Oakland Tribune Outtakes

Considering the address — Old Oakland — Chris Klein could have picked a better name than Oaksterdam Tattoo. If he had put the tattoo parlor in Oaksterdam territory there might not have been much fuss. But putting it on Washington Street next to Ratto’s guaranteed neighbors would raise an eyebrow. And they did, according to Klein. That is to be expected when you slap the name Oaksterdam on anything, especially on a tattoo parlor. He said he still gets stray calls by people looking for the green stuff, and I don’t mean ink. But the critics have eased off.
Klein  opened Dec. 18, a couple weeks after the bitchy chatter on Internet sites (“First a tattoo parlor. What’s next? A brothel?” and “Are we that desperate for businesses?”) died down. You could easily mistake the parlor for a gallery except for the sign on the window written in the A’s signature green and white swish, which does not really reflect what is behind the storefront.  A Victorian-era ceiling soars above tattoo stations where “Priest” sat steadily transforming a man’s back into a riot of  multicolored flora and fauna. Paintings by the tattoo artists hang on the startk white walls. There are no drunken sailors or brazen hussies, at least not this afternoon. The sidewalk was filled instead Caffe 817 patrons soaking up the wan winter sun.
Klein, a musician and artist, has kept the front area open for people waiting to turn their skin into a human canvas, as well as for entertainment on Frist Fridays.  Nothing big.  At least nothing like in New Orleans, which is where he moved from.  Further on but not far are two more new (and evidently less controversial ) additions to the neighborhood. The white-walled Collect gallery on Broadway opened Jan. 2 with a screening of film shorts (Oh thank you great culture muse in the sky). Next up is Jan. 12.
Collect is the second storefront being filled by Leila Banijamali and Lauren Geremia. The duo’s other gallery around the corner on Ninth bears the latter’s name, Geremia Design. Together with pioneer FIVEten Studio (oh please don’t go!) the galleries and parlor create a sort of four-cornered Old Oakland art scene. Banijamali and Geremia call themselves San Francisco designers and entrepreneurs. Perhaps. But even if that is their pedigree why do they named the Web site CollectArtSF if both of their “well-appointed galleries” are in Oakland. Was CollectArtOakland taken? You might say I’m being unfair because it is the URL we’re talking about. But: Oaksterdam might be a poor choice of names for the neighborhood but at least the name reflects the city it’s in.

From the SF Marina District to the Oakland hills comes Monaghan’s, an Irish-themed pub and sports bar. The new location, ironically, is near the Mormon Temple, at 2820 Mountain Blvd. “Monaghan’s on the Hill” opened this weekend. More to come.

Lounge 3411 has replaced Velvet, perhaps the world’s only Raiders friendly gay bar. What is this world coming to?

The “Holiday Buy Night” waterfront bazaar tonight on Jack London Square does not lack for creative indie merchants. But the food was a bit on the scarce side Thursday night. So here is my suggestion for making the most of the scene. Start with a tour of the bottom level of the market hall (given over to the bazaar for Thursday and Friday) then head upstairs for a glass of beer or wine and a tamale. Then circle the second floor. The shopping and credit card swiping will help you burn off the tamale and work up an appetite so that when you have found the perfect (PERFECT!) gift for all — even a Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig or Raiders action hero doll for Uncle Joe — you can glide by the nearby Oakbook gallery shopping-for-art show opening tonight, then stroll (or waddle if you have stopped off at Bocanova, Miss Pearl’s etc.) to Encuentro, the latest venture of Oakland entrepreneur and developer Merritt Sher, his daughter, Lacey Sher, and his fellow Metrovation real estate brain trust Linda Braz. The tapas cafe/wine bar opened Dec. 4 and has Millennium chef Eric Tucker at the helm. The boite on 202  Second St. has been in the making for quite some time and behind schedule at least a year, if I recall correctly, proving that the hurdles are high even for a three people with sway and experience. I have heard from others that the biggest hurdle is a certain Alameda County health dept. inspector. More on that later. The wait sounds worth peppered portobello mushrooms with caramelized fennel and onions and smoked goat cheddar or smoked pecan cheese with caper aioli (!!!).  I am such a sucker for capers. And, speaking of waddling, Miette’s retail store is open for cake orders and will open fully soon soon soon!

This weekend featured one of those nights when the art takes a backseat to the flourishing spectacle of First Friday. Constant Dancer was replaced by Constant Drummer, who provided the musical backdrop on his drum and suitcase to the bustle along with the band on the bus parked halfway down 23^rd Street.  It was very Grateful Dead meets Cheech and Chong, or is that redundant?  
A woman lifted her arm to swig down the last gulp of whiskey from a pint as she passed me by. Luka’s and Franklin Square Wine bar were so full we couldn’t get a seat for dinner. We ended up at Levende East, which is not a bad compromise. Success is a double-edged sword, of which I was on the wrong side Friday. Rock Paper Scissors locked visitors out for some reason. Hatch was so packed that even if I could have squeezed in I wouldn’t have had a chance to look at the work on the walls before being propelled forward into the mass of humanity, of which a few smelled less than fresh.  Next door, a few pieces next door caught my eye but again it was so busy I didn’t have a chance to stop long enough to write down the titles and artists. The newest installment of gallery to fill the old Esteban Sabar space seems more commercially viable and abstract than I am used to seeing in that corner of Art Murmur. I see a lot of cartoon and illustration influence in the work of contemporary Oakland artists. I am seeing the effect rub off on my daughters’ work, which is a strange process to observe. One of them was part of the Oakland School for the Arts show Friday, which was about the only First Friday venue downtown (Fox Theater annex) to focus on…art. The students produced six or more pieces for the show, titled and priced them. And I have to say they turned out some work that rivaled other galleries. I am biased and fairly unqualified to make that judgment. But even I could see the distribution of talent Friday night was not even across the city.

That was fast! Paradiso Lounge is up and running complete with cabaret license. The lounge on Telegraph Avenue near West Grand opened weekends this month. But Friday night was the official launch with a band that sounded like Fishbone and had heads bobbing to a pre-gangsta rap hip-hop mixed with Ska 80s sort of sound.  It was pure coincidence that I landed there Friday. My boyfriend and his family, who had come down for a bit of Oakland sightseeing, actually stumbled across Paradiso on the way to Tel and 22nd, where indie merchants and musicians had set up for First Friday. I thought I was supposed to meet them at 2022. I realized my error pretty fast: there was one group inside.  But I happened to strike up a conversation with the owner who was standing outside 2022 and who mentioned his club was having an opening night party. Of course, it was Paradiso where I was headed. I want to go back and see what the space looks like on regular nights. It was pretty crowded Friday night so I only got a taste of Paradiso, so to speak. I spent most of the time at the back of the main downstairs bar. Another smaller bar is upstairs in a separate room. Will reveal all in Friday’s Night Owl.

As I mentioned, I stopped by the Compound Gallery on San Pablo Avenue Friday night to check out “Plaid Friday,” which was just one day in the span of the holiday market running until mid-December. Here Obi Kaufmann talks about showing his work for the first time in the gallery he operates Swee(t)Art Drawing Gallery. The show is called Mercurius and Obi can explain the work better than I can.

 

Otherwise, BlankSpace and the other galleries that make up the “Golden Gate Art District” are offering a bonanza of holiday gift items and for $5 you can have your picture taken with Babe, Paul Bunyon’s giant blue ox. The money goes to the East Oakland School of the Arts (one of the Castlemont small schools) and Skyline High. As I understand it from Kerry Johnson, both schools are in dire need of donations to their visual arts departments for supplies. So check it out. East Oakland School of the Arts (one of the Castlemont small schools) and Skyline High. As I understand it from Kerry Johnson, both schools are in dire need of donations to their visual arts departments for supplies. So check it out.

I am possibly the lamest shopper in the history of this consumer-mad society. I didn’t even know what Black Friday was until a few years ago when an editor sent me out to do a story on shoppers that day. Things haven’t improved by much judging by my futile, some would say naive, attempt to cash in on a bargain displayed in the mountain of glossy ad inserts contained in Friday’s papers. (WalMart’s insert was more like a friggin catalogue and rivaled the thickness of post Thanksgiving newspapers.) At about 11 a.m. I called a store about the item I looking for (I can’t give the secret away) and the clerk laughed at my question whether the item was still available. So I called two more and got the same response. OK fine, but I refuse to spend the night outside a store no matter how good the bargain is. (Does anyone remember when people camped outside for Ramone tickets instead of a sale?) Oakland indie merchants are taking an alternative approach: Plaid Friday. They are offering discounts and specials as a way to avoid the big box retailers that gobble up dollars. The money spent at Oakland stores stays local and it’s safer than getting trampled by shoppers stampeding their way to big screen TVs. And Penelope’s is hosting an after-shopping party with special $3 shots, $6 cocktails and $6 tamale plates from La Borinquena until 11 p.m. Wear plaid and receive a 1 cent Indie Special shot. I am heading to the Compound Studios and Gallery where the artists are getting into the spirit.

Remember, singletons or ones who do not wish to cook, the Spice Monkey cafe is hosting Thanksgiving dinner in exchange for can food donations for charity. I heard Cafe Gratitude in Berkeley might be open as well, which would only be fitting.

 You’d think it was the end of prohibition. Instead shops are staying open later on Oct. 23 to celebrate the City Council’s decision to roll back parking enforcement to 6 p.m. (from 8 p.m.)

Follow the money, as they say. For businesses participating in the city-wide open house visit http://shopoakland.com/events.html.
The theme is “We’re Here for You”.