Monday, November 7, 2022

The Bleeding Edge: 11/7/2022

The first full week of November will be a busy one. However, here in San Francisco, all of the action will take place over an “extended long weekend” running from Thursday to Sunday. Two of the events have already been taken into account. Those involve “usual suspects” venues as follows:

  1. The tribute to the late Tom Nunn taking place at the Center for New Music on Saturday.
  2. The monthly SIMM (Static Illusion Methodical Madness) concert at the Musicians Union Hall organized by Outsound Presents on Sunday.

That leaves four additional events, three on Thursday and one on Saturday, as follows:

Thursday, November 10, 7:30 p.m., Congregation Sherith Israel: This venue is the synagogue located between Japantown and Pacific Heights at 2266 California Street on the northeast corner of Webster Street. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, and it provided a venue for a streamed performance by San Francisco Choral Arts this past March. This week’s offering will be far more adventurous, if not downright tref! The featured performer will be Arrington de Dionyso; and, while his name carries tref implications, his work is heavily inspired by the Zohar and other texts of ancient speculative mysticism. His performance will involve throat singing along with a variety of instruments including the BINA Compact Shruti Box Surpeti, bass clarinet, Jaw harp, and Sulawesi flute. His set will be preceded by a solo performance by American guitarist and composer Bill Orcutt, whose work combines elements of blues, punk, and free improvisation. Doors will open at 7:15 p.m., and all tickets are being sold for $18. The synagogue has created a Web page for advance registration, which is highly desirable.

Thursday, November 10, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: This is one of those “early weekend” events, since this venue usually presents live streams of concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings. The performers will be the members of the Chris Jonas Trio. Jonas leads while performing on both soprano and tenor saxophones. He is joined by percussionist Jason Levis and bassist (and composer) Lisa Mezzacappa. Jonas is currently based in Santa Fe, but he has previously collaborated with jazz luminaries such as Anthony Braxton, William Parker, and Cecil Taylor.

Like the weekend offerings, this performance will take place in the shop but will also be live-streamed to the Bird & Beckett sites on both YouTube and Facebook. For those planning to attend “physically,” the shop is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni. Doors will open at 7:20 p.m. Admission will be $20 in cash for the cover charge. There is also a donations Web page for those watching the live-stream. Given that only a limited number of people will be admitted, reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 415-586-3733. The phone will be answered during regular store hours, which are between noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday. Proof of vaccination will be required for entry, and masks will be necessary in the shop. Those holding reservations must claim them by 7:30 p.m. After that anyone waiting for a seat will be allowed to take what is available.

Thursday, November 10, 8 p.m., Peacock Lounge: This will be the usual monthly offering of four sets over the course of three hours. Jon Leidecker, who improvises sound collages and performs under the name “Wobbly,” will perform a duo set with tenor saxophonist Zoh Amba. Angela Edwards will present the latest work in her Sharkiface project. DROUGHT SPA is the duo of alex cruse and Kevin Ck Lo, working with “generative video, stochastic synthesis, sensing-technologies, wholetext retextualization, movement and spontaneous public assembly.” The remaining set will be taken by Blood of Chhinnamastika, which seems to be committed to invoking the ghost of Steve Jobs.

The Peacock Lounge is located in the Lower Haight (sometimes known as Haight-Fillmore) at 552 Haight Street, between Fillmore Street and Steiner Street. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. to enable the first set to begin at 8 p.m. sharp. Admission will be on a sliding scale between $5 and $15. As in the past, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. However, proof of vaccination or a negative test result within the last 72 hours will be required.

The Tin Cup Serenade trio (from the Bird & Becket events Web page)

Saturday, November 12, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: Injury has prevented the planned performance by Lost Shapes. As an alternative there will be a performance by the Tin Cup Serenade trio, whose members are Rolf Wilkinson on guitar, Safa Shokrai on bass, and Vamaken Bedrosian on trombone. (See the above photograph.) As was the case on Thursday, this performance will take place in the shop but will also be live-streamed to the Bird & Beckett sites on both YouTube and Facebook. Admission will again be $20 in cash for the cover charge. Reservations are again necessary and can be made by calling 415-586-3733. Proof of vaccination will again be required for entry, and masks will be necessary in the shop. Those holding reservations must claim them by 7:30 p.m. After that anyone waiting for a seat will be allowed to take what is available.

No comments: