A new month has just began, and already things are getting very busy out on the Bleeding Edge. This week there will be four events, which have been previously reported, as follows:
- The week will begin this evening when Old First Concerts will host the next Earplay recital entitled The Poetry of Physics.
- Two days later, on Wednesday, Outsound Presents will offer the first LSG (Luggage Store Gallery) New Music Series event of the month.
- Friday evening at The Lab will see the next adventurous performance of two sets of improvisations and multimedia.
- Finally, on Saturday the Center for New Music will host the latest program of new works written by members of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of NACUSA.
The previously unreported events are even more abundant, particularly since two of them will extend over three successive evenings.
The first of these will be a visit to the Great American Music Hall by the Sun Ra Arkestra. Keyboardist and composer Sun Ra founded this group in the mid-Fifties and built up a reputation for being further out than anyone could possibly imagine. Ra died in 1993, but his band was determined to keep carrying his torch. The group now consists of over a dozen musicians led by the adventurous wind player Marshall Allen. The Great American Music Hall is located at 859 O’Farrell Street, just east of Van Ness Avenue. Shows will begin at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, Wednesday, February 7, and Thursday, February 8. Doors open at 7 p.m. General Admission (standing) will be $35. Seated admission will be in the Silver Tier for $50 and the Gold Tier for $65. Those planning parties should be informed that there is a limit of eight tickets per customer. There is also a three-day pass for $88 for general admission, $125 for the Silver Tier, and $170 for the Gold Tier, also with a limit of eight passes per customer. All purchases may be made online through the venue’s Calendar Web page.
The second three-evening event will be hosted by Audium. NEW VOICES III will be the third edition of its signature sound residency show. It will feature live performances by local vocalists Roco Córdova, Makana Muanga, and Danishta Rivero. The performances will reveal to audiences the unfolding possibilities of the voice in space. The program will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, Friday, February 9, and Saturday, February 10. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range between $20 and $30, but a limited number of pay-what-you-can tickets are available for each show. City Box Office has created a single Web page for purchasing tickets for all Audium performances during the month of February.
As the hucksters say, “Wait, that’s not all!” This article still needs to account for six more “singles” events. Specifics are as follows in the usual format:
Wednesday, February 7, 11:30 a.m., Salesforce Park: The Main Plaza of Salesforce Park, which is located at 100-132 Fremont Street in the Financial District, has become a preferred venue for free outdoor concerts. Those concerts include the Rooftop Jazz Series, performances which are usually two hours long. The series is curated by Jazz in the Neighborhood. Mind you, the Salesforce building has never given me the vibe of a neighborhood, but what to I know? At the very least, you will get to listen to some good jazz while you eat your lunch. This week the performance will be by a trio led by Erika Oba, who plays both flute and keyboards.
Wednesday, February 7, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: This week, the usual weekly gig presented by David Boyce will be preceded by a solo gig. The Argentine double bass player Gustavo Lorenzatti will give a solo recital. His program will feature a number of his own compositions that will explore the diversity of his techniques, which include bowing, pizzicato, percussion, and vocalization. The performance will be 90 minutes long. The venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. As always, there is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.
Thursday, February 8, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books & Records: Trumpeter Darren Johnston will lead his Standard Issue quartet. The other members are guitarist Kai Lyons, Marcus Shelby on bass, and drummer James Gallagher. Unlike many of the Bird & Beckett events, this one is best represented by a Web page on the Jazz Near You Web site. As of this writing, the Bird & Beckett Web site leaves much to be desired, but the Jazz Near You Web page also includes a hyperlink to YouTube for a livestream. The event price starts at $20, but greater generosity is always appreciated. For those that prefer the “physical presence” of the quartet, Bird & Beckett is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni.
Thursday, February 8, 8 p.m., Peacock Lounge: Since this is the second Thursday of the month, it is also the evening of the usual three-hour show consisting of four sets. This program will feature Amanda Chaudhary, whom I came to know through her work with Outsound Presents. She performans on software synthesizers, modular hardware synthesizers, theremin, kids’ toys, and all manner of folk instruments. For those that care about such matters, she also operates the foremost blog on cats and synthesizers, CatSynth. Buyer is the duo of Xay Cole and Nathan Rodriguez. They used to call the group Lou Reed. Between the two of them, they sing and play drums, guitar, and synthesizers. LUCY is the name of a project currently being pursued by Theresa Currie. Her mission is to turn the act of drawing into an act of making sound. To this end she aligns drawing practice with circuitry using piezo microphones, drawing boards, silverpoint stylus, handmade and vintage analog synths. Prepare for a very loud performance! Finally, Mission Hypnotic is the performing name for L.J. ALTVATER, who began as a drummer for a rock band in Columbus, Ohio. Mission Hypnotic is the name he uses for his experimental sound recordings, as well as the visual art he also creates.
As readers probably know by now, 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.
Friday, February 9, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery: Things return back to normal at this venue when reed player David Boyce resumes his role as curator. This week, in a program entitled Other Dimensions in Sound, he will jam with Ben Goldberg, who plays clarinets of all sizes, cellist Ben Davis, and Marshall Trammel on drums. Once again, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street; and, as always, there is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.
Saturday, February 10, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books & Records: This evening will see the return of the pocket brass band Purple Gums to Bird & Beckett. Saxophonist Francis Wong will perform with Bobby Bradford on cornet and tuba virtuoso William Roper. They describe their repertoire as a tasty gumbo of jazz, free improvisation, ragtime, classical and spoken word; and they approach their improvisations with whimsy, fire, and mindfulness. Sadly, the usual specifics are again lacking on the Bird & Beckett Web site.Because this is a Saturday, a livestream is likely to be available; but readers may want to check out the Bird & Beckett home page on YouTube. Alternatively, one can walk over to 653 Chenery Street and hope for the best!
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