshop. This will take place the following afternoon, Sunday, August 7, beginning at 1 p.m. and lasting for two hours. This event will be free for members of The Lab and $15 for all others. Once again advance registration is recommended.