Oakland Tribune Outtakes » Berkeley

Berkeley’s subterranean art house

awoodall — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:10:48 +0000

I returned to Berkeley later Saturday night to see Where the Wild Things Are (a tear jerker of the highest magnitude in my opinion) and noticed a little sliver of an art house tucked away between two storefronts on Bancroft. Turned out to be the Subterranean Art House, which is hard to spot because there is no permament sign affixed to the 2179 Bancroft Way address. I did not have time to go in (it was cold and my daughters were with us — thus the movie) for “night of music in honor of Hafiz.” Not that I knew what was going on inside anyway from a distance. I could only see paintings on the walls but online they describe the gallery as a place for visual and performance art – including songwriting and dance salons and the 50th anniversary celebration of Butoh dance, which is something that doesn’t happen too often around here. It’s not your average dance style.

FIVE bar and restaurant now open in Berkeley

awoodall — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:23:46 +0000

July 9 was the grand opening of the Shattuck Hotel’s restaurant/bar, FIVE in downtown Berkeley. It looks grand.
I once read the hotel had a smoking bar but never got there. Regrets! I also wanted to try the Afghan restaurant that occupied the downstairs, too. I assume they are both gone now.

Arianna Huffington gets mobbed in Berkeley

awoodall — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:02:36 +0000

Arianna Huffington at UC Berkeley Saturday afternoon for the “Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp (I had to work today). The millionaire Huffington Post chief, political pundit, publisher and former candidate for governor of California got the point about corporate greed and the need for people to do good to rescue this country from crisis. Her speech may be up on craigslistfoundation.org/bootcamp later. This is just a short clip taken after.

Cinco de Mayo Mexi-Irish style

awoodall — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:00:07 +0000

Cinco de Mayo kick-off and double CD-release party April 30 at the Starry Plough, Berkeley

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Steve Taylor-Ramírez takes his critically acclaimed Latin-infused neo-folk back to Berkeley’s Starry Plough Pub Thursday, April 30. He brings with him Latin-inspired soul singer Pamela Parker and folk duo Misner & Smith (winners of Best Song of the Year in the 2007 West Coast Songwriters’ Competition).

Pamela Parker and Misner & Smith will each release new, highly praised CDs. Taylor-Ramírez will introduce his new musical genre, Blues Ranchera, in which the sound of the Mississippi Delta meets the mariachi spirit of Jalisco, Mex.

The details:

Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 9:00 PM

Starry Plough Pub

3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley

Cost: $7

Info: 510.841.2082Set times:

9:00 – 9:50 – Steve Taylor-Ramirez

10:00 – 10:50 – Pamela Parker

11:00 – 12:00 – Misner & Smith

About the music

Misner & Smith offer folk songs rich in meaning and texture, centered around unique vocal harmonies and thoughtful lyrics. Their new album, Poor Player, came into being after Sam Misner won best song of the year with “Madeline” at the West Coast Songwriters’ Competition in the fall of 2007. The prize was free time in a recording studio, so they recorded at Bad Habit Recordings (http://badhabitrecordings.com/) in San Francisco with Gordon Brislawn as sound engineer. Poor Player has met rave reviews. Visit www.misnerandsmith.com and www.myspace.com/misnerandsmith for music and info.

Soulsinger Pamela Parker delivers a juicy blend of bluesy, soulful rock and has just released her latest album, Beautiful Day. Pamela deeply touches her audience with songs about life, love and being the change you wish to see in the world. “Parker oozes organic soul in both her performances and arrangements,” said Music Connection Magazine. Pamela has recently played the Fillmore, Great American Music Hall and Climate Theater, after touring as front woman for folk-funk-world-reggae-rock sensation Roots A’Risin’. Visit www.PamelaParkerMusic.com and www.YouTube.com/SoulSingerSmiles for music and more.

Berkeley-based songwriter, guitarist, singer Steve Taylor-Ramírez offers Latin-infused neo-folk music to critical acclaim. He performs his songs of love and protest at Bay Area clubs and pubs, and has appeared live recently on KALX, KUSF and KALW radio, as well as Univision TV. Please visit http://www.myspace.com/thestevetaylor for music and more information.

Queer On Their Feet is coming to Berkeley

awoodall — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:00:14 +0000

An Evening of Stand-Up Comedy and Improv with Queer On Their Feet will be at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley 1 Lawson Road in Kensington at 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM on April 19. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. College student discount $10 at the door night of the show with valid college id. Advance tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-877-278-4842. Buy in advance to get the discounted price! Remaining tickets will be available at the door, the night of the show.The Troupe features Jennie McNulty, Daniel Leary, and Diana Yanez. Queer On Their Feet is a refreshing and hilarious show that has each comic doing about 15 minutes of fabulous stand up and then that is followed by the 3 together onstage playing improv games with suggestions from the audience. Every show is unique, fun, and totally hysterical.
Further Comedian Info:
Jennie McNulty www.jenniemcnulty.com www.myspace.com/jenniemcnulty
Daniel Leary www.DanielLeary.net
Diana Yanez www.DianaYanez

Meridian International Sports Cafe

awoodall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:33:34 +0000

The Meridian gastropub opened recently. A 4,000 square foot restaurant, wine bar, 3,500-square-foot patio and major TV and theater set up for games. What more can you ask, discerning sports fans?

2050 University Avenue
Berkeley, California 94704(510) 705-1450

Open Wednesday – Sunday 11am-11pm

Historic Telegraph Avenue photos to be displayed

kbender — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:44:06 +0000

Whatever protests, demonstrations or civil unrest happens in Berkeley these days, it will never compare to Berkeley’s 1960s scene. Photographer Elio De Pisa was there and he took thousands of photographs of happenings in and around Telegraph Avenue’s Caffe Mediterraneum.

De Pisa, a native of Rome, managed Telegraph Avenue’s Caffe Mediterraneum between 1960 and 1972 and again from 1978-1990. He was seldom without his Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera. At that time the owners had a strictly enforced policy of no photography inside the cafe, with De Pisa being the only exception.
De Pisa, died in 2002 at age 68 but his pictures live on. Between 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, his wife Diane De Pisa, will discuss some of the photographs that will be on display through June 18. A book, De Pisa’s “photo diary” of the times, is being compiled by his wife with the help of designer Lucien Delia and photographer Nick Cedar.
For more information contact ddepisa@att.net. Caffe Mediterraneum is at 2475 Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley.

The best of Dick Kramer and the men’s chorus

awoodall — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:00:09 +0000

The Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus presents their spring concert, “The Best of Ten Years: A Dick Kramer Dedication,” on Saturday, April 4th, 7:30 pm, at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, and Sunday, April 5th, 5 pm, at First Congregational Church in Berkeley. Visit oebgmc.org or call 800.706.2389 for details

Reserved tickets cost $20; general admission $15; seniors/students (with ID)/children 12 and younger) $12

L’Avventura rocks

awoodall — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:00:05 +0000

Jeff from Fellini restaurant and coffee bar in Berkeley just released a new LP “Your Star was Shining” by his band L’Avventura (Italian of course!) It’s free www.lavventuramusic.com until April 30th (“Fine with us…” he says), or, if the recession hasn’t hit you too hard, you can purchase a copy at iTunes.com, emusic.com, amazon.com or cdbaby.com. To mark the CD release, the band is kicking off “The Living Room Sessions”, a series of 10 live shows, starting February 17th. Each week, L’Avventura will be joined by a different musical guest, for an evening of “melodic retro/futurist pop music” (NME), in an intimate, atmospheric setting. “The Living Room Sessions” offers FREE admission, early start times (running 7-9pm), easy parking, and absurdly hip vibes. It’s an all-ages venue too, so bring the juvenile delinquents… The location: 33 Revolutions, a cafe/wine-bar/vinyl record shop in El Cerrito (10086 San Pablo Ave.)
The dates are: Tuesday, February 24, 7-9 pm and… *Tuesday, March 10, 9-10pm (*at Thee Parkside, 1600 17th St, SF 94107)
Tuesday, March 17, 7-9 pm
Tuesday, March 24, 7-9 pm
Tuesday, March 31, 7-9 pm

Friday, April 10, 8-10 pm
Friday, April 17, 8-10 pm
Friday, April 24, 8-10 pm

Spenger’s fancy fish&beer feast

awoodall — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:20:34 +0000

Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto is putting on a Beer Dinner February 22, beginning at 6:30 PM.

The evening’s prix fixe menu, prepared by Spenger’s Executive Chef Devon Boisen, will consist of four courses, plus an amuse bouche, paired with the perfect beer. The cost of the dinner is $39.95 per guest, excluding tax and gratuity. Call (510) 845-7771 to reserve seats for the dinner. Advance reservations are required.

The dinner will begin with an amuse bouche of Seared Sea Scallop with Roasted Chiogga Beet, Charred Seville Orange and a Walnut Vinaigrette paired with Widmer Hefeweizen. The appetizer, Fresh Monterey Red Abalone with Local Hollister Parsnip Puree and Candied Meyer Lemon, will be paired with Stella Artois. This will be followed by a Niçoise Tower comprised of Ahi Tuna, Petaluma Butter Potato, Micro Mizuna and a Quail Egg paired with Red Hook ESB. The main course, Smoked Local Spot Prawn and House Cured Pork Belly with Wilted Organic Frisee, Fennel Apple Salad and Orange Blossom Honey, will be paired with a Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir. For dessert, diners will enjoy a New Castle Nut Brown Ale Tiramisu Cake with Homemade Butter Ice Cream and Praline Brittle.

The restaurant is located at 1919 Fourth Street in Berkeley, California, and the telephone number is (510) 845-7771.