Mission Mission

Or, I dunno, maybe it’s good.

The original Singin’ & Pingin’ at Z Space last summer drew a crowd of almost 700, and it was probably the mot epic party I’ve ever seen. The holiday edition at Rickshaw Stop (Singin’ & Pingin’ 2) wasn’t quite as packed, but it was nearly as epic. Turns out singing and pinging go together like drinking and dancing. Who knew?

Here’s the official invite to Singin’ & Pingin’ 3:

Everywhere we go, people ask, “WHEN IS THE NEXT SINGIN’ & PINGIN’???” Well, the next SINGIN’ & PINGIN’ is here, folks! And it’s gonna be at the world-famous VERDI CLUB in San Francisco’s Mission District!

DJ Purple’s DANCE KARAOKE mission is going strong at venues around the city and the region, but it’s gonna be an outright SPECTACLE thanks to the big stage — and huge dance floor — at Verdi. Start perusing the songbook (http://djpurple.com/) now, so you’re good and ready when the time comes!

Add to that a couple of ping pong tables and a couple crates of paddles — plus a full bar and the best group of partygoers in town — and we’re in business!

RSVP and invite your friends!

Whenever I see a cool car around the neighborhood, I take pictures and send them to my pal Eric up in Portland who runs Other People’s Things, my favorite car blog. He responds with some knowledge and we post the results here and it’s called “Car Beat.” Here’s what Eric has to say about this sporty little VW:

The space used to be the Traveling Jewish Theater (where the very awesome Duck Lake was staged). Now it’s Z Below. Here’s the deal:

Z Space is officially opening our second theater space, and you’re invited to the party! Z Below is an 88 seat venue just downstairs from our main stage at 470 Florida Street. It’s ideal for the development of new work, and will allow the organization to provide more rehearsal and performance options for its companies in residence.

Please join us for our opening party, we’ll have snacks and drinks, of course, but also a performance by the Bengsons at 7 pm (who if you don’t know are developing a rock opera at Z Space).

Free and open to all of our friends in the neighborhood and theater community.

Can’t wait!

Welcome to “Drama Talk and Drinks”, a new feature here on Mission Mission. Our friends Katie Cruz and Brittany Janis go see a local show, then they go to a bar, get drinks, and talk about it. For the first installment they saw The Happy Ones at the Magic Theatre and then had drinks at Royal Cuckoo. Here’s their report:

We braved the wild coastal lands of Fort Mason to see opening night of The Happy Ones at Magic Theatre, directed by Jonathan Moscone. We made it back to the Mission and went to Royal Cuckoo to debrief. This is a transcript of our drama talk.

B: What should we get to drink? I feel like we should drink something that they drank during the show…They drink so many bloody mary’s and martinis and gin…

K: And sangria.
(orders gin and tonic)

B: What do you think the name of this review should be?
(orders a martini)

K: Oh sweet Jesus…How about “Slow start but ends with a bang”? At first I was like “Whaaat is this?” But their acting actually got better as it went on. Those first few scenes they were trying so hard to be happy 70’s Americans.

B: RIGHT! So, I would have called it “The Incredibly WAY too Happy Ones”. When they actually let themselves get serious the play had some really lovely moments.

(more…)

It’s an ode to Jack in the Box’s Hot Mess Burger from Galley guest chef Wes Rowe. It’s a Hot Mess but all fancy and good. Today and tonight! Good lord!

(In other hot Wes news, HOT WES.)

I say it every month: Haçeteria is the best. Tonight’s edition includes the following special guests:

Haceteria is excited to have a very special dj set from the legendary and prolific electronic experimentalist Kit Clayton. With releases on Soul Jazz, Carpark, Orthlorng, & many more (we have to mention the Wire Magazine mix CD), Kit will surely dazzle the dancefloor with his impressive knowledge of choice cuts from past and present. Kit also is enmeshed in video and 3d graphics with his work in developing software platforms which expand upon the visual programming environment which alongside with his music aim to “explore communication, speculation, value, directive, and the space between artist and audience.”

https://soundcloud.com/kitclayton

We could think of no better way to celebrate the month when Earth Day takes place than by having a special live set from Earthman, an Oakland-based up and coming terrestrial trailblazer. With tracks ranging from ambient house and austere dubby minimalism, to undulating subaquatic grooves and downtempo electro, Earthman spans the seven continents of electronic dance music terroir.

https://soundcloud.com/earth_to_dude

Can’t wait! (I’ll be there as soon as Thee Oh Sees are done.) RSVP and invite your friends!

It’s back! Anchor Brewing released the California Lager last year as the first beer in its “Zymaster” series of limited edition beers, and they struck gold on their first try with the bright, bold California Lager. It was such a clear winner that they’ve brought it back indefinitely.

Light beers these days are boring!  Every craft brewery has a Kolsch that doesn’t taste like anything.  Anchor mined California’s past for the ingredients to their lager, including California barley and cluster hops, America’s oldest hop varietal, which add a dank, persistent bitterness and hop flavor that makes the beer distinctive and powerful enough to outshine the rest.  Highly recommended for drinking out of the bottle on your roof this weekend, but otherwise available on tap at Shotwell’s.  Did you guys notice that I made a few gold rush allusions?

Drink of the week is brought to you by Poachedjobs.com.

Fucking Danzig.

When I’m not getting a “spiritous tequila drink” at Dosa or a very cheap pitcher of MGD at Zante, my drink of choice with Indian food is this thing, but I never really thought much about how you’d go about making it.

Our pal Eric (as part of his beautifully shot, edited and scored Thirsty For… series) shows us how it’s done: