1 day Ago By Randy McMullen
From two timely stage shows to an modern rock icon and fun with dinosaurs, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond. Here is a partial rundown. The Marsh performance venue in Berkeley is presenting two solo shows that could not be more timely.
Jinho “Piper” Ferreira’s “Black Men Everywhere!” marks the writer and performer’s return to The Marsh after presenting “Cops and Robbers” there for multiple runs beginning in 2014. “Black Men,” described as a hard-hitting satire, is set during a presidential election that has triggered a bitter political battle between progressives and the far right (sound familiar?) and is made even more tense by a series of attacks being waged by an unknown assailant against police officers. Ferreira, who is also a hip-hop artist, previously worked for eight years as a police officer.
Here, he plays a host of characters in this look at America’s polarized political system and the scapegoating of African Americans. Meanwhile, comedian, actor and musician Alicia Dattner returns to The Marsh with her wild and wide-ranging “post-post-feminist” comedy show “Are You Dressed for the Apocalypse?” The performance, which was a hit at he Marsh in 2022, touches on everything from climate change, Instagram influencers and spiritual appropriation, to self-love, the big bang, and “ants carrying Cheetos.” “Apocalypse,” 4 p.
m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 21; “Black Men” runs 8 p.
m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 12 (no performers Oct.
4-5); $20-$100 each show; . Peter Hook was in not just one, but two bands that deserve serious consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The first was the mighty Joy Division, the seminal English post-punk band that formed in 1976 and went on to release two of the best albums of all time — the landmark debut “Unknown Pleasures” from 1979 and the brilliant follow-up “Closer” from 1980.
Hook’s powerful bass playing was a key part of the band’s moody, atmospheric sound, which, for our money, really marked the beginning of modern rock as we know it. Then, after Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis died in 1980, Hook and the two other bandmates — guitarist Bernard Sumner and drummer Stephen Morris — went on to form the vastly influential synth-pop act New Order and release an impressive string of hits, including the iconic “Blue Monday.” The amazing bassist and his current band — dubbed Peter Hook and The Light — will celebrate the legacies of both of those legendary acts when he visits The Warfield on Saturday.
It should be a greatly pleasing, and diversely appealing, evening of music. 8 p.m.
; tickets start at $54; . Got a kid who loves dinosaurs (and what warm-blooded child doesn’t)? Here’s a chance to see them up-close and personal, at the “Land of Fire and Ice” exhibit at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. Opening on Saturday, the show draws on new research to paint a fresh picture of what dino life was like in the Cretaceous Period.
It turns out these oversized lizards didn’t just roam the tropical jungles and plains. Fossil records show that many species, including the dubiously named Troodon and Edmontosaurus, spent part of their time in what is today’s frigid Arctic. Children ages 3-10 will enjoy unraveling the mysteries of dinosaur habitats with hands-on activities like fossil digging and rubbings and exploring a volcano with realistic lava.
There’s a swampy-bog environment to slog through, a frozen river to cross, insect costumes to wear and a rocky prominence that culminates in a fun ice slide. So get ready to see a new side of T-Rex — and plant the seeds for your future paleontologist (or climatologist?), and have fun outing all at the same time. Museum is open 9:30 a.
m.-1 p.m.
Tuesdays through Fridays and 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.
m. Saturdays and Sundays; 180 Woz Way, San Jose; $18; . Big works are on the calendar this week, with performances featuring the music of Verdi, Beethoven and Mozart, among others, highlighting the classical music scene.
Here are three events you won’t want to miss. Music director Esa-Pekka Salonen will take the podium when the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus open the 2024-25 Orchestra Series with Verdi’s monumental “Requiem.” The vocal soloists are soprano Karen Cargill, tenor Mario Chang, and bass Peixin Chen; choral works by composer Gordon Getty open what promises to be an evening to remember.
7:30 today through Saturday; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $49-$205; . Speaking of powerhouse works, California Symphony will launch its season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Music director Donato Cabrera conducts two performances featuring soprano Laquita Mitchell, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, tenor Nicholas Phan, and baritone Sidney Outlaw, and Eric Choate directs the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Chorus. An overture by French composer Louise Farrenc starts the program. 7:30 Saturday, 4 p.
m. Sunday; Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek; $25-$50; . Here’s an opera for all ages: Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” opening this weekend at Opera San Jose under the direction of composer-conductor Alma Deutscher, who led the company’s recent much-loved production of “Cinderella”; this family-friendly “Flute” features a cast led by Ricardo José Rivera as Papageno, Woo Young Yoon as Tamino, and Melissa Sondhi as Pamina.
Saturday through Sept. 29, California Theatre, San Jose; $62.50-$222.
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