Beast Blog

Ashby Arts District

There is a fabulous movement afoot in South Berkeley!

It's called The Ashby Arts District, and its a cooperative effort spearheaded by Epic Arts (which serves as its fulcrum). The partnership includes La Peña Cultural Center, The Shotgun Players, Epic Arts Studios, The Black Repertory Group, Nomad Café, Northern California Land Trust and the Triptych Gallery. This district is unique in that it has been organized by artists and arts organizations from the grassroots up, and is now supported by the local business community, neighborhood associations, and was officially recognized by the Berkeley Mayor's office in the summer of 2003.

The recent emergence of this affiliation of arts venues in the South Berkeley/North Oakland neighborhoods surrounding Ashby BART station has finally given a name to an area long known for its proliferation of artists, writers, musicians, dancers, actors and other performers, as well as residents who appreciate community-based arts.

Through collaborative events and programs, the District’s members are working to bridge gaps between neighboring organizations, increase public awareness of the arts, and unify the communities they serve. Undertakings include:

* Publishing a monthly arts calendar that reflects events and performances throughout the Ashby Arts District

* Compiling and sharing a database of nearly one thousand local artists, musicians and other performers in order to allow broad saturation of favorite acts within the district

* Working with city officials to move new arts organizations into the area.

* Planning our first annual street festival for the summer of 2005, during which a section of the Arts District will be shut down to celebrate the 30th anniversary of La Peña and the Northern California Land Trust.

* Partnering with local businesses, organizations, and community groups to expand the reach of and base of support for the arts as an integrated part of community

* Continuing to develop public art projects such as the 2003 Ashby/MLK mural project that involve local residents as designers and architects of thier own creative environment.

The main goal is the continued development of the Ashby Arts District and the creation of a better world through art, one thriving community at a time.

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!

Fire! Fire! Fire is Cool. Heh heh.

The big Beast event this weekend is the Crucible's Fire Opera. It comes in two flavors. On Friday, a fund-raiser event with auctions and food, that costs $125. On Saturday (when I'm going), a party-party-party until the wee hours of the morning.

Friendster Meets Your Free Weekly's Listings Page

Gwen writes in to tell us about Upcoming.org, an events-listing website generated all by it's users. And you can link yourself to friends and venues so that you always know what's going on.

The East Bay is currently represted by San Francisco Bay Area and Oakland, and I've just added Berkeley.

So start posting!

You Can't Beat the Price!

Phil writes in to remind us that the free performances of Mother Courage and Her Children, done by the East Bay's inestimable Shotgun Players, wraps up this weekend.

As a special treat, the Saturday show, originally scheduled for Live Oak Park, will take place at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts -- inside! No blankets required.

June Bug Bash 2003

This Saturday night at the Stork Club is "June Bug Bash 2003", which, from what I can tell, is a celebration of rock and roll and comics. I'm going 'cause I wanna see Dealership, and I dig Jesse Reklaw.

Bum's Paradise and the Liberation Drive-In

As mentioned in the last post, last night the film Bum's Paradise showed at the kickoff of the 2003 Liberation Drive-In.

It turns out that Bum's Paradise is a major work of documentary. I won't simply repeat the details as to how it was made, but it's clear that by having Rabbit, one of the 'residents' of the Albany landfill, involved in the shooting of the work allowed the piece to have an intimacy and understanding that wouldn't have otherwise come through.

Importantly, the film doesn't attempt to glamorize or 'other-ize' its subjects. You get to see them for being just the people they are, living in a situation that is both depressing in its squalor and uplifting in its freedom. The artwork created by the residents is often stunning -- the Fairy Castle being a notable stand-out, particularly as its creator is one of the least coherent people on the landfill.

The film will be screening on June 22 at The Parkway, and ought not be missed!

The venue for last night's showing, the Liberation Drive-In, is an interesting urban artifact. In a vacant parking lot on Harrison Street, the folks of Nonchalance roll up a station wagon decked out with video projection equipment, which also broadcasts a signal so you can listen in your own car. I was surprised at how few people had shown up by 10:30 -- I'd thought this has gotten better coverage. I was also disappointed that immediately following Bum's Paradise was an over-long documentary from the 70s about a Nigerian singer and the hideous political situation of the era... The flick did a lot to drive people from the drive-in -- I mean, it's a worthwhile subject and all that, but not really what you want to show at a party on a Saturday night, you know?

Still, I'm looking forward to subsequent drive-ins, the end of each month throughout the summer.

And now, some pictures from last night, of the crowd watching Bum's Paradise.

Light My Fire

The biggest Beast haps this weekend is probably Ignite, the benefit fundraiser for the Crucible, taking place Saturday night.

As a recent Berkeley resident, I'm annoyed with my new municipality for having kicked out The Crucible. By all accounts it's an amazing organization and was a real bright spot in the community. From what I understand, the city shut them down after an event (a hip-hop show staged by a shady promoter) went awry. Though the Crucible had been nothing but a good thing up until this point, Berkeley opted for a bizarre zero-tolerance stance.

Oakland, eager to bolster its artistic cred, and desirous of improving the warehouse areas in West Oakland, was more than happy to accommodate The Crucible in giving them a new home. Our loss is their gain!

Hey, I just listen to the music.

It's about time for a radical reinterpretation of pornographic film scores. Forget the opera, Israeli world music, or any other imports. PornOrchestra is the East Bay's Own art form, performing live composed and improvised scores.

The equivalent of a circus band with its collective eye on the trapeze artist: the PornOrchestra teases out the thrill, amplifying the collective gasp at pornographic triumph —and tragedy— using the most eclectic and creative musical minds working in the Bay Area today.

Show your disdain for the Academy Awards. Swing by 21Grand Saturday or Sunday night. Where's my trenchcoat?

Venues & Clubs

in my opinion, i think oakland has the most to offer in terms of venues & clubs in the east bay. it has the most spaces that could be kick-booty clubs, if only the city lets it happen. in the meantime, the warehouse & house party phenominon is killer in oakland.

i like rock, indie, & experimental live performance genres, so oakland does it for me. if you like rootsy, bluesy, or folk, berkeley is prolly where ya wanna be. if you like DJs, well, that's a whole different ball o wax. (ruby room? radio? shattuck down low? where do the DJ people go?)


the best places for my kinda stuff? well, as an indie promoter, i get to select the venues where i place things based on MY criteria. i choose the oakland metro, the black box (oakland), and the starry plough (berkeley).

why? the motives of the people who own/work there, mainly. at the metro & the black box, the venues are owned & run by artists & people who run a venue because they love the arts. the starry plough is a family-run business, and as a leftie, i appreciate their anti-racist, pacifist politics.

they also happen to run a great feeling place from an audience point of view. the places just feel... comfortable. lived in. friendly.

i also like(d): cafe eclectica (albany), the now-defunct club muse (albany), 924 gilman, & the parkway theater.

now the dish:
i have also placed things at places i did not like for different reasons (from both a promoter and audience point of view). i've had run-ins at:

1. the now-defunct talk of the town (oakland). what a nightmare. i thought i was gonna have a heart attack each show. badly run by tweakers.

2. ivy room (albany). never really liked it. most of the music is not my fave.

3. 21 grand (oakland). a fine place, but the volunteer staff can be overworked & sometimes uptight.

4. the stork club (oakland). i was the club booker here for almost two years. there were some serious things i did not like here that i won't get into.

5. imusicast (oakland). a venue run like a tightwad dotcom. do not like this place. they make bands pay for lots of tech stuff that regular shows do not need (webcasting & staff). hard for bands to make a living here. the "no sticker" rule is also a drag.

6. rooster's roadhouse (ex-minnow, alameda) there have been staff & promoter upheavals here over and over. for good reason.

i would say that i would work with 21 grand again, and if the stork problems went away, the stork club too. the others? nah. can't recommend them to others, either. sad, really.

what's your fave club?