It might be July 4 Independence Day but that won’t stop the first Fridays Art Murmur gallery stroll. Mercury 20 will be open from 6-9pm and invites folks to drop by after the picnic and before the fireworks for the opening of two shows: Fields of Disturbance, paintings by Joan Weiss and Misremembering You, mixed media and sculpture by Chela Fielding.
Visit the Web site for interviews with gallery artists. Can you guess which of Mercury 20 featured artists was the nanny for a famous feminist artist? Who hopped a train and rode the grain car to Sparks and back? Check out the interviews for answers to those questions and more:
Mercury 20 is at 25 Grand Ave (at Broadway) in downtown Oakland. For more info, call Kathleen at 510-701-4620 or email mercurytwenty@gmail.com.

THE GREAT WALL OF OAKLAND: The City of Oakland is now accepting works for possible screening on the “Great Wall of Oakland.” This 100 by 100-foot outdoor wall overlooks the busy intersection of Grand Avenue and Broadway in the bustling center of Oakland’s Uptown District, surrounded by restaurants, condominiums and galleries… Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate the winners of the Best of the East Bay, the Express is throwing a performing and visual arts party at the Oakland Museum on Friday, July 11, from 7pm to midnight. Headlining bands
include two of my favorites: Kev Choice and the Whoreshoes, as well as Flipper, The Uptones, Dyloot (Deep Voices), Destroyer, Monarchs, HOTTUB, Mike Glen Dinning, Brandi Shearer, DJ Malachi. Also featuring dance performances by Savage Jazz Dance, Splash Circus, 3-minute short film screenings, live art, and more.

 Live from the Cerrito Speakeasy: THRILLVILLE presents a special holiday weekend matinee, the second annual THRILL-O-TRONIC FILM SHOW offering a cinematic smorasbord of 16mm leftovers from a half century of kitschy Americana: cartoons, scopitones, industrial films, commercials, drive-in trailers, lost TV shows and more from the collections of SciFi Bob Ekman and Paul Etcheverry, plus “Porklips Now”, the rare “Apocalypse Now” spoof from Ernie “Hardware Wars” Fosselius who will appear in person along with your hosts WILL THE THRILL and MR. LOBO (”Cinema Insomnia”), plus live theremin by Robert Silverman! OR for a change of pace, ITALIAN CINEMA NITE: UCB Italian film expert Laura Roberto hosts a special screening at 9:15 p.m. July 10 of a new print of the classic crime comedy MAFIOSO (1962).

Here’s the lowdown on Eli’s: Two “young cool cats” just signed a lease with the owners. They plan to keep it open, have live music some nights and create a neighborhood hangout with a bar and restaurant, including lunch. So the neighbors should get a sound break and maybe even a cool spot to go to. The new operators are waiting for the previous operator Sam to hand over the liquor license (or rather sell it to them). Then they have to go through a cabaret license hearing. A sign will appear in the window of Eli’s announcing the date and location of the hearing when things get that far. If all goes well “Eli’s should fly again,” owner Mike McDonald said. He and co-owner Ron Kriss have “no interest in tearing it down.” 

Okay, for the record, Eli’s is not being torn down. The Craig’s List posting was bogus. No wonder no one showed up. Owner Mike McDonald just phoned this morning to say the rumor is false and a long-term lease to keep the place open is in the works. I don’t yet know what the venue will be but the main thing is Eli’s is still standing.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the outpouring of ideas and name suggestions for the Lake Merritt monster. We’ve had a breakthrough in the meantime from a Lake Merritt specialist:

“We are very pleased that the Oakland Tribune has finally acknowledged the existence of the Oak-Ness Monster. Those of us who frequent the lake every day have known about this beast for several years. For more details and photos of the monster, see the November and December, 2006 issues of “Tidings” the newsletter of the Lake Merritt Institute. Just go to www.lakemerrittinstitute.org; click on Help LMI, then on Newsletter Archives. Click on the November and December 2006 issues and they will appear in .pdf format. I have attached a photo of the monster as it was last seen in 2006. We also have video of it, showing it rising from the depths, disappearing, rising, and going down again. Yes, it does move. We tried to get the city council interested in passing a resolution to protect it (resolution available upon request) but had no response. Other jurisdictions have promoted their monsters, but, sadly, not in Oakland.”

On Saturday, July 12, the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls (B.A.D.) will host their first bout ever in San Francisco at Fort Mason Center. Skaters sought a new bouting venue after the limited capacity at B.A.D.’s Oakland practice location prevented the non-profit league from recuperating bout event expenses.
Fort Mason’s Herbst Pavilion is a 30,000 square foot column-free space that will allow up to 1,000 derby-crazed fans to converge for this classic Bay Area rivalry: Oakland Outlaws vs. San Francisco ShEvil Dead.
About the Event: Oakland Outlaws vs. San Francisco ShEvil Dead on Saturday, June 12, at Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; the beatdown starts at 8:00 p.m. Event is 21+ with ID for entry and to purchase alcohol. Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door.
This event is expected to sell out, so buy your tickets today at www.bayareaderbygirls.com.
Herbst Pavilion is located in the historic Fort Mason Center at the intersection of Marina Boulevard and Buchanan Street (www.fortmason.org). Free street parking is available but limited. The Fort Mason Center parking lot will cost attendees $8 for the evening. Carpooling and use of public transit is encouraged. The venue is accessible by the following MUNI lines: 22 Fillmore, 47 Van Ness, 49 Van Ness/Mission, 30 Stockton, 82x Presidio, and the 28 19th Avenue.

Holy blues guitars. I missed this on June 22 but it’s still news: Eli’s Mile High will be torn down next month (Tuesday July 8th). In honor of the club thats been a blues haven for so many musicians Tom (Troyce Key Uncle) is hosting a private Blues Jam tonite from 8pm - 1am, all the blues greats from the bay area will be there, the doors open at 7 signup is at 7:30 and will kick it off at 8pm. This is for musicians for musicians to say good bye to Eli’s Mile High Club for good.

Mercury 20 Gallery
25 Grand Ave. (at Broadway)  
Oakland, CA 94612 
  Exhibition dates: July 4– July 26, 2008 

Please join us for the Opening Reception: Friday, July 4 from 6:00–9:00pm (in conjunction with First Friday/Oakland Art Murmur).