home | nightlife | calendar picks | north bay
Week of September 17 - 23, 2008
Picks by Gabe Meline
Santa Rosa
Voice of the Sparrow
Like Ray Charles and Johnny Cash before her, the music of Edith Piaf reached many previously unenlightened American ears through the Hollywood biopic La Vie en Rose, earning its star, Marion Cotillard, an Academy Award. If there's any close second to Cotillard in portraying Edith Piaf, it's Raquel Bitton, the French jazz singer who has both the grace and rasp of Piaf. She appears at "Le Jazz Hot," the gala opening of the Santa Rosa Symphony's 81st season, singing Piaf's repertoire alongside jazz tunes from the 1961 Paul Newman/Sidney Poitier film Paris Blues. Pianist Jon Nakamatsu plays the original jazz band version of Rhapsody in Blue to get things stared on Sunday, Sept. 21, at Jackson Theater. 4400 Day School Place, Santa Rosa. 4pm. 707.546.8742.
Santa Rosa
Rules of Enragement
After recording a live album in Santa Rosa, 2005's Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues, the vein-exploding comedian Lewis Black returns, yet again, for a boggling dose of reality at the original scene of the crime. Politics is Black's meat, and with a certain ex-POW's presidential campaign reaching an abhorrent and unprecedented level of absurdity and blatant deceit, there's a field full of cattle on which for Black to chew—shaking head and wiggling jowls optional. And still, Black's best moments come completely off the cuff: there's hardly a more compelling argument for the stupidity of bottled-water marketing than his riff last year on the Oregon Rain brand he'd been supplied mid-show. See him again on Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Wells Fargo Center. 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. 8pm. $54.50-$67.50. 707.546.3600.
Sebastopol
Pennywhistlists Unite!
Over 10 years have passed since the Irish dance scene from Titanic. Even more have gone by since Lord of the Dance. What this means to Irish music, to have the spotlight taken away, is that it can now focus less on gimmickry and more on its own beautiful traditions and crafts. It also means that the Sebastopol Celtic Festival, in its 14th year, has expanded to include music from Spain, Sweden and Quebec. Along with Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and the Tannahill Weavers, keep an eye out for Väsen, an exiting Swedish trio who bring a rock band approach to traditional indigenous instruments. The festival runs Friday-Sunday, Sept. 19-21, at the Sebastopol Community Center. 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. See website for the incredibly meticulous and varied ticket pricing at www.cumuluspresents.com. 707.829.7067.
Napa
The Abstract Truth
There is rarely anything more exciting than watching budding artists grow out of their imposed shell and into their own, and luckily, around here, we've had the opportunity to do just that with Julian Lage and Taylor Eigsti. Best buds with a penchant for posting heavy metal YouTube videos on each other's MySpace pages, they're also darlings of a wine-and-cheese jazz set tickled with their clean-cut, prodigious story. But now, in their 20s, the duo is pushing the envelope harder and further than ever, exploring the outer reaches of jazz with an almost terrifying passion. Watching them in action is like watching the Blue Angels loop in formation over the Golden Gate Bridge. They hit the stage together on Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Napa Valley Opera House. 1030 Main St., Napa. 8pm. $25-$30. 707.226.7372.
Point Reyes
Sound Salvation
It seems a little strange that KWMR is the last remaining radio station in all of Marin County, but it's downright crazy that in the wealthiest per-capita county in the country, the station still needs to hold a benefit. No matter: the good news is that 14—count 'em, 14!—bands will descend on West Marin for the Far West Fest in support of the station, including Poor Man's Whiskey, Vinyl, Jerry Hannan, Aarom Redner and many more. Craft vendors and local food round out the long day spent under the West Marin skies on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Love Field. 11191 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Point Reyes Station. 11:30am-7pm. $10-$15. 415.663.8068.
