I had been to OMCA’s Friday night events a handful of times in past years (all pre-pandemic). While it had always felt worth the pop-by. I had never found myself drawn to really, really take in the scene. Luckily, the mix of dance, music and food at the outdoor gathering this balmy and still very sunny Friday evening was an excellent reentry into the possibilities for both me and the community, as the weekly event just restarted for the season this month.
The museum’s terraced sculpture garden has never, in my experience, looked better, than when olden hour rained down on a lawn of families picnicking and dancing, a small stage of activity, and beds and beds of lush plant life. Across the street on one side the lake sparkled. To another side, on the shadowed courthouse steps skaters took up nightly residency, shredding away the day’s public duties. (BBQing too, this night. Right on.)
Patrons at Weed Is A Plant order cocktails at the Hella Bees bar
Weed Is A Plant Hella Bees Bar 2340 Harrison St. Oakland April 20, 2024
The sun showed out as hundreds of people gathered around Lake Merritt, grilling and playing music in celebration of the iconic 420. Legend has it that this ubiquitous day celebrated by cannabis enthusiasts around the world became a thing when high school kids in The Bay met up after school to “puff puff pass” the stress of the day away. 4:20 was the code and time to hook up under the bleachers, behind the gym, or wherever they wouldn’t get caught.
Away from the crowds at the lake and other venues around town, Hella Bees and Hella Plants Market co-hosted “Weed Is A Plant,” a unique and more laid-back way to spend the day. Hella Bees, located in the old Rose Mary Jane dispensary location on Harrison, is a spacious, light-filled haven with a bar and backyard, perfect for a relaxed day party and an ideal setting for a 420 event.
Cindy Lee, Freak Heat Waves, Now Thee Stork Club 2330 Telegraph Ave. Oakland April 17th, 2024
On my way to Thee Stork Club, I could tell who was headed there by the heavy tattoos, DIY haircuts, and jean jackets. The show was completely sold out, and the club’s dark, moody rooms and halls teemed with patient fans.
The venue’s website categorized Cindy Lee, who headlined Wednesday night, as “punk.” Based on the diverse and eclectic artist biography, “high atmospherics and bracing melodies – a unique space where splendor naturally collides with experimentation,” and the event description, I figured the genre was being used as a catch-all term. I prepared my ears for something new.
Lalin St. Juste Live Bandcamp @ the Moxy Hotel 2225 Telegraph Ave. Oakland April 12, 2024
As folks filtered into the lobby of the Moxy Hotel to see local musician Lalin St. Juste, Max from Bandcamp opened the evening with background on the organization’s 15-year history of supporting independent musicians and praise for “this luminary performance and this luminary artist.”
What is the juncture of house music fans, Afrobeats, West Coast culture, and a chilly April Saturday, you might ask? An all-day festival with two stages, half a dozen vendors, more bar stands than I could count, live art, and a couple thousand attendees from the Bay and beyond dancing on the steps of City Hall’s mini amphitheater and sprawled into neighboring Clay Street.
Produced by Oakhella, Afrobeats Oakland, Hotbox, DJ Dials, and Vate Creative, this past weekend’s event was a follow-up to last year’s success bringing South African DJ and producer Black Coffee to the town.
At a sweet corner in Old Oakland surrounded by plant life and happy patrons, feet from passersby, seven-month-old T’Chaka has brought Caribbean flavors and feelings to this piece of Swan’s Market, a wide-ranging food hall that feels homey and real, with serious food presented in an approachable manner. On a chilly but sunny Saturday afternoon, my friend Esan and I met up to fuel ourselves for hours (he lasted two, I nearly five) of music festival-ing down the street, and we chose well.
Winter in America: The Speakeasy; Bold, Black & Brilliant — The Baldwin Edition Joyce Gordon Gallery 406 14th St. Oakland April 3, 2024
When I think of James Baldwin, the images that surface in my mind are often in black and white. Photographs, video clips, and even his words on the page appear stark and matter-of-fact. Walking into the Joyce Gordon Gallery and seeing over 40 faces and expressions of Baldwin, my connotation of him was elevated.
The traveling exhibition, “Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin,” features works from Detroit artist Sabrina Nelson. Pop art-style portraits of Baldwin covered the walls, infused with hues of bright red, cobalt blue, greens, and golds. Seeing Baldwin’s face in modern styles brought him out of the past and into the now in a refreshing way.
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Breezy Bratton
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Apr 9, 2024 9:15 am
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The Sweet Spot — Season Opener Nectar Social Club 408 15th St. Oakland April 7, 2024
Instead of trying to forge a reputation as the next new hot spot for clubbing, Nectar Social Club almost seems to have grown organically out of the sidewalk like a rose through concrete. This is in part thanks to the city of Oakland reinstating their Flex Street Initiative from June 2020, which allowed businesses to expand their commerce to the outside on sidewalks and streets during the pandemic.
On Sunday, Nectar’s block of 15th street between Broadway and Franklin filled with the fabulousness of queer femme freedom for “The Sweet Spot,” a day party in downtown Oakland.
In a temporary gallery space, canvases came to life. On gray felt walls hung one-to-five foot pieces bursting outward, upward, toward the viewer. They begged to be touched, to be held, perhaps. Figurative in some spaces and wildly abstract elsewhere, the pieces breathed in the could-be-sterile space.
The occasion was a pop-up show featuring the works of artists from Nigeria, South Africa, and, closer to home, Chicago, Houston, L.A. Their pieces hung (or stood, as some proudly did) on the second floor of a bank building (Beneficial State Bank, located downtown blocks from BART and the lake), full of lush plants and welcoming hosts. A glass of Moët was offered to visitors entering the space, as was a warm greeting from the gallerists .
I left the West Oakland Sound Series on Sunday night absolutely tickled with the write-up I knew I had ahead of me. It was a delightful jazz show, weird enough to entertain this musicology nerd, weird enough to pair bagpipes with an 11-string bass, and definitely one of the coolest shows I’ve seen recently in my own neighborhood.
The Dresher Ensemble Studio hosts the weekly sound series to keep original music alive. Where would the Oakland contemporary music scene be without experimental jazz and a little weirdness?
The building is a cool industrial setting, what you might expect across the street from Pacific Pipe climbing gym and American Steel. You pass by a large, airy lobby and modern planters as you wind your way to the Sound Series. The concert space itself is simple, with just about 30 chairs set up in close proximity to the stage.
Trevor Meseroll and Piedmont Middle School jazz band
Piedmont Middle and High School Jazz Bands Yoshi’s 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland April 1, 2024
Jack London Square buzzed with Piedmont Middle and High School jazz band students and their families, peppering the parking garage and sidewalk of Yoshi’s Japanese restaurant and nightclub. Bypassing the calm glow of the restaurant section, I entered the club.
A “Tito Puente and The Jazz Legends” poster hung on the wall by the entrance, full of scrawling signatures of the greats. It was 8 on a school night, and many people were already seated at the rounded tiers of tables, chairs, and circular booths, eating or wrapping up their dinner before the show. I was approached by a server and didn’t order, but wasn’t made to feel uncomfortable when he later passed by with a tray full of tall glasses of ice water for concert guests.
Nestled beside new sister bar Ninth Life, Good Luck Gato’s inviting hand-painted storefront hides below a now familiar corrugated plastic roofing that extends to its covered parklet. A self-proclaimed “Izakaya Cantina,” the small, bar-centric space is graced with high-reaching ceilings and windows to match, making the most of the golden hour as we walked in. The space invoked the airy, minimalistic chukum stuccoed buildings of the Yucatan, complete with rattan lamp shades, all complemented by rich red accents and Japanese textiles.
It was one of the nicer days we’d seen in a while, so my friends and I had opted for an early outdoor reservation, hoping to take advantage of the daylight. Our table’s overhead heater was down for the count, so we were grateful for the remaining sunlight, though also pleasantly surprised by the warm colors and cozy ambiance of the basic structure.
