Mission Mission

Both take place in the early summer at smallish neighborhood parks (Boogaloo at Mosswood Park in Oakland, and Phono at Potrero del Sol here in the Mission), and both do a great job of mixing local talent with exciting touring acts (Boogaloo’s headliner this time was Iggy Pop and Phono’s was Oh Sees)

Mai from Fashionist was there for both. Can you guess which is which??…….

Click through to Fashionist for more from both festivals, and elsewheres.

Ooh boy, 16th Street gonna get even gnarlier! The Examiner reports:

Muni’s latest experiment, the “red carpet” transit-only lanes has split San Franciscans’ opinions, but now the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is contemplating at least 50 new streets to play host to the transit lanes.

Bus riders and numerous studies say they’re a boon to transit, speeding up the previously molasses-slow buses and trains during commute hours. An alliance of homeowners and merchants, however, decry the lanes for making traveling by car more difficult, potentially driving away customers from mom and pop shops.

Read on for more of the story and the complete citywide map.

🎵Sweet guitar music plays 🎸🎶 🤾🏼‍♂️Spikeball rages on 🥅 🚮 Please pack out your trash 🗑

A post shared by Andrew Dalton (@dolfapedia) on Jul 1, 2017 at 5:24pm PDT

It’s rare that plays on Broadway get as much buzz as the blockbuster musicals. The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time is the exception to that rule. Winner of five Tony Awards in 2015, including Best-Play, we had heard about this play for a while. So when we were heard the tour was going to SHN’s Golden Gate Theater, we were excited to see it for Drama Talk & Drinks.

Adam Langdon as Christopher Boone in the touring production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” – photo by Joan Marcus

Katie: Wow, I couldn’t look away. I was so engaged, and intrigued, and invested in Christopher [The lead character -Ed.] and his story. Even though at moments the plot was predictable, it didn’t matter because it was such good story telling. I was interested in the whole family. The actor who played Christopher (Adam Langdon) was so incredibly talented. The set was innovative and propelled the show forward, which is a hard thing for a set to do. I just really enjoyed it.

Brittany: I agree. It was one of those shows that, although it wasn’t pleasant to watch because of the intense sound and lighting design, it’s just too good not to. I thought the way they used the lights and sound to put the audience into Christopher’s head was so innovative. It’s hard to say it’s enjoyable, because when you’re getting blasted with strobe lights and loud screeching noises it’s definitely jeering, but it’s such a powerful story and creative production.

K: Totally, for once I can’t think of anything to criticize. I was just really moved.

B: They showed a lot of humanness. It’s wonderful that a show told from the perspective of a 15 year old boy who is on the autism spectrum is one of the most empathetic shows I’ve seen. You could totally understand why all the characters in the show did the not-so-pleasant things they did, and feel for them, even while knowing that they were making selfish or wrong decisions.

K: It got messy, but it was so good.The show was engaging, you didn’t really have time to think of anything else, but be present and watch this story about these very imperfect people unfold. It’s definitely a must see.

The Verdict: GO SEE IT! It’s not an “easy” show, there’s some uncomfortable moments, but it’s such a well done play it’s worth a little discomfort.

The Drama Talk: When you walk into the theater, there’s a dead dog in the middle of the stage with a pitch-fork stuck in it (a ‘garden fork’ in the script – it’s set in the UK).  The play’s plot never gets much lighter than this, but still somehow, there’s a joy and lightness to the production. The performance puts the audience into the mind of a 15 year old boy, named Christopher, who is a math savant but “ill-equipped to interpret everyday life”. The set is remarkable, with LED lights and built in projections that transport the viewer to the different settings of the show, but also into Christopher’s thoughts and fantasies. While the show isn’t “immersive” in the sense that the audience never leaves their seats, it does transport the audience into a different sort of consciousness. When Christopher is panicked, the play uses lighting and sound to induce a similar sort of emotion in the audience. While it’s not always comfortable, it’s definitely memorable, and makes for a moving night at the theater.

The Drinks: After the show we decided to check-out a bar we hadn’t tried yet, Rx, a ‘apothecary themed cocktail lounge’ a few blocks uphill at the corner of Geary and Leavenworth. It was a cozy and chill spot to grab a strong fancy cocktail and unpack the show.

 A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time runs through July 23rd at SHN’s Golden Gate Theater. Tickets range from $55-$200 on the SHN website. There are also a limited number of virtual rush tickets that are available through the Today Tix app, and a limited number of $35 Rush tickets available via an in-person rush,  beginning 2 hours prior to curtain at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre Box Office. Note, the in-person rush tickets are cash only with a 2 per person limit. At time of publishing there are still some $40 Goldstar tickets available for the show too.

‪A panaramic collage of the Mission District. Captured in-camera on film with no digital editing. #believeinfilm ‬

A post shared by Doctor Popular (@docpop) on Jun 28, 2017 at 10:25am PDT

UPDATE: Doc has a bunch more of these here.

By the fine folks at PSA Press. Available at Lucky 13, while it lasts, or here.

“Rookie drunks & underage chumps NOT welcome – ever.”

“Born in the back rooms of dive bars in Berlin and perfected in the secret semi-legal art spaces of the Mission, American Tripps is a brand of ping pong built for happy hours and late nights,” goes the official blurb. American Tripps has been on hiatus since last Halloween, but they’re finally back for quick party to help kick off your summer vacation!

Come for the ping pong, stay for special guest DJs Wam Bam Ashleyanne (KALW, NPR, Phonographic Memory), DJ Emily (KDVS), and DJ Trigger Cut (This Place Is Fucked). Expect nothing but upbeat jams ideal for running around a ping pong table to.

Plus resident DJs Beauregard & Nutzeffekt, hostess w/tha mostess Jess Kelso, and bartender u luv Nicky the Bartender. Don’t miss!

Check out the rest of this week’s entertainment line up at Pops Bar:

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Can the idea of ‘fake it til’ you make it’ work for white male privilege? If you just act like a bro, no matter your race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, can you get a free pass when you act like a jerk? That’s what Luna Malbroux and Jennifer Lewis ask in their new play How To Be a White Man now playing at PianoFight produced by FaultLine Theater company. Always up for a play that “takes a bold look at race, sexuality, and gender” we decided to check it out for Drama Talk & Drinks.

Luna Malbroux – Photo by Clive Walker

Katie: They had me with the title How To Be a White Man. I love talking about white male privilege and I love seeing new works by women, particularly women of color, so I was excited about this show. I just wish I liked it more than I did. The writing was funny and called out some good shit. It was a fresh and relevant script. Where it fell short was in the execution.

Brittany: I agree, it was a cool interesting script, very thought provoking, but at the same time there was something off with this performance. I know they were having technical difficulties before the show started, so maybe that contributed, but the pacing was off.

K: There were so many awkward transitions which took me out of the show. The actors were kind-of lackluster too. There were moments when I was totally with them, during one of the serious monologues or the hilarious stand-up routines, but then it would fizzle when they moved on to the next moment.

B: It seemed like something was off, like actors were having to cover for someone who was late for an entrance or dropped a line. It was strange since you could definitely see there were talented people in the show, but it dragged, it felt inconsistent.

K: This script has so much potential, the production we saw just didn’t quite do it for me.

The Verdict:  This production had some great moments, but this is one occasion where the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. The script is fresh, relevant, and fun. There is a cool set, some talented actors, and some innovative uses of video projections. But, it fell short because of pacing.

The Drama Talk: This isn’t an easy show. The script is based on comedian Luna Malbroux’s experience as a queer Black woman, and also draws from a series of real interviews the playwrights did with people all over the country on the topic of white male privilege. At times the play takes place in a fantasy world, a comedy club, in the past, in the present, as an internal monologue. Actors are playing multiple roles, and scenes change quickly. There were moments when everyone in the play was strong, but there were also moments when every performer in the play was not. Because of the highly episodic nature of the script, it at times was hard to stay in the moment. However despite pacing issues, this is still very relevant new work, that’s worth seeing just for the interesting content. They also give out free white male privilege vouchers, so that’s reason enough to check it out.

The Drinks: As is always the case when we go to PianoFight, we don’t see a need to go anywhere else. We got drinks and food at the in-house restaurant and bar after the show, and toasted a fun and thought provoking night of Drama Talk & Drinks.

How to Be a White Man runs through July 1st at PianoFight. Thursdays @7:30pm, Fridays @7:30pm, Saturdays @7:30pm with one Wednesday performance June 28th @7:30pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased HERE.

Yesterday I posted a 5-year-old Tambo Rays song in our announcement about the 20th Street Block Party lineup, saying “it still feels like a summer banger for the present.”

Just now a Bandcamp notification told me to check out a new release by the Tambo Rays, and it turns out it’s an even better summer banger, definitely expressly for the present:

Click through to preorder their forthcoming new album (which gets you an immediate download of “Yes and No”), and then see them play Noise Pop’s 20th Street Block Party, August 19th. Pencil it in.