Jerry Seinfeld comes to the Paramount on March 3. Plus, check out our monthly arts and culture event picks.
Comedy
The man who first asked the immortal question, “What’s the deal with airline food?” is back; Jerry Seinfeld’s wacky observational stand-up defined ’90s comedy and he’s still joking.
March 3, 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m., $50-$150. The Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. ParamountTheatre.com.
In the classic caper Be My Baby, carousing Scotsman John and proper Englishwoman Maude can’t stand each other, but they’re forced to associate when their wards decide to adopt a son. And when John and Maude get stranded with the baby in San Francisco, it seems like these two opposites just might kill each other. Who would think that they’d start to get along?
Opens March 10, 8 p.m. $27-$30, Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda. Altarena.org.
In Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers, at the height of the free love ’60s, middle-aged nerd Barney Cashman is determined to get involved in this so-called sexual revolution that he’s been hearing so much about, but all his attempts at seduction only lead to spectacular failure.
March 16, 7:30 p.m., $35-$60, Livermore Performing Arts Center, Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore. LVPAC.org.
Dance
Kidd Pivot and the Electric Company Theatre combine forces to create Betroffenheit, an intense exploration of psychological trauma following disaster. Those Germans have a word for everything. Be warned that this performance contains strobe-like effects, nontoxic theatrical haze, and strong language, so viewer discretion is advised.
March 10-11, 8 p.m., tickets start at $30, Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, UC Berkeley, Berkeley. CalPerformances.org.
Events
Support women storytellers and writers and raise funds for LIMINAL, a community space for marginalized voices, by attending Embodying Spaces, LIMINAL’s second annual soiree. Visual artist and writer Indira Allegra, spoken word artist Audacious Iam, Rad Women series author Kate Schatz, journalist Akilah Monifa, poet Mg Roberts, and Oakland Poet Laureate Alison Luterman will be on hand to present and perform. LIMINAL is a woman-owned business and nonprofit serving women and people who are gender nonconforming by supporting gender equity through narrative arts. Since opening in February 2014, LIMINAL has showcased more than 250 female and gender nonconforming artists.
Feb. 25, 7 p.m., LIMINAL, 3037 38th Ave., Oakland. Buy tickets, $15-$25, at Eventbrite. TheLiminalCenter.com.
Festivals
San Francisco hosts the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebration on the West Coast, and it’s no wonder because Irish immigrants have played a major role in the formation of the city from its start as a Gold Rush boomtown to its rise as a thriving seaport. Many of the city’s Irish immigrants went on to become prominent leaders both in San Francisco and throughout California. This party offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate the contribution of the city’s Irish community through live musical performances, arts and crafts exhibitors, food and beverages, children’s rides and inflatables, and nonprofit booths representing the Irish community.
Festival: March 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and before, during, and after parade. Parade: March 11, 11:30 a.m., starts at the corner of Second and Market. Free. Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. SResProductions.com.
In Chaharshanbe Suri, the traditional Persian celebration to welcome the new bloom of spring, kids and adults alike jump over bonfires in hopes that the cleansing flame will take away all the sickness and despair of the old year and give them good luck for the year ahead. This family-friendly, alcohol-free event also features DJ music, dancing, food, and craft vendors.
March 17, 6-10 p.m., free, Berkeley Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave., Berkeley. PersianCenter.org.
Film
Move over, Mickey Mouse! Buzz off, Bugs Bunny! The first ever GLAS Animation Festival brings a whole new take on cartoons, with innovative and undiscovered animators competing in various categories.
March 2-5, $60-$200. Shattuck Cinemas and California Theater, 2230 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. GLASAnimation.com.
You don’t need to squeeze into a bathysphere to enjoy the majesty of the silent world below the waves; the San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival screens 45 films that capture the beauty, power, and mystery of the wide-open ocean at Cowell Theater in Fort Mason Center.
March 9-12, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., $125-$175. Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco. OceanFilmFest.org.
Enjoy the nation’s largest exhibition of new Asian and Asian-American films. CAAMFest screens 130 films from diverse directors at various locations in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley.
March 9-19, screenings $12-$20, CAAM, 145 Ninth St., Suite 350, San Francisco. CAAMedia.org/welcome-to-caamfest-2017.
Make a playdate for the imagination with the Bay Area International Children’s Film Festival, a colorful exploration of kids’ movies from around the world. Now in its eighth year, the festival features movies to delight and provoke kids (and adults) of all ages. This year’s lineup includes a retelling of an Inuit folktale from Canada, a story of schoolyard crushes from Ireland, and a stop-motion featurette about an island inventor who creates a device to swap his friends’ personalities hailing all the way from Russia. Saturday afternoon’s roster includes several shorts on the hilarious and surreal adventures of a plasticine cowboy figure and his trusty toy horse in the popular Belgian A Town Called Panic series. Many of the screenings aren’t just for kids—they’re by kids. Learn about air pollution and other pressing issues of the day through Octopus News!, a news magazine show reported and compiled by kid journalists from Taiwan. Or just get a glimpse into what really makes kids laugh in The Runaway Toilet, the story of a superhero in search of a missing toilet penned by third-grade film auteur Adrian Blume. Kids love toilets.
March 10, 7-10 p.m., March 11-12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., $25-$35, weekend pass $65. Chabot Space & Science Center, 1000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. BAICFF.com.
Food & Drink
Everyone knows that the best meat comes on a stick–from shish kebab to luau pork, from those big rotating meat cylinders they slice gyros from to the humble corn dog. Celebrate the king of the stick meats at Corn Dog Day, with live reggae and a 3 p.m. eating contest at SoMa StrEat Food Park. The $5 admission includes a beer or water.
March 18, 3 p.m., $5, SoMa StrEat Food Park, 428 11th St., San Francisco. SoMaStrEatFoodpark.com.
Taste the finest artisan and gourmet chocolates and confections at the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon at the Hotel Kabuki. Don’t resist the temptation.
March 18, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., adults $30, kids $10. The Hotel Kabuki, Garden Level, 1625 Post St., San Francisco. SFChocolateSalon.com.
Music
Con Funk Shun celebrates 40 years in the industry with a performance of songs from a new CD, More than Love, including the new hit single “Dancing with a Grown Man.”
March 3, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; March 4, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; $36-$75. Yoshi’s, Jack London Square, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. Yoshis.com.
For those of us on the mainland, Hawaiian music is the ukulele, the lulling, strumming background noise to a hula dance performed on the sun-drenched Waikiki Beach for a crowd of tourists in leis, Aloha shirts, and the always stylish socks-and-sandals combo. But Hawaiian music is much more than just a show for out-of-town vacationers. Modern Hawaiian music is a rich tradition combining the folk ballads of Mexican vaqueros who arrived on the islands in the late 1800s to help wrangle wild cattle for Hawaii’s burgeoning beef trade with traditional Polynesian chanting and dance. It is notable for the instantly recognizable slack-key guitar tuning technique popularized in so many beach movie soundtracks. Freight & Salvage hosts a concert by the Masters of Hawaiian Music, three recognized virtuosos of the kī-hō‘alu (slack key guitar) who offer the perfect chance to go beyond the luau to discover the true depths and complexities of island rhythms. George Kahumoku Jr., Nathan Aweau, and Kawika Kahiapo have each won multiple Na Hoku (Hawaiian Grammy) awards for their music of the islands, from 19th century Hawaiian paniolo cowboys to 21st-century stages.
March 8, 8 p.m. $34 advance, $36 door. Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. TheFreight.org.
Kasey Chambers: musician, mother, crawfish shucker, Renaissance woman. Is there anything she can’t do? The Australian songbird returns to her country roots in her newest album, rediscovering the sound that first brought her acclaim.
March 9, 8 p.m., $30 advance, $35 door, Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. TheFreight.org.
Even after 30 years, the quintessential all-American funk rock band is still rocking the stage as the Red Hot Chili Peppers bring the Getaway, their 11th studio album, to life.
March 12, 7:30 p.m., $50-$105, Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland.
Saxophonist Harvey Wainapel spent years deeply immersed in the music of Brazil, exploring everything from sultry samba to brassy bossa nova. He brings all of that experience to bear in his quartet Alegritude, performing the heady rhythm and hearty beats of the tropics. Tickets can be bought online at BrownPaperTickets.com or at the door. The concert will be followed by a reception with the band.
March 19, 2 p.m., $15, Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, JazzAtTheChimes.com.
Sports
According to legend, Livermore’s Brazen Leprebadger—part badger, part leprechaun, possibly wearing a green hat—exits his burrow on St. Patrick’s Day in the emerald hills of Livermore. This horrible cryptid will devour us all. But in the meantime, the Badger Cove Half Marathon, 10K & 5K is a perfect collection of runs starting at the picturesque Del Valle Regional Park and jaunting along beautiful waterfront views under oak groves.
March 18, 8 a.m. for the half marathon, 8:25 a.m. for the 10K, and 8:45 a.m. for the 5K, $44-$77. Del Valle Regional Park, 7000 Del Valle Road, Livermore. BrazenRacing.com/r/badgercove.html.
Celebrate the platinum selling album of legendary super rocker Mok in the Rock ’n’ Rule Marathon. Oh, wait, Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon? Never mind. The marathon begins at Ocean Beach, crosses the Golden Gate Bridge twice, and ends at the Civic Center, with live bands along the way, and free beer at the finish line festival.
March 26, 6:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. $79 to participate. Ocean Beach, San Francisco. RunRockNRoll.com/san-francisco.
Stage
Disney on Ice unites all the Disney characters that kids love and adults tolerate for a thrilling stunt-filled spectacular, featuring great escape hijinks by the Toy Story gang, songs by Ariel the little mermaid and car chases by that diesel daredevil Lightning McQueen.
March 1-5, 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m., $15-$86, Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. Coliseum.com.
Zap! Bof! Pow! Sha-zam! Are you ready for action? Are you ready for adventure? The Intergalactic Nemesis series is a live stage show that re-creates the golden age of breathless radio serials and pulp comic books with a wacky science fiction storyline chock-full of globetrotting adventure, bug-eyed alien monsters, mysterious strangers, and intrepid girl reporters hot on the trail of the scoop of the century. Accompanying sound effects are created in real time by a live Foley artist, and a cinematic score is performed by a live orchestra. Adding to the lurid oversized tone of the production, it all takes place in front of a backdrop of more than 1,250 hand-drawn, full-color comic book images. The only thing missing from the complete Grand Guignol comic book experience is a backpage full of ads for X-ray specs and pet sea monkeys.
March 17, 8 p.m., $50-$80. Livermore Performing Arts Center, Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore. LVPAC.org.
This report appears in the March edition of our sister publication, The East Bay Monthly.
Published Feb. 24, 2017 at 8:00 a.m.
