Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss

March 17 – Edu Ribeiro

March 23 – Ralph Alessi

Emma Stone 2007, 2025

Art cannot save us from the cynical dishonesty of our leaders; that is not what it is for. But when we focus on its attractive surfaces rather than its deeper meaning, our critical acumen, our integrity and maybe even our souls are degraded. Art has the power to show us what the truth looks like. It is complex and elusive. The search for it is where true beauty and moral strength lie.

Tuner at work

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IF THIS IS TUESDAY WE ARE IN BRAZIL

I admit that I am confusing myself by producing Venezuelan show Saturday and then a Brazilian show 17 days later. The first band has an Israeli bassist. The second band has an Armenian American bassist. The first band has a Venezuelan piano player, although he also has Middle Eastern heritage. His drummer is Puerto Rican American I believe. The Brazilian band is led by a drummer. This would make a great SAT test question. Or LSAT. Latin aptitude test. The Latin show has an Anglo even Germanic solo upright base opening act. The Brazilian show has a Chinese American Latin piano player.

not to ruin my surprise, but I’m serving arepa at one of these shows. tempted to serve corn beef at the Brazilian show for St. Patrick’s Day. Or maybe snake.

And1

And1 Gilber2 is less confused:

His quest has taken him to breathtaking creative heights with achievements visible both at home, where the Emeryville pianist and composer is the longest serving member of the SFJAZZ Collective, and abroad, via regular tours throughout Europe. No matter where his musical travels have taken him, Simon has kept his homeland in sight.

Earthwise >>2026 

Feb 28 Edward Simon Adam Cruz Or Bareket, Stephan Crump M 8 pm THIS WEEKEND

March 17 Edu Ribeiro Noah Garabedian Vinicius Gomes, Murray Low M 8 pm

March 23 Ralph Alessi Adam Benjamin Richard Giddens Mark Ferber P 8 pm

April 4 Realtime Collective Tammy Hall Sylvia Cuenca Kristen Strom Ruth Davies, Rabiah Kabir Jaycie Grady Jonathan Franaszek Alan Jones Ethan Buck  M 8 pm

April 17 Mads Tolling Sam Reider, Larry Ochs Ben Davis Fred Lonborg-Holm  TBA

May 1 Never Come Down, Hannah Mayree J 6 pm

May 15 Caroline Davis Julian Shore Chris Tordini Tim Angulo M 8 pm

May 22 Lily Finnegan Gaby Fluke-Mogul, Jordan Glenn Flatways f  Sudhu Tewari Matt Robidoux M 8 pm

June 6 Emi Makabe Thomas Morgan Kenny Wolleson Vitor Gonćalves M 8 pm

June 7 Remy LeBouef 2 pm tba

Sept 18 Splash Myra Melford Michael Formanek Ches Smith, Tammy Hall  M 8 pm

October  2, 3 Hannah Marks M 

8 pm

J = Johnson Park (free)

M = Mitchell Park Community 

Center

P = Palo Alto Art Center

$20 

😎 🐍 ⚾️ 

Robert Huy Morgan Mem Chuy hoy

I was in awe of Kent, and I think he respected and admired that I was a good student and involved in other activities like student government and the student newspaper. I was possibly the worst varsity basketball player in history of Gunn high school and scored exactly four points, and was just lucky I was born within 12 months of Kent. I say quite a bit that I get a lot of talking points out of having scored exactly one field goal. 

Fury 66 hit the road on Thursday to open for A.F.I.at the Cubberley Community Theater in Palo Alto, which is better suited for children’s plays than punk shows–the floors slant in neat rows of bolted-down seats and awkward aisle spaces. The audience itself was overwhelmingly juvenile, with the exception of several rows of bewildered, yet patiently smiling, chaperones seated in the back. Three-piece Vintage 46 opened with a well-executed but redundant set, replete with many Rancid-isms that were difficult to ignore. Fury singer Joe Clementsmanaged to pull some of the kids out of their passive, TV-watching slouch and up to the narrow strip of space in front of the stage to jump around, but the energy was soon tainted by a few big drunk jocks who began extracting theater seats and throwing them on stage. 

While the Fury guys took this with weary grace, Roach, guitarist for the Groovie Ghoulies, wasn’t so forgiving after getting hit with a big piece of wood and metal. Incensed, the band stopped cranking out their Ramonesey feel-good hits and Roach ordered the culprit to come up and explain himself. Unable to verbalize, he could only respond by shrugging his shoulders, picking up the seat and throwing it down again, at which point he was quickly escorted off stage by a bouncer.

As far as I could tell, A.F.I.’s set went without incident. Their show at the Vet’s Hall Basement on Friday was fun, from what I could see through my bifocals and hear through my hearing aid in the old folks’ corner behind the stage, where I dragged my weary bones after some kid’s skull cracked open my lip during Mock‘s set. The sound was up and down all night, with A.F.I. falling into the nadir (look it up, kid–it’s on the SAT!). Despite the lack of a guitar mic and other problems, they had the kids in a frenzy like small, bloodthirsty sharks, thrashing around to mile-a-minute guitar lines and Davey’s snotty, high-pitched vocals. It must be observed that not only has Davey lost his curled forehead spike, but the whole band was sporting new sneakers and generally looking less grimy. Oh well–they still rock and the new hair is still pretty cool.