Beast Blog

A return to the Supper Club

What could be more fun than an evening out- seeing fabulous performers in all genres while enjoying a gourmet meal?

The Ghetto Gourmet does just that, several times a month in various locations.

Check them out to make a reservation!

The London Tubes

While we're discussing Jack London Square, I figured we might as well mention some of the unique and interesting stores that reside within the warf-side retail space. Now, before you go nuts with the Oakland hate, and the Jack London commercialization rants, take a deep breath and remind yourself that, despite the TGI Friday's and the B&N there are still places in JL Square that can't be found anywhere else. Case in point: Heartsong Audio. The store looks more like an art gallery, featuring an almost 100% acrylic turn table and numerous tube-based amplifiers. Kurt Heartsong and CJ Jordan run this place, and are firm believers in the idea that vacuum tubes produce a better quality of sound than their digital counterparts. Obviously, this store is not for the light of wallet, but it's still a rather original place to visit. And if you ask nicely, I'm sure Kurt and CJ will let you hear the difference in quality between tubes and circuits.

great indie & queer show!

The East Bay takes a back seat most time to San Francisco when it comes to queer events & culture. That all changes on Friday, June 4th! Three indie bands, all queer as heck, take over the Starry Plough!

Bitesize, The Ex-Boyfriends, RoboSapien
Friday June 4th, 9:30 PM
Starry Plough (3101 Shattuck Ave @ Prince)
$7, 21 and over

Bitesize:: "In addition to 100% gleeful abandon, Bitesize engages the listener with a unique perspective and agitated twist on subject matter like sex toys, gender bending and role switching back to Shakespeare's time." -AOL Digital City
"A quirky (band) that brings to mind PIXIES, PEE, and even ATOM & HIS PACKAGE. Great vocal play between (alternating) vocals. Twenty infectious ditties that overflow with enthusiasm and spirit on a pop level." -Maximum Rock N Roll
"When you're singing about transsexual understudies, flaming ice cream trucks, and kissing old guys, you can pretty much expect to be saddled with the modifier "quirky." It is certain that Bitesize knows this. They've certainly heard it before. But underneath all the eccentricities of their second full-length CD, Sophomore Slump, Bitesize demonstrates why their eclectic brand of noise pop transcends its own wackiness. Simply put: hooks are hooks, and Sophomore Slump is loaded with them." -West Coast Performer
"With clever lyrics and hooked-barbed songcraft, the trio's fare is packed with a juicy filling of squealy clanking distortion, perky co-ed vocals, and manical melodies as catchy as any jump-rope rhyme. Imagine the Pixies forced into servitude by They Might Be Giants and you'll begin to get the idea." -East Bay Express

RoboSapien: is a band that includes self-proclaimed spazzes who are former members of the Infinite X's and Boy Wonder. Just back from their international tour with multi-media artist and spoken word spitfire Sini Anderson, RoboSapien will inspire you to shake your booty!

The Ex-Boyfriends: this frenetic, upbeat pop band is made up of members of Charmless & ex members of Crown of 45's! guitar driven sing-alongs that are sure to please!

a little background

When I lived in Oakland as a young adult I thought the Bay Area was as big as it got. I never even left California until I was 27, and that was for my honeymoon (divorced now, and swell friends with my ex, photographer Carl Posey, who is Berkeley High class of ‘83). I was at Cal for a while, then freelanced at The East Bay Express, the Bay Guardian, and was music editor at SF Weekly. It all seems a very long time ago. I used to party at Geoffrey’s in Jack London Square. I favored LaVal's pizza over Blondie's. Ate often at Lois'. I dealt with the gruff staff at Flint’s for the tangy barbeque ribs and bright yellow potato salad. Had brunch (when I had some money) at Rick & Ann’s up by the Claremont Hotel. I used to live at the Vulcan Foundry Studios at San Leandro Boulevard and High Street), and bought dollar burritos from the catering trucks over near there. I hung out at Yogurt Park in Berkeley. I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue for years (and was a good saleschick, too!). I used to go to Slim's in San Francisco, and to the DNA Lounge and to the Kennel Club (it’s no longer there? Or is it?) for hip hop shows. I listened to KALX as well as KMEL (which I know has changed a lot). Screamed through Cal basketball games when Kevin Johnson was at guard. I swore by Peet's (and still do). They serve it at a place here in Brooklyn called Boerum Hill Food Company, and please believe I go there often. I started writing for NY magazines like Spin and Rolling Stone (I still write for them sometimes). And finally ended up at Billboard, then at Vibe, then at Time Inc. Wrote More Like Wrestling while on a journalism fellowship at Northwestern University. Got some good reviews here and here and here, as well as a bad one (you thought I’d post it?!? Not). Started teaching at places like NYC’s Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center and The New School University and St. Mary’s College of California. As of today I haven’t had a day job in almost three years, and I like it. I write as much as I can, mostly fiction, and after fourteen years in journalism (Deadline! Deadline! Deadline), sometimes I feel like I’m not writing enough. It’s funny how life works out. I’m going back to school in the fall (after dropping out of Cal a thousand years ago) for my MFA (ask me how, with my no-BA-having self; it’s a good story).

More later.

Creek Crooning

Yesterday, a friend and I went to see Mark Growden perform in Sausal Creek in Dimond Park.

Thanks to Justin for this and the following photos.

It proved to be an amazing venue. A traffic bridge about 80 feet above provided resonant acoustics, and Mark's choices of instruments (accordian, banjo, a Norwegian flute) carried beautifully. The songs were soulful. And Mark was a delightful host.

It also smelled damn good. If you follow the Sausal Creek link above, you'll learn about how a bunch of Oakland residents are working to restore the creek to its native state, difficult in the face of creeping ivy.

Mark plans on other such concerts once he gets back from a tour. Join his mailing list (I think you just email him from his website) to find out what's next.