From an iconic musincian from ab iconic band, to an exhibit devoted to cool album covers and free Shakespeare, there is a lot to see and do this weekend and beyond.<\/p>\n
Here is a partial rundown.<\/p>\n
Guitar-great Buck back in Bay Area<\/p>\n
We just can\u2019t get enough of Peter Buck\u2019s guitar work, which is one of the (many) reasons why the mighty catalog of R.E.M. is never far from our turntable\/streaming playlists.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Buck has remained quite active in the music business in the post-R.E.M. era, which began in 2011 when the Athens, Georgia,-born band \u2014 which, at its most beautiful, consisted of Buck, bassist Mike Mills, vocalist Michael Stipe and drummer Bill Berry \u2014 called it quits after 31 years and 15 terrific albums.<\/p>\n
The R.E.M. co-founder\u2019s latest project is dubbed Drink the Sea, the alt-rock supergroup that also features drummer Barrett Martin, vocalist-guitarist Alain Johannes, vocalist-saxophonist-guitarist Duke Garwood, percussionist Lisette Garcia and bassist Abby Blackwell.<\/p>\n
We had the chance to catch Drink the Sea in concert back in February at The Freight in Berkeley (the city where Buck was born Dec. 6, 1956) and really enjoyed its two-hour-plus set filled with songs from the albums \u201cDrink the Sea I\u201d and \u2018Drink the Sea II.\u201d\u00a0The 26 songs performed at The Freight offered up a swirling mix of global sounds, where the Arabic oud, Indian sitar, Indonesian gamelans, Brazilian surdo drums and other percussion instruments danced on top of traditional guitar-bass-drums pop\/rock frameworks.<\/p>\n
We highly recommend that curious R.E.M. fans and other adventurous music lovers go check out Buck and Drink the Sea when they perform on Sept. 4 at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park and Sept. 5 at The Chapel in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Details: Showtime at The Guild is 8 p.m. and tickets start at $64.48, guildtheatre.com<\/a>; showtime at The Chapel is 9 p.m. and tickets start at $58.14, thechapelsf.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jim Harrington, Staff<\/p>\n See the CDs of your youth<\/p>\n If you\u2019re an \u201980s kid chances are you have certain CD covers burned into memory, similar to a ghost image on an old TV. The baby in a swimming pool from Nirvana, perhaps, or Richard D. James, i.e., the dude from Aphex Twin, grinning like a crazy-eyed demon.<\/p>\n Well, now it\u2019s time to reconsider what you think of as CD cover art. A traveling exhibit titled \u201cUltraHive 4\u201d at the gallery FM Oakland \u2014 coming from L.A., going to Tokyo next \u2014 has gathered more than 100 artists to design their own surreal dream covers.<\/p>\n One cover is titled \u201cSanpaku Cthulhu\u201d and features a crying Billie Eilish surrounded by octopus tentacles. \u201cLiving Without Knowing Whether I\u2019m Hurting, Protecting or Hiding\u201d is a three-dimensional mask of what looks like an android protruding from the CD case. Another cover titled \u201cI Am the Walrus\u201d is simply that \u2014 a rad-looking walrus wearing sunglasses.<\/p>\n \u201cThis vibrant and eclectic exhibition showcases artists from around the globe, each contributing unique works that explore the CD cover as both canvas and concept,\u201d the gallery writes. \u201cFrom reimagined album art to sculptural pieces crafted from actual CD cases, the show celebrates the cultural legacy of physical media while pushing the boundaries of contemporary art.\u201d<\/p>\n Details: On view 1-5 p.m. Sept. 5 and every first Friday of the month from 5-9 p.m. until Sept. 26; 483 25th St., Oakland; fmoakland.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 John Metcalfe, Staff<\/p>\n Mexican dance troupe celebrates anniversary<\/p>\n Ensambles Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico de San Francisco, which has been performing \u2014 and preserving \u2014 traditional Mexican dance and culture for 30 years, is celebrating an anniversary this weekend.<\/p>\n The company is presenting a dance and music production titled \u201cAnniversary of the Pearl\u201d on Sept. 5 and 6 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The production will touch on some five centuries of Mexican history and culture, focusing on how regional and indigenous dance styles have absorbed and incorporated European and African influenced to evolve into vibrant status today.<\/p>\n The production will feature traditional costumes as well as live music performed by\u00a0Vinic-Kay, a folkloric ensemble led by Bay Area musician,\u00a0composer and ethnomusicologist\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez, and culminate in an homage to legendary Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel. The program will also feature\u00a0a special appearance by the youth of\u00a0ALAS\u2019 Mariachi Media\u00a0Luna of Half Moon Bay. The nonprofit is dedicated to aiding Latino families, farmworkers and youth with programs rooted in arts and community service.<\/p>\n Zen\u00f3n Barr\u00f3n, founder and artistic director of Ensambles Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico de San Francisco, also serves as Artistic Director of ALAS.<\/p>\n Details: 7 p.m. Sept. 5 and 2 p.m. Sept 6; Blue Shield Theatre at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; $30-$47; ensambles-sf.com\/events<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Randy McMullen, Staff<\/p>\n Here\u2019s your freebie of the week<\/p>\n Passion, power struggles, betrayals, suicides, armed bloody conflicts and \u2013 gasp \u2013 venomous asps are in the offing, as the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, now in its 44th year, unleashes its Free Shakespeare in the Parks\u2019 San Francisco run of the Bard\u2019s \u201cAntony and Cleopatra,\u201d kicking off at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, between Cambridge and Mansell streets in McLaren Park. The play, set 13 years after the assassination of Julius Caesar, when the triumvirate of his nephew Octavius ruled the farflung Roman Empire in conjunction with Lepidus and Mark Antony, the production, directed by Katja Rivera, stars Jeremy Ohta Lee as Antony, Tyler Aguallo as Octavius Caesar and Elizabeth Carter as the ill-fated Queen of Egypt.<\/p>\n Details: Performances continue at 2 p.m. Sept. 6 and 7 and 12 and 13 before moving to Sue Bierman park at Washington and Drumm streets for performances from Sept. 19 through the 27th. Find more information at sfshakes.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bargain day alert at UC Berkeley<\/p>\n UC Berkeley\u2019s revered Lawrence Hall of Science, which usually charges $27 for admission to its collection of intriguing exhibits and hands-on learning experiences, is offering a $5 Labor Day \u201cUnplug and Explore\u201d opportunity on Sept. 7 for families to do just exactly that. Dino-crazy kiddies (and their curious parents) can come face to face with life-size animatronic prehistoric creatures\u00a0 on the outdoor plaza featuring the Dinosaur Lookout Exhibit or go inside to the Animal Discovery Zone to meet some real life furry and scaly animals or explore some Ohlone science and knowledge or some cutting-edge biotechnology and artificial intelligence. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., all of the looking and learning is available for $5 per person. Furthermore, there is a daylong free shuttle running from the downtown Berkeley BART station to the hilltop center at 1 Centennial Drive in Berkeley. <\/p>\n Details: Find more information at lawrencehallofscience.org<\/a> and click on Upcoming Events.<\/p>\n Tickling the funny bone<\/p>\n We\u2019re officially just two months away from the midterm elections, which means it\u2019s probably a good time to start practicing any and all means of avoiding reality.\u00a0 We\u2019ve always felt comedy is good for that and there are several shows in the Bay Area this weekend. <\/p>\n At the Bankhead Theater in Livermore, Bay Area favorite Paula Poundstone holds forth on Sept. 5 (8 p.m., $45-$75, tickets are going fast, livermorearts.org<\/a>). Her knack for being quick on her feet and wildly creative makes her a great stand-up performer and serves her well on \u201cWait Wait \u2026 Don\u2019t Tell Me,\u201d the NPR radio comedy show disguised as a current events contest. At Tommy T\u2019s in Pleasanton, you can catch comedic history in action with TK Kirkland, i.e. \u201cThe King of Hip-Hop Comedy.\u201d He came to fame as a 1980s comedy act opening for such hip-hop stars as N.W.A., Jay-Z, Nelly, and more. He performs five shows Sept. 4-6 ($40-$50; tommyts.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n At the Punch Line in San Francisco, you can catch Lebanese comedian Malik Elassal Thursday through Saturday. He gained attention winning a bunch of comedy competitions in the early 2020s and might be best known as a star of the FX series \u201cAdults\u201d ($32-$46; www.punchlinecomedyclub.com<\/a>). And Cobb\u2019s Comedy Club in San Francisco is hosting Micheal Yo on Sept. 3; Blair Socci on Sept. 4 and Ron Taylor, the comedian who recently won the grand prize on the Netflix show \u201cFunny AF With Kevin Hart\u201d on Sept. 5-6 (prices vary per show, www.cobbscomedy.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 Bay City News Foundation<\/p>\n LOLs with beloved crustaceans<\/p>\n San Francisco has a rich history of sketch and improv comedy, dating back to The Committee, a troupe formed by Chicago Second City alumni that performed in the Bay Area from 1960-\u201972 (if you\u2019re wondering about that seemingly staid moniker, the group reportedly named itself after the House Un-American Activities Committee). Since then, there have been several groups and performers who\u2019ve brought improv comedy to Bay Area stages, along with the annual SF Sketchfest, one of the biggest events of its kind in the country. <\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Killing My Lobster, the popular sketch comedy troupe with the, ahem, killer name, that has been performing its lively, quick-paced form of improv since 1977. As with most purveyors of live theater\/comedy, KML, as it\u2019s known, has seen its ups and downs. The troupe went dark for a time but was resurrected in December and will be in action this weekend and next at the Z Space performance venue at 470 Florida St. in San Francisco. KLM shows generally have a theme, and this one, titled \u201cHysterical Historium,\u201d takes viewers on a gut-busting exploration of San Francisco\u2019s wild Gold Rush era of the late 1800s, when a sudden explosion of wealth brought out the best a city has to offer \u2013 greed, crime, liquor and prostitution. <\/p>\n